Endangered Languages Project

The Tsakhur language belongs to the southeastern group of the Lezgi-Samur branch of Dagestan languages. (The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire)

ALSO KNOWN AS		Tsaxur, Caxur, цахурский язык, Saxur dili, წახური ენა, цӀаӀхна миз, cʼäxna miz, Sakhur, Tsakhury, Tsakhar,
CLASSIFICATION		Northeast Caucasian, Daghestanian, Lezgic
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		tkr
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		Mikik Kirmico-Lek Misles
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

Compare Sources (8)

Information from: “Europe and North Asia” (211-282) . Tapani Salminen (2007) , C. Moseley · London & New York: Routledge

Vulnerable

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available
~19,000
Native speakers worldwide

DATE OF INFO: 1989

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

Most children are speakers.

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Azerbaijani
Russian

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

In recent years Tsakhur has been studied as a subject in local schools.

More on Orthography

Tsakhur was used as a literary language in the mid-1930s and again in the 1990s.

PLACES: Caucasia: northern Azerbaijan and southern Daghestan

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Spoken in sixteen villages in Zakatala (Zaqatala) and Kakh (Qax) counties in Azerbaijan as well as in thirteen villages in Rutul County in the Republic of Daghestan in the Russian Federation.

Threatened

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available
19,972
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
"The actual number of Tsakhurs is most likely higher, possibly as high as 50,000 (Ibragimov 1990)."
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"According to the 1989 Soviet census, there are 19,972 Tsakhur... In the 1989 Soviet census, 93% of Tsakhurs claimed to speak Tsakhur as their first language. A significant percentage, 6%, reported a language other than Russian or Tsakhur as their first language. We assume this is Azerbaijani."

DATE OF INFO: 1999-2001

DOMAINS OF USE

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

"The Tsakhur language and people are under increasing influence from Azerbaijani... Everyone in Yeni Suvaqil and Ağyazi was reported to speak and understand Tsakhur perfectly. In Qum, everyone other than preschool and school-aged children was also reported to speak and understand Tsakhur perfectly. School-aged children in Qum were reported to have average proficiency in understanding and basic proficiency in speaking Tsakhur, while preschool children were reported to have basic proficiency in understanding and less than basic proficiency in speaking Tsakhur. The only group reported to have any significant proficiency in reading or writing Tsakhur was school-aged children. They were reported to have basic levels of reading and writing in Tsakhur if they studied well... Three generalizations can be drawn about the state of Tsakhur in Azerbaijan. First, Tsakhur is losing its viability in some communities. There are two reasons for this: (i) a language shift towards Azerbaijani in some communities and (ii) a population movement away from some communities due to economic difficulties. Second, Tsakhur is very strong in some communities. In Yeni Suvaqil, for example, proficiency in Tsakhur is being maintained even in the younger generations, and Tsakhur is being used in all of the major domains of life except education. Third, Tsakhur is gaining prominence within the region. This can be seen in the growth of interest in Tsakhur-language study in school and the growing development of Tsakhur-language materials."

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Russian
Azerbaijani

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

"In Qum, Azerbaijani is the main language in all domains, while the use of Tsakhur is limited. If Tsakhur is used at all, it is minimally used in the home. Some individuals also use it on the street... Recently both Tsakhur radio programs and newspapers have appeared in the areas where Tsakhurs live in Azerbaijan as well as in Dagestan."

PLACES: Azerbaijan; Russia

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: "There are over thirty Tsakhur villages (Schulze 1997) scattered from the Samur River valley in the Rutul district of Southern Dagestan in the north to the Azerbaijani districts of Zaqatala and Qax in the south. It has been claimed that close to two-thirds of the Tsakhur population lives in Azerbaijan. Schulze (1997) identifies nine villages in Azerbaijan where Tsakhurs constitute the majority of the population: Ağdam-Kalyal, Suvaqil, Karkay, Kalalu, Sabunçi, Alaskar, Mamrux, Gezbarax, and Mişleş. All of these are in the district of Zaqatala. Significant numbers of Tsakhur are said to live in an additional sixteen ethnically mixed communities."

