With around 7000 different languages spoken around the world, our planet is much more linguistically diverse than most people believe. The countries with the most languages are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Nigeria, and India, in that order. But if we dive in deeper and examine linguistic diversity at a local level, the Caucasus emerges as one of the most linguistically diverse parts of the planet. One of the many languages spoken in the Caucasus is Tsakhur, shared between Russia and Azerbaijan.
Tsakhur only has around 22,000 speakers, but the Tsakhur people are strongly dedicated to their unique language. Of course, most Tsakhur people are bilingual in Russian or Azeri, depending on the country they live in, but language use remains vigorous in some Tsakhur communities, which has led Tsakhur to gain prominence in the region. Growing interest in learning Tsakhur is conducive to positive language revitalization, although Tsakhur is still considered an endangered language for now. We at TranslationServices.com are also interested in Tsakhur and its vitality, which has inspired us to put together our own Tsakhur translation team.
Contact our team today and ask about a quote for Tsakhur translation services—you can get one for free!
Learn a little more about Tsakhur
The Tsakhur-speaking region straddles the border between the Russian republic of Dagestan, with around 11,700 speakers, and Azerbaijan, with around 10,600 speakers. The majority of ethnic Tsakhurs still speak their ancestral language. Tsakhur has a written tradition dating back to the 11th century, when the Arabic script was used, but today, Russian Tsakhurs use the Cyrillic alphabet, while Azerbaijani Tsakhurs use the Latin alphabet. Tsakhur is a Northeast Caucasian language belonging to the Lezgic branch, with its closest relative being Rutul, although indigenous language spoken in Dagestan.
Tsakhur isn’t a simple language. With 18 grammatical cases, it makes Russian look like a breeze. Tsakhur also exhibits an uncommon grammatical phenomenon called suffixaufnahme, where suffixed cases can be “stacked” to create a combined meaning. Like other Northeast Caucasian languages, Tsakhur is ergative, which means it treats intransitive subjects and transitive objects equally as the unit affected by an action and transitive subjects differently as the unit performing an action. Verbal morphology is also complex, with seven different moods and a wide range of tenses, as well as an affective construction to indicate an action’s impact on the speaker.
Tsakhur occupies a special place in the hearts of our native-speaking translators, and they’re passionate about translating to and from their language for you.
Tsakhur translation services designed to accommodate your needs
Some clients want translation from English to Tsakhur, while others are looking for translation from Tsakhur to English. Regardless of the direction, whether you’re working with the Cyrillic or Latin alphabet, our Tsakhur translators are ready to take on your translation project. Some examples of Tsakhur-to-English translation projects include historical documents (even those in the Arabic script) and Tsakhur literature, which speakers may like to share with those abroad. Examples of English-to-Tsakhur translation projects include research surveys, educational content, and books, games, websites, apps, and other entertainment content that can allow Tsakhur speakers and learners to get more enjoyment out of the language.
Don’t wait to get started on your Tsakhur translation project. Contacting us is the first step!