Itsari language

Northeast Caucasian language or dialect in Dagestan, Russia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Itsari language

Itsari (Icari, Itsari: ицӀран гъай[2]) is a language in the Dargin dialect continuum spoken in Dagestan, Russia spoken in the village Itsari, as well as in Kizlyarsky District, Druzhba, and other villages and cities, both in and outside of Dagestan, by about 2,000 people.[1] It is often considered a divergent dialect of Dargwa. Ethnologue lists it as a dialect of Dargwa but recognizes that it may be a separate language.[3] Its closest relative is Sanzhi, which has only about 200 speakers and is considered to be an endangered language, as parents are now teaching their children Russian for practical purposes.[4]

Quick Facts Pronunciation, Native to ...
Itsari
Icari
ицӀран гъай
ИцIрила гъай
Pronunciation[its’ran ʁaj]
[its’arila]
Native toNorth Caucasus
RegionDagestan
EthnicityDargins
Native speakers
2,000 (2003)[1]
Northeast Caucasian
  • Dargin
    • Southern
      • Sanzhi-Itsari
        • Itsari
unwritten
Language codes
ISO 639-3
Glottologicar1234  Icari
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  Itsari (and Sanzhi)
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Usage

In the village of Itsari, the Itsari language is used for all purposes except writing, as the residents of Itsari use standard written Dargwa or Russian as their written language. The younger population is shifting to Russian as their primary language.[1]

Phonology

Vowels

More information Front, Back ...
Vowels of Itsari[1]
Front Back
plain phar.
Close short [i] i [u] u [uˤ]
long [iː] ī [uː] ū
Mid/Low short [e] e [ɑ] а [ɑˤ]
long [eː] ē [ɑː] ā
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Itsari has phonemic pharyngealization, as is evidenced by the minimal pair šam 'lamb' šaӏm 'candle'.

Consonants

More information Bilabial, Dental ...
Bilabial Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Glottal
Plosive voiced [b] b [d] d
lax [p] p [t] t [k] k [q] q
tense [pː] [tː] [kː] кк kk [qː]
ejective [pʼ] [tʼ] [kʼ] кӏ [qʼ] [ʡʼ][dubious discuss] ʕ [ʔ] ʔ
Fricative voiced ([f] f) [z] z [ʒ] ž [ɣ] ǧ [ʁ] R [ħ] H [h] h
lax [s] s [ʃ] š [x] x [χ] X
tense [sː] [ʃː] s̄̌ [xː] [χː]
Affricate lax [t͡s] c [t͡ʃ] č
tense [t͡sː] [t͡ʃː] c̄̌
ejective [t͡sʼ] [t͡ʃʼ] čʼ
Resonant [m] m, [w] w [n] n, [l] l [r] r [j] j
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References

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