ABSTRACT
It is important to realize that Khalkha is linguistically only a dialect, or a group of dialects, of a language that is also spoken in many other varieties. All these varieties are bound together not only by the synchronic fact of their mutual intelligibility, but also by a shared historical and ethnic framework, which allows them to be viewed as a single entity. This entity is best termed the Mongol language, or Mongol proper. Spoken by some 5 million people in Mongolia and China, Mongol proper is demographically by far the most important Mongolic language.
