Кетш мицI
Khinalug
NE Caucasian (isolate within Lezgic / independent branch)
Khinalug (self-name Kətş micI "Khinalug tongue") is a Northeast Caucasian language spoken by ~3,000 villagers in the isolated mountain village of Khinalug, northern Azerbaijan. Long classified within Lezgic, it is now widely treated as an independent branch — a true language isolate within the family — with four noun classes and roughly 18 cases. Cut off above 2,300 m for much of the year, the village preserved an idiosyncratic vocabulary stratum and an extremely conservative sound system; a Latin orthography was developed in 2007 by Kibrik's Moscow team with local teachers.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Khinalug
Water
хьу
/xu/
Fire
чIаь
/tʃʼæ/
Sun
ынкь
/ɨnqʼ/
Moon
вацI
/vatsʼ/
Mother
—
/—/
Father
—
/—/
Eat
кьанды
/qʼandæ/
Drink
цуври
/tsʰuvri/
Love
—
/—/
Heart
унг
/uŋ/
Tree
виши
/viʃæ/
House
цIва
/tsʼwa/
Dog
пхра
/pχra/
Cat
—
/—/
Hand
кул
/kʰul/
Eye
пил
/pʰil/
Hello
—
/—/
Thank you
—
/—/
One
са
/sa/
Good
ксан
/ksan/
Sources
- Kibrik, A. E. et al. (1972) Хиналугский язык / Khinalug Grammar. Moscow.
- Ganieva, F. A. (2002) Хиналугско-русский словарь. Makhachkala.
- Kassian, A. (2013) Annotated Swadesh wordlist for Khinalug. Global Lexicostatistical Database / Starling.
- ASJP Wordlist: Khinalug
- Glottolog: Khinalug
Words compared
Compared with related NE Caucasian (isolate within Lezgic / independent branch) languages
| Meaning | Khinalug | Budukh | Caucasian Albanian | Kryts | Nuxalk | Neko | Iberian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | хьу /xu/ | хьед /ħed/ | xe /xe/ | xed /xed/ | qla /qla/ | wai /wai/ | — /—/ |
| Fire | чIаь /tʃʼæ/ | цӏай /tsʼaj/ | ow /oʊ/ | ts'a /t͡sʼa/ | — /—/ | titɛ /titɛ/ | — /—/ |
| Sun | ынкь /ɨnqʼ/ | рагъ /raʁ/ | beɣ /beɣ/ | vïrïğ /vɨrɨʁ/ | snx /snx/ | aatʌ /aːtʌ/ | — /—/ |
| Moon | вацI /vatsʼ/ | ваз /vaz/ | ḳac̣ḳac̣ /kʼat͡sʼkʼat͡sʼ/ | vats /vat͡s/ | tlʼuk /tɬʼuk/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Mother | — /—/ | баб /bab/ | nana /nana/ | dada /dada/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Father | — /—/ | дада /dada/ | baba /baba/ | buba /buba/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eat | кьанды /qʼandæ/ | ухьун /uħun/ | ows- /us/ | ulkura /ulˈkura/ | — /—/ | nei /nei/ | — /—/ |
| Drink | цуври /tsʰuvri/ | эджи /edʒi/ | owɣ- /uɣ/ | hatsra /hat͡sˈra/ | qāχla /qaːχla/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | besown /besun/ | mukan /muˈkan/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Heart | унг /uŋ/ | юкӏ /jukʼ/ | ükʼ /ykʼ/ | rikʼ /rikʼ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | виши /viʃæ/ | тар /tar/ | xod /xod/ | xer /xer/ | — /—/ | tei /tei/ | — /—/ |
| House | цIва /tsʼwa/ | кӏул /kʼul/ | ḳoǰ /kʼod͡ʒ/ | xal /xal/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | iltiŕ /iltir̥/ |
| Dog | пхра /pχra/ | хвар /χʷar/ | xa /xa/ | xveqʼ /χveqʼ/ | ƛ̓ikm /tɬʼikm/ | gonʌ /ɡonʌ/ | — /—/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hand | кул /kʰul/ | кул /kul/ | kʼul /kʼul/ | kul /kul/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eye | пил /pʰil/ | ул /ul/ | pʼul /pʼul/ | ul /ul/ | — /—/ | ta /ta/ | — /—/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | салам /salam/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| One | са /sa/ | са /sa/ | sa /sa/ | sa /sa/ | maw /maw/ | — /—/ | ban /ban/ |
| Good | ксан /ksan/ | — /—/ | kʼačʼal /kʼat͡ʃʼal/ | yiğin /jiˈʁin/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.