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
25,000
Native speakers worldwide

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
22,843
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
13,000 in Azerbaijan (1989 census). Ethnic population: 13,318 in Azerbaijan (1989 census). 9,770 in Russian Federation (2002 census)

PLACES: Azerbaijan; Uzbekistan; Russia;

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Northwest Azerbaijan. Russia: Southern Dagestan.

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
19,010
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
19,972
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
In 1989, 95.2% of the ethnic population of 19,972 were considered to be native speakers, which is approximately 19,010.

DATE OF INFO: 1989

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY
More on Orthography: Although a Tsakhur literary language was founded in 1932, on the basis of the Latin alphabet, it was never used.

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: The Tsakhurs inhabit the mountains of the upper reaches of the River Samur in Dagestan.

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
20,073
Native speakers worldwide

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
30,000
Native speakers worldwide

DATE OF INFO: 2000

PLACES: Daghestan; northern Azerbaijan

1 58811 479 1			2004	Where coordination meets subordination: Converb Constructions in Tsakhur	Coordinating Conjunctions	227-240		Martin Haspelmath	Book	John Benjamins B.V.		John Benjamins North America, P.O. Box 27519, Philadelphia, PA 19118		9	http://books.google.com.eres.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/books?hl=en&lr=&id=FxkobNpxQhwC&oi=fnd&pg=PA227&dq=tsakhur&ots=vivXtWENRp&sig=SYvSuUNicKhJQnZ8aqashrVhZHM#v=onepage&q=tsakhur&f=false	Konstantin I. Kazenin and Yakov G. Testelets	Konstantin I. Kazenin and Yakov G. Testelets. 2004. "Where Coordination Meets Subordination: Converb Constructions in Tsakhur." In Coordinating Conjunctions, edited by Martin Haspelmath. 227-240. John Benjamins B.V.. Online: http://books.google.com.eres.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/books?hl=en&lr=&id=FxkobNpxQhwC&oi=fnd&pg=PA227&dq=tsakhur&ots=vivXtWENRp&sig=SYvSuUNicKhJQnZ8aqashrVhZHM#v=onepage&q=tsakhur&f=false.			30,000	2000	10000-99999							Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)					Daghestan; northern Azerbaijan
		2005-016	2005	The sociolinguistic situation of the Tsakhur in Azerbaijan			This is an online resource for SIL International and has not been formally published in a peer-reviewed journal.				Journal of Language Survey Reports		SIL International		http://www.sil.org/silesr/2005/silesr2005-016.pdf	John M. Clifton and Calvin Tiessen and Gabriela Deckinga and Laura Lucht	John M. Clifton, Calvin Tiessen, Gabriela Deckinga and Laura Lucht. 2005. The sociolinguistic situation of the Tsakhur in Azerbaijan . SIL International. Online: http://www.sil.org/silesr/2005/silesr2005-016.pdf.		"The actual number of Tsakhurs is most likely higher, possibly as high as 50,000 (Ibragimov 1990)."	19,972	1999-2001	10000-99999	"According to the 1989 Soviet census, there are 19,972 Tsakhur... In the 1989 Soviet census, 93% of Tsakhurs claimed to speak Tsakhur as their first language. A significant percentage, 6%, reported a language other than Russian or Tsakhur as their first language. We assume this is Azerbaijani."	~7%%		Russian, Azerbaijani	"In Qum, Azerbaijani is the main language in all domains, while the use of Tsakhur is limited. If Tsakhur is used at all, it is minimally used in the home. Some individuals also use it on the street... Recently both Tsakhur radio programs and newspapers have appeared in the areas where Tsakhurs live in Azerbaijan as well as in Dagestan."	~81%%	Threatened (80 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	11	"The Tsakhur language and people are under increasing influence from Azerbaijani... Everyone in Yeni Suvaqil and Ağyazi was reported to speak and understand Tsakhur perfectly. In Qum, everyone other than preschool and school-aged children was also reported to speak and understand Tsakhur perfectly. School-aged children in Qum were reported to have average proficiency in understanding and basic proficiency in speaking Tsakhur, while preschool children were reported to have basic proficiency in understanding and less than basic proficiency in speaking Tsakhur. The only group reported to have any significant proficiency in reading or writing Tsakhur was school-aged children. They were reported to have basic levels of reading and writing in Tsakhur if they studied well... Three generalizations can be drawn about the state of Tsakhur in Azerbaijan. First, Tsakhur is losing its viability in some communities. There are two reasons for this: (i) a language shift towards Azerbaijani in some communities and (ii) a population movement away from some communities due to economic difficulties. Second, Tsakhur is very strong in some communities. In Yeni Suvaqil, for example, proficiency in Tsakhur is being maintained even in the younger generations, and Tsakhur is being used in all of the major domains of life except education. Third, Tsakhur is gaining prominence within the region. This can be seen in the growth of interest in Tsakhur-language study in school and the growing development of Tsakhur-language materials."	