Tabasaran language

{{Short description|Lezgic language of southern Dagestan, Russia}} {{Cleanup lang|date=January 2025|iso=tab}}{{Infobox language | name = Tabasaran | nativename = {{lang|tab|табасаран чIал}} {{tlit|tab|tabasaran ç̇al}} {{lang|tab|ихь чIал}} {{tlit|tab|ix ç̇al}} | states = North Caucasus | region = Southern Dagestan | ethnicity = Tabasarans | speakers = 126,900 | date = 2010 census | ref = e18 | familycolor = Caucasian | fam1 = Northeast Caucasian | fam2 = Lezgic | fam3 = Samur | fam4 = Eastern Samur | fam5 = Lezgi–Aghul–Tabasaran | nation = Russia *Dagestan | iso3 = tab | glotto = taba1259 | glottorefname = Tabasaran | notice = IPA | map = File:Caucasus-ethnic_tabasaren.png | mapcaption = Map of Tabasarans in the Caucasus | map2 = Lang Status 80-VU.svg | mapcaption2 = {{center|Tabasaran is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO ''Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger''.}} | altname = Tabassaran | pronunciation = {{IPA|[tɑbɑsɑrɑn t͡ʃʼɑl]}} {{IPA|[ix t͡ʃʼɑl]}} }}

'''Tabasaran''' (also written '''Tabassaran''') is a Northeast Caucasian language of the Lezgic branch. It is spoken by the Tabasaran people in the southern part of the Russian Republic of Dagestan. There are two main dialects: North (Khanag) and South Tabasaran. It has a literary language based on the Southern dialect, one of the official languages of Dagestan.

Tabasaran is an ergative language. The verb system is relatively simple; verbs agree with the subject in number, person and (in North Tabasaran) class. North Tabasaran has two noun classes (that is, grammatical gender), whereas Southern Tabasaran lacks noun classes / gender.

==Geographical distribution== {{Expand section|date=April 2025}} It is spoken in the basin of Upper Rubas-nir and Upper Chirakh-nir.

== Phonology ==

=== Consonants === {| class="wikitable" border="1" style=text-align:center |+ Consonant phonemes of Tabasaran<ref name="TITUS">[https://titus.fkidg1.uni-frankfurt.de/didact/caucasus/nekklaut.htm#XFN3 Consonant Systems of the North-East Caucasian Languages on TITUS DIDACTICA]</ref> |- ! colspan="2" rowspan="2"| ! rowspan="2"|Labial ! colspan="2"|Dental ! colspan="2"|Post-alveolar ! rowspan="2"|Velar ! rowspan="2"|Uvular ! rowspan="2"|Epiglottal ! rowspan="2"|Glottal |- ! plain ! sibilant ! plain ! labial |- ! colspan="2" | Nasal | {{IPA link|m}} | {{IPA link|n}} | | | | | | | |- ! rowspan="4" | Plosive/ Affricate ! voiced | {{IPA link|b}} | {{IPA link|d}} | {{IPA link|d͡z}} | {{IPA link|d͡ʒ}} | {{IPA link|d͡ʒʷ}} | {{IPA link|ɡ}} | {{IPA link|ɢ}} | | |- ! voiceless | {{IPA link|p}} | {{IPA link|t}} | {{IPA link|t͡s}} | {{IPA link|t͡ʃ}} | {{IPA link|t͡ʃʷ}} | {{IPA link|k}} | {{IPA link|q}} | | {{IPA link|ʔ}} |- !fortis | {{IPA link|pː}} | {{IPA link|tː}} | {{IPA link|t͡sː}} | {{IPA link|t͡ʃː}} | {{IPA link|t͡ʃʷː}} | {{IPA link|kː}} | {{IPA link|qː}} | | |- ! ejective | {{IPA link|pʼ}} | {{IPA link|tʼ}} | {{IPA link|t͡sʼ}} | {{IPA link|t͡ʃʼ}} | {{IPA link|t͡ʃʷʼ}} | {{IPA link|kʼ}} | {{IPA link|qʼ}} | | |- ! rowspan="3" | Fricative !voiceless | {{IPA link|f}} | | {{IPA link|s}} | {{IPA link|ʃ}} | {{IPA link|ʃʷ}} | {{IPA link|x}} | | {{IPA link|ʜ}} | |- !fortis | {{IPA link|fː}} | | {{IPA link|sː}} | {{IPA link|ʃː}} | {{IPA link|ʃʷː}} | {{IPA link|xː}} | | | |- ! voiced | {{IPA link|v}} | | {{IPA link|z}} | {{IPA link|ʒ}} | {{IPA link|ʒʷ}} | {{IPA link|ɣ}} | | {{IPA link|ʢ}} | {{IPA link|ɦ}} |- ! colspan="2" | Approximant | | {{IPA link|l}} | | {{IPA link|j}} | | | | | |- ! colspan="2" | Trill | | {{IPA link|r}} | | | | | | | |}

