The peculiarities of the phonetic system of the Gapshima dialect of the northern Dargin language

Abstract

The main purpose of the study is to describe the peculiarities of the phonetic system of the Gapshima dialect of the northern Dargin language (the Dargin branch of the Nakh-Dagestan languages). Actually, this dialect is not still studied well, and that is the relevance of this study. On the other hand, the problem of classifying the Dargin languages and dialects still remains undetermined; and particularly, the role of Gapshima speech in the system of Dargin dialects and languages isn’t still determined. The article deals with the problems of the phonetic system of the dialect, the phonetic processes in it, and also the sound correspondences in the Gapshima dialect and other idioms of the Dargin area adjacent to it — the Akusha, the Sirkhya, the Tsudahar and the Mekegi. The scientific novelty of the research is in the fact that it is the first time the wealth phonetic material peculiarities of the dialect under study in comparison with the ones of other Dargin dialects are introduced into scientific use. As a result of the study, it is established that the Gapshima speech has similarities both with the dialects of the Tsudahar and Sirkhya which are in contact with it, and with the Akush dialect, the basis of the Dargin literary language. On the other hand, a number of phonetic phenomena functioning in the Gapshima dialect is also established, which are presented in the Mekegi dialect, with which the Gapshima one does not have a direct contact. The practical significance of the study is in the results which are applicable to the practice of teaching Dargin dialectology. They will also contribute to the issue of establishing the improved classification of Dargin dialects and languages.