Northeast Caucasian languages 74879 220039930 2008-06-18T00:24:12Z DOI bot 6652755 Citation maintenance. Initiated by [[User:Fconaway|Fconaway]]. You can [[WP:DOI|use this bot]] yourself! Please [[User:DOI_bot/bugs|report any bugs]]. The '''Northeast Caucasian languages''', also called '''East Caucasian''', '''Caspian''', or '''Nakh-Dagestanian''', are a family of [[language]]s spoken in the [[Russia]]n republics of [[Dagestan]], [[Chechnya]], and [[Ingushetia]], in northern [[Azerbaijan]], and in [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], as well as in diaspora populations. ==Linguistic features == This family is known for the complex phonology (up to 60 [[consonant]]s or up to 30 [[vowel]]s in some languages), [[noun class]]es, [[ergative]] sentence structure, and large number of noun [[Grammatical case|cases]], including several locative cases. ==Language classification== The classification of the Northeast Caucasian languages has undergone some reorganization in recent years. The following tree is a typical recent proposal, based on the work of linguist [[Bernard Comrie]] and others. Population data is from ''[[Ethnologue]]'' 15th ed. ===Nakh family=== {{main|Nakh languages}} Spoken in [[Chechnya]], [[Ingushetia]], and [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]. Chechen and Ingush are official languages of their respective republics. * [[Bats language|Batsbi (Bats)]] (3400 speakers) * [[Veinakh languages]] ** [[Chechen language|Chechen]] (1,360,000 in Russia in 2002) ** [[Ingush language|Ingush]] (450,000 in Russia in 2002) Traditionally the Nakh languages were classified as a separate North-Central Caucasian family, related to the languages of Dagestan only at a deeper level called Nakho-Dagestanian. The names Northeast Caucasian, East Caucasian, Dagestanian, and Caspian were coined for the other branches. Since then most linguists have come to accept that the Nakh languages are no more divergent than the other branches of Dagestanian. === Avar-Andi family === Spoken in the Northwest Dagestan highlands and western Dagestan. Avar is the lingua franca for these and the Tsez languages, and the only literary language. * [[Avar language|Avar]] (600,000 speakers) * [[Andi languages]] ** [[Andi language|Andi (Qwannab)]] (10,000) ** [[Botlikh language|Botlikh (Botlix)]] (5000) ** [[Ghodoberi language|Ghodoberi]] (3000) ** [[Karata language|Karata (Kirdi)]] (5000) ** [[Akhvakh language|Akhvakh (Axvax)]] (3500) ** [[Bagvalal language|Bagvalal (Kvanada)]] (2000) ** [[Tindi language|Tindi (Tindal)]] (6700) ** [[Chamalal language|Chamalal]] (5000) ===Tsezic (Didoic) family=== Spoken mostly in Southwest Dagestan. None are literary languages. * East Tsez languages ** [[Hinukh language|Hinukh (Hinux, Ginukh)]] (200 speakers) ** [[Bezhta language|Bezhta (Kapuch)]] (5,000) * West Tsez languages ** [[Tsez language|Tsez (Dido)]] (15,000) ** [[Khwarshi language|Khwarshi (Khvarshi, Xvarsh)]] (3,000) ** [[Hunzib language|Hunzib (Gunzib)]] (2,000) ===Lak isolate=== Spoken in the Central Dagestan highlands. Lak is a literary language. * [[Lak language|Lak]] (120,000 speakers) ===Dargi (Dargin) dialect continuum=== Spoken by 370,000 in the Central Dagestan highlands. Dargwa proper is a literary language. * [[Dargwa language|Dargwa (Dargva)]] * [[Kaytag language|Kajtag]] * [[Kubachi language|Kubachi]] * [[Itsari language|Itsari]] * [[Chirag language|Chirag]] ===Khinalug (Xinalug) isolate=== Spoken in northern [[Azerbaijan]]. * [[Khinalug language|Khinalug (Xinalug)]] (2000 speakers) ===Lezgic family=== Spoken in the Southeast [[Dagestan]] highlands and in Northern [[Azerbaijan]]. The [[Lezgian language]] or, as the [[Lezgins]] call it themselves - Лезги чlал (lezgi ch'al) is the biggest, in terms of the number of native speakers, of all the languages of the Lezgic group (other languages from this group include