On the Initial H in the Yüan-Ch’ao Pi-shih

On the Initial H in the Yüan-Ch’ao Pi-shih

Common Altaic *p- is represented in Goldi as p, in Manchu as f, in most Tungus languages as h, but in most Mongolian languages spoken at the present time it has disappeared. It is still preserved as f before rounded vowels, but otherwise represented by x (s' before *i, and s befor consonants) in Monguor, one of the conservative Mongolian languages in Kansu. It is still x in some dialects of the Dagur language in Manchuria, but it has disappeared without any trace in Khalkha, Buriat, Kalmuck, and most of the other Mongolian languages. Ramstedt was the first to notice that initial h in Middle Mongolian as represented in Arabic (or Persian) - Mongolian glossaries of the XIII- XIV centuries and in the language of the Yüan-ch'ao pi-shih was a further development of that initial *p. A special article on h- in the Mongolian language of the XIII-XIV centuries as represented in Chinese sources was published by Pelliot.