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graculusthegreenbird Monday 29th of November 2004 12:31:16 AM
Just starting... - There must be others out there like me that are just starting to learn mongolian. Sain uu! :o)

If anybody wants to exchange ideas, phrases or talk about language, lets go!

Does anybody heard of any Mongol language teachers in London, England?

tinkerb Monday 29th of November 2004 05:23:22 AM
-
Grac,

I'd love to learn the basics of Mongolian. My biggest problem is that the only texts are either 1) in the older Mongolian script that is rarely used today; 2) based on the Russian language and in Russian; and 3) from 1900-1910 and are outdated methodologically. If others are interested, perhaps we could start a collective learning group herein where we all contribute small lessons?

And as far as Mongolian teachers in London, contact the major universities, especially the

School of Oriental and African Studies
Student Recruitment Office, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square,
London, UK WC1H 0XG
Phone: 011+44 207 637 2388
Fax: 011+44 20 7898 4039

If anyone has info on teachers, they would.

And perhaps if you find a teacher, you could also convince them to join us here with some collective lessons!

graculusthegreenbird Thursday 02nd of December 2004 03:23:56 AM
- Sure. Well, here's what Ive gleaned so far. If anyone else has anything, please add them.

sain bainuu Hi, Hello
ta sain bainuu How are you
bi yadarch bain I’m tired
bi daarch bain I’m cold

minie ner James My name is James

bi I
chi You
Ta You Formal
bid we

bain am/is/are
baisan was/were

ba and
kharin but
sain good/nice
Saikhan beautiful
khoorhon pretty

ner name
naiz friend
yum thing/stuff
ikh many
yava(kh) to go
udakhgui soon

Khurem jacket
Bayartai Goodbye
Bayrlla Thanks
torson odor birthday

Obviously i could just cut and paste from the 2 phrasebooks and dictionaries I have, but at least I understand these phrases and words, and can speak them.

What interests me more is the grammar, and the exact translations would help.

For example, I know that the sentence order is subject-object-verb

So for:

bi daarch bain -I’m cold-
the exact translation is "I cold am", which I can understand, and use to make new sentences with order new words.

What I dont understand is in:

sain bainuu -Hi, Hello-
ta sain bainuu -How are you-

Sain is "good/well", bain "are", but what does the "uu" added to the end of "bain" mean?

Well, its a start. I will start ringing round for teachers early next week.

Cheers!

tinkerb Thursday 02nd of December 2004 09:27:08 AM
- Grac,

Thanks for the lesson!

I decided to look for the -uu suffix on the web, but I didn't get very far. I did learn this:

All grammatical functions and relations are expressed by suffixes which are "glued" to the end of a root be it noun or verb hence the term "agglutinative language". More than one suffix can be attached to a word: e.g. tääsh "bag"; tääshääs "out of the bag"; tääshääsää "out of his/her bag"); bolgoomj "care"; bolgoomjtoï "with care" -> careful (as adjective); bolgoomjtoïgoor "acting with care" -> doing something carefully (as adverb).

from:

http://www.non.com/news.answers/mongolia-faq.html

So my guess would be that -uu has to do either with being formal or is perhaps a case ending.

I'll keep hunting. Let us know if you find a good teacher!

Bayarlala!

Rafal Monday 27th of December 2004 12:42:50 AM
- Hello everyone!
I think I can help you a little with that "uu" suffix in mongolian questions. Here's the grammatical explanation of interrogative sentences in mongolian:
"Questions are asked with the help of the interrogative particles 'uu', 'yu' after the last word in the sentence. Sentences beginning with an interrogative pronoun add the particles 'be', 've' at the end; 'be' follows final -n, -m, -v, -l and 've' the remaining consonants."
So, in simple words, all these particles at the end of a sentence indicate that the sentence is a question! (european languages don't have anything like that so it can be a little hard to get used to asking questions with such suffixes).

And some examples:
-------------------
Ene nom. - This is a book.
Ene nom uu? Is this a book?
Ene shiree. - This is a table.
Ene shiree yu? - Is this a table?

And the other case, when sentence does contain any interrogative pronoun like "who, which etc."

Ene henii nom be? - Whose book is that?
End hen baina ve? - Who is there?

OK. I hope it will be helpful to all of you. If you have some further questions just ask! My english isn't perfect but I will try to explain things in simple words.

