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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.
Dialects
Bagvalal has three dialects, named for the villages where they are spoken: Kwanada, Khushtada, and Tlisi. Only the Tlisi dialect has been significantly studied, because of its similarities to the Tindi language.[citation needed]
Speakers
Bagvalal is in serious danger of extinction. The schooling and cultural revolution have contributed to its 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.[citation needed] Despite this, most of the Bagvalal are supportive of the language, and 30% to 50% of children are fluent in it. While it is still used for everyday communication, younger speakers do not speak it as well as older speakers.
History
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.
Bagvalal has numerous loanwords from such languages as Arabic, Russian, Turkish, and Avar.[citation needed] 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.