The post-alveolar sibilants may be whistled.

=== Vowels === {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! rowspan="2" | ! colspan="2" |Front ! rowspan="2" |Back |- class="small" !unrounded !rounded |- !Close |{{IPA link|i}} |{{IPA link|y}} |{{IPA link|u}} |- !Mid |{{IPA link|ɛ}} | | |- !Open |{{IPA link|æ}} | |{{IPA link|ɑ}} |} Vowels of Tabasaran are /i, y, ɛ, æ, ɑ, u/.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}}

==Writing system==

=== Cyrillic (19th century) === link=https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BB:Uslar_-_Tabasaran_alphabet.png|thumb|Peter von Uslar's Tabasaran alphabet Peter von Uslar devised Cyrillic-based orthographies for many Caucasian languages, including Tabasaran.<ref name="услар">{{cite book|author=П. К. Услар |date=1979 |location=Тбилиси |pages=1070 |publisher=«Мецниереба» |title=Табасаранский язык |edition=1200}}</ref>

=== Latin (1931–1938) === From 1931 to 1938, the Latin alphabet was used as a base for the Tabasaran writing system. The first book was published in 1932.<ref>{{cite book|author=М. И. Исаев |date=1979 |location=М. |pages=158–179 |publisher=«Наука» |title=Языковое строительство в СССР |edition=2650}}</ref>

Initially, the alphabet took the following form:<ref>{{cite book|author=t. şalbuzuv |date=1932 |location=mahac-qala |title=əxydariz alifar}}</ref>

'''a, b, c, cc, cь, ç, çь, d, e, ə, f, g, ƣ, h, i, j, k, kk, ⱪ, l, m, n, u, p, pp, ᶈ, q, ꝗ, r, s, ꟍ, ꟍꟍ, ş, şь, t, tt, t̨, y, v, x, ҳ, ӿ, z, ⱬ, zz, ƶ, ƶƶ, ƶь, ''''

Soon after, capital letters and the letters '''O o''' and 13x13px 10x10px were introduced. The alphabet then took the following form:<ref>{{cite book|author=T. Şalbuzov |date=1937 |location=Mahacqala |title=Bukvar}}</ref> {| style="font-family:Arial Unicode MS; font-size:1.4em; border-color:#000000; border-width:1px; border-style:solid; border-collapse:collapse; background-color:#F8F8EF" | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |A a | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |B b | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |C c | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Cь cь | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ç ç | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Çь çь | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |D d | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |E e | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ə ə | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |F f | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |G g |- | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ƣ ƣ | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |H h | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |I i | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |J j | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |K k | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ⱪ ⱪ | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |L l | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |M m | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |N n | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |O o | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |P p |- | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |link=https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BB:Latin_capital_letter_P_with_appendage.svg|15x15px ᶈ | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Q q | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ꝗ ꝗ | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |R r | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |S s | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ꟍ '''ꟍ''' | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ş ş | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Şь şь | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |T t | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |link=https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BB:Latin_capital_letter_T_with_descender.svg|19x19px|class=skin-invert link=https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BB:Latin_small_letter_T_with_descender.svg|17x17px|class=skin-invert | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |U u |- | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |V v | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |X x | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ҳ ҳ | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ӿ ӿ | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Y y | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Z z | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ⱬ ⱬ | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ƶ ƶ | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |17x17px 13x13px | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ƶь ƶь | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |' |}

