Khinalug language

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Northeast Caucasian language

title: "Khinalug language" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["northeast-caucasian-languages", "languages-of-azerbaijan", "endangered-caucasian-languages", "quba-district-(azerbaijan)", "severely-endangered-languages"] description: "Northeast Caucasian language" topic_path: "linguistics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khinalug_language" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Northeast Caucasian language ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox language"]

FieldValue
nameKhinalug
nativenameкаьтш мицI
кетш мицI
pronunciation
statesAzerbaijan
regionQuba
speakers3,000
date2007
refe18
familycolorCaucasian
fam1Northeast Caucasian
fam2? Lezgic
scriptCyrillic script, Latin script
iso3kjj
glottokhin1240
glottorefnameKhinalug
mapNortheast Caucasian languages.png
mapcaption(in Azerbaijan)
noticeIPA
map2Lang Status 40-SE.svg
mapcaption2
altnameXinaliq
ethnicityKhinalugs
::

| name = Khinalug | nativename = каьтш мицI кетш мицI | pronunciation = | states = Azerbaijan | region = Quba | speakers = 3,000 | date = 2007 | ref = e18 | familycolor = Caucasian | fam1 = Northeast Caucasian | fam2 = ? Lezgic | script = Cyrillic script, Latin script | iso3 = kjj | glotto = khin1240 | glottorefname = Khinalug | map = Northeast Caucasian languages.png | mapcaption = (in Azerbaijan) | notice = IPA | map2 = Lang Status 40-SE.svg | mapcaption2 = | altname = Xinaliq | ethnicity = Khinalugs

Khinalug (also spelled Khinalig, Khinalugi, Xinalug(h), Xinaliq or Khinalugh) is a Northeast Caucasian language spoken by about 3,000 people in the villages of Khinalug and Gülüstan, Quba in the mountains of Quba Rayon, northern Azerbaijan. It may either belong to the Lezgic branch of the Northeast Caucasian language family, or it may form its own independent branch within that family.

Khinalug is endangered, and classified as "severely endangered" by UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.

History

Khinalug is the language of the village Khinalug in the Quba district of Azerbaijan. It has been tentatively classified by previous researchers as a member of the Lezgic branch of the Northeast Caucasian languages. Although Khinalug is the official language of the village, it is mostly spoken by villagers in informal circumstances, while the national language Azerbaijani is used formally for educational purposes and to communicate with non-Khinalug speakers. Khinalug is considered to be a threatened language. In recent years, the road leading to the villages where it is spoken has fallen into disrepair, leaving the area mostly isolated.

Phonology

The Khinalug language previously had its own script. Alexander Kibrik and a team of 13 linguists from Moscow State University visited the village in 2005. In 2007 they developed a Latin orthography for Khinalug, in collaboration with local school teachers in the village. It is presented in angle brackets on the tables below.

Consonants

::data[format=table title="ConsonantsKodzasov, S.V., et al., 2007. [http://www.philol.msu.ru/~languedoc/assets/texts/xin-abc.pdf Khinalug language alphabet (in: Russian)].{{Cite book |last=Khvtisiashvili |first=Tamrika |title=Principal aspects of Xinaliq phonology and morphosyntax |publisher=University of Utah |year=2013}}"] | Labial | Dental | Postalveolar/ Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Pharyngeal | Glottal | Nasal | Plosive | voiceless lenis | voiceless fortis | voiced | ejective | Affricate | voiceless lenis | voiceless fortis | voiced | ejective | Fricative | voiceless | voiced | Trill | Approximant | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 2 | | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ::

2 Kh and gh are rare.

3 Kx is very rare.

4 The pharyngeal sounds mostly appear in Arabic loanwords.

Vowels

Khinalug has nine vowels and four diphthongs. ::data[format=table]

FrontBackunroundedroundedunroundedroundedHighMidLow
::

Diphthongs include: [iu] [ui] [oe] [oa].

Alphabet

::data[format=table title="Khinalug Cyrillic alphabet"]

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637
АА̃АьБВГГъГӀГӀвДДжДзЕЕ̃ЖЗИИ̃ЙККвКкКхКхвКхкхКъвКьКьӀКӀКӀвЛЛъМНОО̃Оь
аа̃аьбвггъгӀгӀвддждзее̃жзии̃йкквкккхкхвкхкхкъвкькьӀкӀкӀвллъмноо̃оь
::

::data[format=table]

38394041424344454647484950515253545556575859606162636465666768697071727374
ППвПӀРСТТтТӀТӀвТӀтӀУУ̃УьФХХъХъвХьХӀӀӀъЦЦвЦцЦӀЦӀвЧЧчЧӀЧӀвШШвЪЫЭӘӘ̃
ппвпӀрсттттӀтӀвтӀтӀуу̃уьфххъхъвхьхӀӀӀъццвцццӀцӀвччччӀчӀвшшвъыэәә̃
::

