Archi language

{{Short description|Lezgic language spoken in southern Russia}} {{Expand language|topic=|langcode=ru|otherarticle=Арчинский язык|date=May 2024}} {{Cleanup lang|date=January 2025|iso=aqc}}{{Infobox language | name = Archi | nativename = {{lang|aqc|аршаттен чӏат}} / {{tlit|aqc|aršatten čʼat}} | map = Archin-en.png | mapcaption = Map of where Archi is spoken (red area) | states = [[Russia]] | region = [[Archib]], [[Dagestan]] | speakers = 1,712 | date = 2020 census | ref = <ref>[https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/Tom5_tab7_VPN-2020.xlsx 7. НАСЕЛЕНИЕ НАИБОЛЕЕ МНОГОЧИСЛЕННЫХ НАЦИОНАЛЬНОСТЕЙ ПО РОДНОМУ ЯЗЫКУ]</ref> | familycolor = Caucasian | fam1 = [[Northeast Caucasian languages|Northeast Caucasian]] | fam2 = [[Lezgic languages|Lezgic]]<ref name="lrz-muenchen.de">[http://www.lrz-muenchen.de/~wschulze/lgxcauc.pdf Schulze's classification schemata of the Caucasian languages]{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> | script = [[Cyrillic script]] (developed in 2006 based on the [[Avar language#Orthography|Avar]] alphabet) [[Arabic script]] (19th century)<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Магомедханов |first=Магомедхан |date=November 2009 |title=Образцы письменности арчинцев |url=http://www.intelros.ru/pdf/Antropo_Forum_online/2009_11/11_online_05_magomedkhanov.pdf |journal=Антропологический форум. 2009. №11}}</ref> | iso3 = aqc | glotto = arch1244 | glottorefname = Archi | notice = IPA | map2 = Lang Status 60-DE.svg | mapcaption2 = {{center|{{small|Archi is classified as Definitely Endangered by the [[UNESCO]] ''[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]'' (2010)}}}} | ethnicity = [[Archi people]] }} '''Archi''' ({{IPAc-en|ɑːr|ˈ|tʃ|iː}} {{respell|ar|CHEE}})<ref>Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''[https://ia803408.us.archive.org/22/items/TheLinguisticsStudentHandbook/The%20linguistics%20student%20handbook.pdf The Linguistics Student’s Handbook]'', Edinburgh</ref> is a [[Northeast Caucasian languages|Northeast Caucasian language]] spoken by the [[Archi people|Archis]] in the village of [[Archib]], southern [[Dagestan]], [[Russia]], and the six surrounding smaller villages.

It is unusual for its many [[phoneme]]s and for its contrast between several [[voiceless velar lateral fricative]]s, {{IPA|/𝼄, 𝼄ʷ, 𝼄ː, 𝼄ʷː/}}, [[voiceless velar lateral affricate|tenuis]] and [[ejective velar lateral affricate]]s, {{IPA|/k͡𝼄, k͡𝼄ʷ, k͡𝼄ʼ, k͡𝼄ʷʼ/}}, and a [[voiced velar lateral fricative]], {{IPA|/ʟ̝/}}. It is an [[Ergative–absolutive language|ergative–absolutive]] language with four noun classes<ref name="tutorial">{{Cite book |last1=Chumakina |first1=Marina |url=https://www.smg.surrey.ac.uk/media/1267/archi-tutorialhandout.pdf |title=Archi Language Tutorial |last2=Corbett |first2=Greville G. |last3=Brown |first3=Dunstan |date=September 2008}}</ref> and has a [[morphology (linguistics)|morphological]] system with irregularities on all levels.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.archi.surrey.ac.uk/ |title=Archi language home page of the Surrey Morphology Group |access-date=14 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150301205015/http://www.archi.surrey.ac.uk/ |archive-date=1 March 2015 }}</ref> Mathematically, there are 1,502,839 possible [[Grammatical conjugation|forms]] that can be derived from a single verb root.<ref name=homepage>Kibrik, A. E. (2001). "Archi (Caucasian—Daghestanian)", ''The Handbook of Morphology'', Blackwell, pg. 468</ref>

==Classification== The classification of the Archi language has not been definitively established. [[Peter von Uslar]] felt it should be considered a variant of [[Avar language|Avar]],{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}} but [[Roderich von Erckert]] saw it as closer to [[Lak language|Lak]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}} The language has also been considered as a separate entity that could be placed somewhere between Avar and Lak.{{By whom|date=January 2010}}{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}} The Italian linguist [[Alfredo Trombetti]] placed Archi within an Avar–Ando–Dido group,{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}} but today the most widely recognized opinion follows that of the Soviet scholar [[Yevgeny Bokarev|Bokarev]], who regards Archi as one of the Lezgian–Samur group of the Dagestan languages.{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}} Schulze places it in the [[Lezgic languages|Lezgian branch]] with all other Lezgian languages belonging to the [[Samur languages|Samur group]].<ref name="lrz-muenchen.de"/>

==Phonology== Archi has, like its [[Northeast Caucasian languages|Northeast Caucasian]] relatives, a very complicated phonological system, with Archi being an extreme example. It has 26 vowel [[phoneme]]s and, depending on analysis, between 74 and 82 consonant phonemes.