I think I should write something about myself :) So, here it goes. I'm Rafal and I'm Polish. I have studied mongolian at Warsaw University and Mongolian State University as well.
I hope I can help a little answering questions about mongolian, but remember, I'm still learning this extremely hard language and I don't know everything :)

Greetings to all of you

tinkerb Thursday 30th of December 2004 05:57:41 AM
-

Wonderful lesson, Rafal!

If you have any other mini lessons (or ideas for them), they would be much appreciated. There are so few materials on Mongolian, and someone who has actually studied there is a very valuable resource!

Welcome to Phrasebase!!

graculusthegreenbird Thursday 30th of December 2004 11:35:22 PM
- Thanks everyone!
Well, there dont seem to be courses in Mongolian available in London, the SOAS doesnt seem to know what courses it has! One department says the school teaches it, another says it doesnt. So no luck there.

Here are some things I have picked up which I find useful.

Mongolian English Exact English

sain bainuu Hi, Hello Good are?
sain uu Alright?
ta sain bainuu How are you you good are?
ta sain uu You good?

bi yadarch bain I’m tired I tired am
bi daarch bain I’m cold I cold am

Bi chamig sanaj baina I miss you I <> idea am
Chinii torson odor hezee ve? When is your birthday?
Bi ch bas... me too

Tanaikhan sainuu? How is your family?
Sonin saikhan uu bain? Whats new?

Saikhan amraahrai! Take it easy! Nice rest!
Ta mash saihan setgeltei hun yum.You are very kind
Amjilt husiye Best of luck
Nadad zahidal bicheerei. Please write back to me
Bi chamd durtaiya tuslah bolno Im happy to help you

Irekh jil next year
Irekh sar next month
Mash ikh very much

1 negh
2 khoyor
3 ghurav
4 dhuruv
5 t'av
6 z'urgaa
7 doloo
8 nay'm
9 yus
10 arav

This section on Personal pronouns was sent to me by a very nice Phrasebase member, Tuya:
___________________________________

The noun , the pronoun is inflected by the 7 cases, such as nominative, genitive, dative an locative, demonstrative, ablative, instrumental and comitative.
We need to add a case’s suffixes when we inflected the noun or the pronoun by cases. But some personal pronouns have an irregular inflection.
___________________________________

I had a very useful document showing the forms and examples of this, but am having real problems formatting it. Once I get the hang of it I will post it.

What would be very useful would be to know the forms of the verbs for each of the tenses, and genders for vowel harmony.

If anyone could help with examples like: am, go, receive, give, want, or similar, this would be very useful!

My two phrasebooks are good, (the Marder one is the best), but have little on grammar or verbs. I have heard mixed things about the Colloqiual Mongolian Course book available, and am debating whether to buy it. Lots of detail on grammar, apparently, but not user friendly. I am currently waiting for a delivery of another Course from amazon.com in the US.

Thanks to everyone contributing so far!

graculusthegreenbird Thursday 30th of December 2004 11:38:53 PM
- Rafal, thanks so much for your input. Dont worry about your English, it is superb! :o)

Rafal Friday 31st of December 2004 12:14:10 AM
- Hello,
I'm glad you find my little lesson useful :)
As for a course book, I have one that in my opinion is great for beginners. It's "Spoken Mongolian. A textbook for study". It was published in Mongolia as a cooperation of International School of Mongolian Studies, Department of Mongolian Studies at Mongolian State University and School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London.
But I think it's hard or even impossible to get it outside Mongolia.
I was thinking about preparing short lessons for you, based on this book. The grammar is nicely explained, and the language used in it isn't too complicated.
But I cannot promise anything :) I don't have much free time and I don't know if there's much interest in such lessons. The Mongolian section of Phrasebase forums seems to be a rather quiet place :)

Anyway, tell me what do you think about my idea.

Ta buhendee shin jiliin mend hurgie! 'Happy New Year to all of you!'

tinkerb Friday 31st of December 2004 12:18:31 AM
-

Rafal,

If you have the time, it's a wonderful idea. This section may be quiet, but as people notice more and more posts here, I have a strong feeling that more people will come and check it out. :) So you may end up with more students than you think.

I know I'll be here!

graculusthegreenbird Friday 31st of December 2004 12:45:28 AM
- Rafal, I would second that, we realise that this would be a drain on your free time, but would really appreciate anything you could do!

I think this will be a cascade effect, once there are a few posts here, it will get a lot busier. People are just put off by a quiet forum, and wont post there. Catch 22! That is why I started this thread, to try to start the ball rolling.

