| Bagvalal | |
| Nativename: | багвалал мисӀсӀ |
| Pronunciation: | pronounced as /[bagwalal mis’ː]/ |
| States: | North Caucasus |
| Region: | Southwestern Dagestan[1] |
| Ethnicity: | Bagvalal people |
| Date: | 2020 census |
| Ref: | [2] |
| Familycolor: | Caucasian |
| Fam1: | Northeast Caucasian |
| Fam2: | Avar–Andic |
| Fam3: | Andic |
| Fam4: | Akhvakh–Tindi |
| Fam5: | Karata–Tindi |
| Fam6: | Botlikh–Tindi |
| Fam7: | Bagvalal–Tindi |
| Iso3: | kva |
| Glotto: | bagv1239 |
| Glottorefname: | Bagvalal |
| Map: | File:Northeast Caucasus languages map en.svg |
| Map2: | Lang Status 60-DE.svg |
| Also Known As: | Bagualal, Bagwalal |
The Bagvalal language (Bagulal) is an Avar–Andic language spoken by the Bagvalals in southwestern Dagestan, Russia, along the right bank of the river Andi-Koisu and the surrounding hills, near the Georgian border. It is fairly similar to Tindi, its closest relative. The 2020 Russian census recorded 2,297 Bagvalal speakers.
Bagvalal has three dialects which are named after the names of the villages in which they are spoken in, being Kwanada, Khushtada, and Tlisi. Only the Tlisi dialect has been studied to a certain significance, because of its similarities to the Tindi language.
Bagvalal has been suffering severe problems and is in serious danger of extinction. The schooling and cultural revolution have contributed to Bagvalal's serious decline. Bagvalal pupils are taught in Avar in primary school, and in secondary school they are taught in Russian. Between 1950 and 1970, Bagvalals migrated to different districts in the Astrakhan province of Russia, and this also affected the Bagvalal language. Despite this, most of the Bagvalal are supportive towards the language, and around 30~50% of children are fluent in the language.[3] While it is still being used for everyday communication, the younger speakers do not speak it as well as the older speakers.
Bagvalal was first mentioned in the 19th century, but very few recordings of the language have been made. There has been very little linguistic research done on the language, with the exception of a 2001 book.[4]
| Labial | Dental | Lateral | Sibilant | Postalveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Pharyngeal | Laryngeal | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | lab. | plain | lab. | plain | lab. | plain | lab. | plain | lab. | plain | lab. | plain | lab. | |||||||
| Plosive & affricate | voiced | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |||||||||||||
| voiceless | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |||||||||
| ejective | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |||||||
| Fricative | voiced | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||||||||||||
| voiceless | lenis | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||||||||
| fortis | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||||||||||||||
| ejective | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||||||||||||||||
| Nasal | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Liquid | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||||||||||||||||
| Glide | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||||||||||||||||||
Bagvalal has numerous loanwords from such languages as Arabic, Russian, Turkish, and Avar. It is only used as an oral language; Avar or Russian are used as written languages. Nowadays Bagvalal is only used in family settings, using Avar or Russian for every other area of communication.