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Lezgian language

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Lezgian
Lezgi, Lezgin
лезги чӏал lezgi č’al
Pronunciation[lezɡi tʃʼal]
Native toNorth Caucasus
RegionDagestan and Azerbaijan
EthnicityLezgins
Native speakers
630,000 (2020)[1]
Northeast Caucasian
Cyrillic, Latin (historically)
Official status
Official language in
 Russia
Language codes
ISO 639-2lez
ISO 639-3lez
Glottologlezg1247
Distribution of the Lezgin language in North Caucasus
Lezgian is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Lezgian (/ˈlɛzɡiən/ LEZ-gee-ən), also called Lezgi (/ˈlɛzɡiː/ LEZ-gee) or Lezgin (/ˈlɛzɡɪn/ LEZ-gin),[2][3] is a Northeast Caucasian language. It is spoken by the Lezgins, who live primarily in southern Dagestan—where it is an official language—and northern Azerbaijan. It is classified as "vulnerable" by UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.[4]

Geographic distribution

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In 2002, Lezgian was spoken by about 397,000 people in Russia, mainly Southern Dagestan; in 1999 it was spoken by 178,400 people in mainly the Qusar, Quba, Qabala, Oghuz, Ismailli and Khachmaz provinces of northeastern Azerbaijan. Lezgian is also spoken in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Germany and Uzbekistan by immigrants from Azerbaijan and Dagestan.

Some speakers are in the Balikesir, Yalova, İzmir, Bursa regions of Turkey especially in Kirne (Ortaca), a village in Balikesir Province which touches the western coast, being south-west of Istanbul.

The total number of speakers is about 800,000.[5]

Classification

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[edit]
Main article: Lezgic languages

Nine languages survive in the Lezgic language family:

These have the same names as their ethnic groups.

Some dialects differ heavily from the standard form, including the Quba and Akhty dialects spoken in Azerbaijan.[5]

Phonology

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Vowels

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Vowels of Lezgian[6][7]
Front Central Back
unrounded rounded
Close i ⟨и⟩ y ⟨уь⟩ /ɨ/ ⟨ы⟩[a] u ⟨у⟩
Mid e ⟨е, э⟩ o ⟨o⟩[b]
Open æ ⟨я⟩ a ⟨а⟩
  1. ^ Dialectal
  2. ^ in Russian loanwords
  • /a/ has two main allophones: [ɑ] and [ʌ]; the former prevails in closed syllables (especially before uvulars and /r/), the latter in open syllables.[8]
  • /a/ is very often rounded and raised to /ɔ/ after labialized consonants, which may then lose their labialization. For example, кӏвач 'foot' /k’ʷat͡ʃʰ/ becomes [k’ʷɔt͡ʃʰ] or [k’ɔt͡ʃʰ].[8]
  • /e/ is more open [ɛ] in stressed syllables and /ɪ/ or [e] in pre-stress syllables. In the environment of labialized consonants /e/ is often pronounced as [ø]~[œ].[8]
  • 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].[9]
  • Chitoran and Babaliyeva show, at least for Babaliyeva in her native Yargun dialect, pre-tonic high vowels are syncopated.[10]

Consonants

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There are 54 consonants in Lezgian. Characters to the right are the letters of the Lezgian Cyrillic Alphabet. Aspiration is not normally indicated in the orthography, despite the fact that it is phonemic.

Consonants of Lezgian[11]
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 /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/ пl /tʼ/ тl /tʷʼ/ тӏв /kʼ/ кl /kʷʼ/ кlв /qʼ/ кь /qʷʼ/ кьв
Affricate voiced /dz/ дз /dʒ/ дж
voiceless /t͡s/ ц /t͡sʷ/ цв /t͡ʃ/ ч
aspirated /t͡sʰ/ ц /t͡sʷʰ/ цв /t͡ʃʰ/ ч
ejective /t͡sʼ/ цl /t͡sʷʼ/ цlв /t͡ʃʼ/ чl
Fricative voiced /v/ в /z/ з /zʷ/ зв /ʒ/ ж /ʁ/ гъ /ʁʷ/ гъв
voiceless /f/ ф /s/ с /sʷ/ св /ʃ/ ш /x/ хь /xʷ/ хьв /χ/ х /χʷ/ хв /h/ гь
Approximant /l/ л /j/ й /w/ в
Trill /r/ р

Alphabets

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Main article: Lezgin alphabets

Lezgian has been written in several different alphabets over the course of its history. These alphabets have been based on three scripts: Arabic (before 1928), Latin (1928–1938), and Cyrillic (1938–present).

