I'm travelling in Mongolia at the moment and being a language buff I've been wondering whether if I were writing about my experiences here whether I ought to use the term yurt or ger when mentioning the traditional round felt tent houses used by nomads and elsewhere.
Mongolian гэр used as a restaurant/inn. Photo by hippietrail.
Even though the word "yurt" is not very common in English I would regard it as definitely a loanword and would expect others to think so soo. (I might well describe it in the first use anyway.)
But the "yurt" is not a Mongolian word but used in Central Asian countries. Here the same dwelling is called a "ger".
At least Wiktionary also considers "ger" to be a loanword into English. But it has a very low threshold of three uses in "durably archived" media in an English context to qualify. Or so I belive. I don't know what other dictionaries say or how people feel about it generally.
What say ye experts?
Best Answer
Depends on how "politically correct" you want to be.
For better or for worse, the word that most English-speakers know is yurt, and that is the only word most dictionaries list (with the exception of Wiktionary, as you've found). Problem is, it comes from either Russian or Turkish (or maybe Turkish by way of Russian), so using it for a dwelling type that is neither Turkish nor Russian can be seen as disrespectful. (In other words, Here Be
DragonsPolitics, tread with care.)People who know anything at all about yurts do tend to be aware of the linguistics issue, and most have at least heard of the term ger, but yurt does still spring to mind sooner. For the rest of the population, ger is at best an abbreviation for gerund, and at worst a meaningless particle.
If you define ger on first use and then use it consistently afterwards, you should be fine. You can also decide that "yurt" is no longer Turkish or Russian, but English, and use it without apology (or definition; unlike ger, it shouldn't need it). I tend to be in the latter camp, but then I'm allergic to political correctness.