Grønbech Kaare, Krueger John R. (eds.) An introduction to classical (literary) Mongolian: grammar, reader, glossary

Third corrected edition. — Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1993. — x, 90 p. — ISBN 3447032987.The continued sale of this small grammar makes it possible for the publishers to offer a third printing, and I have taken advantage of this to re-organize the additions made in the Second Edition into the main body of the text. There still remain many precious points which can be expanded and which thoughtful correspondents and users have brought to light over the decades. To engage on a complete re-writing would overstep the planned bounds of this Introduction; fuller information is the province of such a book as N. Poppe's Grammar of Written Mongolian (Wiesbaden, O. Harrassowitz, 4th unrev. edition, 1991), which gives a more advanced treatment. The instructor will be able to expand on these issues and give additional commentary. The present work proposes to afford a brief and practical introduction to classical and literary Mongolian, paying special heed to the requirements of those who may pursue their study otherwise unaided. The plan of the work is as follows. The progressive exposition of the grammatical structure is paralleled by Mongolian reading selections, which incorporate the new features illustrated in the lesson. Since the grammar is drawn from the reading material, exceptions, minor variations and little-used forms are dealt with not at all, or only slightly. Since this is not a work for the specialist, references to parallel features in Turkic and other languages, as well as comments on the origin and development of forms, have been kept to a minimum or omitted altogether. Use of the Mongolian script is deferred until the student is prepared with a knowledge of the grammar and has a stock of basic words at his command. There is a brief introduction of very general character, which gives broad outlines of Mongolian history, life, institutions and customs, and some political, economic and social data on Mongolia past and present. When this was written in 1955, and even when it was updated in 1975, there was a great lack of such general information on Mongolian in English. Now of course, almost another 20 years later, there is an abundance of sources in English and European languages, and many readers will already be aware that Mongolia has long been a member of the United Nations, that the U.S. and Mongolia finally established diplomatic relations in 1989, and perhaps even of the latest development, the re-introduction of the historic vertical Mongolian (Uighur) script.