Lak language

Kumukh dialect

The basis of the literary language . Kumukh is the historical center of Laks, where there are a large number of Lak villages in Lak and Kulinsky , as well as in Novolaksky districts.

Vitskhinsky dialect

It occupies the entire northern part of the Lak region. The number of speakers is 8-10 thousand people. It is characterized by dissimilation ( chichin-do < chichin-well, "write") and reduction of vowels in front of sonor consonants ( trawl "comb" - letter. Ttaral ).

Northern Vitskhinsky dialect - the villages of Cuba , Chukna , Kurkli , Vitskhi, Kuma , Kunda , Kara (Chara).

Southern Vitskhinsky dialect - the villages of Bagikla , Shahuva , Guimi , Kamasha , Unchukatl , Karasha .

Arakul dialect

The most archaic . This dialect is spoken in the village of Arakul in the Rutul region . In it, in contrast to the literary language, the names of female persons belong to class “b”: as much as “mother is” - letter. nina dr . The names of males in the plural belong to the class "d": arsru Dr. ur "there are sons" - letter. arsru b . The participle with personal pronouns is used in the function of a finite form : for darhun “I sold” - a letter. on dahhav . The dialect has special forms of reflexive pronouns : tsunal , tsunil , tsunalba “own” - letter. tsala , tsila . The dialects of the place also do not coincide: ani , aghani "here" - the letter. Shikku anaga , agyanaga "from here" - the letter. shichcha .

Balkhar dialect

The Balkhar (Bartkhinsky) dialect is widespread in the Akushinsky district in the villages of Balkhar , Kuli , Tsulikan , Ulluchar . The number of speakers is about 3 thousand people. It differs from the literary one in that the names of young women in it do not stand out in a separate class. Adjectives are used with a truncated affix: kӀlya-s “white” - letter. kyala-ssa . The abruptive ky drops out, and the next vowel y turns into o : oin “cut” - letter. kyukin ; aan “dry” - a literary person. kyakan . There is a plural indicator -ÿ , as in the Vihlinsky dialect.

Shadninsky dialect

Only in one village of Shadni, Dakhadaevsky district . The number of speakers is about 290 people. It develops in isolation from the varnish-speaking environment under the strong influence of the surrounding Dargin languages .

Shalib dialect

In the village of Shalib (Shali) of the Charodinsky district .

Urin dialect

It develops in isolation from the varnish-speaking environment under the strong influence of the Avar language . It is spoken only in the villages of Uri and Mukar .

Vihlinsky dialect

In the Kulinsky district in the villages of Vikhli , Sukiy , TsӀayshi. It is characterized by the dissimilation and reduction of vowels in front of sonorous consonants ( Hyr "sea" - literal. Hyhiri ) and the replacement of labialized archetypes by labialized affricates ( Burtswi "pie" - letter. Burki , color "winter" - letter. Kyi ). Geminated consonants are stored in all positions: kkvazstsa "mare" - kkvatstsa-ri "mare". The long vowel ÿ appears as the plural affix : zunttu “mountain” - zunttÿ “mountains”. In prohibitive forms, instead of the literal affix -ara , -av is used: -av : machich-av "do not write."

Vachi-Kulin dialect

It occupies most of the Kulinsky district and has more than 10,000 carriers - in the villages of Vachi and Kuli .

Has a number of dialects. The Pervotsovkrinsky dialect - in the villages of Tsovkra-1 and Sumbatl - is notable for the transition of all hissing (with rare exceptions) to whistling : Tsani "light" - letter. chani ; ssin "water" - the letter. chin ; Sanan "to sleep" is a letter. chanan ; sometimes this dialect is regarded as an independent dialect of the affectionate language.

Kayalinsky dialect

In the Kulinsky district in the villages of Khoymi , Kaya , Tsovkra-2 .

In 1864, the Russian ethnographer and linguist P.K. Uslar reported: “The Kazykumyk grammar, or, as I have called it for the sake of brevity, the Lak grammar, the Lakku Maz , the Lak language, is ready” ^[3] .

In 1890, a textbook on the grammar of the Lak language was published, entitled “Lax language”, compiled by P. K. Uslar. In it, under the heading "Lak alphabet," it was reported: "The proposed alphabet is composed for a people who collectively call themselves varnish , clan. p. - lacral . From among these people, each separately is a lakku “ lak man”, a woman - lakkuscharssa - “lak woman”. They call their homeland Lacral Quana “the place of the varnishes” ” ^[3] .

In the Collection of Information about the Caucasian Highlanders (1868) it was reported: “Lucky, according to the remarks of Mr. Uslar, understand each other from opposite ends of the okrug without any difficulty. According to the villages there is a slight variety of reprimand, which can hardly be expressed in writing. Kumukh is considered the purest reprimand; the reprimand of the residents of the villages of Vikhli and Vachi is considered to be the least elegant ” ^[4] .