Thanks again. Look forward to anything you can do.

Regards
James

graculusthegreenbird Friday 31st of December 2004 08:12:28 PM
- OK, here is a real world example. I got this message from my friend in Mongolia, and I am having trouble translating it.

I have marked "*" the bits I dont understand.

Sain baina uu?
How are you?

Tanaikhan sain uu?
How is your family?

Ta bugd sain auuj baina uu?
Are you all well?

Bi sain baigaa.
I well *

Khicheeldee yavj baigaa.
Try/lesson * *

Bi chinii yavuulsan belegiig avaagui l baina.
I your send gift have not * am
(I have not received the gift you sent?)

Uchir ni manai khairtsgand ireegui baina.
Because * our relation not arrive are
(Dont understand this!)

Sonin saikhan yu baina.
What is new?

End ih khuiten baina.
This cold is!

Bi ikh daarch baina.
I am very cold

Chi khezee ireh be?
You when come me?
(When are you coming to see me?)

Manai ger buliinhen 3 or 4 sard HK yavj magadgui gej yarij baina.
Our home * 3 or 4 months HK go perhaps * * am (No idea!)

OK, if anyone who knows mongolian can help with this translation, it would be much appreciated! We could then discuss some parts of it.

Shine jiliin mend hurgeye!
Happy New Year!

James

Rafal Sunday 02nd of January 2005 06:16:34 AM
- Hi, here's some help with that translation.

Bi sain baigaa.
I'm fine. I'm doing well. (baigaa is a form of baih expressing continuous action)

Hicheeldee yavj baigaa.
I'm attending lessons (I go to school)

Bi chinii yavuulsan belegiig avaagui l baina.
I haven't received the gift you send.

Uchir ni manai khairtsgand ireegui baina.
Because it didn't come to our postbox.

Manai ger buliinhen 3 or 4 sard HK yavj magadgui gej yarij baina.
My family is saying that they will go to HK probably on March or April.

OK, that's it.
As for mongolian lessons, I decided to give it a try. The first lesson should be ready this week.

Greetings to all of you.
Rafal

graculusthegreenbird Sunday 02nd of January 2005 06:45:48 PM
- Thanks so much, Rafal. That's very useful.

Uchir ni manai khairtsgand ireegui baina.

So, Uchir is "because", manai is "our", ireegui I guessed is the negative form of "arrive" (gui being the negative suffix). So khairtsgand is postbox?

I havent got a book explaining the forms of the verbs (one is hopefully on the way from the US), so I look forward to any lessons you can give on that.

It is much appreciated!

Rafal Tuesday 04th of January 2005 05:04:10 PM
- Hello,

"Uchir" exactly means "reason".
"ni" means "of this"
"manai" - our
"ireegui" - didn't come, iree+gui (iree is a form of ireh that indicates continuous action, and in connection with "gui" suffix it indicates negation in past time.)
"hairtsag" - box, postbox
"hairtsgand" - dative-locative case, "to the box, in the box".

I still didn't complete the first mongolian lesson for you, but it will be hopefuly posted here this week.

Rafal

tinkerb Monday 10th of January 2005 01:46:55 PM
-
Hi all.

I had a quick question. Since the book recommended (by Rafal) isn't available outside of Mongolia, are there any decent books or materials available in Western Europe or North America?

Just wondering! I did order a few inexpensive items to make sure that I could follow the lessons once they start (I am really excited!). I also found a native speaker who is willing to help me on a part time basis, and I am hoping that this works out (it has been awhile since I received an email from her).

Thanks for your input! Can't wait to get started!

khaan11 Friday 21st of January 2005 02:16:54 AM
Hi - Sain bainuu all!

Thank you soooooo much for the lessions so far, I hope more are to come!

How would you say thing such as:

"Do you understand (language)?"
"Where is the (place)?"

etc.

Thanking you

Nadeem

Woozie Monday 21st of February 2005 05:32:56 PM
just starting out - I was just in Mongolia and think I saw the book that was mentioned. I had a friend buy it and will get it sent. I am wanting to learn to read and write it as well as speak. We will see how it goes. I'm also working on Korean. So it may be awhile, but if anyone has any great ideas...(I know I dont)

graculusthegreenbird Monday 21st of February 2005 05:47:09 PM
New Book - OK, for anyone in england, and I am sure it is available elsewhere, I have bought a new book which is excellent.

