Lezgic languages
language family
The Lezgic languages are one of seven branches of the Northeast Caucasian language family, spoken primarily by the Lezgin ethnic groups.
Lezgin languages are spoken by some 1 million people.
Classification
The languages of minor Lezgic peoples demonstrate a distinct convergence toward the standardized Lezgin literary language. Lezgin, Aghul, Rutul, Tabasaran, Tsakhur and Udi are literary languages. Khinalug may either be Lezgic or an independent branch of the Northeast Caucasian family.
Peripheral: Archi – 1,700 speakers
Samur (Nuclear Lezgic)
Eastern Samur
Caucasian Albanian † – extinct
Udi – 6,600 speakers
Lezgin–Aghul–Tabasaran
Lezgin – 800,000 speakers
Aghul – 33,200 speakers
Tabasaran – 87, 214 speakers
Southern Samur
Kryts – 5,000 speakers
Budukh – 200 speakers
Jek – 1,500 speakers
Western Samur
Rutul – 36,400 speakers
Tsakhur – 22,300 speakers
The voicing of ejective consonants
The Lezgic languages are relevant to the glottalic theory of Indo-European, because several have undergone the voicing of ejectives that have 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, Tsakhur 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.
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