# Avar language

Avar (магӏарул мацӏ, maǥarul macʼ, "language of the mountains" or авар мацӏ, awar macʼ, "Avar language"), also known as Avaric, is a Northeast Caucasian language of the Avar–Andic subgroup that is spoken by Avars, primarily in Dagestan. In 2010, there were approximately one million speakers in Dagestan and elsewhere in Russia.

## Geographic distribution

It is spoken mainly in the western and southern parts of the Russian Caucasus republic of Dagestan, and the Balaken, Zaqatala regions of north-western Azerbaijan. Some Avars live in other regions of Russia. There are also small communities of speakers living in the Russian republics of Chechnya and Kalmykia; in Georgia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Jordan, and the Marmara Sea region of Turkey. It is spoken by about 1,200,000 people worldwide. UNESCO classifies Avar as vulnerable to extinction.

## Status

It is one of six literary languages of Dagestan, where it is spoken not only by the Avar, but also serves as the language of communication between different ethnic and linguistic groups.

## Dialects

Glottolog lists 14 dialects of Avar, some of which correspond to the villages where they are spoken. The dialects are listed in alphabetical order based on their name in Glottolog:
* Ancux [av] (Antsukh / Анцух)
* Andalal-Gxdatl
* Bacadin
* Batlux
* Hid
* Karax
* Kaxib
* Keleb
* Salatav
* Shulanin
* Untib
* Xunzax (Khunzakh / Xунзах)
* Zakataly
* Zaqatala

## Phonology

Consonant phonemes of Avar :
| | | Labial | Dental | Dental | Alveolar | Alveolar | Alveolar | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Velar | Uvular | Uvular | Pharyngeal | Glottal |
| | | Labial | Dental | Dental | central | central | lateral | lateral | | Palatal | Velar | Velar | Uvular | Uvular | Pharyngeal | Glottal |
| | | Labial | lenis | fortis | lenis | fortis | lenis | fortis | Palatal | lenis | fortis | lenis | fortis | Pharyngeal | Glottal |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | n | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Plosive | voiced | b | d | | | | | | | ɡ | | | | | |
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | | | | | | | k | kː | | | | ʔ |
| Plosive | ejective | | tʼ | | | | | | | kʼ | kʼː | | | | |
| Affricate | voiceless | | t͡s | t͡sː | t͡ʃ | t͡ʃː | | t͡ɬː | | | | | q͡χː | | |
| Affricate | ejective | | t͡sʼ | t͡sʼː | t͡ʃʼ | t͡ʃʼː | | (t͡ɬʼː) | | | | | q͡χʼː | | |
| Fricative | voiceless | | s | sː | ʃ | ʃː | ɬ | ɬː | | x | xː | χ | χː | ʜ | |
| Fricative | voiced | | z | | ʒ | | | | | | | ʁ | | ʕ | ɦ |
| Trill | Trill | | | | r | | | | | | | | | | |
| Approximant | Approximant | w | | | | | l | | j | | | | | | |
There are competing analyses of the distinction transcribed in the table with the length sign ⟨ː⟩. Length is part of the distinction, but so is articulatory strength, so they have been analyzed as fortis and lenis. The fortis affricates are long in the fricative part of the contour, e.g. [tsː] (tss), not in the stop part as in geminate affricates in languages such as Japanese and Italian [tːs] (tts). Laver (1994) analyzes e.g. [t͡ɬː] as a two-segment affricate–fricative sequence [t͡ɬɬ] (/t𐞛ɬ/ = /t$^ɬ$ɬ/).
Avar Vowels :
| | Front | Back |
| High | i | u |
| Mid | e | o |
| Low | a | a |
Avar has five phonemic vowels: /a e i o u/.

