XI - Lezgi

Lezgi, also called Lezgian or Lezgin, is a Northeast Caucasian language spoken by the Lezgins in Southern Dagestan, Northern Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and other neighboring countries. Fortunately, it is an officially recognized language of Dagestan. However, it is still categorized as vulnerable by UNESCO, or the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization. As of 2020, there are close to 630,000 native speakers, a much higher number than some other endangered languages.

Geography

By 2002, approximately 397,000 people in Russia, primarily in Southern Dagestan, spoke Lezgian; in 1999, the language had 178,400 speakers mainly in the Qusar, Quba, Qabala, Oghuz, Ismailli, and Khachmaz provinces of northeastern Azerbaijan. Additionally, Lezgian is spoken by immigrants from Azerbaijan and Dagestan in countries such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Germany, and Uzbekistan.

History

Lezgi speakers have continued to face hardships throughout their history.. In 1992, tensions rose due to the resettlement of 105,000 Azeri refugees from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on Lezgin lands and the forced conscription of Lezgins; this heightened conflicts with the government over land, employment, language, and autonomy. The 1994 Chechnya war led to the closure of the Russia-Azerbaijan border, separating the Lezgins for the first time and restricting their movement.

Language

The alphabet of Lezgi has gone through multiple stages of growth and evolution. Throughout its history, Lezgi has been written in various alphabets based on three different scripts: Arabic (before 1928), Latin (1928–38), and Cyrillic (1938–present). There are 54 consonants in Lezgi and 4 grammatical cases.

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