The Influence of Mongolian Nomadic Cattle Breeding on Language Use

Abstract

The Mongolian nomads’ way of life and perception of the outside world is directly reflected in their thinking and use of language. In the following article, I apply an ethnolinguistic approach to the study of the Mongolian language. I find the theoretical basis in the ethnography of communication (Dell Hymes 1962), which allows for the communication behaviour of nomads to be revealed. The given examples of idioms, phrases, sayings, and proverbs relate to cattle breeding, the essence of nomadic life, and reveal the linguistic means of their metaphorical expression. The article builds on my previous ethnolinguistic research on the colloquial language and is based on material collected during long-term field research, which was subsequently consulted in detail with native speakers.