Khitan (or Kitan, also known as Liao, Chinese: 契丹語) is a now-extinct language once spoken by the Khitan people (388–1243). It was the official language of the Liao dynasty (907–1125) and the Qara Khitai (1124–1218).Khitan appears to have been related to the Mongolic languages; Juha Janhunen states, "[T]he conception is gaining support that Khitan was a language in some respects radically different from the historically known Mongolic languages.