===Vowels=== Archi has a symmetric six-vowel system ({{IPA|/i e ə a o u/}}).<ref name="tutorial"/> {| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center |+ Vowel phonemes of Archi ! colspan="1" rowspan="1" | ! colspan="1" | [[Front vowel|Front]] ! colspan="1" | [[Central vowel|Central]] ! colspan="1" | [[Back vowel|Back]] |- ! colspan="1" rowspan="1" | [[Close vowel|Close]] | {{IPA link|i}} {{IPA link|iː}} | | {{IPA link|u}} {{IPA link|uː}} |- ! colspan="1" rowspan="1" | [[Mid vowel|Mid]] | {{IPA link|e}} {{IPA link|eː}} | {{IPA link|ə}} | {{IPA link|o}} {{IPA link|oː}} |- ! colspan="1" rowspan="1" | [[Open vowel|Open]] | | {{IPA link|a}} {{IPA link|aː}} | |}

All vowels except for {{IPA|/ə/}} can occur in five varieties: short, pharyngealized, high tone, long (with high tone), and pharyngealized with high tone (e.g. {{IPA|/a/}}, {{IPA|/aˤ/}}, {{IPA|/á/}}, {{IPA|/áː/}}, and {{IPA|/áˤ/}}). Of all these, only {{IPA|/ə/}} and {{IPA|/íˤ/}} do not occur word-initially.<ref name="dictionary">{{cite web |title=Archi Dictionary |url=https://www.smg.surrey.ac.uk/archi-dictionary |access-date=2 June 2024}}</ref> Examples of non-initial {{IPA|/íˤ/}} are {{IPA|/díˤt͡ʃa/}} ('to be fat')<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smg.surrey.ac.uk/Archi/Linguists/lexeme.aspx?LE=1083|title=Archi - 1083 - диIча|access-date=14 March 2015}}</ref> and {{IPA|/iˤntíˤmmaj/}} ('brain').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smg.surrey.ac.uk/Archi/Linguists/lexeme.aspx?LE=1420|title=Archi - 1420 - иIнтиIммай|access-date=14 March 2015}}</ref>

===Consonants=== Of all living languages, Archi has the world's largest phonemic non-[[Click consonant|click]] consonant inventory, with only the recently extinct [[Ubykh phonology|Ubykh]] of the [[Northwest Caucasian languages]] having a few more. The table below shows all consonants that can be found in the Archi Language Tutorial<ref name="tutorial"/> and the Archi Dictionary.<ref name="dictionary"/>

