Lezgian | |
---|---|
Лезги чӏал Lezgi çal | |
Pronunciation | [lezɡi tʃʼal] |
Native to | Russia and Azerbaijan, also spoken in Georgia |
Region | Southern Dagestan, western Caspian Sea coast, central Caucasus |
Ethnicity | Lezgins |
Native speakers
|
655,000 (2016) |
Official status | |
Official language in
|
Dagestan (Russia) |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-2 | lez |
ISO 639-3 |
|
Glottolog | lezg1247 |
Lezgian /ˈlɛzɡiən/, also called Lezgi or Lezgin, is a language that belongs to the Lezgic languages. It is spoken by the Lezgins, who live in southern Dagestan and northern Azerbaijan. Lezgian is a literary language and an official language of Dagestan. It is classified as "vulnerable" by UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.
In 2002, Lezgian was spoken by about 397,000 people in Russia, mainly Southern Dagestan, and in 1999 by 178,400 people in mainly the Qusar, Quba, Qabala, Oghuz, Ismailli and Khachmaz (Xaçmaz) provinces of northeastern Azerbaijan. Lezgian is also spoken in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan by immigrants from Azerbaijan and Daghestan.
There are also small populations in the Balikesir and Yalova regions in Turkey. The Lezgian people are concentrated mainly in Kirne (Ortaca) village of the Balikesir region.