Even for the multinational Caucasus, the linguistic features of Dagestan are unusual, rich and variegated. Some languages are inherent only to individual small villages, which is why Dagestan is called the "mountain of languages".
Variety of languages
There are about thirty written and non-written Dagestan mountain languages. Dagestan languages are included in the eastern group of Caucasian yaphet languages. The Chechen-Dagestan group is in a distant relationship with the Abkhaz-Adyghe western group. Within the group, Dagestan languages are closely related, a proof of this is the grammatical structure and vocabulary (especially Avar and Lak languages). insta for desktop and computer https://gramhum.com/ Browse Instagram with the best experience.
Some Dagestan languages are little studied. Well-studied Dargin, Avar, Lezgi, Lak. For this reason, only a preliminary classification can be made.
Scheme of Dagestan languages
It may look like this:
- Avaro-Ando-Dido group. It includes the following languages: Andean (Godobari, Andi, Ahwah, Botlich, Karate, Baghvalal, Tindi, Chamalal); Avar Dido (cappucci, hvarshi, ginuh, hunzal, dido); language of the village of Archie or Rocha.
- Darginskaya group. Includes Dargin, Kubachi and Kaitak languages.
- The Lak group is represented only by the Lak language.
- Lezginskaya group. The following languages belong to it: Lezgin, Samur (Agul, Tsakhur, Rutul, Jack, Haput, Khinalug, Kryz, Udi, Buduk), Tabasaran.
Dagestan languages in morphological terms do not have valid verbs. They do not distinguish between impersonal and personal forms of the verb. Many Dagestan languages are striking in many forms of declension and the number of cases.
Dagestan last names
All Dagestan peoples, including the Kumyks, have almost the same names. The pronunciation may vary. The bulk are Arabic names. Recently, there has been a borrowing of personal names from the Russian language.
Many Dagestan names are preserved as part of family (generic). They are made out in Dagestan languages with the help of special suffixes of plurality. For example, in the Avar language, the suffix al: on behalf of Ilyas - Ilyasal (Ilyasovs). In lak, use the suffix hjul: on behalf of Ali - Alikhul (Aliyeva).
The clan (tukhumny, family) names include the base, which consists of Dagestan words, common and ethnic names, names of places.
Declination of surnames
In Dagestan languages, when combining a generic (surname-tukhum) and a personal name, the surname in the genitive plural is put in first place, and then the personal name. For example: Ahmadhal Ali, Mukhtarlani Gyaji.
Dagestan languages allow you to decline a generic name when there is no personal name nearby. If it stands next to the tukhumny (generic), then, as a rule, declension is excluded, that is, the surname preserves the genitive case, the personal name is declined.
When applying for various documents - be it a passport, marriage certificate, metric, certificate, etc. - family names are transliterated, Dagestan suffixes are replaced by Russian -ev, -ov. For example: Abdullaev, Akhmedov, Omarov.
Dagestan literature
The literature of the peoples of Dagestan is multilingual and diverse. Over the course of many centuries, it has been developing in Kumyk, Dargin, Avar, Lak, Tabasaran, Lezgi and Tat. In each of them, literature is formed in a peculiar way, in many respects it depends on cultural and socio-economic development. The history of the peoples of Dagestan is reflected in oral folklore: these are lyrical and epic songs, legends, traditions, sayings, proverbs, legends. Many of them are imbued with humanistic and democratic aspirations, reflect the struggle of the people against the oppressors. So, for example, “Partima Patima”, a lak song, tells about the struggle in the 13-14th centuries. with the Mongol Tatars. The Kumyk "Kartgochak", "Song of Aigazi" talk about the struggle against the feudal lords.
Dagestan tales, heroic epics, historical songs include the motives of fairy tales and songs of other nations: Georgia, Azerbaijan, the Middle East and Central Asia. Together with folk art in the 17-18th centuries. literary traditions in local and Arabic were actively developed. The feudal era is characterized by historical chronicles, literary monuments, various treatises on philological and natural science topics, all of them have literary merits.
In the 17th century, the development of professional secular literature was influenced by the Dagestan schools of Moussa from Kudutl, Shaaban from Rim. There, philosophy, Arabic, law were studied, dictionaries were created, at the same time the first examples of writing appeared. The development of Dagestan literature can be traced to the historical chronicles of Magomed Tahir al-Karakhi, Haji Ali, Hasan Alkadari.
19-20th Century Literature
Already in the 19th century, Russian scientists showed great interest in Dagestan literature. Many books on ethnography and the history of Dagestan have been created and published. “Derbent-name” is the oldest publication, was released in St. Petersburg in 1851, Professor Kazemberk translated into English, and comments were made. In 1898 in Tiflis the same book was published with translation into Russian. In addition, Derbent-name was translated into Lak language.
The October Revolution of 1917 brought a lot to Dagestan literature. Its rapid development began. During the civil war, many revolutionary, partisan songs began to be born that sang the Communist Party, freedom, and rebellious people. Under Soviet rule, all the ethnic groups of Dagestan rallied, in those days writing began to be created here, which taught the general population. The first steps in the development of post-revolutionary Dagestan literature were made by such writers as Z. Batyrmurzayev, G. Saidov. At that time, the task was to praise the Soviet regime, conduct active propaganda for the ideas of the Communists and at the same time expose hostile bourgeois ideas.
During World War II, Dagestan poets and writers described the exploits of Soviet soldiers defending their homeland. Numerous works were written with characteristics characteristic of folk art. At that time, such significant works were created as “The wife of a front-line soldier”, “Song of the Brides” by Tsadasa; “Mother’s Voice”, “At the Gates of the Caucasus” by Hajiyev; "Volleys of guns" Gamzatov; "Seeing the Highlander" Zalova; "Nights", "Dnieper", "On the way" Suleymanova.
Currently, the organization of writers of Dagestan is one of the largest in Russia. It consists of more than 140 poets, playwrights, prose writers, critics, translators. The union consists of nine sections, the head of each of them is a well-known writer with a worldwide reputation.
