Language Information

Avar is spoken in the Russian Republic of Dagestan (capital: Makhachkala), situated in the Caucasus on the west bank of the Caspian Sea. In this single republic, smaller than West Virginia, some thirty different languages are spoken, most of them falling within a single subdivision of the Caucasian family known as the Dagestan languages. Avar, spoken in the southwestern part of the republic, ranks first in number of speakers with about 600,000. Like the other Caucasian languages, it contains the special letter I. The Avars of today (Russian: at.artsy) bear no relationship to the ancient Avars (Russian: avary), a powerful Turkic-speaking people of the 6th and 7th centuries.

Azerbaijan, Russia.

Family: Caucasian
Subgroup: Dagestan

Writing Sample

Translation

The bullets fly like hail from the sky,
But he doesn't turn his breast away from them.
And when they set upon him with guns ablaze
ile stood up tall with rifle in hand.
One shot and two men fell,
A second shot wounded three more.
Whoever appeared met his death.
He scattered the army with a hail of bullets,
Not a single soul could get near.

—Zelimkhan (Avar song of heroism)