Language Information
Kalmyk is an endangered Mongolic language of the Kalmyk people in the Republic of Kalmykia, in southwestern Russia. Outside of Kalmykia, there are additional Kalmyk speakers in Western China and Western Mongolia. Total native speakers number approximately 110,000.
The Kalmyk writing system has evolved significantly over the centuries. Initially, the Uyghur script was utilized. In the 1600s, a Kalmyk Buddhist monk created the Kalmyk alphabet or Todo Bichig (Clear Script) by adapting the Classical Mongolian script. Todo Bichig is still used by Kalmyks in China, but Kalmyks in Russia adopted the Cyrillic alphabet beginning in the 19th century.
Kalmyk is not currently taught at Indiana University, but we do have access to some archived materials listed below.