Bezhta language
Encyclopedia
The Bezhta language (Bezhta: бежкьалас миц, bežƛʼalas mic, ˈbeʒt͡ɬʼɑlɑs mit͡s), also known as Kapucha (from the name of a large village), belongs to the Tsezic
group of the North Caucasian language family
. It is spoken by about 6,200 people in southern Dagestan
, Russia
Bezhta can be divided into three dialects – Bezhta Proper, Tlyadal and Khocharkhotin – which are spoken in various villages in the region. Its closest linguistic relatives are Hunzib
and Khwarshi
. Bezhta is unwritten, but various attempts have been made to develop an official orthography for the language. The Bezhta people use Avar
as the literary language. The first book ever printed in Bezhta was the Gospel of Luke
.
and Avar
– a relatively large vowel inventory (18 distinct vowel phonemes), compared to other languages of the same family.
and the vast amount of locative case
s makes its case system particularly rich. The verb morphology is relatively simple, though. It is an ergative language.
, Bezhta has a decimal system with the word for twenty being an exception.
written in a Cyrillic orthography based on Avar
and Chechen
, a Latinized transcription and one in IPA
.
Tsezic languages
The Tsezic languages form one of the seven main branches of Northeast Caucasian language family. It branches into Tsez–Hinukh and Bezhta–Hunzib–Khwarshi, according to the latest research...
group of the North Caucasian language family
North Caucasian languages
North Caucasian languages is a blanket term for two language phyla spoken chiefly in the north Caucasus and Turkey: the Northwest Caucasian family and the Northeast Caucasian family North Caucasian languages (sometimes called simply Caucasic as opposed to Kartvelian, and to avoid confusion with...
. It is spoken by about 6,200 people in southern Dagestan
Dagestan
The Republic of Dagestan is a federal subject of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
Bezhta can be divided into three dialects – Bezhta Proper, Tlyadal and Khocharkhotin – which are spoken in various villages in the region. Its closest linguistic relatives are Hunzib
Hunzib language
Hunzib is a Northeast Caucasian language spoken by about 1840 people in southern Dagestan, near the Russian border with Georgia.-Classification:...
and Khwarshi
Khwarshi language
Khwarshi, also spelled Khvarshi, is a Northeast Caucasian language spoken in the Tsumadinsky-, Kizilyurtovsky- and Khasavyurtovsky districts of Dagestan by the Khwarshi people. The exact number of speakers is not known, but the linguist Zaira Khalilova, who has carried out fieldwork in the period...
. Bezhta is unwritten, but various attempts have been made to develop an official orthography for the language. The Bezhta people use Avar
Avar language
The modern Avar language belongs to the Avar–Andic group of the Northeast Caucasian language family....
as the literary language. The first book ever printed in Bezhta was the Gospel of Luke
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
.
Phonology
Bezhta has a rich consonantal and – unlike its relatives TsezTsez language
Tsez, also known as Dido is a Northeast Caucasian language with about 15,354 speakers spoken by the Tsez, a Muslim people in the mountainous Tsunta district of southern and western Dagestan in Russia. The name is said to derive from the Tsez word for "eagle", which is most likely a folk etymology...
and Avar
Avar language
The modern Avar language belongs to the Avar–Andic group of the Northeast Caucasian language family....
– a relatively large vowel inventory (18 distinct vowel phonemes), compared to other languages of the same family.
Morphology
Bezhta is mostly agglutinativeAgglutination
In contemporary linguistics, agglutination usually refers to the kind of morphological derivation in which there is a one-to-one correspondence between affixes and syntactical categories. Languages that use agglutination widely are called agglutinative languages...
and the vast amount of locative case
Locative case
Locative is a grammatical case which indicates a location. It corresponds vaguely to the English prepositions "in", "on", "at", and "by"...
s makes its case system particularly rich. The verb morphology is relatively simple, though. It is an ergative language.
Numerals
Unlike TsezTsez language
Tsez, also known as Dido is a Northeast Caucasian language with about 15,354 speakers spoken by the Tsez, a Muslim people in the mountainous Tsunta district of southern and western Dagestan in Russia. The name is said to derive from the Tsez word for "eagle", which is most likely a folk etymology...
, Bezhta has a decimal system with the word for twenty being an exception.
| Latin | Cyrillic | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | hõs | гьонс |
| 2 | qʼona | къона |
| 3 | łana | лъана |
| 4 | ṏqʼönä | оьнкъоьнаь |
| 5 | łina | лъина |
| 6 | iłna | илъна |
| 7 | aƛna | алIна |
| 8 | beƛna | белIна |
| 9 | äčʼena | аьчIена |
| 10 | acʼona | ацIона |
| 20 | qona | хъона |
| 100 | hõsčʼitʼ / -čʼitʼ | гьонсчIитI / -чIитI |
| 1000 | hazay | гьазай |
- Multiples of 10 higher than 20 are formed by adding the suffix -yig (-йиг) to the multiplier. Hence, the word for 30 is łanayig (лъанайиг).
- Compound numbers are formed by juxtaposition, the smaller numbers following the greater ones. The number 47 is thus expressed as ṏqʼönäyig aƛna (оьнкъоьнаьйиг алIна).
Sample of the Bezhta language
This is a passage taken from the Gospel of LukeGospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
written in a Cyrillic orthography based on Avar
Avar language
The modern Avar language belongs to the Avar–Andic group of the Northeast Caucasian language family....
and Chechen
Chechen language
The Chechen language is spoken by more than 1.5 million people, mostly in Chechnya and by Chechen people elsewhere. It is a member of the Northeast Caucasian languages.-Classification:...
, a Latinized transcription and one in IPA
International Phonetic Alphabet
The International Phonetic Alphabet "The acronym 'IPA' strictly refers [...] to the 'International Phonetic Association'. But it is now such a common practice to use the acronym also to refer to the alphabet itself that resistance seems pedantic...
.
| CYRILLIC | LATIN TRANSCRIPTION | IPA TRANSCRIPTION | TRANSLATION |
|---|---|---|---|
| [hoɡ.t͡so holː.o.qɑ ni.sos | Jesus said to the followers: | ||
| dɜʔ.ɑ boh.t͡sɑ.lɑʔ wɑh.dɑː ni.sɑ | When you pray, pray like this: | ||
| jɑː ʔɑ.bo, di.bo t͡sɑ̃ː ʔa.dɑm.lɑː ʔi.lɑ.hi.jɑb bikʼzi jo.wɑ.lɑ | "O Father, we pray that your name will always be kept holy, | ||
| di.bo pɑr.t͡ʃɑh.ɬi jõ.qʼɑ.lɑ | we pray that your kingdom will come; | ||
| ʃi.bɑb wo.diʔ bɑt͡sː.ɑs ba.bɑ ʔi.lol ni.tɬɑ | give us the food we need for each day; | ||
| ʔi.lːɑ mu.nɑh.lɑːtɬʼ.ɑs tɬʼo.dos ti.tɬki, sud.tɬo ni.sɔ.dɑ ʔi.le.nɑ qʼɑt͡sʼː.o.lɑ ʔi.lol keʃ.ɬi joː.wɑ.tɬʼɑs tɬʼo.dos ti.tɬbɑk.t͡sɑ | forgive us the sins we have done, because we forgive every person that has done wrong to us. | ||
| mi ʔi.los hal bi.qʼe.lɑl.nɑ ʔɨ̃.χo.ɬɑː.qʼɑ] | And don't let us be tempted." |
External links
- The Peoples of the Red Book: Bezhtas
- The Bezhta People and Language (P.J. Hillery)
- Bezhta Vocabulary List (from the World Loanword Database)