Wikipedia

Rutul language

Rutul or Rutulian[2][3] is a language spoken by the Rutulians, an ethnic group living in Dagestan (Russia) and some parts of Azerbaijan. It is spoken by 30,000 people in Dagestan (2010 census)[4] and 17,000 (no date) in Azerbaijan.[5] The word Rutul derives from the name of a Dagestani village where speakers of this language make up the majority.[6][7]

Rutul
мыхаӀбишды чӀел
Pronunciation[mɨχaˤbiʃdɨ t͡ʃʼɛl]
Native toNorth Caucasus, Azerbaijan
RegionSouthern Dagestan, Russian–Azerbaijani border
EthnicityRutulians
Native speakers
33,100 (2020 census, in Russia)[1]
(undated figure of 17000 in Azerbaijan)
Cyrillic
Official status
Official language in
 Russia
Language codes
ISO 639-3rut
Glottologrutu1240
ELPRutul
Rutulians in the Caucasus
Rutulian is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (2010)

Rutulian is endangered in Russia[8] and classified as "definitely endangered" by UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.[9]

Classification

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The Rutulian language includes 4 main dialects: Mukhadian, Shinazian, Ikhrek-Myukhrekian, Borch-Khnovian.[10] [11]

Rutulian belongs to the Lezgic group (Samur group) of the Northeast Caucasian language family. The Rutulians call their language МыхаӀбишды чӀел, Myhabishdy chel.[12]

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Among the languages of the Lezgic group, Tsakhur appears to be the closest relative of Rutulian.[13] Other than these two, there are seven more languages in the Lezgic group, namely: Lezgian, Tabasaran, Aghul, Budukh, Kryts, Udi and Archi.

History

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Rutulian was not a written language until the writing system for it (based on Cyrillic) was developed in 1990. A Latin alphabet was developed in 2013 based on the Shin-Shorsu dialect.[14] Speakers are often bilingual or multilingual, having a good command of the Azeri, Lezgian and/or Russian languages. The literary version of the language remains in the process of development. In the Rutul-populated regions of southern Russia, Rutulian is taught in primary schools (grades 1 to 4).[6][full citation needed]

Phonology

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Writing

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Rutulian alphabet

Before the Russian Revolution, the Rutulians used the Arabic script. In the Arabic script (Ajami), as a written source, the text of the song in the Ikhrek dialect of the Rutulian language of the ashug of the 18th century Kur Rajaba is known.[16] In 1913, Adolf Dirr created a Cyrillic-based alphabet for Rutulian. The modern Rutulian alphabet based on the Cyrillic alphabet was introduced in 1990.[17] Arabic was used, among other things, when writing scientific papers. Turkish (Azerbaijani) was also used in everyday life. The founders of the Rutulian script and the compilers of the Rutulian alphabet based on the Cyrillic alphabet are S.M. Makhmudova,[18][19] K.E. Jamalov,[20] G.K. Ibragimov.[21] In 1992 prof. Makhmudova S. M. and Jamalov K. E. published an ABC book in Rutulian for grade 1 students - “Alifba: 1-classad kitab”.[18][22] In this edition, in addition to the previously adopted alphabet, the digraph Дз дз was introduced.[23] After that, three more school textbooks of the Rutulian language were published: Мыхаӏд чӏел (grades 2 and 4), Recipes by S. M. Makhmudova and Рутул чӏел by E. Ismailova. In 2012-2013 a textbook on the Rutul language for universities was published: Grammar of the Rutulian language, Part 1-2 by S. M. Makhmudova. In 2006, Dzhamalov K. E. and Semedov S. A. released a Rutulian-Russian dictionary (Ihrek dialect)[20] In this edition, the letter Ь ь was excluded from the alphabet, but Аь аь was included.[23] In 2019, the Rutulian-Russian dictionary by A. S. Alisultanov and T. A. Suleimanova was published.

The Rutulians have a rich literature dating back to the 11th century with the name of Zeinab Hinavi, an Albanian poet. The classic of Rutulian, Lezgin and Azerbaijani poetry is the eighteenth-century ashug Kur-Rajab. In the 20th and 21st centuries, Rutulian literature was developed and developed by Jameseb Salarov, Nurakhmed Ramazanov, Magomed Ulileev, Musa Makhmudov, Ezerchi, Yusif Medzhidov, Sakit Kurbanov, Shafi Ibragimov, Veysal Cherkezov and others. In 2008, the first generalizing work "Rutulian literature" was published, which provides information about Rutulian writers, poets and ashugs.[citation needed]

