Lezgian language
Lezgian | |
---|---|
Лезги чІал Lezgi č’al | |
Pronunciation | Template:IPA-cau |
Native to | Russia and Azerbaijan, also spoken in Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan |
Region | Southern Dagestan, western Caspian Sea coast, central Caucasus |
Ethnicity | Lezgins |
Native speakers | 800,000 (2010) |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-2 | lez |
ISO 639-3 | lez |
Lezgian, also called Lezgi or Lezgin, is a language that belongs to the Lezgic languages. It is spoken by the Lezgins, who live in southern Dagestan and northern Azerbaijan. Lezgian is a literary language and an official language of Dagestan. It is classified as "vulnerable" by UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.[1]
Geographic distribution
In 2002, Lezgian was spoken by about 397,000 people in Russia, mainly Southern Dagestan, and in 1999 by 178,400 people in mainly the Qusar, Quba, Qabala, Oghuz, Ismailli and Khachmaz (Xaçmaz) provinces of northeastern Azerbaijan. Lezgian is also spoken in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan by immigrants from Azerbaijan and Daghestan.
There is also small population in Balikesir and Yalova regions in Turkey. The lezgi people are concentrated mainly at Kirne (Ortaca) village of Balikesir region.
The total number of speakers is about 800,000.[2]
Related languages
There are nine languages in the Lezgic language family, namely: Lezgian, Tabasaran, Rutul, Aghul, Tsakhur, Budukh, Kryts, Udi and Archi. These languages have the same names as the ethnic groups.
Some of its dialects are considered very different from the standard form, including the Quba dialect spoken in Azerbaijan.[2]
Phonology
Vowels
Front | Central | Back | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
plain | rounded | |||
Close | i (и) | y (уь) | u (у) | |
Mid | e (е; э) | |||
Open | æ (я) | a (а) |
- /a/ has two main allophones: [ɑ] and [ʌ]; the former prevails in closed syllables (especially before uvulars and /r/), the latter in open syllables.
- /a/ is very often rounded after labialized consonants, which may then lose their labialization.
- /e/ is open ([ɛ]) in stressed syllables
- if a vowel plus /n/ sequence is not followed by a vowel, the /n/ may be deleted and the vowel nasalized. Thus /zun/ ('I') can be pronounced [zũ].
Consonants
There are 54 consonants in Lezgian. Characters to the right are the letters of the Lezgian Cyrillic Alphabet. Note that aspiration is not normally indicated in the orthography, despite the fact that it is phonemic.
Labial | Dental | (Post)- alveolar |
Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
plain | lab. | plain | lab. | plain | lab. | ||||||
Nasal | /m/ м | /n/ н | |||||||||
Plosive | voiced | /b/ б | /d/ д | /dʷ/ дв | /g/ г | /gʷ/ гв | |||||
voiceless | /p/ п | /t/ т | /tʷ/ тв | /k/ к | /kʷ/ кв | /q/ къ | /qʷ/ къв | /ʔ/ ъ | |||
aspirated | /pʰ/ п | /tʰ/ т | /tʷʰ/ тв | /kʰ/ к | /kʷʰ/ кв | /qʰ/ хъ | /qʷʰ/ хъв | ||||
ejective | /pʼ/ пI | /tʼ/ тI | /tʷʼ/ тIв | /kʼ/ кI | /kʷʼ/ кIв | /qʼ/ кь | /qʷʼ/ кьв | ||||
Affricate | voiceless | /t͡s/ ц | /t͡sʷ/ цв | /t͡ʃ/ ч | |||||||
aspirated | /t͡sʰ/ ц | /t͡sʷʰ/ цв | /t͡ʃʰ/ ч | ||||||||
ejective | /t͡sʼ/ цI | /t͡sʷʼ/ цIв | /t͡ʃʼ/ чI | ||||||||
Fricative | voiced | /z/ з | /zʷ/ зв | /ʒ/ ж | /ʁ/ гъ | /ʁʷ/ гъв | |||||
voiceless | /f/ ф | /s/ с | /sʷ/ св | /ʃ/ ш | /x/ хь | /χ/ х | /χʷ/ хв | /h/ гь | |||
Approximant | /l/ л | /j/ й | /w/ в | ||||||||
Trill | /r/ р |
Latin alphabet
Lezgian usually written using a Cyrillic alphabet, whose sound correspondences are given in the phonology section above. There also exists a Latin alphabet with which to write Lezgian. Its symbols and correspondence to the Cyrillic alphabet is given in the table below.[citation needed]
