| Botlikh | |
| Nativename: | Буйхалъи мицIцIи/ |
| States: | North Caucasus |
| Region: | Southwestern Dagestan[1] |
| Ethnicity: | 3,788 Botlikh people (2020) |
| Speakers: | 5,073 |
| Date: | 2020 census |
| Ref: | [2] |
| Familycolor: | Caucasian |
| Fam1: | Northeast Caucasian |
| Fam2: | Avar–Andic |
| Fam3: | Andic |
| Fam4: | Akhvakh–Tindi |
| Fam5: | Karata–Tindi |
| Fam6: | Botlikh–Tindi |
| Iso3: | bph |
| Glotto: | botl1242 |
| Glottorefname: | Botlikh |
| Map: | File:Northeast Caucasus languages map en.svg |
| Map2: | Lang Status 60-DE.svg |
| Also Known As: | Botlix |
| Script: | unwritten (transcribed using Cyrillic script) |
| Dia1: | Botlikh proper |
| Dia2: | Miarso |
| Pronunciation: | pronounced as /cau/ |
| Speakers2: | (2012)[3] |
Botlikh (also spelled Botlix) is an Andic language of the Northeast Caucasian language family spoken by the Botlikhs in the villages of Botlikh (Buikhe), Miarso and Ashino, as well as in Chontaul, Ankho and in,[4] in southwestern Dagestan, Russia by approximately 5,000 people, according to the 2020 census.
Botlikh has two dialects, being Botlikh proper and Miarso. Differences in phonology and morphology are small, and the two are mutually intelligible.
Botlikh has five basic vowels. Vowels can also be long or nasalized.[5]
| Close | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mid | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |
| Open | pronounced as /ink/ |
| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Pharyngeal | Glottal | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| central | lateral | ||||||||||||||||
| lenis | fortis | lenis | fortis | lenis | fortis | lenis | fortis | lenis | fortis | lenis | fortis | ||||||
| Plosive | voiced | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |||||||||||||
| voiceless | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||||||||||||||
| ejective | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |||||||||||||||
| Affricate | voiceless | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||||||||||||
| ejective | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |||||||||||||||
| voiced | |||||||||||||||||
| Fricative | 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/ | |||||
| voiced | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||||||||||||
| Approximant | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |||||||||||||
Botlikh is unwritten, and Botlikhs have mostly used Avar as their medium of written communication. When Botlikhs need to write their language, they use the Avar alphabet. The folowing orthography is used in a Botlikh-Russian dictionary.[6]
| А а | Аᴴ аᴴ | Б б | В в | Г г | Гъ гъ | Гь гь | ГӀ гӀ | Д д | Дж дж | (Е е) | Ж ж | З з | И и | |
| Иᴴ иᴴ | Й й | К к | Кк кк | Къ къ | Кь кь | КӀ кӀ | КӀкӀ кӀкӀ | Л л | Лъ лъ | Лълъ лълъ | ЛӀ лӀ | М м | Н н | |
| О о | П п | ПӀ пӀ | Р р | С с | Сс сс | Т т | ТӀ тӀ | У у | Уᴴ уᴴ | Х х | Хх хх | Хъ хъ | Хь хь | |
| ХӀ хӀ | Ц ц | Цц цц | ЦӀ цӀ | ЦӀцӀ цӀцӀ | Ч ч | Чч чч | ЧӀ чӀ | ЧӀчӀ чӀчӀ | Ш ш | Щ щ | Ъ ъ | Э э | Эᴴ эᴴ |