Modern Mongolian: A Course-Book, by John Gaunt and L.Bayarmandakh, published by Routledge Curzon.
Here's the cheap version: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0700713263/qid=1108982552/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl/026-3132753-2145239
Doesnt come with any cds or tapes, you might have to buy the more expensive version for that.

Nonetheless, it is excellent. Structured into chapters, with real world passages in cyrillic, roman transliteration, english/mongolian vocab, and tests and exercises. It is meant as a teaching aid for a course, but is excellent for private study.

Highly recommended, as it introduces the complex case endings (which may be unfamiliar if you have not studied a language or english grammar before and come across the concept of cases) in a structured and timely way.

Hope this helps!

saruul Sunday 13th of March 2005 03:22:30 AM
Sain baina uu :) - Hi,

I'm mongolian and I live in the UK.
I hope that I can help you to study mongolian. Also I want to study english very well.

saruults@yahoo.com

Disciple_Brian Sunday 13th of March 2005 11:46:17 AM
also just beginning - Greetings from rural America!

I am also interested in learning Mongolian; I will soon spend about four weeks there gathering information for news articles about the country, its people, and Christian missionaries there.

I hope to learn some Mongolian so that I can be a more courteous and respectful guest while there and incorporate some Mongolian phrases and proverbs into my stories.

I have basically no knowledge of Mongolian, although I have a traveler's phrasebook from Lonely Planet. I would greatly appreciate whatever help anyone is able to give me.

samegame Tuesday 24th of May 2005 11:24:47 PM
Jk - Hi guys i hope u,re doing good the easiest way to learn mongolian is just go to mongolia have a good time and meet the friendly people out there speak and learn mongolian naturally

samegame Saturday 16th of July 2005 06:55:29 AM
- Mongol heliig surahad ch mon amarhandaa gej lolzzz

ruixiong89 Thursday 01st of September 2005 04:55:03 PM
- Would it be possible to provide the pronounciations for the mongolian words?

I just came back from Mongolia and I've made a lot of friends there! However, the difficulty comes as I hope to write in Khalka to them and at the same time, I hope that I'm able to express myself conversationally.

So would it be possible to provide a Khalka text of that which is written (in Cyrillic) as well as the pronunciation?

Thanks a lot!

cena Saturday 10th of September 2005 06:10:36 PM
- [quote][i]Originally posted by ruixiong89[/i]

Would it be possible to provide the pronounciations for the mongolian words?

So would it be possible to provide a Khalka text of that which is written (in Cyrillic) as well as the pronunciation?

Thanks a lot![/quote]

Sain bain uu - Hello.
Have you heard that this phrase means if to translate literally : are you fine ?

So we say when you meet a person you ask about his wellness, and in reply the other person says he is fine which will make him feel better.

Well, now the mongolian alphabet, similar to Russian :
а - a, б - b, в - v, г - g, д - d, е - ye ,
ё - yo, ж - j, з - z, и - ee, й - y (short i sound) , к -k
л - l, м - m, н - n, о- o, ө - 'o(similar to German o with 2 dots on it) п - p, р - r
с- s, т- t, у - u, ү - 'u (similar to German u with 2 dots on it)ф - f(ph), х- kh, ц - ts
ч - ch, ш- sh, щ- soft sh, ъ- hardening symbol, ы - 'i ь - softening symbol
э- 'e, ю -yu, я- ya

zhigulenok Sunday 11th of September 2005 08:45:07 AM
- Би бас монгол хэл сурч байна, any help is appreciated!

cena Tuesday 13th of September 2005 11:25:26 PM
- there is anothet forum in phrasebase about learning mongolian :

http://www.phrasebase.com/forum/read.php?TID=8692

Variable Wednesday 19th of October 2005 11:40:30 AM
- Anyone know where to find some resources on learning Mongolian using the Inner Mongolian script? I don't know any Mongolian, but I'm living in Hohhot and I'd like to learn - and everything I find online is using cyrillic script.

mongolka Friday 11th of November 2005 07:00:23 AM
Sain bna u, Is anyone still want to learn Mongolian, - Sain baitsgaana u?
If someone still need a help with Mongolian, I could help you, You can call me or if you have skype we could practice some mongolian, or if you need serious tutor we could talk about it.In turn i also want to improve my english.

