Kaitag language

Not to be confused with with the Kajtak dialect of Judeo-Tat.

Kaitag (self des. Хайдакьан кув [χɑjdɑqʼɑn kʰuβ]; oth. des. Kaidak, Karakaitak, Karkaidak, Qaidaqlan) is a Northeast Caucasian language spoken in Dagestan, Russia. It has sometimes been considered a divergent dialect of Dargwa due to it being part of the Dargin dialect continuum. The Routledge Ethnographic Handbook (2017) divided Kaitag into two dialects: northern (Magalis-Kaitak) and southern (Karakaitak).^[2] Recent results of the Association of the Russian Sociolinguists (2021) further developed it into three dialects: Lower Kaitag, Upper Kaitag and Shari.^[3]

Kaitag
хайдакьан кув
Pronunciation	χɑjdɑqʼɑn kʰuβ
Native to	North Caucasus
Region	Dagestan
Ethnicity	Kaitags
Native speakers	approx. 30,000 (2020)^[1]
Language family	Northeast Caucasian Dargin Kaitag
Language codes
ISO 639-3	xdq
Glottolog	kajt1238

Dialects

The languages consists of eight varieties, forming three dialects. Each of the Upper varieties corresponds to a historical province of the region.^[4]

• Upper Kaitag – Хъар Хайдакь (south-west).
  • Shurkkant – "The Cliff Dwellers" – Шурккант.
  • Qattagan – "The Gorge Dwellers" – Къаттагне.
  • Irchamul – "The Land of Nine" – Ирчӏамул.
• Lower Kaitag – Ххьар Хайдакь.
  • Barshamai – Баршамаӏъган.
  • Karatsan – Гъаӏрцӏнила.
  • Jibahni – Чӏивгьаӏн.
  • Sanchi – Сунклан.
• Shari – Шаӏръи.

Phonology

Vowels

	Front	Back
close		u
near-close	ɪ
open-mid	ɛ
near-open	æ
open		ɑ

Consonants

Consonants form by series of voiced, aspirated, fortis, ejective, and labialized variants. The palatal fricative [ç] might be the voiceless post-palatal fricative, which can be more precisely transcribed as [ç̠] or [x̟].^[5]

		Bilabial	Dental	Alveolar		Palatal		Velar		Uvular		Glottal
				plain	labialized	plain	labialized	plain	labialized	plain	labialized	plain	labialized
Nasal		m	n
Plosive	voiced	b	d					g	gʷ			ʔ
	aspirated	pʰ	tʰ					kʰ	kʰʷ	qʰ	qʰʷ
	fortis	pː	tː					kː	kːʷ	qː	qːʷ
	ejective	pʼ	tʼ					kʼ	kʼʷ	qʼ	qʼʷ
Affricate	aspirated		t͡sʰ	t͡ʃʰ	t͡ʃʰʷ
	fortis		t͡sː	t͡ʃː	t͡ʃːʷ
	ejective		t͡sʼ	t͡ʃʼ	t͡ʃʼʷ
Fricative	voiced	β	z	ʒ	ʒʷ					ʁ	ʁʷ
	plain		s	ʃ	ʃʷ	ç	çʷ			χ	χʷ	h	hʷ
	fortis		sː	ʃː	ʃːʷ	çː	çːʷ			χː	χːʷ
Trill				r
Approximant			l			j

Alphabet

The Kaitag language is usually written in the Cyrillic script. The letters of the alphabet are (with their pronunciation given below in IPA transcription):

а [ɑ~a]

аӏ [æ]

б [b]

в [β]

г [g]

гв [gʷ]

гъ [ʁ]

гъв [ʁʷ]

гь [h]

гьв [hʷ]

д [d]

е [ɛ~e]

ж [ʒ]

жв [ʒʷ]

з [z]

и [ɪ~i]

й [j]

к [kʰ]

кв [kʰʷ]

кк [kː]

ккв [kːʷ]

кӏ [kʼ]

кӏв [kʼʷ]

хъ [qʰ]

хъв [qʰʷ]

къ [qː]

къв [qːʷ]

кь [qʼ]

кь [qʼʷ]

л [l]

м [m]

н [n]

п [pʰ]

пп [pː]

пӏ [pʼ]

с [s]

сс [sː]

т [tʰ]

тт [tː]

тӏ [tʼ]

у [u]

х [χ]

хв [χʷ]

хх [χː]

ххв [χːʷ]

хь [ç]

хьв [çʷ]

ххь [çː]

ххьв [çːʷ]

ц [t͡sʰ]

цц [t͡sː]

цӏ [t͡sʼ]

ч [t͡ʃʰ]

чв [t͡ʃʰʷ]

чч [t͡ʃː]

ччв [t͡ʃːʷ]

чӏ [t͡ʃʼ]

чӏв [t͡ʃʼʷ]

ш [ʃ]

шв [ʃʷ]

шш [ʃː]

шшв [ʃːʷ]

ъ [ʔ]

Lexicon

Most of Kaitag's vocabulary stems from proto-Northeast-Caucasian roots. Like with other languages of Dagestan, there is a considerable number of Arabic, Iranian, Turkic and recently Russian loanwords.

