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«BULLETIN OF THE IRKUTSK STATE UNIVERSITY. GEOARCHAEOLOGY, ETHNOLOGY, AND ANTHROPOLOGY SERIES»
ISSN 2227-2380 (Print)

List of issues > «Geoarchaeology, Ethnology, and Anthropology Series». 2025. Vol 52

History of the Ethnonym Telenɡ ~ Teleɡ, Telenɡɡüt

Full text (russian)
Author(s)

B. Z. Nanzatov, V. V. Tishin

Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies SB RAS, Ulan-Ude, Russian Federation

Abstract
The paper presents an attempt to generalize data of the ethnonym Telenɡ ~ Teleɡ, better known in the plural form Telenɡɡüt, and reconstruct the history of its development and spreading, considering its different phonetic variants, and to explain these variants in the context of the history of the communities that were associated with them. In the article they are analyzed evidences from different languages written sources covering a wide chronological range. Such sources mainly provide information about the settlement of historical communities associated with the ethnonym analyzed in a different period, including its specific pronunciation reflected in the corresponding orthographic forms, according the language of a specific written source. In the same way they can help the ethnographic materials. An important role for the study it is played the data on the historical phonetics of the Mongolic and Turkic languages, allowing one to construct a chronological or, at least, logical interdependence of various forms of the ethnonym and also, if it possible, to use this scheme in conjunction with found in written sources data on the historical movements of certain groups of population. The ethnonym *Telenɡ ~ *Teleɡ and its plural form *Telenɡɡüᴅ were attested as early as the 13th century. It was then reflected in the southern dialects of Altai Turks (Oirots) as the ethnonym *Täläŋät (through the stage *täläŋit), which apparently arose before the 17th century. Several different forms penetrated into the Tuvan language, two of which are *Däläg and *Täläg can be considered early Mongolic borrowings, the other, *Täläk, could have come from the Turkicspeaking environment, probably from the Telengits, and it also entered the Khakass language, where, along with it, are attested the forms dating back to *Täläŋ and *Täläŋät (sometimes also with secondary denasalization). It is possible that the form *Täläk existed in the Turkic-speaking environment in Altai area by the early of the 17th century. In the Mongolspeaking environment itself it is observed the development of both the form *Telenɡ (also plural *Telenɡɡüᴅ, preserved in the corresponding forms among the Oirats and Ordos) and *Teleɡ in the plural *Teleɡüᴅ > *Tele’üᴅ, which developed before the 17th century and penetrated into the Russian language, reflected in the pronunciation of the name Teleut(y). It is possible that the fact of the form *Teleɡei̯ found as an eponym in the folklore of the Altaians (Oirots) are Turkicspeaking and the Buryats are Mongol-speaking (Kuda River Ashibagats) may indirectly indicate early contacts between historical communities that played a role in the ethnogenesis of both these peoples.
About the Authors

Nanzatov Bair Zoriktoevich Candidate of Sciences (History), Senior Researcher, Department of History, Ethnology and Sociology, Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies SB RAS; 6, Sakhyanova st., Ulan-Ude, 670047, Russian Federation e-mail: nanzatov@yandex.ru 

Tishin Vladimir Vladimirovich Candidate of Sciences (History), Senior Researcher, Department of History, Ethnology and Sociology, Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies SB RAS;6, Sakhyanova st., Ulan-Ude, 670047, Russian Federation 

For citation
Nanzatov B. Z., Tishin V. V. History of the Ethnonym Telenɡ ~ Teleɡ, Telenɡɡüt. Bulletin of the Irkutsk State University. Geoarchaeology, Ethnology, and Anthropology Series. 2025, Vol. 52, pp. 93–107. https://doi.org/10.26516/2227-2380.2025.52.93 (In Russ.)
Keywords
Mongolic peoples, Turkic peoples, ethnonym, ethnogenesis, ethnic mapping, settlement, Turkic languages, Mongoliс languages.
UDC
+397+94.(5)+811.512
DOI
https://doi.org/10.26516/2227-2380.2025.52.93
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