Taniig xolboo barina gedegt itgej bna.
Mongolka.

daiyu_zhou Saturday 13th of January 2007 08:34:31 AM
mongolian - I would like to learn mongolian language Iam mongolain but I grew up in the U.S and I was never taught it so i would like to learn could someone teach me

Phrasebase Archive
	graculusthegreenbird	Monday 29th of November 2004 12:31:16 AM
	Just starting... - There must be others out there like me that are just starting to learn mongolian. Sain uu! :o) If anybody wants to exchange ideas, phrases or talk about language, lets go! Does anybody heard of any Mongol language teachers in London, England?
	tinkerb	Monday 29th of November 2004 05:23:22 AM
	- Grac, I'd love to learn the basics of Mongolian. My biggest problem is that the only texts are either 1) in the older Mongolian script that is rarely used today; 2) based on the Russian language and in Russian; and 3) from 1900-1910 and are outdated methodologically. If others are interested, perhaps we could start a collective learning group herein where we all contribute small lessons? And as far as Mongolian teachers in London, contact the major universities, especially the School of Oriental and African Studies Student Recruitment Office, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London, UK WC1H 0XG Phone: 011+44 207 637 2388 Fax: 011+44 20 7898 4039 If anyone has info on teachers, they would. And perhaps if you find a teacher, you could also convince them to join us here with some collective lessons!
	graculusthegreenbird	Thursday 02nd of December 2004 03:23:56 AM
	- Sure. Well, here's what Ive gleaned so far. If anyone else has anything, please add them. sain bainuu Hi, Hello ta sain bainuu How are you bi yadarch bain I’m tired bi daarch bain I’m cold minie ner James My name is James bi I chi You Ta You Formal bid we bain am/is/are baisan was/were ba and kharin but sain good/nice Saikhan beautiful khoorhon pretty ner name naiz friend yum thing/stuff ikh many yava(kh) to go udakhgui soon Khurem jacket Bayartai Goodbye Bayrlla Thanks torson odor birthday Obviously i could just cut and paste from the 2 phrasebooks and dictionaries I have, but at least I understand these phrases and words, and can speak them. What interests me more is the grammar, and the exact translations would help. For example, I know that the sentence order is subject-object-verb So for: bi daarch bain -I’m cold- the exact translation is "I cold am", which I can understand, and use to make new sentences with order new words. What I dont understand is in: sain bainuu -Hi, Hello- ta sain bainuu -How are you- Sain is "good/well", bain "are", but what does the "uu" added to the end of "bain" mean? Well, its a start. I will start ringing round for teachers early next week. Cheers!
	tinkerb	Thursday 02nd of December 2004 09:27:08 AM
	- Grac, Thanks for the lesson! I decided to look for the -uu suffix on the web, but I didn't get very far. I did learn this: All grammatical functions and relations are expressed by suffixes which are "glued" to the end of a root be it noun or verb hence the term "agglutinative language". More than one suffix can be attached to a word: e.g. tääsh "bag"; tääshääs "out of the bag"; tääshääsää "out of his/her bag"); bolgoomj "care"; bolgoomjtoï "with care" -> careful (as adjective); bolgoomjtoïgoor "acting with care" -> doing something carefully (as adverb). from: http://www.non.com/news.answers/mongolia-faq.html So my guess would be that -uu has to do either with being formal or is perhaps a case ending. I'll keep hunting. Let us know if you find a good teacher! Bayarlala!
	Rafal	Monday 27th of December 2004 12:42:50 AM
	- Hello everyone! I think I can help you a little with that "uu" suffix in mongolian questions. Here's the grammatical explanation of interrogative sentences in mongolian: "Questions are asked with the help of the interrogative particles 'uu', 'yu' after the last word in the sentence. Sentences beginning with an interrogative pronoun add the particles 'be', 've' at the end; 'be' follows final -n, -m, -v, -l and 've' the remaining consonants." So, in simple words, all these particles at the end of a sentence indicate that the sentence is a question! (european languages don't have anything like that so it can be a little hard to get used to asking questions with such suffixes). And some examples: ------------------- Ene nom. - This is a book. Ene nom uu? Is this a book? Ene shiree. - This is a table. Ene shiree yu? - Is this a table? And the other case, when sentence does contain any interrogative pronoun like "who, which etc." Ene henii nom be? - Whose book is that? End hen baina ve? - Who is there? OK. I hope it will be helpful to all of you. If you have some further questions just ask! My english isn't perfect but I will try to explain things in simple words. I think I should write something about myself :) So, here it goes. I'm Rafal and I'm Polish. I have studied mongolian at Warsaw University and Mongolian State University as well. I hope I can help a little answering questions about mongolian, but remember, I'm still learning this extremely hard language and I don't know everything :) Greetings to all of you