The version below was created by scientists from Frankfurt University in 2013, following research into Khinalug phonology by Moscow specialists. ::data[format=table title="Khinalug Latin alphabet (2013)"]

t̂ṫuüvyzẑż
::

Kibrik's alphabet from above is presented again, this time in table form. ::data[format=table]

U uÜ üV vX xY yZ zZ̧ z̧ʕ
::

Vocabulary

The following words were phonetically transcribed from Khinalug: ::data[format=table]

Khinalug singularKhinalug pluralTranslation
arhazarhazırdırpen (enclosure for livestock)
c’imirc’imirdirsparrow
izinizindirgingiva
kırabkırabırdırgaloshes
mısırmısırdırrope
nek’idnek’idirdirback
t’uk’unt’uk’undurcheek
t’umbolt’umboldurprune
ustotustoturdurpepper
ustulustuldurtable
dalıgdalιgιrdιrwork
culozculozurdurtooth
jalkanjalkandιrmane
kotukkotukurdurtree stump
mektebmektebirdirschool (compare: maktab)
mizermizerdirtextile
::

Note: ı is roughly pronounced as the e in "fallen". u is roughly pronounced as the ou in "coup".

Audio samples

::data[format=table] | | [[File:AUDIO-2024-12-08-18-59-29-JULIET.flac|thumb|Recording by Kamal Kabir-oglu Khasammadov of [[William Shakespeare]]’s [[Romeo and Juliet]], 2.2.2–3]] | | [[File:AUDIO-2024-12-08-18-59-45-HAMLET.flac|thumb|Recording by Kamal Kabir-oglu Khasammadov of Shakespeare’s [[Hamlet]], 3.1.57 & 84]] | | [[File:AUDIO-2024-12-08-18-59-58-SON36.flac|thumb|Recording by Kamal Kabir-oglu Khasammadov of Shakespeare’s [[Sonnet 36]], ll.1–2]] | | [[File:AUDIO-2024-12-08-19-00-17-GATTO.flac|thumb|Recording by Kamal Kabir-oglu Khasammadov of [[Di Lampedusa strategy|a line]] from [[Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa]]’s [[The Leopard]]]] | |---|---|---|---| | Khinalug (phonetic): Iylesh toxun, ment’ekhiyly talashpy chshyi yaza? De inq’qalsh me Juliet’dam inq’me. | English: But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. | | | | Khinalug (phonetic): Tagvual sam Tagondaval lishirji deme […] De kin k’ulluqurval, kin bitiyn inqxer kir me. | English: To be, or not to be, that is the question […] Thus conscience does make cowards of us all. | | | | Khinalug (phonetic): Yaxe chkne yem, kin djyre kotka djmin q’iq’aly djyresh konde mheppetysh saj me. | English: Let me confess that we two must be twain, Although our undivided loves are one[.] | | | | Khinalug (phonetic): Djym q’yy kin yag’yqalm Chendj kui ukkoetti q’yy, kin hoz shyspqrt koa. | English: If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change. | | | ::

References

References

  1. [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_family.asp?subid=215-16 Family tree of Northeast Caucasian languages at Ethnologue]
  2. [http://www.helsinki.fi/~tasalmin/chris.html Published in: Encyclopedia of the world’s endangered languages. Edited by Christopher Moseley. London & New York: Routledge, 2007. 211–280.]
  3. link. (2009-02-22)
  4. (2005). "The Sociolinguistic Situation of the Khinalug In Azerbaijan".
  5. Schulze, Wolfgang. (Winter 2003). "Xinalugsko-russkij slovar' [Khinalug-Russian Dictionary] (Faida Abubakarovna Ganieva)". Anthropological Linguistics.
  6. Ivchenko, Valery. (September 4, 2006). "Забытый в горах Кетш – Forgotten in the mountains of Qetsh". [[Vokrug sveta]].
  7. Kodzasov, S.V., et al., 2007. [http://www.philol.msu.ru/~languedoc/assets/texts/xin-abc.pdf Khinalug language alphabet (in: Russian)].
  8. Khvtisiashvili, Tamrika. (2013). "Principal aspects of Xinaliq phonology and morphosyntax". University of Utah.
  9. "Alphabet – xinaliq".
  10. Lubotsky, Alexander. (2010). "Van Sanskriet tot Spijkerschrift: Breinbrekers uit alle talen". Amsterdam University Press.

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northeast-caucasian-languageslanguages-of-azerbaijanendangered-caucasian-languagesquba-district-(azerbaijan)severely-endangered-languages