Lezgic languages

Lezgic
Geographic distribution	Dagestan  Azerbaijan
Linguistic classification	Northeast Caucasian Lezgic
Proto-language	Proto-Lezgic language
Subdivisions	Archi (Peripheral Lezgic) Samur (Nuclear Lezgic) ? Khinalug
Language codes
Glottolog	lezg1248
Lezgic

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.

The languages of minor Lezgic peoples 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 speakers²
• Samur³ (Nuclear Lezgic)
  • Eastern Samur²
    • Caucasian Albanian † – extinct
      • Udi – 6,600 speakers
    • Lezgin–Aghul–Tabasaran³
      • Lezgin – 800,000 speakers⁴
      • Aghul – 33,200 speakers
      • Tabasaran – 87, 214 speakers⁵
  • 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