	tinkerb	Thursday 30th of December 2004 05:57:41 AM
	- Wonderful lesson, Rafal! If you have any other mini lessons (or ideas for them), they would be much appreciated. There are so few materials on Mongolian, and someone who has actually studied there is a very valuable resource! Welcome to Phrasebase!!
	graculusthegreenbird	Thursday 30th of December 2004 11:35:22 PM
	- Thanks everyone! Well, there dont seem to be courses in Mongolian available in London, the SOAS doesnt seem to know what courses it has! One department says the school teaches it, another says it doesnt. So no luck there. Here are some things I have picked up which I find useful. Mongolian English Exact English sain bainuu Hi, Hello Good are? sain uu Alright? ta sain bainuu How are you you good are? ta sain uu You good? bi yadarch bain I’m tired I tired am bi daarch bain I’m cold I cold am Bi chamig sanaj baina I miss you I <> idea am Chinii torson odor hezee ve? When is your birthday? Bi ch bas... me too Tanaikhan sainuu? How is your family? Sonin saikhan uu bain? Whats new? Saikhan amraahrai! Take it easy! Nice rest! Ta mash saihan setgeltei hun yum.You are very kind Amjilt husiye Best of luck Nadad zahidal bicheerei. Please write back to me Bi chamd durtaiya tuslah bolno Im happy to help you Irekh jil next year Irekh sar next month Mash ikh very much 1 negh 2 khoyor 3 ghurav 4 dhuruv 5 t'av 6 z'urgaa 7 doloo 8 nay'm 9 yus 10 arav This section on Personal pronouns was sent to me by a very nice Phrasebase member, Tuya: ___________________________________ The noun , the pronoun is inflected by the 7 cases, such as nominative, genitive, dative an locative, demonstrative, ablative, instrumental and comitative. We need to add a case’s suffixes when we inflected the noun or the pronoun by cases. But some personal pronouns have an irregular inflection. ___________________________________ I had a very useful document showing the forms and examples of this, but am having real problems formatting it. Once I get the hang of it I will post it. What would be very useful would be to know the forms of the verbs for each of the tenses, and genders for vowel harmony. If anyone could help with examples like: am, go, receive, give, want, or similar, this would be very useful! My two phrasebooks are good, (the Marder one is the best), but have little on grammar or verbs. I have heard mixed things about the Colloqiual Mongolian Course book available, and am debating whether to buy it. Lots of detail on grammar, apparently, but not user friendly. I am currently waiting for a delivery of another Course from amazon.com in the US. Thanks to everyone contributing so far!
	graculusthegreenbird	Thursday 30th of December 2004 11:38:53 PM
	- Rafal, thanks so much for your input. Dont worry about your English, it is superb! :o)
	Rafal	Friday 31st of December 2004 12:14:10 AM
	- Hello, I'm glad you find my little lesson useful :) As for a course book, I have one that in my opinion is great for beginners. It's "Spoken Mongolian. A textbook for study". It was published in Mongolia as a cooperation of International School of Mongolian Studies, Department of Mongolian Studies at Mongolian State University and School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London. But I think it's hard or even impossible to get it outside Mongolia. I was thinking about preparing short lessons for you, based on this book. The grammar is nicely explained, and the language used in it isn't too complicated. But I cannot promise anything :) I don't have much free time and I don't know if there's much interest in such lessons. The Mongolian section of Phrasebase forums seems to be a rather quiet place :) Anyway, tell me what do you think about my idea. Ta buhendee shin jiliin mend hurgie! 'Happy New Year to all of you!'
	tinkerb	Friday 31st of December 2004 12:18:31 AM
	- Rafal, If you have the time, it's a wonderful idea. This section may be quiet, but as people notice more and more posts here, I have a strong feeling that more people will come and check it out. :) So you may end up with more students than you think. I know I'll be here!
	graculusthegreenbird	Friday 31st of December 2004 12:45:28 AM