=== Cyrillic (1938–present) === Tabasaran has been written using Cyrillic since 1938.<ref>{{Cite journal |author = Исаев А. А. |editor= |format= |url= |title= О формировании и развитии письменности народов Дагестана |type= |orig-year= | agency = |edition= Социологический сборник |location= Мх. |year= 1970 |publisher= |volume= |issue= I |pages = 173–232 |series= |isbn = |issn = |doi = |bibcode = |arxiv = |pmid = |language= |quote= }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" !colspan=1 align="center" | Letter !colspan=1 align="center" | IPA !Letter !IPA |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''А а''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/ɑ/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Р р''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/r/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''Аь аь''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/æ/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''С с''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/s/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''Б б''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/b/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Т т''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/tʰ/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''В в''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/v/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Тт тт''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/tː/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''Г г''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/ɡ/}}, {{IPA|/ɢ/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Тӏ тӏ''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/tʼ/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''Гг гг''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/ɣ/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''У у''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/u/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''Гъ гъ''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/ʕ/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Уь уь''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/y/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''Гь гь''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/h/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Ф ф''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/f/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''Д д''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/d/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Х х''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/ɦ/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''Е е''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/ɛ/}}, {{IPA|/jɛ/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Хъ хъ''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/qʰ/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''Ё ё''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/jo/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Хь хь''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/x/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''Ж ж''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/ʒ/}}, {{IPA|/dʒ/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Ц ц''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/tsʰ/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''Жв жв''' |valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/ʒʷ/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Цц цц''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/tsːʰ/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''З з''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/z/}}, {{IPA|/dz/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Цӏ цӏ''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/tsʼ/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''И и''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/i/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Ч ч''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/tʃʰ/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''Й й''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/j/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Чв чв''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/tʃʷʰ/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''К к''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/kʰ/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Чч чч''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/tʃːʰ/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''Кк кк''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/kː/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Чӏ чӏ''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/tʃʼ/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''Къ къ''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/qːʰ/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Ш ш''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/ʃ/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''Кь кь''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/qʼ/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Шв шв''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/ʃʷ/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''Кӏ кӏ''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/kʼ/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Щ щ''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/ɕ/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''Л л''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/l/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Ъ ъ''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/ʔ/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''М м''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/m/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Ы ы''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/ɨ/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''Н н''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/n/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Ь ь''' | align="center" valign="middle" | |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''О о''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/o/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Э э''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/ɛ/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''П п''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/pʰ/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Ю ю''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/y/}}, {{IPA|/ju/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''ПП пп''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/pː/}} | align="center" valign="middle" |'''Я я''' | align="center" valign="middle" |{{IPA|/æ/}}, {{IPA|/jɑ/}} |- | valign="middle" align="center"| '''Пӏ пӏ''' | valign="middle" align="center"| {{IPA|/pʼ/}} | align="center" valign="middle" | | align="center" valign="middle" | |}

Note: /ё/ and /o/ are encountered only in loanwords from Russian.

==Grammar== {{More citations needed section|date=July 2024}} Tabasaran is and agglutinating and primarily suffixing language with ergative-absolutive alignment.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Babaliyeva |first=Ayten |year=2023 |title=Standard Tabasaran: short grammar sketch |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7m61j4w5 |journal=Languages of the Caucasus |publisher=UC Berkeley |volume=6 |issue=1 |doi=10.5070/L96162766|doi-access=free }}</ref> It is highly probable that Tabasaran is an active language of the fluid-S type.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}}

