ADAPTATION OF CHINESE LOAN WORDS IN THE LANGUAGE OF SHENEHEN BURYATS OF INNER MONGOLIA OF CHINA

The circumstances that developed in the 20s of the 20^th century intensified migration processes among the Buryat population; as a result, a small part of the Buryats moved to China. They currently reside in the region called Shenehen Hulunbuir located in the Inner Mongolia of China. Officially, they belong to the Mongolian nationality and are not distinguished as Buryats. In Buryatia, they are called Shenehen Buryats.

The contacts of peoples with different material and spiritual cultures lead to mutual enrichment through the process of borrowing, which is always reflected in the language, in particular, in vocabulary. In the language of Shenehen Buryats there are borrowings from Turkic, Tungusic, Chinese and Russian languages, which is a reflection of the mutual influence of bordering cultures and languages.

Phonetic adaptation of the word. Becoming a part of the recipient language, loan words do not remain unchanged; they comply with the laws of the borrowing language and undergo various alterations. Chinese words underwent significant phonetic changes adapting to the peculiarities of articulation of the Buryat language. Qualitative differences between the phonetic systems of the Chinese and Buryat languages consisting of a different composition of phonemes, as well as varying pronunciation of similar sounds and presence of specific sound patterns, led to a phonetic adaptation of Sinicism. This type of borrowed lexemes in the Shenehen Buryat language functions in all spheres of life and is represented in all thematic groups and parts of speech. For example: буу «gun, firearm» < chin. pào «tool, canon,» ноён «bureaucrat, head» < chin.  lǎoye «master,» тианбао «wallet» < chin.  qiánbāo «wallet», интоо «cherry» < chin.  yīngtao «cherry,» лий «pear»  < chin. lízi «pear,» цоумэй «wild strawberry» < chin.  cǎoméi «wild strawberry,» путоу «grapes» < chin. pútao «grapes», наймаан «sale» < chin.  mǎimаi «trade, sale»,  салин «salary» < chin. qiánliáng «cash salary,» соондо «garlic» < chin. suàntóu «garlic,» шуудии «cell phone» < chin. shǒujī «cell phone,» бингаа «cookies» < chin. bǐnggān «cookies.»

Semantic adaptation. From the semantic point of view, all Sinicisms are divided into two groups: a) those retaining their original direct and figurative meanings: ган «steel,» бандан «bench,» бообо «kind of cookie,» лонхо «flask, bottle, vial» etc. b) which to one degree or another have changed their meanings by means of narrowing, expanding or rethinking.

When polysemous Chinese words are borrowed, their meaning is narrowed. The reason for this is the specification of the meaning or loss of those meanings if there are words expressing the same ideas in the recipient language: биирэ «brush for writing» < chin. bǐ1. «brush»; 2. «pen»; 3. «feather»; 4. «pencil»; сампин «abacus» < chin. suànpan 1. «abacus»; 2. «calculation, idea»; жанжан «commander» < chin. jiāngjūn 1. «general»; 2. «high command staff; command,» etc.

The inclusion of Sinicisms into the lexical system is evidenced by the expansion of the original meanings of a number of words. The expansion of the semantic meaning of Chinese borrowings was manifested in the fact that as a result of their prolonged use, some Sinicisms acquired additional meanings to the remaining original ones [5, p. 139]. Metaphorical transfers based on the functional sign and on the similarity of external signs and forms are distinguished. For example, on a functional basis, the meanings of the following words have expanded:

1) chin. Bāodān «wrapper, sheet, knot scarf» > баадан 1) «cloth, wrapping cloth, sheet, scarf, breadth, piece of cloth for wrapping something, for a knot»; 2) «diaper, knot, knot with things; bundle.»

2) chin. kangzi «clay bed for half of the house used for starting a fire and as a bed» > ханза 1) «box, chest (on a dap)»; 2) rur. stove».

3) chin. cāng «pantry >сан(г) 1. «treasury (money, property belonging to the state or community, organization)»; 2. «fund, storage of something.»

4) chin. yá mén «order, presence» > яаман 1. «official institution, public office»; 2. «ministry.»

5) chin. Xìngzhì «omen, sign» > шэнжэ 1. «form, kind»; 2. «omen, sign»; 3. «property.»

6) chin. bă «target» > бай 1. «target, aim»; 2. «sign, goal,» 3. fig. «competition, the contest.»

Loan words are one of the ways of forming homonyms. Many Chinese loan words coincide in form with the words that already exist in the Shenehen Buryat language. For example, бай «target, aim» < chin. bă «target» and бай – a form of an imperative and optative mood derived from the verb байх «to be, to abide; to exist»; зууха «oven, stove, hearth» < chin. zàohuǒ «iron stove» and зууха «keep in your teeth; grab with teeth, bite.»

Sinicisms supplement synonymous series of words. For example, тайбан < chin. tàipíng «peace, tranquility» - амгалан «calm, peaceful»; салин < chin. qiángliáng «monetary funds» - хүлhэн «зsalary,» янза < chin. yàngzi «image, manner, method» - маяг «kind, form,» сюнджоу «bra» < chin. xiōngzhào –хөхөбшэ «bra,» сянляар «chain, bead» < chin. xiànglián «chain, bead» - гэнжэ «chain.»

Grammatical adaptation of the word. Chinese loan words denoting the names of objects of reality that exist in the form of separate copies take the indicators of plurality. For example: буу «gun» - буунууд «guns», хюуза «brush» - хюузанууд «brushes», сонхо «window» - сонхонууд «windows» etc. The names of abstract concepts are irrelevant to a numerical value and cannot be combined with quantitative numerals; for example, ган «drought.» There is no borrowing of the plural form, the indicator of which is the men suffix.

Verb forms are derived from nouns, for example, Байза, Толтододяньхуаадахабайгаа «Yes, we should call Tolto» (derived from the noun дяньхуа «telephone»).

According to L.B. Badmaeva "semantic loan-translation from the Chinese language (for example, дянхуадаахадосл. «Phone + be able to pick up») form expressions in the language of Shenehen Buryat language, the compatibility of the elements of which is not typical for the literary Buryat language (comp. with literary Buryat телефоноорхонходохо «call by phone»). Such cases indicate notional borrowings» [1, p. 19].

Word-building capabilities are an important indicator of the degree of assimilation of a loan word. In Mongolian languages, word formation is carried out both morphologically and syntactically. Morphological word-formation if performed mainly through a suffix as it is used by all changeable parts of speech: - гүй: шэнжэгүй «vile, dishonorable; worthless; despicable» from шэнжэ «form, type, sign, omen, property» (< chin. xìngzhì «character»); гандасатай «arid» from гандаса «aridity» (< chin. gān «dryness, aridity, drying») [4, p. 51].

Thus, Sinicisms are fully adapted to the norms of the language of the Shenehen Buryats. Their long time stability, acquired grammatical characteristics, and the ability to form new words through word production are direct evidence that they have become an inevitable part of the vocabulary of the language.

*Исследование выполнено при финансовой поддержке РФФИ-МинОКН в рамках научного проекта № 19-512-44006 [The study was carried out with the financial support of the RFBR-MinOCN within the framework of Science Project No. 19-512-44006].