X - Tsez

Tsez, also known as Dido, is a Northeast Caucasian language spoken by the Tsez, a Muslim people in the mountainous Tsunta District of southwestern Dagestan in Russia. The name of the language is said to be derived from the Tsez word for “eagle.” Tsez is categorized as definitely endangered, and is often overshadowed in school curriculum; it lacks a literary tradition and is poorly represented in written form, with Russian and Avar being used instead. As a result, it is more and more replaced by Avar and Russian, partly due to loss of traditional culture among the people and the adoption of Western clothing, technology and architecture.

Geography

Tsez is spoken in the Tsunta District of southwestern Dagestan in Russia. It neighbors languages such as Avar, which are often more popular. In fact, Tsez is not taught in school and instead Avar is taught for the first five years and Russian afterwards. This could explain the decline in Tsez popularity and usage in recent years.

History

The Tsez people have faced numerous challenges over the past couple of decades. Their location in the southwest corner of Dagestan became "the edge" of Russia following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, internal power dynamics in Dagestan marginalized them within Dagestani society, and mysterious fires devastated several mountain Didoi villages in 2012-13, destroying entire communities. Additionally, most Didoi villages are precariously built on the edges of ridges, with houses stacked vertically; one such town, Khutrakh, translates to "The Edge." The history of Tsez always seems to fall on the precipice.

Language

Tsez has a consonant inventory of 33 consonants, though only 32 of them are considered phonemic. The vowel inventory consists of 6 vowels -- 5 short and 1 long. The default word order of Tsez is SOV, or Subject Object Verb. Tsez is quite complicated; in fact, there is a grand total of 64 different noun cases (but some dispute and claim the small similarities between some do not count).

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