=== Nouns === Tabasaran nouns inflect for number and case, and they control gender agreement. Tabasaran is unusual for northeast Caucasian languages in that it does not differentiate between masculine and feminine nouns. It does distinguish between human and non-human nouns, but only in the singular.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Babaliyeva |first=Ayten |title=Etudes sur la morphosyntaxe du tabasaran littéraire |year=2013 |language=Fr |trans-title=Studies on the morphosyntax of literary Tabasaran}}</ref> {{Interlinear|dumu tup-si di-rğ-uru|3SG.ABS ball-SIMIL HSG-roll-EVT|"He rolls like a ball" | abbreviations = SIMIL:similative; EVT:eventual; HSG:human singular }}{{Interlinear|räq žiqi-b vu|way short-NHSG COP|"The way is short" | abbreviations = NHSG:Non-human singular }}{{Interlinear|bali-z zimz-ar ğä-r-q-ü|boy.OBL-DAT ant-PL.ABS PX.AOR-PL-see-AOR|"The boy saw some ants" | abbreviations = OBL:oblique; PX:prefix }}

==== Cases ==== Tabasaran has 4 grammatical, or core, cases (absolutive, ergative, genitive, and dative), but the number of locative cases is debated. Tabasaran was listed in the 1997 ''Guinness Book of World Records'' as having the largest case system in the world, with 48. Hjelmslev (1935) claimed that Tabasaran had the 'empirical maximum' number of cases, with 52 (though 2 occur only on adjectives). However, such claims are contested, and other languages such as Tsez would have even larger counts under such definitions.<ref name=":1" /> Comrie & Polinsky (1998) analyze the system as having 14 or 15 cases depending on the dialect.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |author1=Comrie, B. |url=https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/mpolinsky/files/DaghCaseHoax.pdf?m=1360038984 |title=Case, Typology and Grammar |author2=Polinsky, M. |year=1998 |isbn=9789027298614 |chapter=The great Daghestanian case hoax |format=pdf |doi=10.1075/tsl.38 |name-list-style=amp}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Blake |first=Barry J. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/9781139164894/type/book |title=Case |date=2001-09-20 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-80761-6 |edition=2 |doi=10.1017/cbo9781139164894.007}}</ref> Babaliyeva (2023) identifies 46 cases<ref name=":0" />, and Magometov (1965) identifies 47 in the southern dialect and 53 in the northern dialect.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Magometov |first=A. A. |year=1965 |title=Tabasaranskij Jazyk (Issledovanie i Teksty) |trans-title=The Tabasaran Language (Investigation and Text) |journal=Mecniereba |language=ru |publication-place=Tbilisi}}</ref>

The grammatical cases are formed as follows:<ref name=":0" />

* The absolutive case is unmarked. E.g., {{Lang|tab|xudul}}, "grandchild" * There are multiple suffixes that can form the ergative: ''-i, -yi, -di, -ri, -li-, -ni, -u (-ü), -nu, -ru, -lu''. ''-i'' and ''-di'' are the most productive forms. Tabasaran has an oblique stem, which is identical to the ergative case. E.g., {{Lang|tab|tur-i}}, "sword" * The genitive is formed by the suffix ''-n'' attached to the oblique stem''.'' E.g., {{Lang|tab|šüš-di-n gažin}}, "glass jug" * The dative is formed by the suffix ''-z'' attached to the oblique stem''.'' E.g., {{Lang|tab|ğula-z}}, "village"

Example sentence using the absolutive, genitive, and dative cases:<ref name=":0" />

{{Interlinear|nežber ča-n ğula-z qhadak-nu ğ-üru|worker.ABS self.OBL-GEN village-DAT return-SEQ come-EVT|"The worker returned to his village" | abbreviations = OBL:oblique; SEQ:sequential converb; EVT:eventual }}

