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Language Family

Nakh

Eurasian Language Families

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
Region
North Caucasus, spoken chiefly by the Chechens and Ingush; the related Bats language is spoken by an ethnic minority in Georgia. 2
Proto-Language Status
Historically 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. 2
Partially Attested
Speaker Count
2,000,000 2
Confirmed: 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.
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Classification Confidence
Established 1
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Number of Languages
3 1
In the Other Atlases

Found In

Europe

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sources
1. Glottolog: Nakh (languoid record)
Glottolog
  • Languoid record: child_language_count
    "child_language_count": 3
  • Languoid record: level and category
    "level": "family", "bookkeeping": false, "category": "Family"
View the Source
2. Wikipedia: Nakh Languages
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Introduction, 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).
View the Source
Wikidata: Nakh
Wikidata Q24441, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
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