### Lexical accent

In Avar, accent is contrastive, free and mobile, independent of the number of syllables in the word. Changes in lexical accent placement indicate different semantic meaning and grammatical meanings of a word:
* ра́гӏи 'word' ~ рагӏи́ 'fodder'
* ру́гънал 'wound.nom.pl' ~ ругъна́л 'wound.gen.sg'

## Morphosyntax

Avar is an agglutinative language, of SOV order.
Adverbs do not inflect, outside of inflection for noun class in some adverbs of place: e.g. the /b/ in /ʒani-b/ "inside" and /t͡se-b-e/ "in front". Adverbs of place also distinguish locative, allative, and ablative forms suffixally, such as /ʒani-b/ "inside", /ʒani-b-e/ "to the inside", and /ʒani-sa/ "from the inside". /-go/ is an emphatic suffix taken by underived adjectives.

## Writing systems

There were some attempts to write the Avar language in the Georgian alphabet as early as the 14th century. The use of the Perso-Arabic script for representing Avar in marginal glosses began in the 15th century. The use of Arabic, which is known as ajam, is still known today.
Peter von Uslar developed a Cyrillic-based alphabet, published in 1889, that also used some Georgian-based letters. Many of its letters have not been encoded in Unicode. The alphabet takes the following form: а б в г ӷ д е ж һ і ј к қ л м н о п ԛ р с ҫ т ҭ у х х̓ хّ ц ц̓ ꚑ ч ч̍ чّ /ч̓ ш ƞ ƞ̓ ɳّ ດ
As part of Soviet language re-education policies in 1928 the Ajam was replaced by a Latin alphabet, which in 1938 was in turn replaced by the current Cyrillic script. Essentially, it is the Russian alphabet plus one additional letter called palochka (stick, Ӏ). As that letter cannot be typed with common keyboard layouts, it is often replaced with a capital Latin letter i ( I ), small Latin letter L ( l ), or the numerical digit 1.

### Current orthography

The Avar language is usually written in the Cyrillic script. The letters of the alphabet are (with their pronunciation given below in IPA transcription):
| А а /a/ | Б б /b/ | В в /w/ | Г г /ɡ/ | Гъ гъ /ʁ/ | Гь гь /h/ | ГӀ гӏ /ʕ/ | Д д /d/ |
| Е е /e/, /je/ | Ё ё /jo/ | Ж ж /ʒ/ | З з /z/ | И и /i/ | Й й /j/ | К к /k/ | Къ къ /q͡χʼː/ |
| Кь кь /t͡ɬʼː/ | КӀ кӏ /kʼ/ | КӀкӏ кӏкӏ /kʼː/ | Кк кк /kː/ | Л л /l/ | ЛӀ лӏ /t͡ɬː/ | Лъ лъ /ɬ/ | Лълъ лълъ /ɬː/ |
| М м /m/ | Н н /n/ | О о /o/ | П п /p/ | Р р /r/ | С с /s/ | Сс сс /sː/ | Т т /t/ |
| ТӀ тӏ /tʼ/ | У у /u/ | Ф ф /f/ | Х х /χ/ | Хх хх /χː/ | Хъ хъ /q͡χː/ | Хь хь /x/ | Хьхь хьхь /xː/ |
| ХӀ хӏ /ħ/ | Ц ц /t͡s/ | Цц цц /t͡sː/ | ЦӀ цӏ /t͡sʼ/ | ЦӀцӏ цӏцӏ /t͡sʼː/ | Ч ч /t͡ʃ/ | Чч чч /t͡ʃː/ | ЧӀ чӏ /t͡ʃʼ/ |
| ЧӀчӏ чӏчӏ /t͡ʃʼː/ | Ш ш /ʃ/ | Щ щ /ʃː/ | Ъ ъ /ʔ/ | Ы ы /ɨ/ | Ь ь /ʲ/ | Э э /e/ | Ю ю /ju/ |
| Я я /ja/ |