The analysis of cases from Babaliyeva (2023) identifies 7 locative cases: ''in'' 'in'; ''ad'' 'near to'; ''cont'' 'in vertical contact' or 'inside a mass'; ''post'' 'behind'; ''sub'' 'under'; ''inter'' 'between' or 'among'; and ''super'' 'on'. The locative cases can be suffixed to the noun alone, or the elative, lative, and comitative cases are suffixed onto the locative forms of the noun, creating 28 cases: {| class="wikitable" |+Case Paradigm (Babaliyeva 2023) ! !Elative !Lative !Comitative |- !In- |''-ʔ-an'' |''-ʔ-na'' |''-ʔ-di'' |- !Ad- |''-h-an / -xh-an'' |''-h-na / -xh-na'' |''-h-di / -xh-di'' |- !Cont- |''-k-an'' |''-k-na'' |''-k-di'' |- !Post- |''-qh-an'' |''-qh-na'' |''-qh-di'' |- !Sub- |''-kk-an'' |''-kk-na'' |''-kk-di'' |- !Inter- |''-ğ-än'' |''-ğ-na'' |''-ğ-di'' |- !Super- |''-l-an'' |''-(ʔ)in-a'' |''-(ʔ)in-di'' |} The additional 14 cases are formed by adding the directive suffix ''-di'' to the elative and lative series (with some changes in the lative series). {| class="wikitable" |+Case Paradigm (Babaliyeva 2023) !Elative Series | !Lative Series | |- !Inel-Dir |''-ʔ-an-di'' !Inlat-Dir |''-ʔ-na-di'' |- !Adel-Dir |''-h-an-di / -xh-an-di'' !Adlat-Dir |''-h-in-di / -xh-in-na'' |- !Contel-Dir |''-k-an-di'' !Contlat-Dir |''-k-in-di'' |- !Postel-Dir |''-qh-an-di'' !Postlat-Dir |''-qh-in-di'' |- !Subel-Dir |''-kk-an-di'' !Sublat-Dir |''-kk-in-di'' |- !Inter-Dir |''-ğ-än-di'' !Interlat- |''-ğ-in-di'' |- !Super-Dir |''-l-an-di'' !Superlat-Dir |''-(ʔ)in-a-di'' |} By contrast, the analysis from Comrie and Polinksy (1998) count each suffix as a case, rather than considering each combination of suffixes as a case. In addition to the 4 grammatical cases (identical to the ones described in Babaliyeva's analysis), there are 8 local cases in the northern dialect, and 7 in the southern dialect. These morphemes describe spatial orientation, or the reference point. {| class="wikitable" |+Local Cases (Comrie & Polinsky 1998) !Orientation !Suffix |- |'in' (hollow space) | ''-ʔ'' |- |'on' (horizontal) | ''-ʔin'' |- |'behind' | ''-q'' |- |'under' | ''-kk'' |- |'at'{{Efn|'at' and 'near, in front of' are not distinguished in the southern dialect}} | ''-x{{Sup|y}}'' |- |'near, in front of' | ''-h'' |- |'among' | ''-ɣ{{Sup|y}}'' |- |'on' (vertical) | ''-k'' |} {{Notelist}} The local cases alone have an essive meaning, or a lack of motion. In order to express motion away or motion from an object, the allative suffix ''-na'' or ablative suffix ''-an'' (respectively) is added. The local cases and the dative can also take the translative suffix ''-di'' to mark the location as less specific.<ref name=":1" />

==== Pronouns ==== First- and second-person pronouns distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first person plural, and have irregular declensions, with the absolutive and ergative forms being identical. {| class="wikitable" |+1st and 2nd Person Pronouns<ref name=":0" /> ! !I !You (sg) !We (excl) !We (incl) !You (pl) |- !Abs/Erg |''uzu'' |''uvu'' |''uču'' |''uxhu'' |''učvu'' |- !Gen |''yiz'' |''yav'' |''ič'' |''ixh'' |''ičv'' |- !Dat |''uzu-z'' |''uvu-z'' |''uču-z'' |''uxhu-z'' |''učvu-z'' |} The third-person pronouns are {{Lang|tab|dumu}} (singular) and {{Lang|tab|durar}} (plural).

