The Nakh languages are a group of languages within the Northeast Caucasian family, spoken chiefly by the Chechens and Ingush in the North Caucasus.
Facts
RegionNorth Caucasus, spoken chiefly by the Chechens and Ingush; the related Bats language is spoken by an ethnic minority in Georgia. 1 Proto-Language StatusHistorically classified as an independent North-Central Caucasian family, Nakh is now recognized as a branch of the Northeast Caucasian family; its separation from common Northeast Caucasian has been tentatively dated to the Neolithic, around the 4th millennium BC. 1 Partially Attested
Speaker CountConfirmed: Chechen, by far the largest Nakh language, has approximately 2,000,000 speakers (2020) per the cited source; Ingush is separately reported around 400,000 and Bats around 3,420. Open: no combined family total is given in this source. Sources
1. Wikipedia: Nakh Languages
Wikimedia FoundationIntroduction, first sentence
The Nakh languages are a group of languages within the Northeast Caucasian family, spoken chiefly by the Chechens and Ingush in the North Caucasus.
Introduction, second sentence
Bats is the endangered language of the Bats people, an ethnic minority in Georgia.
Classification section, first sentence
The Nakh languages were historically classified as an independent North-Central Caucasian family, but are now recognized as a branch of the Northeast Caucasian family.
Classification section, Chechen speaker figure
Chechen, approximately 2,000,000 speakers (2020).
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