Methods and Language of Official Business Communication in the Ulus of Jochi

Abstract

This article examines the language of official communication in the Ulus of Jochi. The authors discuss the conditions and factors that led to the eventual replacement of the Mongolian language in official correspondence. The article traces the consistent trend of using the most widespread languages of the Mongolian state in the organization of the administration of newly conquered territories, highlights the role and significance of Turkic-speaking tribes in the formation of the written culture of the Mongol Empire, and analyzes the ethnolinguistic conditions for the development of the official language of the Ulus of Jochi. The object of the study is the organization of state record keeping in the Ulus of Jochi, and the subject of the study is the means, form, and practice of communication by state authorities in the Ulus of Jochi. The authors determine the role of the Turkic language in the official paperwork of the Ulus of Jochi and conclude that the predominance of the Turkic-speaking population, as well as close ethno-cultural contacts between Mongolian and Turkic tribes, contributed to the establishment of the official status of the Turkic language in the Ulus of Jochi.