{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center |+ Consonant phonemes of Archi |- ! colspan="3" rowspan="2" | ! rowspan="2" | [[Labial consonant|Labial]] ! colspan="2" | [[Dental consonant|Dental]] ! colspan="2" | [[Postalveolar consonant|Post- alveolar]] ! colspan="2" | [[Velar consonant|Pre-velar]] ! colspan="4" | [[Uvular consonant|Uvular]] ! rowspan="2" | [[Epiglottal consonant|Epiglottal]] ! rowspan="2" | [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]] |- class=small ! plain ! [[labialisation|lab.]] ! plain ! lab. ! plain ! lab. ! plain ! lab. ! [[pharyngealization|phar.]] ! phar.+lab. |- ! colspan="3" | [[Nasal stop|Nasal]] | {{IPA link|m}} | {{IPA link|n}} | | | | | | | | | | | |- ! rowspan="4" | [[Plosive consonant|Plosive]] ! colspan="2" | [[voice (phonetics)|voiced]] | {{IPA link|b}} | {{IPA link|d}} | {{IPA link|dʷ}}2 | | | {{IPA link|ɡ᫈}} | {{IPA link|ɡ᫈ʷ}} | | | | | | |- ! colspan="2" | [[voicelessness|voiceless]] | {{IPA link|p}} | {{IPA link|t}} | {{IPA link|tʷ}} | | | {{IPA link|k̟}} | {{IPA link|k̟ʷ}} | {{IPA link|q}} | {{IPA link|qʷ}} | {{IPA link|qˤ}} | {{IPA link|qˤʷ}} | {{IPA link|ʡ}} | {{IPA link|ʔ}}1 |- ! colspan="2" |[[Fortis consonant|fortis]] |{{IPA link|pː}}1 |{{IPA link|tː}}1 | | | |{{IPA link|k̟ː}}1 |{{IPA link|k̟ʷː}}2 |{{IPA link|qʼː}}1 | |{{IPA link|qˤʼː}} | | | |- ! colspan="2" | [[ejective consonant|ejective]] | {{IPA link|pʼ}} | {{IPA link|tʼ}} | | | | {{IPA link|k̟ʼ}} | {{IPA link|k̟ʷʼ}} | {{IPA link|qʼ}} | {{IPA link|qʷʼ}} | {{IPA link|qˤʼ}} | {{IPA link|qˤʷʼ}} | | |- ! rowspan="4" | [[Affricate consonant|Affricate]] ! rowspan="2" | [[voicelessness|voiceless]] ![[lenis]] | | {{IPA link|t͡s}} | {{IPA link|t͡sʷ}}2 | {{IPA link|t͡ʃ}} | {{IPA link|t͡ʃʷ}} | {{IPA link|k̟͡𝼄}} | {{IPA link|k̟͡𝼄ʷ}} | | | | | | |- ![[Fortis consonant|fortis]] | | {{IPA link|t͡sː}}3 | | | | | | | | | | | |- ! rowspan="2" | [[ejective consonant|ejective]] ![[lenis]] | | {{IPA link|t͡sʼ}} | {{IPA link|t͡sʷʼ}} | {{IPA link|t͡ʃʼ}} | {{IPA link|t͡ʃʷʼ}} | {{IPA link|k̟͡𝼄ʼ}} | {{IPA link|k̟͡𝼄ʷʼ}} | | | | | | |- ![[Fortis consonant|fortis]] | | {{IPA link|t͡sʼː}}1 | | {{IPA link|t͡ʃʼː}}2 | | | | | | | | | |- ! rowspan="3" | [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]] ! rowspan="2" | [[voicelessness|voiceless]] ![[lenis]] | | {{IPA link|s}} | {{IPA link|sʷ}}2 | {{IPA link|ʃ}} | {{IPA link|ʃʷ}} | {{IPA link|𝼄̟}} | {{IPA link|𝼄̟ʷ}} | {{IPA link|χ}} | {{IPA link|χʷ}} | {{IPA link|χˤ}} | {{IPA link|χˤʷ}} | | {{IPA link|h}} |- ![[Fortis consonant|fortis]] | | {{IPA link|sː}} | {{IPA link|sʷː}}2 | {{IPA link|ʃː}} | {{IPA link|ʃʷː}} | {{IPA link|𝼄̟ː}} | {{IPA link|𝼄̟ʷː}} | {{IPA link|χː}} | {{IPA link|χʷː}} | {{IPA link|χˤː}} | {{IPA link|χˤʷː}} | | |- ! colspan="2" | [[voice (phonetics)|voiced]] | | {{IPA link|z}} | {{IPA link|zʷ}} | {{IPA link|ʒ}} | {{IPA link|ʒʷ}} | {{IPA link|ʟ̟᷵}}1 | | {{IPA link|ʁ}} | {{IPA link|ʁʷ}}2 | {{IPA link|ʁˤ}} | {{IPA link|ʁˤʷ}} | | |- ! colspan="3" | [[Trill consonant|Trill]] | | {{IPA link|r}} | | | | | | | | | | {{IPA link|ʜ}} | |- ! colspan="3" | [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]] | | {{IPA link|l}} | |{{IPA link|j}} | | | {{IPA link|w}} | | | | | | |}

# These have no word-initial dictionary entries (even though {{IPA|/pː/}}, {{IPA|/tː/}}, and {{IPA|/k̟ː/}} are relatively common). # These appear in the Tutorial but have no dictionary entries. # This does not appear in the Tutorial but does have a word-internal dictionary entry (in {{IPA|/mot͡sːór/}}, 'alpine pasture used in summer').<ref>{{cite web |title=Archi - 2101 - моццор |url=http://www.smg.surrey.ac.uk/Archi/Linguists/lexeme.aspx?LE=2101 |access-date=14 March 2015}}</ref>

Some of these sounds are very rare. For example, {{IPA|/ʁˤʷ/}} has only one dictionary entry word-internally (in {{IPA|/íʁˤʷdut/}}, 'heavy')<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smg.surrey.ac.uk/Archi/Linguists/lexeme.aspx?LE=1387|title=Archi - 1387 - игъIвдут|access-date=14 March 2015}}</ref> and two entries word-initially. Likewise, {{IPA|/ʟ̟᷵/}} has only two dictionary entries: {{IPA|/náʟ̝dut/}} ('blue; unripe')<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smg.surrey.ac.uk/Archi/Linguists/lexeme.aspx?LE=2213|title=Archi - 2213 - наIкьдут|access-date=14 March 2015}}</ref> and {{IPA|/k͡𝼄ʼéʟ̝dut/}} ('crooked, curved').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smg.surrey.ac.uk/Archi/Linguists/lexeme.aspx?LE=1838|title=Archi - 1838 - кьекьдут|access-date=14 March 2015}}</ref>