Tabasaran, Udi, Tsakhur, and Rutul - Tabasaran was once thought to be the language with the largest number of grammatical cases at 54, which could – depending on the analysis – as well be the [[Tsez language]] with 64). The Lezgic family along with a couple of other families (Avaro-Ando-Tsez, Lakh, Dargin) forms the Daghestanian part of the Nakh-Daghestanian language family (the Nakh part is constituted by Chechen, Ingush and related small languages). Lezgian and Tabassaran are literary languages. The Lezgic family includes the extinct [[Caucasian Albania#Ancient population of Aghbania|Aghbanian language]] of the medieval [[Caucasian Albania]]n empire. * [[Archi language|Archi]] (1000 speakers) * [[Udi language|Udi]] (5700) * Nuclear Lezgian languages ** [[Aghul language|Aghul (Agul)]] (17,400) ** [[Lezgian language|Lezgian]] (450,000) ** [[Tabasaran language|Tabasaran]] (Tabassaran) (96,000) ** [[Rutul language|Rutul]] (20,000) ** [[Kryts language|Kryts (Kryz)]] (6000 in 1975) ** [[Budukh language|Budukh (Budux)]] (1000) ** [[Tsakhur language|Tsakhur (Tsaxur)]] (20,073) == Connections to other families == === North Caucasian family === Many linguists think that the Northeast and [[Northwest Caucasian languages]] should be joined into a putative [[North Caucasian languages|North Caucasian]] family, sometimes called ''Caucasic'' or ''Caucasian'' (even though it is not meant to include the [[South Caucasian languages|South Caucasian (Kartvelian)]] family). However, this hypothesis is not well demonstrated. === Connections to Hurrian and Urartian === Some linguists — notably [[I. M. Diakonoff]] and [[Sergei Starostin|S. Starostin]] — also see similarities between the Northeast Caucasian family and the extinct languages [[Hurrian language|Hurrian]] and [[Urartian language|Urartian]].<!--What exactly are those affinities?--> Hurrian was spoken in various parts of the [[Fertile Crescent]] in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC. Urartian was the language of [[Urartu]], a powerful state centered in the area of [[Lake Van]] in [[Turkey]], that existed between 1000 BC or earlier and [[585 BC]]. The two extinct languages have been grouped into the [[Hurro-Urartian languages|Hurro-Urartian]] family. Diakonoff proposed the name ''[[Alarodian languages|Alarodian]]'' for the union of Hurro-Urartian and Northeast Caucasian. ==Agricultural vocabulary== The Proto-Northeast Caucasian language had many terms for [[agriculture]], and [[Johanna Nichols]] has suggested that its speakers may have been involved in the development of agriculture in the [[Fertile Crescent]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Bernice Wuethrich |year=2000 |month=19 May |title=Peering Into the Past, With Words |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=288 |issue=5469 |pages=1158 |url=http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/288/5469/1158 |doi=10.1126/science.288.5469.1158}}</ref> They have words for concepts such as ''yoke'', as well as fruit trees such as ''apple'' and ''pear'' that suggest agriculture was already well developed when the proto-language broke up. ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/commonwealth/ethnocaucasus.jpg CIA linguistic map of the Caucasus] *[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_family.asp?subid=90527 Ethnologue: ''North Caucasian, Northeast''] [[Category:Northeast Caucasian languages| ]] [[Category:Languages of Russia]] [[Category:Language families]] [[an:Luengas norcaucasicas orientals]] [[br:Yezhoù bizkaokazek]] [[bg:Нахско-дагестански езици]] [[cs:Severovýchodokavkazské jazyky]] [[de:Dagestanische Sprachen]] [[ko:북동카프카스어족]] [[hr:Sjeveroistočni kavkaski jezici]] [[nl:Nach-Dagestaanse talen]] [[no:Dagestanske språk]] [[pl:Języki północno-wschodniokaukaskie]] [[pt:Línguas caucasianas do nordeste]] [[ru:Нахско-дагестанские языки]] [[fi:Dagestanilaiset kielet]]