Á. Birtalan (ed.).: Bálint of Szentkatolna, Gábor: A Romanized Grammar of the East- and West-Mongolian Languages (Budapest Oriental Reprints, Ser. B 3.)
Introduction - The Grammar
THE GRAMMAR Bálint entitled his comparative grammar: A Romanized Grammar of the East- and West-Mongolian Languages, with popular Chrestomaties [sic!] of both Dialects. Containing alliterative Folk-Songs, Anecdotes, Conversations, Fables, Proverbs, Prayers, Letters, Writs and the Description of the Characteristical Usages and Housekeeping of the Mongolians; every piece with faithful Translation, by Professor G. Bálint of Szentkatolna. 5 A and summarised the aim of preparing the Grammar as follows: "I did my best to make easy the learning of this language for [readers] even not professional philologists and profitable this work to those who will have opportunity to speak to the open-hearted people of Tshingis Khan.". 5 5 Henceforth the sources, the structure and the content of the Grammar will be discussed. THE SOURCES OF THE GRAMMAR On the basis of Bálint's linguistic publications one can conclude that he was a skilled descriptivist, creating grammars concerning all the major fields of an entire (or, from a contemporary point of view, almost complete) descriptive grammar which served also practical aims (cf. below). With regard to his other grammars, besides the Kazan Tatar grammar referred to by Árpád Berta (cf. above), 5 6 he prepared a handbook of the Turkish language which - according to Kara - was an excellent one of its genre in its time. 5 Regarding the Mongolian languages besides the present Grammar , Bálint also prepared a Buryat grammar which he published in Hungarian in the prestigious Nyelvtudományi Közlemények [Linguistic Proceedings]. His Buryat grammar is entitled Az éjszaki [sic!] burját-mongol nyelvjárás rövid ismertetése [A brief description of the northern Buryat-Mongol dialect].' 8 Though Bálint met some Buryat informants around Lake Baikal during his journey to Mongolia, 5 9 his Buryat grammar is not based on field work, but on a Christian missionary book of Boldonov written in Cyrillic script modified by its author for the Buryat language. 6 0 Since Bálint discussed his plans with Antológia a klasszikus és mai mongol irodalom és népköltés műveiből. 2. kiadás. Budapest, Európa Könyvkiadó 1971. [The little mirror of the Mongolian literature. An anthology of the Mongolian classical and contemporary literature and folklore] pp. 159-160, 169-170, 174-175, 277-278. 5 4 The title given here follows the original in every respect. 5 5 Preface to the Grammar, p. XII (p. 13). 5 6 Berta: Op. cit. 5 7 Bálint, Gábor: Török nyelvtan (alak-, mondattan, olvasókönyv és szótár). Kézikönyvül és magántanulásra. Budapest 1875. [Turkish grammar (morphology, syntax, textbook and dictionary). Handbook and for teaching yourself]; cf. Kara: Bálint Gábor keleti levelei, p. 7. 5 8 Bálint, Gábor: Az éjszaki burját-mongol nyelvjárás rövid ismertetése. In: Nyelvtudományi Közlemények XIII. (1877) pp. 169 248. [Brief description of the northern Buryat-Mongol dialect], Kara mentioned in his preface to the edition of Bálint's letters and report that this Buryat grammar was translated into Russian by Lajos Bese referred by Kara in Bálint Gábor keleti levelei. p. 6. 5 9 "The stage-coachmen were mostly Buryats. They wondered hearing me to talk and sing in a language [i. e. the Kalmyk] similar to their tongue; the smarter ones thought I was a Torgut (Oirat, the name of Kalmyks here)." The original Hungarian: "A postakocsisok jobbára burjátok lévén, csodálkoztak, midőn hallottak engem az övékhez hasonló nyelven beszélni és dalolni, az értelmesebbek torgotnak (örád, xalymikok neve itten) tartottak." [Bálint Gábor levele Fogarasi Jánoshoz 1873. április 12 ] In: Akadémiai Értesítő VII. (1873) pp. 155-156. [Gábor Bálint's letter to János Fogarasi 12 April 1873. In: Proceedings of the Academy] on p. 156 (cf Kara: Bálint Gábor keleti levelei.). 6 0 Bálint have mentioned neither the author's whole name (referred only as Boldonov), nor the title of the book used by him; nonetheless his source must be definitely: Boldonov, N. [S.]: Russko-burjatskij bukvar'. St. Peterburg 1866, and Boldonov, N. [S.]: Daida delxein usir. 0 miroizdami. Tip. Stata vojsk Vostocnoj Sibiri 1862. On the Buryat language cf. Skribnik, Elena: XVII