The [[fortis and lenis|fortis]] consonants are not simply two instances of the same consonant, though they do appear largely complementary, with the double instances {{IPA|/mm/}}, {{IPA|/ll/}}, and {{IPA|/nn/}} being the most common and {{IPA|/zz/}} less so. That said, {{IPA|/pp/}} can still be found in {{IPA|/𝼄íppu/}} ('three').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smg.surrey.ac.uk/Archi/Linguists/lexeme.aspx?LE=3833|title=Archi - 3833 - лъибтIу|access-date=14 March 2015}}</ref> This is also noted by {{Harvcoltxt|Kodzasov|1977}},<ref>translated in {{Harvcoltxt|Ladefoged|Maddieson|1996|pp=97–98}}</ref> who describes the fortis consonants as follows: <blockquote>"Strong phonemes are characterized by the intensiveness (tension) of the articulation. The intensity of the pronunciation leads to a natural lengthening of the duration of the sound, and that is why strong [consonants] differ from weak ones by greater length. [However,] the adjoining of two single weak sounds does not produce a strong one […] Thus, the gemination of a sound does not by itself create its tension."</blockquote>

The [[voiceless velar lateral fricative]] {{IPA|/𝼄/}}, the [[voiced velar lateral fricative]] {{IPA|/ʟ̝/}}, and the [[voiceless velar lateral affricate|corresponding voiceless]] and [[ejective velar lateral affricate|ejective affricate]]s {{IPA|/k͡𝼄/}}, {{IPA|/k͡𝼄ʼ/}} are extremely unusual speech sounds among the languages of the world, because [[Voiceless velar fricative|velar fricatives]] are usually [[median consonant|median]] rather than lateral. The velar laterals are further forward than velars in most languages and could better be called prevelar, like the Tutorial does.<ref name="tutorial"/>