The Lezgian Cyrillic alphabet is as follows:[12]

А а Б б В в Г г Гъ гъ Гь гь Д д Е е
Ё ё Ж ж З з И и Й й К к Къ къ Кь кь
КI кl Л л М м Н н О о П п ПI пl Р р
С с Т т ТI тl У у Уь уь Ф ф Х х Хъ хъ
Хь хь Ц ц ЦI цl Ч ч ЧI чl Ш ш Ъ ъ Ы ы
Ь ь Э э Ю ю Я я

Grammar

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Lezgian is unusual for a Northeast Caucasian language in not having noun classes (also called "grammatical gender"). Standard Lezgian grammar features 18 grammatical cases,[13] produced by agglutinating suffixes, of which 12 are still used in spoken conversation.

Vowel Harmony

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Lezgian has a limited form of palatal and labial vowel harmony. In native Lezgian words, only syllables up to and including the stressed syllable are subject to vowel harmony. Since native Lezgian words are never stressed after the second syllable, only two vowels in a word can be subject to vowel harmony.[14]

Palatal harmony contrasts the front vowels /e, i, y, æ/ with the back vowels /a, u/, and labial vowel harmony contrasts the labialized vowels /u, y/ with non-labialized /i/. The vowels (/a, æ, e/ are considered neutral).

Cases

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The four grammatical cases are:[11]

  • 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.

Ada

she.ERG

rak

door(NOM)

aqʰaj-na

open-AOR

wa

and

xürü-qʰdi

village-PODIR

zwer-na

run-AOR

Ada rak aqʰaj-na wa xürü-qʰdi zwer-na

she.ERG door(NOM) open-AOR and village-PODIR run-AOR

"She opened the door and ran into the village"

  • Genitive case (ending -н [-n]; added to the Ergative): marks possession. It is also used with the meaning 'of', as well as describing the qualities, attributes, and materials. The genitive case precedes the noun that it modifies.

Am

he.ABS

ask'an

low

bujdi-n,

stature-GEN

qumral

dark

jak'-ari-n

flesh-PL-GEN

žehil

young

tir

COP.PST

Am ask'an bujdi-n, qumral jak'-ari-n žehil tir

he.ABS low stature-GEN dark flesh-PL-GEN young COP.PST

"He was a young man of low stature and dark complexion"

  • 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.

Ruša

girl.ERG

gada.di-z

boy-DAT

cük

flower

ga-na

give-AOR

Ruša gada.di-z cük ga-na

girl.ERG boy-DAT flower give-AOR

"The girl gave a flower to the boy"

  • There are fourteen Locative cases:
    • Adessive case (ending -в [-v]; added to the Ergative): marks the object of some verbs to mean 'by', 'to', 'with'.
    • 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', 'at', 'toward', 'in exchange for', and 'with'. In a construction with the verb ава (ava), it expresses possession.
    • Postelative case (ending -хъай [-qhaj]; added to the Ergative): can either mean 'from' or the cause of fear or shame.
    • 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' (partitive). It is also used to mark Y in the construction 'X becomes out-of-Y' and can express the topic of a sentence ('about') or the cause of emotions.
    • Subdirective case (ending -кди [-kdi]; added to the Ergative): expresses cause (never motion under), 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' (comparison).
    • Superdirective case (ending -лди [-ldi]; added to the Inessive): means 'onto', 'until', 'in' (when followed by an adjective), as an instrumental case (e.g. language) or instructive with abstract nouns.

Declension

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The plural form of nouns is most often formed with the suffix -ar (or -jar if the word ends in a vowel). -er is also used to conform with palatal vowel harmony. The suffixes -lar/-ler are borrowed from the Turkic languages and are used for Turkic loanwords.[15]

Plural Formation
Singular Plural Translation
muhman muhman-ar 'guests'
dide dide-jar 'mothers'
pel pel-er 'foreheads'
daǧ daǧ-lar 'mountains'

There are two types of declensions.[citation needed]

First declension

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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

Derivation

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Lezgian has three native suffixes for nominal derivation: -wal, -wi, and -qʰan.[16]

-wal derives nouns from adjectives, e.g., takabur > takabur-wal 'proud > pride'. -wi forms nouns of origin from place names, e.g., Maxačqala > Maxačqala-wi 'person from Makhachkala'. -qʰan creates agent nouns from other nouns, e.g., ğürč > ğürče-qʰan 'hunt > hunter'. -wal and -wi are highly productive, while -qʰan is not.

Verbal Inflection

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Verbs are divided into two classes: strong and weak.[13] Strong verbs are stressed on the thematic vowel (e.g., rax-u-n), whereas weak verbs lack a thematic vowel and are stressed on the base (e.g., kis-un)..

