Khitan language
E723614
The Khitan language was the now-extinct tongue of the Khitan people of Northeast Asia, written in unique scripts and used by the ruling elite of the Liao dynasty.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Khitan language canonical | 2 |
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
extinct language
ⓘ
language ⓘ |
| associatedDynasty | Liao dynasty NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedPeople | Khitan people NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| coexistedWith |
Chinese language
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Classical Chinese NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| deciphermentBasedOn | bilingual inscriptions with Chinese ⓘ |
| deciphermentStatus |
grammar not fully reconstructed
ⓘ
phonology not fully understood ⓘ |
| extinctionPeriod | 13th century ⓘ |
| geopoliticalContext | northern Chinese frontier ⓘ |
| hasEthnologueEntry | no ⓘ |
| historicalPeriod |
10th century
ⓘ
11th century ⓘ 12th century ⓘ Liao dynasty NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| ISO639-3 | zkt ⓘ |
| languageFamily | Para-Mongolic ⓘ |
| region |
Manchuria
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
eastern Inner Mongolia NERFINISHED ⓘ northern China ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
Mongolian language
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Mongolic languages NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| scriptType |
logographic-syllabic script (large script)
ⓘ
syllabic or alphabetic script (small script) ⓘ |
| scriptUniqueness |
distinct from Chinese characters
ⓘ
distinct from later Jurchen and Mongolian scripts ⓘ |
| scriptUsage |
large script used mainly for monumental inscriptions
ⓘ
small script used for more cursive or everyday writing ⓘ |
| spokenBy | Khitan people NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| spokenIn | Northeast Asia NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| status | partially deciphered ⓘ |
| successorLanguage | languages of successor Jurchen and Mongol elites (sociopolitical) ⓘ |
| timeDepth |
attested roughly from late 9th century
ⓘ
attested until early 13th century ⓘ |
| usedBy |
Khitan ruling class
ⓘ
administration of the Liao dynasty ⓘ ruling elite of the Liao dynasty ⓘ |
| usedFor |
administrative records
ⓘ
royal edicts ⓘ tomb inscriptions ⓘ |
| usedIn |
Liao dynasty inscriptions
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
epitaphs ⓘ official documents of the Liao dynasty ⓘ |
| writingDirection | vertical (for many inscriptions) ⓘ |
| writingInfluence | influenced by Chinese script ⓘ |
| writingSystem |
Khitan large script
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Khitan small script NERFINISHED ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.