==Orthography== Until recently Archi did not have a written form, except in studies by specialists who used the [[Latin script]]. In 2006, the Surrey Morphology Group developed a [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic alphabet]] for Archi based on the [[Avar language#Orthography|Avar]] alphabet, which is used in the Archi–Russian–English Dictionary alongside an [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] transcription.<ref name=homepage/>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |+ Practical orthography of Archi by SMG<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dictionary of Archi - Surrey Morphology Group |url=https://www.smg.surrey.ac.uk/archi-dictionary/ |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=www.smg.surrey.ac.uk}}</ref> |- |style="width: 5em"|{{lang|aqc|А а}} {{IPA|/a/}} |style="width: 5em"|{{lang|aqc|Аӏ аӏ}} {{IPA|/aˤ/}} |style="width: 5em"|{{lang|aqc|А́ а́}} {{IPA|/á/}} |style="width: 5em"|{{lang|aqc|А́а а́а}} {{IPA|/áː/}} |style="width: 5em"|{{lang|aqc|А́ӏ а́ӏ}} {{IPA|/áˤ/}} |style="width: 5em"|{{lang|aqc|Ы ы}} {{IPA|/ə/}} |style="width: 5em"|{{lang|aqc|Б б}} {{IPA|/b/}} |- |{{lang|aqc|В в}} {{IPA|/w/}} |{{lang|aqc|Г г}} {{IPA|/g/}} |{{lang|aqc|Гв гв}} {{IPA|/gʷ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Гъ гъ}} {{IPA|/ʁ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Гъв гъв}} {{IPA|/ʁʷ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Гъӏ гъӏ}} {{IPA|/ʁˤ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Гъӏв гъӏв}} {{IPA|/ʁˤʷ/}} |- |{{lang|aqc|Гь гь}} {{IPA|/h/}} |{{lang|aqc|Гӏ гӏ}} {{IPA|/ʡ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Д д}} {{IPA|/d/}} |{{lang|aqc|Дв дв}} {{IPA|/dʷ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Е е}} {{IPA|/e/}} |{{lang|aqc|Еӏ еӏ}} {{IPA|/eˤ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Е́ е́}} {{IPA|/é/}} |- |{{lang|aqc|Е́е е́е}} {{IPA|/éː/}} |{{lang|aqc|Е́ӏ е́ӏ}} {{IPA|/éˤ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Ж ж}} {{IPA|/ʒ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Жв жв}} {{IPA|/ʒʷ/}} |{{lang|aqc|З з}} {{IPA|/z/}} |{{lang|aqc|Зв зв}} {{IPA|/zʷ/}} |{{lang|aqc|И и}} {{IPA|/i/}} |- |{{lang|aqc|Иӏ иӏ}} {{IPA|/iˤ/}} |{{lang|aqc|И́ и́}} {{IPA|/í/}} |{{lang|aqc|И́и и́и}} {{IPA|/íː/}} |{{lang|aqc|И́ӏ и́ӏ}} {{IPA|/íˤ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Й й}} {{IPA|/j/}} |{{lang|aqc|К к}} {{IPA|/k/}} |{{lang|aqc|Кв кв}} {{IPA|/kʷ/}} |- |{{lang|aqc|Кк кк}} {{IPA|/kː/}} |{{lang|aqc|Ккв ккв}} {{IPA|/kʷː/}} |{{lang|aqc|Ккъ ккъ}} {{IPA|/qʼː/}} |{{lang|aqc|Ккъӏ ккъӏ}} {{IPA|/qˤʼː/}} |{{lang|aqc|Къ къ}} {{IPA|/qʼ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Къв къв}} {{IPA|/qʷʼ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Къӏ къӏ}} {{IPA|/qˤʼ/}} |- |{{lang|aqc|Къӏв къӏв}} {{IPA|/qˤʷʼ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Кь кь}} {{IPA|/k͡𝼄ʼ/}}, {{IPA|/ʟ̝/}} |{{lang|aqc|Кьв кьв}} {{IPA|/k͡𝼄ʷʼ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Кӏ кӏ}} {{IPA|/kʼ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Кӏв кӏв}} {{IPA|/kʷʼ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Л л}} {{IPA|/l/}} |{{lang|aqc|Ллъ ллъ}} {{IPA|/𝼄ː/}} |- |{{lang|aqc|Ллъв ллъв}} {{IPA|/𝼄ʷː/}} |{{lang|aqc|Лъ лъ}} {{IPA|/𝼄/}} |{{lang|aqc|Лъв лъв}} {{IPA|/𝼄ʷ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Лӏ лӏ}} {{IPA|/k͡𝼄/}} |{{lang|aqc|Лӏв лӏв}} {{IPA|/k͡𝼄ʷ/}} |{{lang|aqc|М м}} {{IPA|/m/}} |{{lang|aqc|Н н}} {{IPA|/n/}} |- |{{lang|aqc|О о}} {{IPA|/o/}} |{{lang|aqc|Оӏ оӏ}} {{IPA|/oˤ/}} |{{lang|aqc|О́ о́}} {{IPA|/ó/}} |{{lang|aqc|О́о о́о}} {{IPA|/óː/}} |{{lang|aqc|О́ӏ о́ӏ}} {{IPA|/óˤ/}} |{{lang|aqc|П п}} {{IPA|/p/}} |{{lang|aqc|Пп пп}} {{IPA|/pː/}} |- |{{lang|aqc|Пӏ пӏ}} {{IPA|/pʼ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Р р}} {{IPA|/r/}} |{{lang|aqc|С с}} {{IPA|/s/}} |{{lang|aqc|Св св}} {{IPA|/sʷ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Сс сс}} {{IPA|/sː/}} |{{lang|aqc|Ссв ссв}} {{IPA|/sʷː/}} |{{lang|aqc|Т т}} {{IPA|/t/}} |- |{{lang|aqc|Тв тв}} {{IPA|/tʷ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Тт тт}} {{IPA|/tː/}} |{{lang|aqc|Тӏ тӏ}} {{IPA|/tʼ/}} |{{lang|aqc|У у}} {{IPA|/u/}} |{{lang|aqc|Уӏ уӏ}} {{IPA|/uˤ/}} |{{lang|aqc|У́ у́}} {{IPA|/ú/}} |{{lang|aqc|У́у у́у}} {{IPA|/úː/}} |- |{{lang|aqc|У́ӏ у́ӏ}} {{IPA|/úˤ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Х х}} {{IPA|/χ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Хв хв}} {{IPA|/χʷ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Хх хх}} {{IPA|/χː/}} |{{lang|aqc|Ххв ххв}} {{IPA|/χʷː/}} |{{lang|aqc|Ххьӏ ххьӏ}} {{IPA|/χˤː/}} |{{lang|aqc|Ххьӏв ххьӏв}} {{IPA|/χˤʷː/}} |- |{{lang|aqc|Хъ хъ}} {{IPA|/q/}} |{{lang|aqc|Хъв хъв}} {{IPA|/qʷ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Хъӏ хъӏ}} {{IPA|/qˤ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Хъӏв хъӏв}} {{IPA|/qˤʷ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Хьӏ хьӏ}} {{IPA|/χˤ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Хьӏв хьӏв}} {{IPA|/χˤʷ/}} |{{lang|aqc|ХӀ хӏ}} {{IPA|/ʜ/}} |- |{{lang|aqc|Ц ц}} {{IPA|/t͡s/}} |{{lang|aqc|Цв цв}} {{IPA|/t͡sʷ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Цц цц}} {{IPA|/t͡sː/}} |{{lang|aqc|Ццӏ ццӏ}} {{IPA|/t͡sʼː/}} |{{lang|aqc|Цӏ цӏ}} {{IPA|/t͡sʼ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Цӏв цӏв}} {{IPA|/t͡sʷʼ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Ч ч}} {{IPA|/t͡ʃ/}} |- |{{lang|aqc|Чв чв}} {{IPA|/t͡ʃʷ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Ччӏ ччӏ}} {{IPA|/t͡ʃʼː/}} |{{lang|aqc|Чӏ чӏ}} {{IPA|/t͡ʃʼ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Чӏв чӏв}} {{IPA|/t͡ʃʷʼ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Ш ш}} {{IPA|/ʃ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Шв шв}} {{IPA|/ʃʷ/}} |{{lang|aqc|Щ щ}} {{IPA|/ʃː/}} |- |{{lang|aqc|Щв щв}} {{IPA|/ʃʷː/}} |{{lang|aqc|Ъ ъ}} {{IPA|/ʔ/}} |}

