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Bagvalal language

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Bagvalal
Bagualal, Bagwalal
багвалал мисӀсӀ
Pronunciation[bagwalal mis’ː]
Native toNorth Caucasus
RegionSouthwestern Dagestan[1]
EthnicityBagvalal people
Native speakers
2,300 (2020 census)[2]
Northeast Caucasian
  • Avar–Andic
    • Andic
      • Akhvakh–Tindi
        • Karata–Tindi
          • Botlikh–Tindi
            • Bagvalal–Tindi
              • Bagvalal
Language codes
ISO 639-3kva
Glottologbagv1239
ELPBagvalal
  Bagvalal
Bagvalal is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (2010)

The Bagvalal language (Bagulal) is an Avar–Andic language spoken by the Bagvalals in southwestern Dagestan, Russia, along the right bank of the river Andi-Koisu and the surrounding hills, near the Georgian border. It is fairly similar to Tindi, its closest relative. The 2020 Russian census recorded 2,297 Bagvalal speakers.[2]

Dialects

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Bagvalal has three dialects which are named after the names of the villages in which they are spoken in, being Kwanada, Khushtada, and Tlisi. Only the Tlisi dialect has been studied to a certain significance, because of its similarities to the Tindi language.[citation needed]

Speakers

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Bagvalal has been suffering severe problems and is in serious danger of extinction. The schooling and cultural revolution have contributed to Bagvalal's serious decline. Bagvalal pupils are taught in Avar in primary school, and in secondary school they are taught in Russian. Between 1950 and 1970, Bagvalals migrated to different districts in the Astrakhan province of Russia, and this also affected the Bagvalal language.[citation needed] Despite this, most of the Bagvalal are supportive towards the language, and around 30~50% of children are fluent in the language.[3] While it is still being used for everyday communication, the younger speakers do not speak it as well as the older speakers.

History

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Bagvalal was first mentioned in the 19th century, but very few recordings of the language have been made. There has been very little linguistic research done on the language, with the exception of a 2001 book.[4]

Phonology

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Consonants

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Labial Dental Lateral Sibilant Postalveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Laryngeal
plain lab. plain lab. plain lab. plain lab. plain lab. plain lab. plain lab.
Plosive & affricate voiced b d d͡ʒ g
voiceless p t t͡s t͡sʷ t͡ʃ t͡ʃʷ k q
ejective tʷʼ tɬʼ tɬʷʼ t͡sʼ t͡sʷʼ t͡ʃʼ t͡ʃʷʼ kʷʼ qʷʼ ʔ
Fricative voiced z ʒ ʒʷ ʁ ʁʷ ʕ
voiceless lenis ɬ s ʃ ʃʷ x χ χʷ ħ h
fortis ɬ̄ s̄ʷ ʃ̄ χ̄ χ̄ʷ
ejective sʷʼ ʃʼ ʃ̄ʷʼ
Nasal m n
Liquid r l
Glide w j

Lexicon

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Bagvalal has numerous loanwords from such languages as Arabic, Russian, Turkish, and Avar.[citation needed] It is only used as an oral language; Avar or Russian are used as written languages. Nowadays Bagvalal is only used in family settings, using Avar or Russian for every other area of communication.[5]

References

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  1. ^ Ethnologue language map of European Russia, with Bagvalal in the inset indicated by reference number 6
  2. ^ a b Том 5. «Национальный состав и владение языками». Таблица 7. Население наиболее многочисленных национальностей по родному языку
  3. ^ Frawley, William (May 2003). International Encyclopedia of Linguistics: 4-Volume Set. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 978-0-19-513977-8.
  4. ^ Kibrik, A. E.; Kazenin, K. I.; Li︠u︡tikova, E. A.; Tatevosov, S. G.; Moskovskiĭ gosudarstvennyĭ universitet im. M.V. Lomonosova, eds. (2001). Bagvalinskiĭ i︠a︡zyk: grammatika, teksty, slovari. Moskva: IMLI RAN, "Nasledie". ISBN 978-5-9208-0048-0. OCLC 49211943.
  5. ^ Bagvalal language at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
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