Demonstrative pronouns show a proximal and distal distinction, as well as a distinction in elevation (higher or lower than the speaker). The emphatic particle ''ha-'' can be prefixed to each demonstrative.<ref name=":0" /> {| class="wikitable" |+ ! !Singular !Plural |- !Proximal |''mu'' |''murar'' |- !Distal |''t(u)mu'' |''-'' |- !Anaphoric |''dumu'' |''durar'' |- !Higher |''ğumu'' |''-'' |- !Lower |''kkumu'' |''-'' |} There are three reflexive (anaphoric) pronouns:<ref name=":0" /> {| class="wikitable" |+ ! !1-2 Sg !3 Sg !3 Pl |- !Abs |žvuv |učv |čib |- !Erg |žvuv-u |ča-v |čp-i |- !Gen |žvuv-a-n |ča-n |čp-i-n |- !Date |žvuv-a-z |ča-z |čp-i-v |}

=== Adjectives === When adjectives are used in an attributive role, adjectives do not decline. E.g., {{Lang|tab|äxü äšq’}} 'great love', and {{Lang|tab|äxü älamat-ar}} 'great splendour-{{Smallcaps|PL}}'. Substantive adjectives require a gender and number suffix, and then decline as if they were nouns. Predicative adjectives can be uninflected, inflected for gender/number, or followed by the adverbial suffix ''-di''.<ref name=":0" /> {| class="wikitable" |+Substantivization of ''äxü'' 'big' | |Human Sg |Non-human Sg |Plural |- |Absolutive |''äxü-r'' |''äxü-b'' |''äxü-dar'' |- |Ergative |''äxü-r-i'' |''äxü-b-di'' |''äxü-dar-i'' |- |Genitive |''äxü-r-i-n'' |''äxü-b-di-n'' |''äxü-dar-i-n'' |}

== Samples == ''Uwu aldakurawu.'' "{{lang|tab|Уву алдакураву.}}" — "You are falling."

''Uzuz uwu kkunduzuz.'' "{{lang|tab|Узуз уву ккундузуз.}}" — "I love you."

''Uwu fudžuwa?'' "{{lang|tab|Уву фужува?}}" — "Who are you?"

''Fici wuna?'' "{{lang|tab|Фици вуна?}}" — "How are you?"

''Zakur ʕürza.'' "{{lang|tab|Закур гъюрза.}}" — "I'll come tomorrow."

''Uzu kana qheza.'' "{{lang|tab|Узу кана хъэза.}}" — "I'll be back."

== References == {{Reflist}} *Chanmagomedov, B.G.-K. & K.T. Šalbuzov, ''Tabasaransko-russkij slovarʼ'', Moskva: Ilim, 2001, {{ISBN|5-02-022620-3}} [Includes outline of Tabasaran grammar (Grammatičeskij očerk tabasaranskogo jazyka) by K.K. Kurbanov (p. 395-476)] *Alekseev, Mixail E. and Sabrina X. Shixalieva. 2003. ''Tabasaranskij Jazyk''. Moskva: Nauka.

== External links == {{Incubator|code = tab}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20100819194552/http://lingweb.eva.mpg.de/ids/ Tabasaran dictionary online from IDS] (select simple or advanced browsing) * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060829082936/http://www.eki.ee/books/redbook/tabasarans.shtml Entry in the Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire] * [https://titus.fkidg1.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/caucasica/tabasar/raghnt.htm Sample text] * [http://languageserver.uni-graz.at/ls/desc?id=31&type=r Description at Languages of the World] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218115836/http://languageserver.uni-graz.at/ls/desc?id=31&type=r |date=2019-12-18 }} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927193107/http://rosettaproject.org/archive/tab/view?searchterm=Tabassaran Entry at the Rosetta Project] * [http://starling.rinet.ru/cgi-bin/response.cgi?root=new100&morpho=0&basename=new100\ncc\lez&first=0 Tabasaran basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database] * [https://doreco.huma-num.fr/languages/taba1259 Tabasaran DoReCo corpus] compiled by Natalia Bogomolova, Dmitry Ganenkov and Nils Norman Schiborr. Audio recordings of narrative texts with transcriptions time-aligned at the phone level, translations, and time-aligned morphological annotations.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tabasaran Language}}  Category:Agglutinative languages Category:Lezgian languages Category:Northeast Caucasian languages Category:Languages of Russia Category:Dagestan language Category:Vulnerable languages Category:Indigenous languages of European Russia