==Grammar== {{Expand section|date=February 2023}}

===Nouns=== Archi nouns inflect for [[grammatical number|number]] (singular or plural) and for one of 10 regular [[grammatical case|cases]] and 5 [[List of grammatical cases#Place and time|locative cases]] that can all take one of 6 directional suffixes.<ref name="tutorial"/> There are four [[noun class]]es, which are only evident from [[Grammatical conjugation#Verbal agreement|verbal agreement]].<ref name="tutorial"/>

====Case====

{| class="wikitable" |- ! Case !! Marker !! Sg. 'ram' !! Pl. 'rams' |- | [[Absolutive case|Absolutive]] || -∅ || baˤkʼ || baˤkʼ-ur |- | [[Ergative case|Ergative]] || -∅ || beˤkʼ-iri || baˤkʼ-ur-čaj |- | [[Genitive case|Genitive]] || -n || beˤkʼ-iri-n || baˤkʼ-ur-če-n |- | [[Dative case|Dative]] || -s, -sː || beˤkʼ-iri-s || baˤkʼ-ur-če-s |- | [[Comitative case|Comitative]] || -𝼄ːu || beˤkʼ-iri-𝼄ːu || baˤkʼ-ur-če-𝼄ːu |- | [[Similative case|Similative]] || -qˤdi || beˤkʼ-iri-qˤdi || baˤkʼ-ur-če-qˤdi |- | [[Causal case|Causal]] || -šːi || beˤkʼ-iri-šːi || baˤkʼ-ur-če-šːi |- | [[Comparative case|Comparative]] || -χur || beˤkʼ-iri-χur || baˤkʼ-ur-če-χur |- | [[Partitive case|Partitive]] || -qˤiš || beˤkʼ-iri-qˤiš || baˤkʼ-ur-če-qˤiš |- | [[Substitutive case|Substitutive]] || -k͡𝼄ʼəna || beˤkʼ-iri-k͡𝼄ʼəna || baˤkʼ-ur-če-k͡𝼄ʼəna |}

Depending on the specifics of the analysis, the ergative and the absolutive cases are not always marked by a specific suffix. Rather, they are marked by the use of the basic (for the absolutive) and oblique (for the ergative) stems in the absence of other markers. There is also a locative-case series in which 6 directional-case suffixes are combined with 5 spatial cases to produce a total of 30 case-localization combinations. However, they do not constitute 30 distinct case forms because they are easily derivable from a pair of morphemes.

{| class="wikitable" |- !Spatial case !! Marker !! Directional case !! Marker |- | [[Inessive case|Inessive]] ("in") || -aj / -a || [[Essive case|Essive]] ("As") || -∅ |- | [[Intrative case|Intrative]] ("between") ||- qˤ(a-) || [[Elative case|Elative]] ("Out of") || -š |- | [[Superessive case|Superessive]] ("above") || -tːi- / -t || [[Lative case|Lative]] ("To"/"Into") || -k |- | [[Subessive case|Subessive]] ("below") || -k͡𝼄ʼ(a-) || [[Allative case|Allative]] ("Onto") || -ši |- | [[Pertingent case|Pertingent]] ("against") || -ra- || [[Terminative case|Terminative]] (Specifies a limit) || -kena |- | colspan="2"| || [[Translative case|Translative]] (Indicates change) || -χutː |}