	- Rafal, I would second that, we realise that this would be a drain on your free time, but would really appreciate anything you could do! I think this will be a cascade effect, once there are a few posts here, it will get a lot busier. People are just put off by a quiet forum, and wont post there. Catch 22! That is why I started this thread, to try to start the ball rolling. Thanks again. Look forward to anything you can do. Regards James
	graculusthegreenbird	Friday 31st of December 2004 08:12:28 PM
	- OK, here is a real world example. I got this message from my friend in Mongolia, and I am having trouble translating it. I have marked "" the bits I dont understand. Sain baina uu? How are you? Tanaikhan sain uu? How is your family? Ta bugd sain auuj baina uu? Are you all well? Bi sain baigaa. I well Khicheeldee yavj baigaa. Try/lesson * * Bi chinii yavuulsan belegiig avaagui l baina. I your send gift have not * am (I have not received the gift you sent?) Uchir ni manai khairtsgand ireegui baina. Because * our relation not arrive are (Dont understand this!) Sonin saikhan yu baina. What is new? End ih khuiten baina. This cold is! Bi ikh daarch baina. I am very cold Chi khezee ireh be? You when come me? (When are you coming to see me?) Manai ger buliinhen 3 or 4 sard HK yavj magadgui gej yarij baina. Our home * 3 or 4 months HK go perhaps * * am (No idea!) OK, if anyone who knows mongolian can help with this translation, it would be much appreciated! We could then discuss some parts of it. Shine jiliin mend hurgeye! Happy New Year! James
	Rafal	Sunday 02nd of January 2005 06:16:34 AM
	- Hi, here's some help with that translation. Bi sain baigaa. I'm fine. I'm doing well. (baigaa is a form of baih expressing continuous action) Hicheeldee yavj baigaa. I'm attending lessons (I go to school) Bi chinii yavuulsan belegiig avaagui l baina. I haven't received the gift you send. Uchir ni manai khairtsgand ireegui baina. Because it didn't come to our postbox. Manai ger buliinhen 3 or 4 sard HK yavj magadgui gej yarij baina. My family is saying that they will go to HK probably on March or April. OK, that's it. As for mongolian lessons, I decided to give it a try. The first lesson should be ready this week. Greetings to all of you. Rafal
	graculusthegreenbird	Sunday 02nd of January 2005 06:45:48 PM
	- Thanks so much, Rafal. That's very useful. Uchir ni manai khairtsgand ireegui baina. So, Uchir is "because", manai is "our", ireegui I guessed is the negative form of "arrive" (gui being the negative suffix). So khairtsgand is postbox? I havent got a book explaining the forms of the verbs (one is hopefully on the way from the US), so I look forward to any lessons you can give on that. It is much appreciated!
	Rafal	Tuesday 04th of January 2005 05:04:10 PM
	- Hello, "Uchir" exactly means "reason". "ni" means "of this" "manai" - our "ireegui" - didn't come, iree+gui (iree is a form of ireh that indicates continuous action, and in connection with "gui" suffix it indicates negation in past time.) "hairtsag" - box, postbox "hairtsgand" - dative-locative case, "to the box, in the box". I still didn't complete the first mongolian lesson for you, but it will be hopefuly posted here this week. Rafal
	tinkerb	Monday 10th of January 2005 01:46:55 PM
	- Hi all. I had a quick question. Since the book recommended (by Rafal) isn't available outside of Mongolia, are there any decent books or materials available in Western Europe or North America? Just wondering! I did order a few inexpensive items to make sure that I could follow the lessons once they start (I am really excited!). I also found a native speaker who is willing to help me on a part time basis, and I am hoping that this works out (it has been awhile since I received an email from her). Thanks for your input! Can't wait to get started!
	khaan11	Friday 21st of January 2005 02:16:54 AM
	Hi - Sain bainuu all! Thank you soooooo much for the lessions so far, I hope more are to come! How would you say thing such as: "Do you understand (language)?" "Where is the (place)?" etc. Thanking you Nadeem
	Woozie	Monday 21st of February 2005 05:32:56 PM
	just starting out - I was just in Mongolia and think I saw the book that was mentioned. I had a friend buy it and will get it sent. I am wanting to learn to read and write it as well as speak. We will see how it goes. I'm also working on Korean. So it may be awhile, but if anyone has any great ideas...(I know I dont)
	graculusthegreenbird	Monday 21st of February 2005 05:47:09 PM
