Birtalan Ágnes: Kalmyk Folklore and Folk Culture in the Mid-19th Century: Philological Studies on the Basis of Gábor Bálint of Szentkatolna’s Kalmyk Texts.
KALMYK VERNACULAR AND WRITTEN LANGUAGE
disturb your rest, but I hoped to talk with you about a little affair. It was hard to explain about it in a letter. 12 7 I am really happy that you came [to me]. If I have time, I will help you further. 12 8 I am really thankful for the help of your housekeeper 1 2'' who introduced me to his own physician. I personally will also thank it, [because] he introduced me to you. All my family members remember your previous visit to us. But they are angry with you, that you do not come to us any more. I do not have any time at all. When 1 will have time again, I will go to you with pleasure. I do not like at all to listen to such words from your family members. These days my affairs take me to Yandagha. For this reason I am not able to go to you. After returning [from Yandagha], when times are quieter, I would like to go to you. 1' 0 THE EVERYDAY TALK AND CONVERSATION IN BÁLINT'S MATERIAL The chapter devoted to the conversation, to the vernacular Kalmyk is rather a collection of sample sentences of colloquial speech arranged approximately into a thematic structure. Some major subjects return in more subchapters, such as: ° the family (members, relation, honouring the parents) ° illness - health-care, 0 school-matters (studying, taking examination) ° objects used by the school-boys (ruler, pen, ink, pieces of clothing) ° vacations and amusements Besides these themes there are matters such as smoking a pipe, veneration of the Buddha, moralistic teaching, visiting a cobbler to have one's shoe mended, sewing (repairing cloth), thanking one's support appear as well. The above list of topics clearly refers to the interest, everyday activity and engagement of Bálint's main informant, the schoolboys and students in the Kalmyk secondary school of Astrakhan. In respect to grammatical structures, Bálint carefully collected sentences representative of various linguistic moods: indicative, interrogative and imperative, nevertheless they are unrepresentative of compound sentences with numerous adverbia characteristic for Mongolian languages are rare among the examples. In a follow-up study I plan to undertake a comparative study between Bálint's material and later Conversation books. The repertoire of conversational subjects from the mid-19 l h century dialogues and a contemporary conversation books 1' 1 will provide an interesting insights from a socio-linguistic point of view. PERSONAL LETTERS AND OFFICIAL SUBMISSIONS (No Kalmyk subtitle is given to this chapter by Bálint)' ' 2 Bálint was very thoroughgoing in collecting various language materials. He did not forget to record such specimens as individual letters and official submissions to the administration. He asked his informants judging by the topics, style and contents of the letters, presumably the students of the school he frequently , 2'' Bálint tün 7 itegeji medekiiin tölti irebe-bi. 12 7 Bálint biöigär cäilyäji kelekéi, cf. Kaim. cälyaj biéxe "reinschreiben, deutlich ausschreiben" (R. 425), cälyx 1. "ob'jasnjaf, pojasnjat' " (Mun. 628). 12 8 Bálint cäkn 7 bolxon 7 bi tanát lusta bolu mön bi l 2'' Bálint ezendü. 11 0 Bálint tanädu irekü icektä-bi. 1, 1 For this purpose I choose the following conversation booklet: Bardajev, E. C. - Kirjuhajev. V. L.: Russko-kalmyckij razgovornik. Elista, Kalmyckoje kniZnoje izdatel'stvo 1988 Interesting examples of school-book is offered in: Kara, György (ed.): Early Kalmyk Primers and Other Schoolbooks Samples from Textbooks 1925-1930. (The Mongolia Society Special Papers. Issue 13) Bloomington. The Mongolia Society 1997, which seems to be a reliable source for the study of language usage similar to that of Bálint's informants'. 11 2 Manuscript pp. 172-177. 31