### Comparison chart

Compiled according to:
Cyrillic
Latin
Arabic
IPA
А аA aآ ,ا/a/
Б бB bب/b/
В вV vو/w/
Г гG gڬ/ɡ/
Гъ ГъƢ ƣغ/ʁ/
Гь гьH hﻫ/h/
ГӀ гӀⱧ ⱨع/ʕ/
Д дD dد/d/
Е еE e, Je jeئې، ې، يې/e/, /je/
Ё ёJo, joيۈ/jo/
Ж жƵ ƶج/ʒ/
З зZ zز/z/
И иI iئێ، ێ/i/
Й йJ jي/j/
К кK kك/k/
Кк ккKk kkكّ/kː/
Къ къQ qق/q͡χʼː/
Кь кьꝖ ꝗڨ/t͡ɬʼː/
КӀ кӀⱩ ⱪگ/kʼ/
КӀкӀ кӀкӀⱩⱪ ⱪⱪگّ/kʼː/
Л лL lل/l/
Лъ лъĻ ļڸ/t͡ɬ/
Лълъ лълъĻļ ļļڸّ/t͡ɬː/
М мM mم/m/
Н нN nن/n/
О оO oئۈ، ۈ/o/
П пP pف/p/
ПӀ пӀP pڣ/pʼ/
Р рR rر/r/
С сS sس/s/
Сс ссSs ssسّ/sː/
Т тT tت/t/
ТӀ тӀŢ ţط/tʼ/
У уU uئۇ، ۇ/u/
Ф фF fف/f/
Х хX xخ/χ/
Хх ххXx xxخّ/χː/
Хъ хъӾ ӿڅ/q͡χː/
Хь хьҲ ҳڮ/x/
Хьхь хьхьҲҳ ҳҳڮّ/xː/
ХӀ хӀĦ ħح/ħ/
Ц цꞨ ꞩص/t͡s/
Цц ццꞨꞩ ꞩꞩصّ/t͡sː/
ЦӀ цӀⱫ ⱬض/t͡sʼ/
ЦӀцӀ цӀцӀⱫⱬ ⱬⱬضّ/t͡sʼː/
Ч чC cچ/t͡ʃ/
(Чч чч)Cc ccچّ/t͡ʃː/
ЧӀ чӀÇ çڃ/t͡ʃʼ/
ЧӀчӀ чӀчӀÇç ççڃّ/t͡ʃʼː/
Ш шŞ şش/ʃ/
Щ щŞş şşشّ/ʃː/
Ъ ъ’ئ/ʔ/
Ы ыY yئێ، ێ/ɨ/
Ь ьJ jي/ʲ/
Э эE eئې، ې/e/
Ю юJu juيۇ/ju/
Я яJa jaيا/ja/
In Arabic order:
Arabic
Cyrillic
Latin
IPA
ا
А аA a/a/
ب
Б бB b/b/
ت
Т тT t/t/
تُ
Тв твTv tv/tʷ/
ج
Ж жƵ ƶ/ʒ/
جُ
Жв жвƵv ƶv/ʒʷ/
ڃ
ЧӀ чӀÇ ç/t͡ʃʼ/
ڃُ
ЧӀв чӀвÇv çv/t͡ʃʷʼ/
‌ ڃّ
ЧӀчӀ чӀчӀÇç çç/t͡ʃʼː/
‌ ڃُّ
ЧӀчӀв чӀчӀвÇçv ççv/t͡ʃʷʼː/
چ
Ч чC c/t͡ʃ/
چُ
Чв чвCv cv/t͡ʃʷ/
چّ
Чч ччCc cc/t͡ʃː/
چُّ
Ччв ччвCcv ccv/t͡ʃʷː/
ح
ХӀ хӀĦ ħ/ʜ/
حُ
ХӀв хӀвĦv ħv/ʜʷ/
خ
Х хX x/χ/
خُ
Хв хвXv xv/χʷ/