Beginning in the 15th century, borrowings from the Arabic language penetrated the Lak language ^[5] . There are also borrowings from the Azerbaijani and Kumyk languages ^[6] . Currently, the Lak language borrows vocabulary mainly from the Russian language .

The Lak language, in accordance with the 1994 Constitution of the Republic of Dagestan, is recognized as the state language along with Russian and some other major languages ​​spoken in Dagestan (about 20 more local languages do not have written languages , and therefore have no official status). It is used as a teaching tool in elementary school and is taught as a subject in high school, secondary specialized educational institutions and universities. The newspaper Ilchi is published in Lak language.

The written language until 1928 is based on the Arabic alphabet , in 1928–38. - the Latin alphabet , since 1938 - based on the Cyrillic alphabet :

Phonetics and Phonology

In the phonological system of the Lak language, 6 vowels and 42 consonant phonemes are represented.

The phonetic structure of the Lak language is characterized by the presence of labialized consonants: kӀv , tsv , chchv , khv , etc., as well as the phonemic contrast of simple and amplified, differing in the duration and absence of aspiration of consonants. In addition, pharyngealized phonemes are present. There are three diphthongs , which are a combination of vowel and half-vowel . All deaf non-respiratory consonants are heminated .

The accent in the Lak language is mostly weak, expiratory; highlighting stressed syllables is difficult. By ear, each syllable in bilingual and polysyllabic words sounds almost the same. Longitudinal stress has also spread. In some monosyllabic words, the contrast between a short vowel and a long vowel plays a meaningful role.

Morphology

In the morphology of the Lak language, there are 4 grammar classes. Declination is multi - step . The verb changes in faces . The forms of tenses and moods are formed from the primary stem ( root of the verb with infixation ) or from the secondary stem (infinitive). The structure of a simple sentence is characterized by ergative , nominative and native constructions.

Until the 20th century, written Lak literature developed slowly, serving almost exclusively the educated elite of the ruling classes. In the development of Lak literature, three main stages can be outlined:

• literature of the feudal period,
• literature of the era of the Russian conquest,
• literature of the post-October period ^[7] .

In the literature of the first two periods dominant place is occupied by religious poetry and religious and didactic literature. Scientist poets of the 17th – 19th centuries wrote poems, mainly of religious content, in Arabic ^[8] . To a large extent, this poetry is not original, but translated. The oldest written monument is the interlinear translation (probably of the 15th century) of the poem of the 13th century Arab poet al-Busiri “ Qassida about the cloak ” ^[9] . In the future, religious motifs are intertwined with national liberation motives. The literature of this period includes the works of Yusuf Kadi Murkilinsky (d. In 1918), Shafi-Nitsovkrinsky (d. In 1918), Budugaya Musa , Hasan Guzunov and others. The post-October Lak literature also includes the works of Garun Saidov (1891-1919), Said Gabiev , Hadji Murad Amitaev (Lutfi) (d. 1918) and others. Lyric poetry of this period is marked by features of romanticism and realism . In the 1930s, Lac literature embarked on the path of socialist realism. Collections of poems by A. Gafurov , Yu. Khappalayev are published ^[8] . During this period, the works of Ibrahim Khalil Kurban Aliyeva , Ahmed Karadi Zaku-Zade (Kurdi) and Mueddin (Murad) Charinov became popular ^[7] . The first work of the Dagestan dramaturgy - G. Saidov's drama in Lak language - “Tinkers” (1914). The treasury of Dagestan literature includes the books of Efendi Kapiev (1909-1944) "Stone Carving" (1940), "Poet" (Prince 1-2, published 1944) ^[10] .

Lak folklore is rich and diverse. The Lak epic has much in common with the Avar epic, not only in form, but also in content. The following works belong to the heroic epos: “Casamil Ali”, “Mollachul Isa”, “Paris-Misida”, “Daddakal Balai” and others. The Lak song “ Partu Patima ” tells about the struggle against the Mongol-Tatar invaders in the XIII-XIV centuries ^{[ 10]} . Epic songs depicted important historical events; they were performed by improvising singers ^[8] . Lyric song is largely created by women. The usual size of a Lak song ( balai ) is fourteen or eleven. The Lak fairy tale ( maha ) for the most part develops plots of a fairy tale common to all peoples. A widespread and beloved genre of oral Lak literature is the proverbs ( альcalart ): “There is no bread for the non-paying one”; "Do not leave bread, even if you were full, do not leave a burka, although there is no rain." Riddles ( ssigri ) are used for entertainment, for example: “ She doesn’t get tired of walking, doesn’t get enough of food” (mill), “Two different wines in one barrel” (egg) ^[7] . Lac folklore works compiled by A. Omarov ^[10] were published in pan-Caucasian publications.

• Kayaev A. Lak Language and History: Encyclopedic Dictionary in Lak / Dagestan Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. - M .: Nauka, 2006 .-- 550 p.
• Friedman V. Essays on the Lak language. - Makhachkala: IALI DSC RAS, 2011.168 s.