View Message

The Xiongnu though are from Mongolia, even if they did not speak a Mongol language. The area is one of significant linguistic flux, with considerable borrowing between the different linguistic families - Turkic, Mongol, Tungusic, Uralic and Yeniseian - as different groups move into and out of the area. The few words/names recorded by Chinese historians in the Xiongnu period don't clarify things. There are even Steppe-Iranian and/or Tocharian influences both in the languages and ethnic diversity (not distinct Steppe-Iranian/Tocharian presence in Mongolia, but genetic and cultural diffusion from contact areas further west).

This message was edited 5/3/2021, 6:40 PM