خّ
Хх ххXx xx/χː/
خُّ
Ххв ххвXxv xxv/χʷː/
څ
Хъ хъӾ ӿ/q͡χː/
څُ
Хъв хъвӾv ӿv/q͡χʷː/
د
Д дD d/d/
دُ
Дв двDv dv/dʷ/
‌ ر
Р рR r/r/
‌ ز
З зZ z/z/
‌ زُ
Зв звZv zv/zʷ/
‌ س
С сS s/s/
‌ سُ
Св свSv sv/sʷ/
‌ سّ
Сс ссSs ss/sː/
‌ سُّ
Ссв ссвSsv ssv/sʷː/
ش
Ш шŞ ş/ʃ/
شُ
Шв швŞv şv/ʃʷ/
شّ
Щ щŞş şş/ʃː/
شُّ
Щв щвŞşv şşv/ʃʷː/
ص
Ц цꞨ ꞩ/t͡s/
صّ
Цц ццꞨꞩ ꞩꞩ/t͡sː/
ض
ЦӀ цӀⱫ ⱬ/t͡sʼ/
ضُ
ЦӀв цӀвⱫv ⱬv/t͡sʷʼ/
ضّ
ЦӀцӀ цӀцӀⱫⱬ ⱬⱬ/t͡sʼː/
ضُّ
ЦӀцӀв цӀцӀвⱫⱬv ⱬⱬv/t͡sʷʼː/
ط
ТӀ тӀŢ ţ/tʼ/
طُ
ТӀв тӀвŢv ţv/tʷʼ/
‌ ع
ГӀ гӀⱧ ⱨ/ʕ/
غ
Гъ ГъƢ ƣ/ʁ/
غُ
Гъв ГъвƢv ƣv/ʁʷ/
ف
П пP p/p/
Ф фF f/f/
ڣ
ПӀ пӀP p/pʼ/
ق
Къ къQ q/q͡χʼː/
قُ
Къв къвQv qv/q͡χʷʼː/
ڨ
Кь кьꝖ ꝗ/t͡ɬʼː/
ڨُ
Кьв кьвꝖv ꝗv/t͡ɬʷʼː/
ك
К кK k/k/
كُ
Кв квKv kv/kʷ/
كّ
Кк ккKk kk/kː/
كُّ
Ккв кквKkv kkv/kʷː/
گ
КӀ кӀⱩ ⱪ/kʼ/
گُ
КӀв кӀвⱩv ⱪv/kʷʼ/
گّ
КӀкӀ кӀкӀⱩⱪ ⱪⱪ/kʼː/
گُّ
КӀкӀв кӀкӀвⱩⱪv ⱪⱪv/kʷʼː/
ڬ
Г гG g/ɡ/
ڬُ
Гв гвGv gv/ɡʷ/
ڮ
Хь хьҲ ҳ/x/
ڮُ
Хьв хьвҲv ҳv/xʷ/
ڮّ
Хьхь хьхьҲҳ ҳҳ/xː/
ل
Л лL l/l/
ڸ
Лъ лъĻ ļ/t͡ɬ/
ڸُ
Лъв лъвĻv ļv/t͡ɬʷ/
ڸّ
Лълъ лълъĻļ ļļ/t͡ɬː/
ڸُّ
Лълъв лълъвĻļv ļļv/t͡ɬʷː/
م
М мM m/m/
ن
Н нN n/n/
و
В вV v/w/
ئۈ، ۈ
О оO o/o/
ئۇ، ۇ
У уU u/u/
ﻫُ
Гьв гьвHv hv/ɦʷ/
ﻫ
Гь гьH h/ɦ/
ئې، ې
Э эE e/e/
ئې، ې، يې
Е еE e, Je je/e/, /je/
ئێ، ێ
И иI i/i/
Ы ыY y/ɨ/
ي
Й йJ j/j/
Ь ьJ j/ʲ/
يا
Я яJa ja/ja/
يۈ
Ё ёJo, jo/jo/
يۇ
Ю юJu ju/ju/
ئ
Ъ ъ’/ʔ/
ئُ
Ъв ъв’v/ʔʷ/ :

