Bezhta language

Bezhta (also called Bezheta or Kapucha) is a Northeast Caucasian language spoken by the Bezhta people. About 7,000 people speak Bezhta.

Bezhta has three dialects. They are Bezhta proper, Tlyadal and Khocharkhotin.

Phonology

Bezhta has many consonants, shown below in the International Phonetic Alphabet.

 BilabialAlveolarVelarAlveolopalatalUvularPharyngealGlottalcentrallaterallateralcentralNasal       Plosivevoiceless voiced  ejectiveAffricatevoiceless ejectiveFricativevoicelessvoicedTrillApproximant

Bezhta has eight vowel qualities. These are /æ/, /ɑ/, /e/, /ø~ə/, /o/, /i/, /y~ɨ/ and /u/. All Bezhta vowels can also be nasalised. /æ/, /ɑ/, /e/, /o/, /i/ and /u/ can also be long, and /ɑ/ and /e/ can be long and nasalised.

Writing

Bezhta is rarely written, and people who speak Bezhta usually write in Avar instead. When it is written, Bezhta is usually written in the Cyrillic script.

References

Category:Caucasian languages