Lezgic languages

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.

Minor Lezgin sub-ethnic entities demonstrate a distinct convergence toward the standardized Lezgin literary language.^[1] 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^[2]
• Samur^[3] (Nuclear Lezgic)
  • Eastern Samur^[2]
    • Caucasian Albanian † – extinct
      • Udi – 6,600 speakers
    • Lezgin–Aghul–Tabasaran^[3]
      • Lezgin – 800,000 speakers^[4]
      • Aghul – 33,200 speakers
      • Tabasaran – 87, 214 speakers^[5]
  • Southern Samur
    • Kryts – 5,000 speakers
    • Budukh – 200 speakers
    • Jek – 1,500 speakers
  • Western Samur
    • Rutul – 36,400 speakers
    • Tsakhur – 22,300 speakers

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.^[6]

• Lezgin language
• Lezgin ethnic groups
• Languages of the Caucasus
• Northeast Caucasian languages

• Lezgic basic lexica at the Global Lexicostatistical Database