### Arabic writing conventions

One feature of Avar Arabic script is that similar to alphabets such as Uyghur and Kurdish, the script does not omit vowels and does not rely on diacritics to represent vowels when need be. Instead, modified letters with dot placement and accents have been standardized to represent vowels. Thus, Avar Arabic script is no longer an "impure abjad" unlike its parent systems (Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman), it now resembles a proper "alphabet".
While this was not the case for most of the several centuries during which Arabic alphabet has been used for Avar, this has become the case in the latest and most common conventions. This was indeed not the case at the time of writing of a linguistic article for the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society in 1881.
As an example, in Avar Arabic Script, four varieties of the letter yāʼ ("ی") have been developed, each with a distinct function.
Varieties of "ی" :
| Leter | Cyrillic Equivalent | IPA | Function |
| ئ‎ | - / ъ | /ʔ/ | Used at the beginning of words starting with vowels "О о" [o], "У у" [u], "Э э" [e], and "И и" [i]. Has no sound of its own, but acts as "vowel carrier". Similar to writing conventions of Uyghyr and Kurdish |
| ئې، ې‎ | Э э / Е е | /e/ | Similar letter exists in Pashto, Uzbek, and Uyghyr orthographies. |
| ئێ، ێ‎ | И и / Ы ы | /i~ɨ/ | Similar letter exists in Kurdish orthography, but for the vowel [e]. |
| ي‎ | Й й | /j/ | Equivalent to English "y" sound. |
Nevertheless, Avar Arabic script does retain two diacritics.
First is "shadda" (ـّـ), used for gemination. While in Cyrillic, two back to back letters, including digraphs are written, in Arabic script, shadda is used.
Second diacritic in use in Avar Arabic script is ḍammah (ـُـ). In Arabic, Persian, and historically in Ottoman Turkish, this diacritic is used to represent [o] or [u]. But in Avar, this diacritic is used for labialization [◌ʷ] and not for any sort of vowel. So, it is the case that this diacritic is used in conjunction with a follow-up vowel. For example, the sound "зва" [zʷa] is written as "زُا".
This diacritic can optionally be used in conjunction with shadda. For example, the sound "ссвa" [sʷːa] is written as "سُّا".
If a word starts with a vowel, if it's an [a] sound, it is written with alif "ا". Otherwise, the vowel needs to be preceded by a "vowel carrier", which is hamza-ya' (ئـ). No need for such a carrier in the middle of words. Below table demonstrates vowels in Avar Arabic Script.
Vowel Table :
| А а | О о | У у | Э э / Е е | И и |
| [a] | [o] | [u] | [e] | [i] |
| Vowel at the beginning of a word |||||
| ا‎ | ئۈ‎ | ئۇ‎ | ئېـ‎ | ئێـ‎ |
| Vowel in the middle or end of a word |||||
| ـا، ا‎ | ـۈ، ۈ‎ | ـۇ، ۇ‎ | ېـ، ـېـ، ـې‎ | ێـ، ـێـ، ـێ‎ |

### Sample comparison

| Arabic Alphabet (2007) | Cyrillic Alphabet (2007) | Latin Alphabet |
| نۈڸ ماڨێڸ وێڮانا، ڨالدا ڸۇق - ڸۇقۇن، ڨۇردا كُېر ڃُان ئۇنېو، بێدا وېضّۇن دۇن؛ ڨۇرۇڬێ باطاڸۇن صېوې ئۇناڬۈ، صۈ ڸارال راعالدا عۈدۈو كّۈلېو دۇن. ڸار چُاخّۇلېب بۇڬۈ چابخێل گّالاڅان، ڸێن گانضۇلېب بۇڬۈ ڬانڃازدا طاسان؛ طاراماغادێسېب قُال بالېب بۇڬۈ، قۈ ڸێگێلان دێصا سۈعاب راڨالدا‎ | Нолъ макьилъ вихьана, кьалда лъукъ-лъукъун, Кьурда квер чIван унев, бида вецIцIун дун; Кьуруги батIалъун цеве унаго, Цо лъарал рагIалда гIодов кколев дун. Лъар чваххулеб буго чабхил кIкIалахъан, Лъин кIанцIулеб буго ганчIазда тIасан; ТIарамагъадисеб къвал балеб буго, Къо лъикIилан дица согIаб ракьалда. | Noļ maꝗiļ viҳana, ꝗalda ļuq-ļuqun, Ꝗurda кvеr çvan unеv, bida vеⱬⱬun dun; Ꝗuruⱨ baţaļun s̶еvе unago, Co ļaral raⱨalda ⱨodov ккolеv dun. Łar cvaxxulеb bugo cabxil ⱪⱪalax̶an, Łin ⱪanⱬulеb bugo gançazda ţaсan; Ţaramaƣadiсеb qval balеb bugo, Qo ļiⱪilan dis̶a сoⱨab raꝗalda. |

## Literature

The literary language is based on the болмацӏ (bolmacʼ)—bo = "army" or "country", and macʼ = "language"—the common language used between speakers of different dialects and languages. The bolmacʼ in turn was mainly derived from the dialect of Khunzakh, the capital and cultural centre of the Avar region, with some influence from the southern dialects. Nowadays the literary language is influencing the dialects, levelling out their differences.
The most famous figure of modern Avar literature is Rasul Gamzatov (died November 3, 2003), the People's Poet of Dagestan. Translations of his works into Russian have gained him a wide audience all over the former Soviet Union.

