Mongols to Invade Australia ... Or So They Say
Emily Esfahani Smith, Ed. ·
Jan 5, 2011 at 6:23am
Fear the Mongols--and their coercive ad campaigns. Below is a poster encouraging students at an Australian university to take a Mongolian language class (via The Volokh Conspiracy).
In case you can't read it, the orange print at the bottom says:
We ruled the world once,
and we'll do it again.
Learn Mongolian while it is still optional.
For the student looking to Australia’s real future, if there is to be an invasion, its soldiers will likely be speaking Mandarin, and not the equestrian language of Genghis Khan.
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Comments :
May '10
Re: Mongols to Invade Australia ... Or So They Say
They really should build a wall (not a virtual one), like that guy from City Wok on South Park. Though, with the accent, he couldn't pronounce "city" very well.
It'd be easier than speaking Mongolian. Hmm, wonder if it's related to Turkish? Historically possible.
May '10
Re: Mongols to Invade Australia ... Or So They Say
Most empire-building and conquering civilizations only get one shot in the sun, then fade into history for all time.
Just a warning about our own fate.
Dec '10
Re: Mongols to Invade Australia ... Or So They Say
Hey, if you're an Australian professor of Mongolian language, this is about the best sales pitch you can make. True, it's unlikely the Mongol hordes will reconquer the world, but at least the poster alludes to why the Mongols (and thus their language) aren't entirely irrelevant to world history.
Sep '10
Re: Mongols to Invade Australia ... Or So They Say
Said to have been a Mongol proverb, "He who would tell the truth ought keep one foot in the stirrup". Not bad advice, overall.
Edited on Jan 5, 2011 at 11:22amDec '10
Re: Mongols to Invade Australia ... Or So They Say
Well, a little bit of ethnic pride is always a good thing.
Dec '10
Re: Mongols to Invade Australia ... Or So They Say
“The greatest happiness is to scatter your enemy, to drive him before you, to see his cities reduced to ashes, to see those who love him shrouded in tears, and to gather into your bosom his wives and daughters.”
Could it possibly sound any better in Mongolian?
Re: Mongols to Invade Australia ... Or So They Say
Kennedy Smith: They really should build a wall (not a virtual one), like that guy from City Wok on South Park. Though, with the accent, he couldn't pronounce "city" very well.
It'd be easier than speaking Mongolian. Hmm, wonder if it's related to Turkish? Historically possible. · Jan 5 at 6:40am
“Stupid Mongorians!” —City Wok Guy
Did you know that in that episode the Mongols (and the kids who joined them) were actually speaking Mongolian (very badly)? Near as I could tell, they were just reading phrases out of the Lonely Planet Mongolian phrasebook.
And yes, Mongolian is (somewhat distantly) related to Turkish. They're in the relatively uncontroversial section of the Altaic language family.
Sain bain aa! (Which I'd write in Classical Mongolian if Ricochet had their vertical-text processing up and running. Geez, guys, what's the hold-up?)
Re: Mongols to Invade Australia ... Or So They Say
Actually, the oldest version of the quote in English I've found is
This is Howorth (1876, p. 110), translating d'Ohsson's Histoire des Mongols (1834, p. 404)
D'Ohsson cites Rashid al-Din's Jami‘ al-Tevarikh as his source, but alas, I have no copy of that at hand. Maybe I'll dig it up tomorrow.
It's not in the Secret History of the Mongols, I don't think, or I'd have the Mongolian for you.
And of course, let's not forget that John Milius used it to great effect in Conan.
Edited on Jan 6, 2011 at 10:34pmMay '10
Re: Mongols to Invade Australia ... Or So They Say
Actually Weatherford's book about the Mongols makes them seem a lot more interesting than you might expect.