Khitan language
| Khitan | |
|---|---|
| Native to | China, Mongolia |
| Region | northern |
| Extinct | c. 1243 (Yelü Chucai, last person known who could speak and write Khitan) |
|
Para-Mongolic?
|
|
| Khitan large script and Khitan small script | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
|
Linguist list
|
zkt |
| Glottolog | kita1247 |
Khitan or Kitan (
in large script or 
in small, Khitai;Chinese: t , Qìdānyǔ), also known as Liao, is a now-extinct language once spoken by the Khitan people (4th to 13th century). It was the official language of the Liao dynasty (907–1125) and the Qara Khitai (1124–1218).
Khitan appears to have been related to the Mongolic languages;Juha Janhunen states, "[T]he conception is gaining support that Khitan was a language in some respects radically different from the historically known Mongolic languages. If this view proves to be correct, Khitan is, indeed, best classified as a Para-Mongolic language."
Khitan was written using two mutually exclusive writing systems known as the Khitan large script and the Khitan small script. The small script, which was a syllabary, was used until the Jurchen-speaking Jin dynasty (1115–1234) replaced it in 1191. The large script was logographic like Chinese and may have been used by Para-Mongolic groups as far back as the Tuoba.
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Wikipedia