Lezgic languages
Encyclopedia
The Lezgic languages are one the seven branches of the Northeast Caucasian language
family. Lezgian and Tabasaran
are literary languages.
of Indo-European, as several have undergone the voicing of ejectives that has been postulated but widely derided as improbable in that family. The correspondences have not been well worked out (Rutul is inconsistent in the examples), but a few examples are:
A similar change has taken place in non-initial position in the Nakh languages
.
Northeast Caucasian languages
The Northeast Caucasian languages constitute a language family spoken in the Russian republics of Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, northern Azerbaijan, and in northeastern Georgia, as well as in diaspora populations in Russia, Turkey, and the Middle East...
family. Lezgian and Tabasaran
Tabasaran language
Tabasaran is a Northeast Caucasian language of the Lezgic branch. It is spoken by the Tabasaran people in southern part of the Russian Republic of Dagestan. There are two main dialects: North and South Tabasaran. It has a literary language based on the Southern dialect, one of six in the Dagestan...
are literary languages.
Classification
- Peripheral: ArchiArchi languageArchi is a Northeast Caucasian language spoken by the 1,200 Archis in the village of Archib, southern Dagestan, Russia and the six surrounding smaller villages...
– 1200 speakers - SamurSamur languagesThe Samur languages are the principal component of the Lezgic branch of the Northeast Caucasian languages. Lezgian and Tabasaran are literary languages.-Internal branching:* Eastern Samur** Udi – 5700 speakers...
(Nuclear Lezgian)- Eastern Samur
- UdiUdi languageThe Udi language, spoken by the Udi people, is a member of the Lezgic branch of the Northeast Caucasian language family. It is believed an earlier form of it was the main language of Caucasian Albania, which stretched from south Dagestan to current day Azerbaijan.The language is spoken by about...
– 5000 speakers - Lezgi–Aghul–Tabasaran
- Lezgian – 450,000 speakers
- AghulAghul languageAghul, also spelled Agul, is a language spoken by the Aguls who live in southern Dagestan, Russia and in Azerbaijan. It is spoken by about 28,300 people .-Classification:...
– 28,300 speakers - TabasaranTabasaran languageTabasaran is a Northeast Caucasian language of the Lezgic branch. It is spoken by the Tabasaran people in southern part of the Russian Republic of Dagestan. There are two main dialects: North and South Tabasaran. It has a literary language based on the Southern dialect, one of six in the Dagestan...
– 128,900 speakers
- Udi
- Southern Samur
- KrytsKryts languageKryts , or Jek , is a Samur language of the Northeast Caucasian language family spoken in parts of the Quba Rayon of Azerbaijan by 6,000 people in 1975....
– 6000 speakers in 1975 - BudukhBudukh languageBudukh or Budugh is a Samur language of the Northeast Caucasian language family spoken in parts of the Quba Rayon of Azerbaijan. It was reportedly spoken by approximately 1,000 Budukhs in 1990, but Authier reports at most 200 speakers....
– 1000 speakers
- Kryts
- Western Samur
- RutulRutul languageRutul is a language spoken by the Rutuls, an ethnic group living in Dagestan and some parts of Azerbaijan. It is spoken by 29,400 people in Dagestan and the remaining 110 in Azerbaijan...
– 29,510 speakers - TsakhurTsakhur languageTsakhur is a language spoken by the Tsakhurs, an ethnic group, which populates northern Azerbaijan and southwestern Dagestan . It is spoken by about 13,000 people in Azerbaijan and by about 9,770 people in Dagestan...
– 22,770 speakers
- Rutul
- Eastern Samur
The voicing of ejective consonants
The Lezgic languages are relevant to the glottalic theoryGlottalic theory
The glottalic theory holds that Proto-Indo-European had ejective stops, , but not the murmured ones, , of traditional Proto-Indo-European phonological reconstructions....
of Indo-European, as several have undergone the voicing of ejectives that has been postulated but widely derided as improbable in that family. The correspondences have not been well worked out (Rutul is inconsistent in the examples), but a few examples are:
- Non-Lezgic: Avar tstsʼar; Lezgic: Rutul dur, Caxur do 'name'
- Non-Lezgic: Archi motʃʼor, Lak tʃʼiri; Lezgic: Rutul mitʃʼri, Tabassaran midʒir, Aɡul mudʒur 'beard'
- Non-Lezgic: Avar motsʼ; Lezgic: Tabassaran vaz 'moon'
A similar change has taken place in non-initial position in the Nakh languages
Nakh languages
The Nakh languages are a small family of languages spoken chiefly by the Nakh peoples, in Russia , in Georgia, and in the Chechen diaspora ....
.
See also
- Languages of the CaucasusLanguages of the CaucasusThe languages of the Caucasus are a large and extremely varied array of languages spoken by more than ten million people in and around the Caucasus Mountains, which lie between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea....
- Northeast Caucasian languagesNortheast Caucasian languagesThe Northeast Caucasian languages constitute a language family spoken in the Russian republics of Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, northern Azerbaijan, and in northeastern Georgia, as well as in diaspora populations in Russia, Turkey, and the Middle East...
- Swadesh list of Lezgic languagesSwadesh list of Lezgic languagesThe Lezgic languages are one of seven main branches of the Northeast Caucasian language family.The Swadesh word list, developed by the linguist Morris Swadesh, is used as a tool to study the evolution of languages via comparison. It contains a set of 207 basic words which can be found in every...