====Noun classes==== The four [[noun class]]es of Archi are only evident from verbal inflection. This table summarizes the noun classes and their associated verbal morphology: {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- ! rowspan="2" | Class ! rowspan="2" | Description ! colspan="2" | Singular ! Plural |- class=small ! [[Prefix]] ! [[Infix]] ! [[Prefix]] |- ! I | ''Male human'' | w- | {{angbr|w}} | rowspan="2" | b- |- ! II | ''Female human'' | d- | {{angbr|r}} |- ! III | ''All insects, some animates, some inanimates'' | b- | {{angbr|b}} | rowspan="2" | ∅- |- ! IV | ''Abstracts, some animates, some inanimates'' | ∅ | ∅ |}

==Example phrases== The following phrases were [[Phonetic transcription|phonetically transcribed]] from Archi:<ref>{{cite book|last=Lubotsky|first=Alexander|title=Van Sanskriet tot Spijkerschrift: Breinbrekers uit alle talen|language=nl|trans-title=From Sanskrit to Cuneiform: Brain teasers from all languages|pages=17, 68–69|access-date=30 April 2016|publisher=Amsterdam University Press|year = 2010|isbn=978-9089641793|url=https://www.academia.edu/1209157}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |- ! Archi transcription !! English |- | x́it barḳur || The ladle breaks. |- | x́it ax̄u || The spoon (literally: little [[Ladle (spoon)|ladle]]) became dirty. |- | k̂ut̄ali berx̄ur || The bag stays. |- | k̂ut̄ali eku || The little bag fell. |- | č̣ut abḳu || The jug broke. |- | č̣ut aḳu || The little jug broke. |- | ḳunḳum barx̄ur || The kettle becomes dirty. |- | ḳunḳum oq̄́u || The little kettle sank (literally: drowned). |- | motol orq̄́ur || The young goat drowns. |- | uri arč̣ur || The young horse hides itself. |- | biš ač̣u || The young cow hid itself. |- | ḳêrt erkur || The young donkey falls. |- | dogi ebku || The donkey fell. |- | q̇on abč̣u || The goat hid itself. |- | nôiš ebx̄u || The horse stayed. |}

===Diminutive=== The inclusions of "little" and "young" in the phrases translate a [[diminutive]], which in Archi language commonly refers either to a smaller or younger version of the subject. The non-diminutive nouns in the above examples belong to noun class III, while their diminutives belong to noun class IV. This difference in noun class is reflected on the verb in all of these examples, by the contrast between class III agreement in ''b'' from class IV in ∅ (with no ''b''). The ''-b-'' in the past tense appears in front of the ''-x̄u'' / ''-č̣u'' / ''-ku'' inflection, while in the present tense the ''b-'' is the first letter of the verb. For the nouns referring to inanimate objects, the class shift is the only sign of the diminutive: the noun itself does not change in form. E.g. ''x́it'' means both "ladle" (III) and "spoon" (IV), ''k̂ut̄ali'' both "bag" (III) and "little bag" (IV). Nouns pertaining to younger animals have different words, e.g. ''dogi'' "donkey" (III) but ''ḳêrt'' "young donkey" (IV), ''nôiš'' "horse" (III) but ''uri'' "young horse" (IV).

==References== {{reflist}}

==Bibliography== * {{cite book |editor-last1=Bond |editor-first1=Oliver |editor-first2=Greville G. |editor-last2=Corbett |editor-first3=Marina |editor-last3=Chumakina |editor-first4=Dunstan |editor-last4=Brown |year=2016 |title=Archi: Complexities of agreement in cross-theoretical perspective |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press}} *{{Cite book |last1=Chumakina |first1=Marina |url=http://www.smg.surrey.ac.uk/archi-dictionary |title=A dictionary of Archi: Archi-Russian-English |last2=Dunstan Brown |last3=Greville G. Corbett |last4=Harely Quilliam |publisher=University of Surrey |year=2007 |edition=Online |doi=10.15126/SMG.16/2}} *{{Cite book |last=Kodzasov |first=Sandro |title=Opyt Strukturnogo Opisanija Archinskogo Jazyka |publisher=Izdatel’stvo Moskovskogo Universiteta |year=1977 |editor-last=Kibrik |editor-first=A. E. |volume=1 |location=Moscow |chapter=Fonetika Archinskogo Jazyka, part 2 |editor-last2=Samedov |editor-first2=I. P. |editor-last3=Olovjannikova |editor-first3=D. S. |editor-last4=Kodzasov |editor-first4=S. V.}} * {{SOWL}}

