NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF MONGOLIA

Research ActivitiesOur School works on many different aspects of traditional research. Professors do bothtraining and research on comparative textological studies. They translate manuscripts inTibetan and Manchurian into Mongolian, classify them by their content, type and preparecommentaries in addition to this is conducting Mongolian historical studies.Also we study traditional and innovative issues on style and intangible culture of Mongolianfolklore. Modern literature is also studied.Another focus is the use of specific methods to teach Mongolian language and literatureas a subject at secondary school level, and compiling the relevant textbooks. Another partof our teaching and research focuses on the acquisition of education and knowledge of theMongolian language and culture by foreign students.On the foundation of these traditional studies, topics such as Mongolian mythology andsymbolism; intangible cultural meanings; traditional and innovative characteristics ofMongolian folk art; modern methodological issues of Mongolian literature; semanticresearch on the Mongolian language group; and the origin and semantic function of fixedword combination all need to be scientifically explained. These topics are at the junctionof humanitarian sciences such as linguistics, psychology, anthropology, ethnology, culturalstudies and cognitive theory.Moreover, different writing systems of the Mongolian script need to be examined; theorthography of both the Mongolian script and the Cyrillic script are currently being convertedto a computerized program that will mutually exchange both scripts. In terms of theory andpractice, this is a new research area for us although urgent issues still need to be addressed.Projects and ProgramsThe formation of various writing systems of the Mongolian script; comparative researchon the orthography of the Mongolian script and Cyrillic script; and the computerization of aconversion program for texts in both scripts, in order to study the Mongolian script in greaterdetail.An investigation of how the material and spiritual cultures, worldviewor conception, and typesof thinking of the Mongols are focused on idioms, comparing them to different cultures andlanguage speakers in the sphere of basic research on comparative analysis of idioms.A basic study of the traditions and innovations of Mongolian alternative medicine, based onsome medical sources written in Tibetan and Mongolian, and the knowledge or experienceof the doctors who practice alternative medicine.A specialized study comparing the development of Mongolian myth and symbolism, basedon the archetypal thinking of humanity; a comparison of the languages and dialects ofMongolians in-country and abroad; as well as an investigation of the interrelation or evolutionof the Mongolian family of languages.Contact:Building №2, Sukhbaatar District,P.O.Box 46/337, Ulaanbaatar-14201, MongoliaTel/Fax: 976-11-325435E-mail: mongolkhel@num.edu.mnhttp://smlc.num.edu.mnNational University of Mongolia 23