ABSTRACT
This chapter examines language scenes in travel writing, the moments saturated with ideology in which language becomes the main factor in how travelers identify with Mongolians and construct their ethos. Travelers may frame their interactions with Mongolians through Orientalizing language ideologies, or alternatively, they may use a hybridizing strategy, demonstrating through language how their identities blend with those of Mongolians, a process that makes Western readers more sympathetic towards Mongolians and their culture. Other travelers show their ability to accept Mongolian perspectives, but they do so to adopt a “heroic” persona and, consequently, enhance their credibility and authority over others and their own narratives.
