Chechen

Chechen (Noxchiin mott/Нохчийн мотт)

Chechen is part of the small family of Nakh-Daghestanian or Northeast
Caucasian languages spoken by about 950,000 people in Chechnya. There
are also some Chechen speakers in Georgia, Germany, Jordan, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Syria, Turkey and Uzbekistan. The Chechens call themselves
Noxchi and their language Noxchiin Mott. The name Chechen
comes from the town of Cheechan where the Russians first encoutered Chechen
speakers.

Chechen was originally written with a version of the Arabic alphabet. Between
1923 and 1937 it was written with the Latin alphabet. The Cyrillic alphabet
was adopted in 1938, and a new version of the Latin alphabet was adopted in 1992.

Cyrilic alphabet for Chechen

Cyrilic alphabet for Chechen

Latin alphabet for Chechen (1992 version)

Latin alphabet for Chechen (1992 version)

Sample text in Chechen

Ламанах духдуьйлу шал шийла шовданш
Шиэн бекъачу кийрана Ӏаббалца ца молуш,
Ӏин кӀоргиэ буьйлш, мела муж муьйлуш,
Варшан йистиэ йолу маргӀал сийна буц
Шиэн оьздачу зоьрхана буззалца ца юуш,
Орцал лахабуьйлуш, сема ладуьйгӀш,
Иччархочун тоьпуо лацарна, кхоьруш,
Дехачу диэгана буткъага мотт хьоькхуш,
Мокхазан бердах куьрана га хьоькхуш,
Попан орамах торгӀала тӀа детташ,
Лергаш дуьхьал туьйсуш, кур аркъал туьйсуш,
Гу лекха буьйлуш, гӀелашка ва гӀергӀаш,
Масаниэ сай лиэла гӀелашца ва боцуш!
Вай биэн дац, ва кӀентий, аьлар ца хуьлуш?

Translation

From the depths of the mountains gush the ice-cold springs,
But he doesn’t fill his lean stomach there.
Rather he descends to the depths of the ravine and drinks from a warm puddle.
The wooded slope is bordered by rising fresh blue grass,
But he doesn’t fill his noble belly there.
Coming out below the wooded hills, he listens carefully,
Anxious to avoid the dreaded hunter’s gun.
Licking his long body with his slender tongue,
Sharpening his branched antlers on the flinty shore,
Striking his spotted hind leg on the plane tree’s root,
Pointing his ears forward, tossing his antlers onto his back,
Climbing high on the hill, bellowing to the does,
How many stags walk without their mates?
And are there not many lads besides us of whom the same is true?
-The Stag (Chechen folk song)

Links

Information about the Chechen Language
http://www.waynakh.com/en/language/alphabet.htm
http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~chechen/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chechen_language
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Чеченский алфавит (in Russian)

Чеченский язык –
Chechen language – Нохчийн
мотт (dictionary, grammar, phrasebook, etc.):
http://ingush.narod.ru/chech/

Chechen Republic Online (in English and Chechen)
http://www.amina.com

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