Swadesh list for Kaitag

No.	English	Kaitag
1	I	ду [du]
2	you (singular)	и [(ʔ)ɪ]
3	he	гье [hɛ]
4	we	нисса [nisːɑ] (excl.), ниххьва [niçːʷɑ] (incl.)
5	you (plural)	нишша [niʃːɑ]
6	they	гьетти [hetːɪ]
7	this	гьеж [hɛʒ]
8	that	гьет [hɛtʰ]
9	here	гьежин [hɛʒɪn]
10	there	гьетин [hɛtʰɪn]
11	who	ча [t͡ʃʰɑ]
12	what	ци [t͡sʰɪ]
13	where	квацци [kʰʷɑt͡sːɪ]
14	when	цикъел [t͡sʰɪqːɛl]
15	how	цигле [t͡sʰɪglɛ]
16	not	аккву [ɑkːʷu] (n.), а(й)- [ɑ(j)-] (v.)
17	all	сукке [sukːɛ]
18	many	дахъ [dɑqʰ]
19	some	чумилра [t͡ʃʰumɪlrɑ]
20	few	кам [kʰɑm]
21	other	дикӏар [dɪkʼɑr]
22	one	ца [t͡sʰɑ]
23	two	чӏве [t͡ʃʼʷɛ]
24	three	аӏв [æβ]
25	four	угъ [uʁ]
26	five	шве [ʃʷɛ]
27	big	хвала [χʷɑlɑ]
28	long	ухъен [uqʰɛn]
29	wide	баӏъу[bæʔu]
30	thick	буцц [but͡sː]
31	heavy	декӏ [dɛkʼ]
32	small	никӏва [nɪkʼʷɑ]
33	short	кутӏ [kutʼ]
34	narrow	гъваӏрцӏ [ʁʷærcʼ]
35	thin	букӏал [bukʼɑl]
36	woman	ххьулум [çːulum]
37	man (adult male)	мургул[murgul]
38	man (human being)	мейдам [mɛjdɑm]
39	child	даӏргьаӏ [dærhæ]
40	wife	ххьади [çːɑdɪ]
41	husband	сув [suβ]
42	mother	уба [ubɑ]
43	father	атта [ɑtːɑ]
44	animal	мицӏираг [mɪcʼɪrɑg]
45	fish	кӏас [kʼɑs]
46	bird	ахьлиъаӏн [ɑçlɪʔæn]
47	dog	ххваӏ [χːʷæ]
48	louse	нез [nɛz]
49	snake	цӏецӏи [cʼɛcʼɪ]
50	worm	милкъваӏ [mɪlqːʷæ]
51	tree	ккалкка [kːɑlkːɑ]
52	forest	дуцца [dut͡sːɑ]
53	stick	миргъаӏ [mɪrʁæ]
54	fruit	удар [udɑr]
55	seed	шва [ʃʷɑ]
56	leaf	кӏаппар [kʼɑpːɑr]
57	root	йамппа [jɑmpːɑ]
58	bark (of a tree)	кам [kɑm]
59	flower	жуже [ʒuʒɛ]
60	grass	кьар [qʼɑr]
61	rope	{{{wrd061}}}
62	skin	{{{wrd062}}}
63	meat	{{{wrd063}}}
64	blood	{{{wrd064}}}
65	bone	{{{wrd065}}}
66	fat (noun)	{{{wrd066}}}
67	egg	{{{wrd067}}}
68	horn	{{{wrd068}}}
69	tail	{{{wrd069}}}
70	feather	{{{wrd070}}}
71	hair	{{{wrd071}}}
72	head	{{{wrd072}}}
73	ear	{{{wrd073}}}
74	eye	{{{wrd074}}}
75	nose	{{{wrd075}}}
76	mouth	{{{wrd076}}}
77	tooth	{{{wrd077}}}
78	tongue (organ)	{{{wrd078}}}
79	fingernail	{{{wrd079}}}
80	foot	{{{wrd080}}}
81	leg	{{{wrd081}}}
82	knee	{{{wrd082}}}
83	hand	{{{wrd083}}}
84	wing	{{{wrd084}}}
85	belly	{{{wrd085}}}
86	guts	{{{wrd086}}}
87	neck	{{{wrd087}}}
88	back	{{{wrd088}}}
89	breast	{{{wrd089}}}
90	heart	{{{wrd090}}}
91	liver	{{{wrd091}}}
92	to drink	{{{wrd092}}}
93	to eat	{{{wrd093}}}
94	to bite	{{{wrd094}}}
95	to suck	{{{wrd095}}}
96	to spit	{{{wrd096}}}
97	to vomit	{{{wrd097}}}
98	to blow	{{{wrd098}}}
99	to breathe	{{{wrd099}}}
100	to laugh	{{{wrd100}}}
101	to see	{{{wrd101}}}
102	to hear	{{{wrd102}}}
103	to know	{{{wrd103}}}
104	to think	{{{wrd104}}}
105	to smell	{{{wrd105}}}
106	to fear	{{{wrd106}}}
107	to sleep	{{{wrd107}}}
108	to live	{{{wrd108}}}
109	to die	{{{wrd109}}}
110	to kill	{{{wrd110}}}
111	to fight	{{{wrd111}}}
112	to hunt	{{{wrd112}}}
113	to hit	{{{wrd113}}}
114	to cut	{{{wrd114}}}
115	to split	{{{wrd115}}}
116	to stab	{{{wrd116}}}
