The Lenition of Intervocalic Consonants in Middle Mongolian and their Representation in Chinese Characters

This article explores how the velar fricative γ/g, through intervocalic consonant lenition in Middle Mongolian, found representation in the written monuments of Mongolian recorded in Chinese scripts from that time. First and foremost, our work pays attention to the alignment between the Mongolian syllable structure and their corresponding transcription of Chinese Characters. Additionally, we delve into the problem of the actual pronunciation of the Chinese characters used to denote these consonants, referencing the “Rhyme Book” (韻書). Among the significant phonetic evolutions in Mongolian, the lengthening of the vowel following the fricative consonant γ/g was observed, leading to a gradual lenition and eventual disappearance of the preceding consonant. This process caused the consonant to morph into variants like the weak pharyngeal fricative -h-, weak labial fricative -w-, or palatal fricative -y-, until finally reducing to a weak exhalation affecting only the two neighboring vowels. This transformation was determined according to the common trajectory of phoneme development, and was analyzed through texts such as the “Secret History of Mongols” and other 14-15th century documents written in Chinese characters, namely “Zhi-yuan Yi-yu” (至元譯語), “Hua-yi Yi-yu” (華夷譯語), and “Bei-lu Yi-yu” (北虜譯語). This study highlights the transcription methods for the weakened consonants of Middle Mongolian, referencing the “Rhyme Book” (韻書).