13		Azerbaijan; Russia	"There are over thirty Tsakhur villages (Schulze 1997) scattered from the Samur River valley in the Rutul district of Southern Dagestan in the north to the Azerbaijani districts of Zaqatala and Qax in the south. It has been claimed that close to two-thirds of the Tsakhur population lives in Azerbaijan. Schulze (1997) identifies nine villages in Azerbaijan where Tsakhurs constitute the majority of the population: Ağdam-Kalyal, Suvaqil, Karkay, Kalalu, Sabunçi, Alaskar, Mamrux, Gezbarax, and Mişleş. All of these are in the district of Zaqatala. Significant numbers of Tsakhur are said to live in an additional sixteen ethnically mixed communities."
			2007	Europe and North Asia	Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages	211-282		C. Moseley		London & New York: Routledge						Tapani Salminen	Salminen, Tapani. 2007. "Europe and North Asia." In Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, edited by C. Moseley. 211-282. London & New York: Routledge.	HHOLD		~19,000	1989	10000-99999				Azerbaijani, Russian	In recent years Tsakhur has been studied as a subject in local schools.		Vulnerable (80 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	11	Most children are speakers.		11	Caucasia: northern Azerbaijan and southern Daghestan	Spoken in sixteen villages in Zakatala (Zaqatala) and Kakh (Qax) counties in Azerbaijan as well as in thirteen villages in Rutul County in the Republic of Daghestan in the Russian Federation.
0199255911			2005	The World Atlas of Language Structures				Bernard Comrie and David Gil and Martin Haspelmath and Matthew S. Dryer		Oxford University Press		New York					2005. "The World Atlas of Language Structures." edited by Bernard Comrie et al. Oxford University Press.																			41.6666666667,47.1666666667
	16		2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)				M. Paul Lewis		SIL International		Dallas, TX			http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub		22,843		10000-99999	13,000 in Azerbaijan (1989 census). Ethnic population: 13,318 in Azerbaijan (1989 census). 9,770 in Russian Federation (2002 census)						Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)					Azerbaijan; Uzbekistan; Russia;	Northwest Azerbaijan. Russia: Southern Dagestan.
	3rd		2010	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger						UNESCO Publishing		Paris			http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas	Christopher Moseley (ed.)	Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)	ll_pub		25,000		10000-99999							Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)							41.6523,46.9775
				World Oral Literature Project											http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.			20,073		10000-99999							Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)
9985-936922			1993	The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire				Andrew Humphreys and Krista Mits							http://www.eki.ee/books/redbook		"The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire." edited by Andrew Humphreys and Krista Mits. Online: http://www.eki.ee/books/redbook.		19,972	19,010	1989	10000-99999	In 1989, 95.2% of the ethnic population of 19,972 were considered to be native speakers, which is approximately 19,010.		literacy, administration	Russian			Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)						The Tsakhurs inhabit the mountains of the upper reaches of the River Samur in Dagestan.

Tsakhur

Language metadata

Language information by source

Vulnerable

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~19,000

Threatened

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

19,972

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

25,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

22,843

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

19,010

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

20,073

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

30,000

Discussion

Tsakhur

Language metadata

Language information by source

Vulnerable

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~19,000

Threatened

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

19,972

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

25,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

22,843

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

19,010

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

20,073

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

30,000

Discussion

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