The writing system for the Rutulians of Azerbaijan was developed in 2013 based on the dialect of the village of Şin. When developing this alphabet, it was proposed to write the pharyngealized vowel [ɨˤ] with the letter ı;. The authors of the alphabet also proposed a more logically consistent system for denoting velar consonants, but it was rejected as not coinciding with the system adopted in the Azerbaijani alphabet.[24] The Rutulian alphabet in Azerbaijan includes the following letters:[25]

Latin-based Rutulian Alphabet
A a AӀ aӀ B b C c Ç ç Çʼ çʼ D d E e Ә ә F f
G g Gʼ gʼ Gh gh Ğ ğ H h X x Xh xh I ı IӀ ıӀ İ i
J j K k Kʼ kʼ Q q Qʼ qʼ Qh qh L l M m N n O o
P p Pʼ pʼ R r S s Ş ş T t Tʼ tʼ Ts ts Tsʼ tsʼ U u
Ü ü UӀ uӀ V v Y y Z z ʼ


Cyrillic-based Rutulian Alphabet
А а АӀ аӀ Б б В в Г г Гъ гъ Гь гь ГӀ гӀ Д д Е е Ё ё
Дж дж Ж ж Дз дз З з И и Й й К к Къ къ Кь кь КӀ кӀ Л л
М м Н н О о П п ПӀ пӀ Р р С с Т т ТӀ тӀ У у Уь уь
УӀ уӀ Ф ф Х х Хъ хъ Хь хь Ц ц ЦӀ цӀ Ч ч ЧӀ чӀ Ш ш Щ щ
Ъ ъ Ы ы ЫӀ ыӀ Ь ь Э э Ю ю Я я

Comparison chart

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IPA Cyrillic Latin IPA Cyrillic Latin
ɑ A a A a o О о O o
ɑˤ АӀ аӀ AӀ aӀ p П п P p
æ Аь аь Ə ə p' ПӀ пӀ P' p'
b Б б B b r Р р R r
ʋ В в V v s С с S s
g Г г G g t Т т T t
h Гь гь H h t' ТӀ тӀ T' t'
ʁ Гъ гъ Ğ ğ u У у U u
ɣ ГӀ гӀ Gh gh y Уь уь Ü ü
d Д д D d uˤ УӀ уӀ UӀ uӀ
d͡ʒ Дж дж C c f Ф ф F f
e Е е E e χ Х х X x
ʒ Ж ж J j x Хь хь Xh xh
z З з Z z q Хъ хъ Qh qh
i И и İ i t͡s Ц ц Ts ts
j Й й Y y t͡s' ЦӀ цӀ Ts' ts'
k К к K k t͡ʃ Ч ч Ç ç
q' Кь кь Q' q' t͡ʃ' ЧӀ чӀ Ç' ç'
ɢ Къ къ Q q ʃ Ш ш Ş ş
k' КӀ кӀ K' k' ʔ Ъ ъ '
l Л л L l ɨ Ы ы I ı
m М м M m ɨˤ ЫӀ ыӀ IӀ ıӀ
n Н н N n

Grammar

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Case

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Typical of Northeast Caucasian languages, Rutul has an ergative-absolutive case system, with 6 grammatical cases and a series of 12 spatial cases.

The grammatical cases are the absolutive (sometimes called the nominative), ergative, genitive, dative, comparative, and comitative.[26] Cases are realized as suffixes, either attached directly to the noun or to the oblique stem. The oblique stem (which typically coincides with the ergative case) is used as a base on which to add additional inflectional suffixes.

Case Endings in Rutul[27]
Nominative -Ø
Ergative -a, -e, -ra, -re
Genitive -d, -di
Dative -z
Comparative -qaʔ
Comitative -xʷan

The absolutive case is primarily used to denote the subject of an intransitive verb, the patient of a transitive verb, or the stimulus of a perception verb.[27]

vɨ

you(SG).ABS

za-χda

I.OBL-AD

qa-cu-rdiš

PV-listen.PF-AOR.NEG

vɨ za-χda qa-cu-rdiš

you(SG).ABS I.OBL-AD PV-listen.PF-AOR.NEG

"You didn't listen to me"

The ergative case is used to mark agents of transitive verbs, a causing force, or the mobile participant of the verb 'to fill'.[27]

χal

house

nur-di-re

light-OBL-ERG

a-c’ɨ-ri

PV-fill.PF-AOR

χal nur-di-re a-c’ɨ-ri

house light-OBL-ERG PV-fill.PF-AOR

"The house filled with light"

