Manchu Language
Manchu Outline
Manchurian phonetics: Written Manchu or Classical Manchu is the language of the Qing
Dynasty (1644-1911) in China.
Below is a table of Consonant Phonology of the Manchu language.
Labial
Dental
Paltal
Velar
Nasal
m n ɲ 1 ŋ 2
Plosive
Voiceless voiced p b t d tᶴ³ dʒ 4
K
ɡ
Fricative
f s ʃ 5 x Rhotic
r
Approximant
l j 7 w Below I have provided a table with some phonetic transcriptions from written Manchu to Xibe to English translation. (Information provided by Phonological and Phonetics in Manchu Vowel systems by B. Elan Dresher and Xin Zhang.)
Syntax:
Manchu phrases are all head-last. This means that the head-word of a phrase (e.g. the noun of a noun phrase, or the verb of a verb phrase) always falls at the end of the phrase. Thus, adjectives and adjectival phrases always precede the noun they modify, and the arguments to the verb always precede the verb. As a result, Manchu sentence structure is subject–object–verb (SOV). The grammars of Japanese and Korean bear resemblance[specify] to that of Manchu, which would, according to the Altaic hypothesis, be due to a genetic relatedness.
Manchu uses a small number of case-marking particles[citation needed] that are similar to those found in Japanese, but also has a separate class of true postpositions. Case-markers and postpositions can be used together, as in the following sentence: bi tere niyalma+i emgi gene+he
I that person+GEN with go+PAST
I went with that person
In this example, the postposition emgi, "with", requires its nominal argument to have the genitive case, and so we have the genitive case-marker i between the noun niyalma and the postposition.
Manchu also makes extensive use of converb structures, and has an inventory of converbial suffixes that indicate the relationship between the subordinate verb and the finite verb that follows it. For example, given the following two sentences (which have finite verbs):
Manchurian phonetics: Written Manchu or Classical Manchu is the language of the Qing
Dynasty (1644-1911) in China.
Below is a table of Consonant Phonology of the Manchu language.
Labial
Dental
Paltal
Velar
Nasal
m n ɲ 1 ŋ 2
Plosive
Voiceless voiced p b t d tᶴ³ dʒ 4
K
ɡ
Fricative
f s ʃ 5 x Rhotic
r
Approximant
l j 7 w Below I have provided a table with some phonetic transcriptions from written Manchu to Xibe to English translation. (Information provided by Phonological and Phonetics in Manchu Vowel systems by B. Elan Dresher and Xin Zhang.)
Syntax:
Manchu phrases are all head-last. This means that the head-word of a phrase (e.g. the noun of a noun phrase, or the verb of a verb phrase) always falls at the end of the phrase. Thus, adjectives and adjectival phrases always precede the noun they modify, and the arguments to the verb always precede the verb. As a result, Manchu sentence structure is subject–object–verb (SOV). The grammars of Japanese and Korean bear resemblance[specify] to that of Manchu, which would, according to the Altaic hypothesis, be due to a genetic relatedness.
Manchu uses a small number of case-marking particles[citation needed] that are similar to those found in Japanese, but also has a separate class of true postpositions. Case-markers and postpositions can be used together, as in the following sentence: bi tere niyalma+i emgi gene+he
I that person+GEN with go+PAST
I went with that person
In this example, the postposition emgi, "with", requires its nominal argument to have the genitive case, and so we have the genitive case-marker i between the noun niyalma and the postposition.
Manchu also makes extensive use of converb structures, and has an inventory of converbial suffixes that indicate the relationship between the subordinate verb and the finite verb that follows it. For example, given the following two sentences (which have finite verbs):