	New Book - OK, for anyone in england, and I am sure it is available elsewhere, I have bought a new book which is excellent. Modern Mongolian: A Course-Book, by John Gaunt and L.Bayarmandakh, published by Routledge Curzon. Here's the cheap version: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0700713263/qid=1108982552/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl/026-3132753-2145239 Doesnt come with any cds or tapes, you might have to buy the more expensive version for that. Nonetheless, it is excellent. Structured into chapters, with real world passages in cyrillic, roman transliteration, english/mongolian vocab, and tests and exercises. It is meant as a teaching aid for a course, but is excellent for private study. Highly recommended, as it introduces the complex case endings (which may be unfamiliar if you have not studied a language or english grammar before and come across the concept of cases) in a structured and timely way. Hope this helps!
	saruul	Sunday 13th of March 2005 03:22:30 AM
	Sain baina uu :) - Hi, I'm mongolian and I live in the UK. I hope that I can help you to study mongolian. Also I want to study english very well. saruults@yahoo.com
	Disciple_Brian	Sunday 13th of March 2005 11:46:17 AM
	also just beginning - Greetings from rural America! I am also interested in learning Mongolian; I will soon spend about four weeks there gathering information for news articles about the country, its people, and Christian missionaries there. I hope to learn some Mongolian so that I can be a more courteous and respectful guest while there and incorporate some Mongolian phrases and proverbs into my stories. I have basically no knowledge of Mongolian, although I have a traveler's phrasebook from Lonely Planet. I would greatly appreciate whatever help anyone is able to give me.
	samegame	Tuesday 24th of May 2005 11:24:47 PM
	Jk - Hi guys i hope u,re doing good the easiest way to learn mongolian is just go to mongolia have a good time and meet the friendly people out there speak and learn mongolian naturally
	samegame	Saturday 16th of July 2005 06:55:29 AM
	- Mongol heliig surahad ch mon amarhandaa gej lolzzz
	ruixiong89	Thursday 01st of September 2005 04:55:03 PM
	- Would it be possible to provide the pronounciations for the mongolian words? I just came back from Mongolia and I've made a lot of friends there! However, the difficulty comes as I hope to write in Khalka to them and at the same time, I hope that I'm able to express myself conversationally. So would it be possible to provide a Khalka text of that which is written (in Cyrillic) as well as the pronunciation? Thanks a lot!
	cena	Saturday 10th of September 2005 06:10:36 PM
	- [quote][i]Originally posted by ruixiong89[/i] Would it be possible to provide the pronounciations for the mongolian words? So would it be possible to provide a Khalka text of that which is written (in Cyrillic) as well as the pronunciation? Thanks a lot![/quote] Sain bain uu - Hello. Have you heard that this phrase means if to translate literally : are you fine ? So we say when you meet a person you ask about his wellness, and in reply the other person says he is fine which will make him feel better. Well, now the mongolian alphabet, similar to Russian : а - a, б - b, в - v, г - g, д - d, е - ye , ё - yo, ж - j, з - z, и - ee, й - y (short i sound) , к -k л - l, м - m, н - n, о- o, ө - 'o(similar to German o with 2 dots on it) п - p, р - r с- s, т- t, у - u, ү - 'u (similar to German u with 2 dots on it)ф - f(ph), х- kh, ц - ts ч - ch, ш- sh, щ- soft sh, ъ- hardening symbol, ы - 'i ь - softening symbol э- 'e, ю -yu, я- ya
	zhigulenok	Sunday 11th of September 2005 08:45:07 AM
	- Би бас монгол хэл сурч байна, any help is appreciated!
	cena	Tuesday 13th of September 2005 11:25:26 PM
	- there is anothet forum in phrasebase about learning mongolian : http://www.phrasebase.com/forum/read.php?TID=8692
	Variable	Wednesday 19th of October 2005 11:40:30 AM
	- Anyone know where to find some resources on learning Mongolian using the Inner Mongolian script? I don't know any Mongolian, but I'm living in Hohhot and I'd like to learn - and everything I find online is using cyrillic script.
	mongolka	Friday 11th of November 2005 07:00:23 AM
	Sain bna u, Is anyone still want to learn Mongolian, - Sain baitsgaana u? If someone still need a help with Mongolian, I could help you, You can call me or if you have skype we could practice some mongolian, or if you need serious tutor we could talk about it.In turn i also want to improve my english. Taniig xolboo barina gedegt itgej bna. Mongolka.
	daiyu_zhou	Saturday 13th of January 2007 08:34:31 AM
	mongolian - I would like to learn mongolian language Iam mongolain but I grew up in the U.S and I was never taught it so i would like to learn could someone teach me