==Further reading== *{{cite book |last=Chumakina |first=Marina |year=2014 |chapter=Семантическое согласование в арчинском языке [Semantic agreement in Archi] |editor-last1=Plungyan |editor-first1=V. A. |script-title=ru:Язык. Константы. Переменные. Памяти Александра Евгеньевича Кибрика |trans-title=Language. Constants. Variables. In memoriam of A.E. Kibrik |pages=454–470 |location=St Petersburg |publisher=Aleteya |language=ru}} *{{cite book |last=Chumakina |first=Marina |year=2015 |chapter=Archi |editor-first1=Peter O. |editor-last1=Müller |editor-first2=Ingeborg |editor-last2=Ohnheiser |editor-first3=Susan |editor-last3=Olsen |editor-first4=Franz |editor-last4=Rainer |title=Word formation: An international handbook of the languages of Europe |series=Handbooks of Linguistics and Communication Science |volume=HSK40 |location=Berlin |publisher=de Gruyter Mouton}} *{{cite book |last=Dirr |first=A. M. |year=1908 |chapter=Arčinskij jazyk |title=Sbornik materialov dlja opisanija mestnostej i plemen Kavkaza |location=Tbilisi|language=ru}} *{{cite book |last=Kaxadze |first=O. I. |year=1979 |title=The Archi language and its relation to other Daghestan languages |publisher=Mecniereba |location=Tbilisi|language=ka}} *{{cite journal |last=Kibrik |first=Aleksandr E. |year=1972 |title=O formal'nom vydelenii soglasovatel'nyx klassov v arčinskom jazyke |journal=Voprosy jazykoznanija |volume=1 |pages=124–131 |language=ru}} *{{cite book |last=Kibrik |first=Aleksandr E. |year=1977 |volume=2: Taksonomičeskaja grammatika |title=Opyt strukturnogo opisanija arčinskogo jazyka |location=Moscow |publisher=Izdatel'stvo moskovskogo universiteta|language=ru}} *{{cite book |last=Kibrik |first=Aleksandr E. |year=1977 |volume=3: Dinamičeskaja grammatika |title=Opyt strukturnogo opisanija arčinskogo jazyka |location=Moscow |publisher=Izdatel'stvo moskovskogo universiteta|language=ru}} *{{cite book |last=Kibrik |first=Aleksandr E. |year=1993 |chapter=Archi |editor=R. Smeets |title=Indigenous languages of the Caucasus |volume=3 |publisher=Caravan Books |location=New York |pages=297–365}} *{{cite book |last=Kibrik |first=Aleksandr E. |year=1998 |chapter=Archi |editor-first1=Andrew |editor-last1=Spencer |editor-first2=Arnold M. |editor-last2=Zwicky |title=The Handbook of Morphology |publisher=Blackwell Publishers |pages=455–476}} *{{cite book |last1=Kibrik |first1=Aleksandr E. |last2=Kodzasov |first2=S. V. |last3=Olovjannikova |first3=I. P. |last4=Samedov |first4=D. S. |name-list-style=amp|year=1977 |title=Arčinskij jazyk. Teksiy i slovari |publisher=Izdatel'stvo moskovskogo universiteta |location=Moscow|language=ru}} *{{cite book |last1=Kibrik |first1=Aleksandr E. |last2=Kodzasov |first2=S. V. |last3=Olovjannikova |first3=I. P. |last4=Samedov |first4=D. S. |year=1977 |title=Opyt strukturnogo opisanija arčinskogo jazyka |volume=1: Leksika. Fonetika |publisher=Izdatel'stvo moskovskogo universiteta |location=Moscow|language=ru}} *{{cite book |last=Mikailov |first=K. Š. |year=1967 |title=Arčinskij jazyk |location=Maxachkala|language=ru}} *{{cite book |last=Xajdakov |first=S. M. |year=1967 |chapter=Arčinskij jazyk |title=Jazyki narodov SSSR |volume=4 |publisher=Nauka |location=Moscow|language=ru}}

==External links== {{Incubator|aqc}} *[[wikt:Appendix:Cyrillic script#Archi alphabet|Appendix:Cyrillic script]] *[http://www.smg.surrey.ac.uk/archi-dictionary Archi–Russian–English dictionary] *[http://www.smg.surrey.ac.uk/languages/archi/tutorial Archi language tutorial] *[http://wold.clld.org/vocabulary/16 Archi Vocabulary List] (from the World Loanword Database) *[http://starling.rinet.ru/cgi-bin/response.cgi?root=new100&morpho=0&basename=new100\ncc\lez&first=0 Archi basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database] *A sample of the Archi language, 'the Bear Story': **[http://www.smg.surrey.ac.uk/languages/archi/tutorial as a sound file] **[http://www.smg.surrey.ac.uk/languages/archi/tutorial in written form] *https://www.smg.surrey.ac.uk/languages/archi/ Archi language overview *[https://nplus1.ru/material/2019/03/18/archinsky-language Почему арчинский язык считается одним из самых трудных в мире] {{Northeast Caucasian languages}} {{Languages of the Caucasus}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archi Language}} [[Category:Northeast Caucasian languages]] [[Category:Endangered Caucasian languages]] [[Category:Languages written in Cyrillic script]] [[Category:Indigenous languages of European Russia]] [[Category:Definitely endangered languages]]