Ways of evolution of Tuvan Buddhist lexis

Abstract

In modern Tuvan, religious lexis is actively evolving as a part of Tuvan lexis in general. It consists of several parts: Shamanist terms, Buddhist terms, and terms common for both religious systems, with the latter mostly involving ritual terms. Religious lexis reflects the entire Tuvan nation’s spiritual life and its history and continues to evolve by its own resources and loanwords from Mongolian, Tibetan, and Russian languages. Most loanwords are Buddhist. Before 1930, Buddhist lexis would be borrowed orally. Later, most religious terms were effectively forgotten and existed as passive vocabulary. Starting with the 1990s, religious lexis has become active again and is constantly enriched by Tuvan words and loanwords, particularly Buddhist terms. Translations play a significant role in this process, with the Russian language serving as an intermediary between Tuvan and Buddhist texts translated from Tibetan, English, and German. The variety and instability in religious lexis are due to a large number of loanwords and different forms of word spelling.