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Lezgic languages

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lezgic
Geographic
distribution
 Dagestan
 Azerbaijan
Linguistic classificationNortheast Caucasian
  • Lezgic
Subdivisions
Language codes
Glottologlezg1248
  Lezgic

The Lezgic languages are one of seven branches of the Northeast Caucasian language family. Lezgin and Tabasaran are literary languages.

Classification

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  • Peripheral: Archi – 1,700 speakers[1]
  • Samur[2] (Nuclear Lezgic)
    • Eastern Samur[1]
      • Udi – 6,600 speakers
      • Lezgin–Aghul–Tabasaran[2]
    • Southern Samur
      • Kryts – 5,000 speakers
      • Budukh – 200 speakers
      • Jek – 1,500 speakers
    • Western Samur

The voicing of ejective consonants

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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.[3]

See also

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References

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