Rouran language

Rouran, also called Ruanruan, Ruan-ruan or Juan-juan , is an unclassified extinct language of Mongolia and northern China, spoken in the Rouran Khaganate from the 4th to the 6th centuries AD, considered a likely early precursor to Mongolic.

Peter A. Boodberg claimed in 1935 that the Rouran language was Mongolic by analysing Chinese transcriptions of Rouran names. Atwood (2013) notes that Rourans calqued the Sogdian word pūr "son" into their language as *kobun (Chinese transliteration: 去汾 MC *kʰɨʌH-bɨun > Mandarin qùfén); which, according to Atwood, is cognate with Middle Mongol kö'ün "son".

Phonology
Features of Rouran included:
 * no mid vowels
 * presence of initial l-
 * final consonantal cluster -nd unusual for any "Altaic" languages

Morphology
Rouran had the feminine gender suffix -tu-.

Lexicon
Rouran vocabulary included:
 * küskü – 'rat'
 * ud – 'ox'
 * luu – 'dragon' < Middle Chinese luŋ – 'dragon'
 * yund – 'horse' < 𐰖𐰆𐰣𐱃 - 'horse'
 * laγzïn – 'pig'
 * qaγan – 'emperor'
 * qan – 'khan'
 * qaγatun – 'empress'
 * qatun – 'khan's wife'
 * aq – 'dung'
 * and – 'oath' < 𐰦 'oath'
 * beg – 'elder'
 * bitig – 'inscription' < 𐰋𐰃𐱅𐰏 'inscription, book'
 * bod – 'people' < 𐰉𐰆𐰑 'clan, tribe, kin'
 * drö – 'law'
 * küǰü – 'strength' < 𐰚𐰇𐰲 'strength, power'
 * ordu – 'camp'
 * tal- – 'to plunder'
 * törö – 'to be born'
 * türǖg – 'Turk'