A a /а/ |
Ä ä /я/ |
B b /б/ |
C c /ц/ |
Ch ch /цӀ/ |
Č č /ч/ |
Čh čh /чӀ/ |
D d /д/ |
E e /е/ |
F f /ф/ |
G g /г/ |
Ğ ğ /гъ/ |
(H h) /Ӏ/ |
Ⱨ ⱨ /ъ/ |
Ħ ħ /гь/ |
I i /и/ |
J j /ж/ |
Ĵ ĵ /дж/ |
K k /к/ |
Kh kh /кӀ/ |
L l /л/ |
M m /м/ |
N n /н/ |
O o /о/ |
Ö ö /оь/ |
P p /п/ |
Ph ph /пӀ/ |
Q q /къ/ |
Qh qh /кь/ |
R r /р/ |
S s /с/ |
Š š /ш/ |
Th th /тӀ/ |
T t /т/ |
U u /у/ |
Ü ü /уь/ |
W w /в/ |
Y y /й/ |
X x /х/ |
Ẍ ẍ /хь/ |
Z z /з/ |
Ž ž /дз/ |
Grammar
Lezgian is unusual for a Northeast Caucasian language in not having noun classes (also dubbed with the term "grammatical gender"). Standard Lezgian grammar features 18 grammatical cases, produced by agglutinating suffixes, of which 12 are still used in spoken conversation.
Cases
The four grammatical cases are:
- Absolutive case (basic form of the word, no ending): marks the subject of an intransitive verb and the direct object of a transitive sentence. It is also used to mark a nominal predicate (who or what something turns into/becomes) and as a vocative.
- Ergative case (various endings; the most common are: -ди, -a or -е; [-di, -a or e], which are added to the Absolutive): marks the subject of transitive verbs, and the subject of some compound intransitive verbs.
- Genitive case (ending -н [-n]; added to the Ergative): marks possession. It is also used with the meaning 'of'. The genitive case precedes the noun that it modifies.
- Dative case (ending -з [-z]; added to the Ergative): usually marks the indirect object of sentences, that is the recipient of an action. It is also used to mark the subject of some verbs (mainly about emotions) and to express a point of time and direction.
- There are fourteen Locative cases:
- Adessive case (ending -в [-v]; added to the Ergative): marks the object of some verbs to mean 'near by'.
- Adelative case (ending -вай [-vaj]; added to the Ergative): expresses movement from somewhere. It is also used with the verb 'to be able' and to express an accidental action.
- Addirective case (ending -вди [-vdi]; added to the Ergative): used as an instrumental case, but also sometimes used with its original meaning, 'in the direction of', and more rarely 'near by'.
- The Postessive case (ending -хъ [-qh]; added to the Ergative): means 'behind', 'in exchange for', and 'with.' In a construction with the verb ава (ava), it means 'there is'.
- Postelative case (ending -хъай [-qhaj]; added to the Ergative): can either mean 'from' or 'who is feared'.
- Postdirective case (ending -хъди [-qhdi]; added to the Ergative): rarely used case, meaning 'toward(s)'.
- Subessive case (ending -к [-k]; added to the Ergative): means either 'below' or 'participates'.
- Subelative case (ending -кай [-kaj]; added to the Ergative): means either 'from below', 'from', '(from) against', 'with' or 'out of'. It is also used to mark Y in the construction 'X becomes out-of-Y' and can express the topic of a sentence or the cause of emotions.
- Subdirective case (ending -кди [-kdi]; added to the Ergative): expresses cause, and can mean 'because' or 'of' (when in sentences such as 'the man died of a disease'.
- Inessive case (endings -а or -е [-a or -e]; added to Absolutive): means 'at', 'in' or 'during/whilst'.
- Inelative case (endings -ай or -ей [-aj or -ej]; added to Inessive): means 'out of' or 'in return for'.
- Superessive case (ending -л [-l]; added to the Inessive): means 'on', and also to express the cause of some emotions.
- Superelative case (ending -лай [-laj]; added to the Inessive): means 'off', 'after' or 'than'.
