| Also Known As: Caxur,Tsakhury,Sakhur,Tsaxur,Tsakhur
Description:
Tsakhur is a language spoken by the Tsakhurs, an ethnic group, which populates northern Azerbaijan and southwestern Dagestan (Russia). The word Tsakhur derives from the name of a Dagestani village where speakers of this language make up the majority.
Tsakhur belongs to the Lezgic group of the Northeast Caucasian (Dagestan) language family. Tsakhurs call their language C'aiχna miz.
The first written documentation of Tsakhur dates back to 1895 and is attributed to Roderich von Erckert. The first description of Tsakhur grammar was published by Adolf Dirr in 1913.
In the 1930s, a literary form of Tsakhur was developed. Starting from 1934, the language was taught in primary schools in Azerbaijan and Dagestan. In 1938, the use of literary Tsakhur in Azerbaijan was discontinued but regained its status in 1989.
The writing system of Tsakhur in Azerbaijan is based on Latin alphabet, while in Dagestan the language uses Cyrillic alphabet. In the past (as early as the 11th century) there have been attempts to write in Tsakhur using Arabic alphabet.
Tsakhur is spoken mostly in rural areas of Azerbaijan's Zagatala and Gakh rayons, as well as mountainous parts of Dagestan's Rutul region. There..... full article at Wikipedia |