The genitive case primarily denotes possession, although it can be used to describe other relations, like the material of an object. The genitive suffix is identical to the attributive suffix.[27]

va

you(SG).ERG

za-s

I.OBL-DAT

naχčir-mɨ-d

beast-PL.OBL-GEN

q’ɨrbɨmɨ-d

bone-PL.OBL-GEN

χal

house

si-xaʔ

PV-put.IMPER

va za-s naχčir-mɨ-d q’ɨrbɨmɨ-d χal si-xaʔ

you(SG).ERG I.OBL-DAT beast-PL.OBL-GEN bone-PL.OBL-GEN house PV-put.IMPER

"Build me a house (made) of animal bones"

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ 7. НАСЕЛЕНИЕ НАИБОЛЕЕ МНОГОЧИСЛЕННЫХ НАЦИОНАЛЬНОСТЕЙ ПО РОДНОМУ ЯЗЫКУ
  2. ↑ Makhmudova, Svetlana. "Морфология Рутульского языка". elibrary.ru.
  3. ↑ Svetlana Makhmudova (2001). "Морфология рутульского языка". www.academia.edu. Moscow. p. 202.
  4. ↑ "Информационные материалы об окончательных итогах Всероссийской переписи населения 2010 года". Archived from the original on 2021-10-06. Retrieved 2014-08-07.
  5. ↑ Rutul language at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013) Closed access icon
  6. 1 2 (in Russian) ETHEO: Rutul Language
  7. ↑ "Итоги Всероссийской переписи населения 2010 года". Федеральная служба государственной статистики (in Russian). Росстат. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  8. ↑ Published in: Encyclopedia of the world’s endangered languages. Edited by Christopher Moseley. London & New York: Routledge, 2007. 211–280.
  9. ↑ UNESCO Interactive Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger
  10. ↑ Ibragimov, Garun Khalilovich (2004). G. A. Klimov (ed.). Rutulian language: Synchronic and Diachronic Analysis (in Russian). Makhachkala: Publishing House "Narody Dagestana". p. 308.
  11. ↑ "Rutulian language". Big Russian Encyclopedia (electronic version) (in Russian). Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  12. ↑ Polinsky, Maria (2020). The Oxford handbook of languages of the Caucasus. Oxford handbooks. New York: Oxford university press. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-19-069069-4.
  13. ↑ "The Tsakhur language". ETHEO Project (in Russian). 11 October 2005. Retrieved 26 December 2006.
  14. ↑ Clarkson, Jonathan; Iurkova, Elena (December 2015). "Important Factors in the Development of an Orthography: Shin-Shorsu Rutul—a Case Study" (PDF). SIL Forum for Language Fieldwork 2015-002. SIL International. Archived from the original on 2016-08-13. Retrieved 2016-06-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  15. 1 2 G. X. Ibragimov. 2004. Rutul'skij Jazyk. Machacala: Maxačkala: Dagestanskij Gosudarstvennyj Pedagogičeskij Universitet.
  16. ↑ Ибрагимов, Гарун Халилович (2001). "Рутульский язык". Языки Российской Федерации и соседних государств. Энциклопедия в 3-х томах. Vol. 2. М.: Наука. p. 493. ISBN 5-02-011268-2.
  17. ↑ Джамалов К. Э., Маамыдова С. М. Алифба: 1-классад китаб. МагьаӀджкъала, 1992
  18. 1 2 Рутульская и агульская литература
  19. ↑ "Институт Языкознания РАН — Рутульский язык". Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  20. 1 2 "Рутульцы". Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  21. ↑ http://www.riadagestan.ru/news/society/v_makhachkale_sostoitsya_meropriyatie_posvyashchennoe_90_letiyu_izvestnogo_rossiyskogo_filologa_garuna_ibragimova/ Archived 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine В Махачкале состоится мероприятие, посвященное 90-летию известного российского филолога Гаруна Ибрагимова
  22. ↑ Kazuto Matsumura (2002). Indigenous Minority Languages of Russia. A Bibliographical Guide (PDF). Токио, Япония: ELPR. p. 232. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2023-08-14. "Архивированная копия" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  23. 1 2 Алисултанов, А. С. (2017). К вопросу о внесении дополнений в алфавит рутульского языка (PDF). Языки малочисленных народов России: устное vs. письменное. СПб. pp. 7–9/68.
  24. ↑ Clarkson, J.; Iurkova, E. Important Factors in the Development of an Orthography: Shin-Shorsu Rutul—a Case Study. SIL International.
  25. ↑ Yurkova, Elena (2016). Rutul ç`ilid əlifba = Rutul alphabet poster.
  26. ↑ Authier, Gilles. Rutul.
  27. 1 2 3 4 Authier, p. 8.
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