- Superdirective case (ending -лди [-ldi]; added to the Inessive): means 'onto', 'until', 'in' (when followed by an adjective) and to mark the language being used.
Declension
There are two types of declensions.
First declension
Case | Singular | Plural |
Absolutive | буба buba | бубаяр bubajar |
Ergative | бубади bubadi | бубайри bubajri |
Genitive | бубадин bubadin | бубайрин bubajrin |
Dative | бубадиз bubadiz | бубайриз bubajriz |
Adessive | бубадив bubadiv | бубайрив bubajriv |
Adelative | бубадивай bubadivaj | бубайривай bubajrivaj |
Addirective | бубадивди bubadivdi | бубайривди bubajrivdi |
Postessive | бубадихъ bubadiqʰ | бубайрихъ bubajriqʰ |
Postelative | бубадихъай bubadiqʰaj | бубайрихъай bubajriqʰaj |
Postdirective | бубадихъди bubadiqʰdi | буабайрихъди buabajriqʰdi |
Subessive | бубадик bubadikʰ | бубайрик bubajrikʰ |
Subelative | бубадикай bubadikʰaj | бубайрикай bubajrikʰaj |
Subdirective | бубадикди bubadikʰdi | бубайрикди bubajrikʰdi |
Inessive | бубада bubada | бубайра bubajra |
Inelative | бубадай bubadaj | бубайрай bubajraj |
Superessive | бубадал bubadal | бубайрал bubajral |
Superelative | бубадалай bubadalaj | бубайралай bubajralaj |
Superdirective | бубадалди bubadaldi | бубайралди bubajraldi |
Vocabulary
Numbers
The numbers of Lezgi are:
нолхъ nolqʰ - zero
сад sad - one
кьвед qʷ’ed - two
пуд pud - three
кьуд q’ud - four
вад vad - five
ругуд rugud - six
ирид irid - seven
муьжуьд myʒyd - eight
кIуьд k’yd - nine
цIуд ts’ud- ten
цIусад ts’usad - eleven
цIикьвед ts’iqʷ’ed - twelve
цIипуд ts’ipud - thirteen
цIикьуд ts’iq’ud - fourteen
цIувад ts’uvad - fifteen
цIуругуд ts’urugud - sixteen
цIерид ts’erid - seventeen
цIемуьжуьд ts’emyʒud - eighteen
цIекIуьд ts’ek’yd - nineteen
къад qad - twenty
qadtsud - thirty
яхцIур jaxts’ur - forty
jaxtsurtsud - fifty
пудкъад pudqad - sixty
pudqadtsud - seventy
кьудкъад q’udqal - eighty
qudqaltsud - ninety
виш viʃ - one hundred
агъзур aɣeur - one thousand
Nouns following a number are always in the singular. Numbers precede the noun. "сад" and "кьвед" loose their final "-д" before a noun.
Lezgi numerals work in a similar fashion to the French ones, and are based on the vigesimal system in which "20", not "10", is the base number. "Twenty" in Lezgi is "къад", and higher numbers are formed by adding the suffix -ни to the word (which becomes "къанни" - the same change occurs in пудкъад and кьудкъад) and putting the remaining number afterwards. This way 24 for instance is къанни кьуд "20 and 4" and 37 къанни цIерид "20 and 17". Numbers over 40 are formed similarly (яхцIур becomes яхцIурни). 60 and 80 are treated likewise. For numbers over 100 we just put a number of hundreds then (if need be) the word with a suffix, then the remaining number 659 is thus ругуд вишни яхцIурни цIекIуьд'. The same procedure follows for 1000, too... 1989 is агьзурни кIуьд вишни кьудкъанни кIуьд in Lezgi
References
Bibliography
- Chitoran, Ioana; Babaliyeva, Ayten (2007), "An acoustic description of high vowel syncope in Lezgian", Proceedings of the 16th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, pp. 2153–2156 [1]
- Haspelmath, Martin. 1993. A grammar of Lezgian. (Mouton grammar library; 9). Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter. – ISBN 3-11-013735-6
- Talibov, Bukar B. and Magomed M. Gadžiev. 1966. Lezginsko-russkij slovar’. Moskva: Izd. Sovetskaja Ėnciklopedija.