The inflectional endings are divided into three groups based on the type of stem: the masdar, imperfective, and aorist stems. However, the different stem forms are only distinguished in strong verbs.[13] A partial paradigm is given below:

Strong Verb Weak Verb
raxun "talk" fin "go" kisun "fall asleep"
Base form rax- f- kis-
Masdar Stem rax-u- f-i- kis-
Masdar rax-u-n f-i-n kis-un
Optative rax-u-raj f-i-raj kis-raj
Imperfective Stem rax-a- f-i- kis-
Infinitive rax-a-z f-i-z kis-iz
Imperfective rax-a-zwa f-i-zwa kis-zawa
Aorist Stem rax-a- f-e- kis-
Aorist rax-a-na f-e-na kis-na
Perfect rax-a-nwa f-e-nwa kis-nawa

The masdar is a verbal noun and can be inflected for case and number. It is formed by suffixing -n to strong verbs and -un to weak verbs. Two additional grammatical forms based on the masdar stem are the optative and imperative moods. The optative is typically formed with the suffix -raj in both weak and strong verbs. For the imperative, most strong verbs reduplicate the last consonant of the stem, and most weak verbs keep the masdar stem to form the imperative or add -a to the stem.[17]

From the imperfective stem, the infinitive, imperfective, continuative imperfective, future, hortative, and prohibitive form can be formed, as well as the posterior, graduative, and immediate-anterior converbs.[18]

Form Strong Weak Example 'run'
Infinitive -z -iz kat-iz
Imperfective -zwa -zawa kat-zawa
Cont. Imperfective -zma -zama kat-zama
Future -da -da kat-da
Hortative -n -in kat-in
Prohibitive -mir -mir kat-mir
Posterior CV -daldi -daldi kat-daldi
Graduative CV -rdawaj -irdawaj kat-irdawaj
Imm.-Anterior CV -zmaz -zamaz kat-zamaz

From the aorist stem, the aorist, aorist participle, perfect, continuative perfect, aorist converb, and immediate-anterior converb can be formed.

Form Strong Weak Example 'do'
Aorist -na -na awu-na
Aorist Participle -r / -j / -ji -aj awu-r
Perfect -nwa -nawa awu-nwa
Cont. Perfect -nma -nama awu-nma
Aorist CV -na -na awu-na
Imm.-Anterior CV -nmaz(di) -namaz(di) awu-nmaz(di)

Vocabulary

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Numbers

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The numbers of Lezgian are:

уд [ud] 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 [muʒud] eight
кlуьд [k’yd] nine
цlуд [ts’ud] ten
цlусад [ts’usad] eleven
цlикьвед [ts’iqʷ’ed] twelve
цlипуд [ts’ipud] thirteen
цlикьуд [ts’iq’ud] fourteen
цlувад [ts’uvad] fifteen
цlуругуд [ts’urugud] sixteen
цlерид [ts’erid] seventeen
цlемуьжуьд [ts’emyʒud] eighteen
цlекlуьд [ts’ek’yd] nineteen
къад [qad] twenty
къадцуд [qadtsud] thirty
яхцlур [jaxts’ur] forty
яхцlурцуд [jaxtsurtsud] fifty
пудкъад [pudqad] sixty
пудкъадцlуд [pudqadtsud] seventy
кьудкъад [q’udqal] eighty
къудкъадницlуд [q'udq'adnitsud] ninety
виш [viʃ] one hundred
агъзур [aɣzur] one thousand

Nouns following a number are always in the singular. Numbers precede the noun. "Сад" and "кьвед" lose their final "-д" before a noun.

Lezgian 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 Lezgian 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 is къанни цӏерид ("20 and 17"). Numbers over 40 are formed similarly (яхцӏур becomes яхцӏурни). 60 and 80 are treated likewise. For numbers over 100 just put a number of hundreds, then (if need be) the word with a suffix, then the remaining number. 659 is thus ругуд вишни яхцӏурни цӏекӏуьд. The same procedure follows for 1000. 1989 is агьзурни кӏуьд вишни кьудкъанни кӏуьд in Lezgi.

References

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  1. ^ Lezgian at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Bauer, Laurie (2007). The Linguistics Student's Handbook. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
  3. ^ Babak, Vladimir; Vaisman, Demian; Wasserman, Aryeh (23 November 2004). Political Organization in Central Asia and Azerbaijan: Sources and Documents. Routledge. ISBN 9781135776817.
  4. ^ UNESCO Interactive Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger Archived February 17, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b "Enthnologue report for Lezgi". Ethnologue.com. 1999-02-19. Retrieved 2013-12-15.
  6. ^ Chitoran & Babaliyeva 2007, p. 2153.
  7. ^ Haspelmath 1993, pp. 28, 31.
  8. ^ a b c Haspelmath 1993, p. 32.
  9. ^ Haspelmath 1993, p. 35.
  10. ^ Chitoran & Babaliyeva 2007, pp. 2154, 2156.
  11. ^ a b Haspelmath (1993), p. 2
  12. ^ Талибов Б. Б., Гаджиев М. М. Лезгинско-русский словарь. Moscow, 1966.
  13. ^ a b c Haspelmath (1993), p. 122
  14. ^ Haspelmath (1993), p. 48.
  15. ^ Haspelmath (1993), p. 71.
  16. ^ Haspelmath (1993), p. 106.
  17. ^ Haspelmath (1993), p. 128-130.
  18. ^ Haspelmath (1993), pp. 130–131.

Bibliography

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[edit]
Lezghian edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lezgian language.
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