Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 9, 2026

Aqusha dialect

Aqusha is a dialect of North Dargwa spoken by over 42,000 Dargins. It is the basis for the literary Dargwa language, along with Urakhi, as was developed in the 1930s. Speakers of Aqusha number the most among Dargwa linguistic groups.

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Jul 9, 2026
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Aqusha
Akusha
ахъушан / ахъушала лугъат
aqušan / aqušala luʁat
Pronunciation[aquʃan/aquʃala luʁat]
Native toRussia
RegionDagestan
EthnicityAqusha Dargins
Native speakers
42,000 in traditional areas (2006)1
Standard forms
Dialects
  • Aqusha proper
  • Levashi
Cyrillic (Literary Dargwa only)
Language codes
ISO 639-2dar (Literary Dargwa only)
ISO 639-3dar (Literary Dargwa only)
Glottologakus1238  Akusha
  North Dargwa, with Aqusha at the bottom left of the section

Aqusha is a dialect of North Dargwa spoken by over 42,000 Dargins.1 It is the basis for the literary Dargwa language, along with Urakhi, as was developed in the 1930s.2 Speakers of Aqusha number the most among Dargwa linguistic groups.3

Geographical distribution

Aqusha is most commonly found in the Akushinsky and Levashinsky Districts. There is a significant diaspora of Aqusha speakers in southern European Russia.

Dialects

Aqusha is divided into 2 dialects, Aqusha and Levashi. According to Saygid Abdullayev, the differences in the Aqusha dialect are hardly noticeable and insignificant.3

Phonology

Aqusha, and dialects of its type, lack the fortis and lenis contrast that is found in dialects of the Tsudaqar type.4 Vowel length and labialization are also absent. Glottalized ⟨и⟩ and ⟨о⟩ occur, and the case indicator ⟨д⟩ is lost after prefixes.3

Comparison with standard Dargwa

3
Aqusha Standard Gloss
Ergative ший шинни water
Степай Степанни Stepan
Ивай Иванни Ivan
хӀяй хӀяй, хӀялли position
хӀуй хӀуй, хӀулини eye
Genitive ши шинна water
Степа Степанна Stepan
хӀя хӀялла position
ша шалила sides
ГӀалла Алила Ali
Дагъиста Дагъиста, Дагъистанна Dagestan
References

References

  1. Kori︠a︡kov, I︠U︡ B. (2006). "РЕЕСТР КАВКАЗСКИХ ЯЗЫКОВ". Atlas kavkazskikh i︠a︡zykov: s prilozheniem polnogo reestra i︠a︡zykov Атлас кавказских языков (PDF) (in Russian). Institut i︠a︡zykoznanii︠a︡ (Rossiĭskai︠a︡ akademii︠a︡ nauk). Moskva: Piligrim. ISBN 978-5-9900772-1-8.
  2. Izdatelʹstvo "sovetskaâ ènciklopediâ"; Akademiâ nauk SSSR, eds. (1990). "Darginskij âzyk" Дарги́нский язы́к. Lingvističeskij ènciklopedičeskij slovarʹ. Москва: Советская энциклопедия. ISBN 978-5-85270-031-5.
  3. Абдуллаев, Сайгид Нухкадиевич (1954). Грамматика даргинского языка (фонетика и морфология) (PDF). Махачкала: Институт истории, языка и литературы.
  4. "Лакско-даргинские языки". tapemark.narod.ru. Retrieved 2024-12-22.