117	to scratch	{{{wrd117}}}
118	to dig	{{{wrd118}}}
119	to swim	{{{wrd119}}}
120	to fly	{{{wrd120}}}
121	to walk	{{{wrd121}}}
122	to come	{{{wrd122}}}
123	to lie (as in a bed)	{{{wrd123}}}
124	to sit	{{{wrd124}}}
125	to stand	{{{wrd125}}}
126	to turn (intransitive)	{{{wrd126}}}
127	to fall	{{{wrd127}}}
128	to give	{{{wrd128}}}
129	to hold	{{{wrd129}}}
130	to squeeze	{{{wrd130}}}
131	to rub	{{{wrd131}}}
132	to wash	{{{wrd132}}}
133	to wipe	{{{wrd133}}}
134	to pull	{{{wrd134}}}
135	to push	{{{wrd135}}}
136	to throw	{{{wrd136}}}
137	to tie	{{{wrd137}}}
138	to sew	{{{wrd138}}}
139	to count	{{{wrd139}}}
140	to say	{{{wrd140}}}
141	to sing	{{{wrd141}}}
142	to play	{{{wrd142}}}
143	to float	{{{wrd143}}}
144	to flow	{{{wrd144}}}
145	to freeze	{{{wrd145}}}
146	to swell	{{{wrd146}}}
147	sun	{{{wrd147}}}
148	moon	{{{wrd148}}}
149	star	{{{wrd149}}}
150	water	{{{wrd150}}}
151	rain	{{{wrd151}}}
152	river	{{{wrd152}}}
153	lake	{{{wrd153}}}
154	sea	{{{wrd154}}}
155	salt	{{{wrd155}}}
156	stone	{{{wrd156}}}
157	sand	{{{wrd157}}}
158	dust	{{{wrd158}}}
159	earth	{{{wrd159}}}
160	cloud	{{{wrd160}}}
161	fog	{{{wrd161}}}
162	sky	{{{wrd162}}}
163	wind	{{{wrd163}}}
164	snow	{{{wrd164}}}
165	ice	{{{wrd165}}}
166	smoke	{{{wrd166}}}
167	fire	{{{wrd167}}}
168	ash	{{{wrd168}}}
169	to burn	{{{wrd169}}}
170	road	{{{wrd170}}}
171	mountain	{{{wrd171}}}
172	red	{{{wrd172}}}
173	green	{{{wrd173}}}
174	yellow	{{{wrd174}}}
175	white	{{{wrd175}}}
176	black	{{{wrd176}}}
177	night	{{{wrd177}}}
178	day	{{{wrd178}}}
179	year	{{{wrd179}}}
180	warm	{{{wrd180}}}
181	cold	{{{wrd181}}}
182	full	{{{wrd182}}}
183	new	{{{wrd183}}}
184	old	{{{wrd184}}}
185	good	{{{wrd185}}}
186	bad	{{{wrd186}}}
187	rotten	{{{wrd187}}}
188	dirty	{{{wrd188}}}
189	straight	{{{wrd189}}}
190	round	{{{wrd190}}}
191	sharp (as a knife)	{{{wrd191}}}
192	dull (as a knife)	{{{wrd192}}}
193	smooth	{{{wrd193}}}
194	wet	{{{wrd194}}}
195	dry	{{{wrd195}}}
196	correct	{{{wrd196}}}
197	near	{{{wrd197}}}
198	far	{{{wrd198}}}
199	right	{{{wrd199}}}
200	left	{{{wrd200}}}
201	at	{{{wrd201}}}
202	in	{{{wrd202}}}
203	with	{{{wrd203}}}
204	and	{{{wrd204}}}
205	if	{{{wrd205}}}
206	because	{{{wrd206}}}
207	name	{{{wrd207}}}

References

1. Kaitag at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)  
2. Ronald Wixman, Peoples of the USSR: An Ethnographic Handbook, Routledge, 28 Jul 2017, p.89
3. Mutalov, R.O. The classification of the Dargin languages and dialects [online] // Sociolinguistics, 2021. No. 3 (7). Pp.8–25. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.37892/2713-2951-3-7-8-25
4. Temirbulatova, Sapiyahanum (2006). Kaitag dialect of Dargwa. Makhachkala: Dagestani State University. pp. 5–22.
5. Temirbulatova, Sapiyahanum (2006). Kaitag dialect of Dargwa. Makhachkala: Dagestani State University. pp. 26–30.