## Sample sentences

| English | Avar | Transliteration | IPA |
| Hello! | Ворчӏами! | Worch’ami! | /wort͡ʃ’ami/ |
| How are you doing? | Щиб хӏaл бугеб? | Shchib hal bugeb? | /ʃːib ʜal bugeb/ |
| How are you? | Иш кин бугеб? | Ish kin bugeb? | /iʃ kin bugeb/ |
| What is your name? | Дуда цӏар щиб? | Duda c’ar shchib? | /duda t͡s’ar ʃːib/ |
| How old are you? | Дур чан сон бугеб? | Dur chan son bugeb? | /dur t͡ʃan son bugeb/ |
| Where are you going? | Mун киве ина вугев? | Mun kiwe ina wugew? | /mun kiwe ina wugew/ |
| Sorry! | Тӏаса лъугьа! | T’asa łuḩa! | /t’asa ɬuha/ |
| Mother | Эбель | A'bel | / A'bel/ |
| Father | Эмен | A'men | / A'men/ |
| Where is the little boy going? | Киве гьитӏинав вас унев вугев? | Kiwe ḩit’inaw was unew wugew? | /kiwe hit’inaw was unew wugew/ |
| The boy broke a bottle. | Васас шиша бекана. | Wasas shisha bekana. | /wasas ʃiʃa bekana/ |
| They are building the road. | Гьез нух бале (гьабулеб) буго. | Ḩez nux́ bale (ḩabuleb) bugo. | /hez nuχ bale (habuleb) bugo/ |

## Sample text

| Avar | Avar | Avar | Translation |
| Cyrillic | Latin | Arabic | Translation |
| Я, зобалазда вугев нижер Эмен, дур цӀар гӀадамаз мукъадасаблъун рикӀкӀаги, дур ПарччахӀлъи тӀаде щваги. Зобалаздаго гӀадин ракьалдаги дур амру билълъанхъаги. Жакъа нижер бетӀербахъиялъе хинкӀ-чед кье нижее. Нижер налъи-хӀакъалда тӀасаги лъугьа, нижерго налъулазда тӀаса нижги лъугьарал ругин. Нижер хӀалбихьизеги биччаге, Квешалдаса цӀуне ниж. | Ja, zobalazda wugew niƶer Emen, dur ⱬar ⱨadamaz muqadasabļun, riⱪⱪagi, dur Parccaħļi ţade şşvagi. Zobalazdago ⱨadin raꝗaldagi dur amru biļļanӿagi. Ƶaqa niƶer beţerbaӿijaļe xinⱪ-ced ꝗe niƶeje. Niƶer naļi-ħaqalda ţasagi ļuha, niƶergo naļulazda, ţasa niƶgi ļuharal rugin. Niƶer ħalbiҳizegi biccage, Kveşaldasa ⱬune niƶ | يا، زۈبالازدا وۇڬېو نێجېر ئېمېن، دۇر ضار عاداماز مۇقاداسابڸۇن رێگّاڬێ، دۇر پارچّاحڸێ طادې شُّاڬێ. زۈبالازداڬۈ عادێن راڨالداڬێ دۇر امرۇ بێڸّانڅاڬێ. جاقا نێجېر بېطېرباڅێياڸې جێنگ-چېدڨ ڨې نێجېيې. نێجېر ناڸێ-حاقالدا طاساڬێ ڸۇﻫا، نێجېرڬۈ ناڸۇلازدا طاسا نێجرێ ڸۇﻫارال رۇڬێن. نێجېر حالبێڮێزېڬێ بێچّارێ، کُێشالداسا ضۇنې نێج. | Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. |