Tabasaran language
| Tabasaran | |
|---|---|
| Tabassaran | |
| табасаран чIал tabasaran ç̇al ихь чIал ix ç̇al | |
| Pronunciation | [tɑbɑsɑrɑn t͡ʃʼɑl] [ix t͡ʃʼɑl] |
| Native to | North Caucasus |
| Region | Southern Dagestan |
| Ethnicity | Tabasarans |
Native speakers | 126,900 (2010 census) |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Russia |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | tab |
| Glottolog | taba1259 |
| ELP | Tabasaran |
Map of Tabasarans in the Caucasus | |
Tabasaran is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Tabasaran (also written Tabassaran) is a Northeast Caucasian language of the Lezgic branch. It is spoken by the Tabasaran people in the southern part of the Russian Republic of Dagestan. There are two main dialects: North (Khanag) and South Tabasaran. It has a literary language based on the Southern dialect, one of the official languages of Dagestan.
Tabasaran is an ergative language. The verb system is relatively simple; verbs agree with the subject in number, person and (in North Tabasaran) class. North Tabasaran has two noun classes (that is, grammatical gender), whereas Southern Tabasaran lacks noun classes / gender.