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Bats language

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Bats
ბაცბა მოტტ
Batsba Moṭṭ
batsba motjiti
Pronunciation[batsʰba motʼː]
[batsbur mɔt’ː]
Native toNorth Caucasus
RegionZemo-Alvani in Kakheti
EthnicityBats people
Native speakers
(500 cited 1997)[1]
far fewer than 3,000 active (2007)
Georgian script[2]
Language codes
ISO 639-3bbl
Glottologbats1242
ELPBatsbi
  Bats
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Bats (Batsbur Mott, or Batsba Moṭṭ ბაცბა მოტტ, /batsʰba motʼː/), also known as Batsbi, Batsi, Batsb, Batsaw, or Tsova-Tush) is the endangered language of the Bats people, a North Caucasian minority group living in the Republic of Georgia. Batsbi is part of the Nakh branch of Northeast Caucasian languages. It had 2,500 to 3,000 speakers in 1975, with only one dialect. Batsbi is only used for spoken communication, as Bats people tend to use Georgian when writing.

History

[edit]

Tusheti, the northeastern mountainous region of Georgia, is home to four tribes that consider themselves Tushetians: the Batsbi (also known as Tsovatush), the Gometsari, the Piriqiti, and the Chagma-Tush. Tsovatush people make up 50% of Tushetians. Only several hundred Tsovatush people speak Bats, whereas the other tribes (Gometsari, Piriqiti and Chagma-Tush) have lost the language. Evidence from toponymics indicates that the other three Tushetian tribes formerly spoke Bats, suggesting that all Tushetians once did and over time the Georgian language replaced Bats.

The mountainous terrain preserved the culture and traditions of Tushetians, but the history of isolation makes it more difficult to document them as only a few records exist.

The first grammar of Bats, Über die Thusch-Sprache, was compiled by the German orientalist Anton Schiefner (1817–1879), making it into the first grammar of an indigenous Caucasian language based on sound scientific principles.[3]

Classification & Distribution

[edit]

Batsbi belongs to the Nakh branch of the Northeast Caucasian language family. The language is not mutually intelligible with either Chechen or Ingush, the other two Nakh languages.

Geographic distribution

[edit]

Most speakers of Bats live in the village of Zemo-Alvani, on the Kakheti Plain, in the Akhmeta Municipality of Georgia. There are some families of Bats in Tbilisi and other bigger towns in Georgia.

Phonology

[edit]

Vowels

[edit]

Bats has a typologically common five-vowel system. Although some authors claim that all vowels but /u/ contrast in length, no minimal pairs are given in any studies of Batsbi, nor are examples of long vowels available in the literature.

Front Back
High i u
Mid ɛ ɔ
Low a    

Bats also has the following diphthongs: /ei/, /ui/, /oi/, /ai/, /ou/, and /au/.[4]

All vowels and diphthongs have nasalised allophones that are the result of phonetic and morphophonemic processes: [ ĩ ẽ ã õ ũ ]. Nasalised vowels are represented in the Mkhedruli script via a superscript ⟨ნ⟩ following the vowel in question, as in კნათ for [k’nat] 'boy-GEN'.

Consonants

[edit]

Batsbi has a large consonant inventory, relatively typical for a Nakh-Dagestanian language, containing ejectives, pharyngeals and uvulars. Unlike its close Nakh relatives, Chechen and Ingush, Batsbi has on the other hand retained the voiceless lateral fricative /ɬ/. Also notable is the presence of two geminate ejectives, /tːʼ/ and /qːʼ/, which are cross-linguistically rare.[5]

Consonant Phonemes of Bats[6]
Labial Dental Alveolar Palatal(ized) Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Glottal
Nasal m n
Plosive aspirated lenis t͜sʰ t͡ʃʰ ʔ
voiceless fortis
voiced b d d͜z d͡ʒ g
ejective lenis t͜sʼ t͡ʃʼ
fortis tːʼ qːʼ
Fricative voiceless lenis s ʃ x ħ h
fortis
lateral ɬ
voiced v z ʒ ɣ ʕ
Approximant lenis l j
fortis
Flap ɾ

Phonotactics

[edit]

The most common syllable type in Batsbi is CVC.[6] However, Batsbi words commonly contain sequences of two consonants, the second of which is often a fricative.[7] Stop-stop clusters often contain an ejective. Those two-consonant clusters can occur in any position within the word, although less commonly word-finally. Sequences of three consonants do occur as well, although many are borrowings from Georgian. Like many clusters in non-Indo-European languages,[8] consonant sequences in Batsbi often fail to conform to the sonority sequencing principle.

Word-initial Two-consonant Clusters[6]
C1 C2 Example English
Stop Fricative
b ʒ ã ბჟა livestok
p ħ e ფჰჾე village
x tʃxotʼ ჩხოტ waterfall
ʕ kʼʕokʼ კჺოკ hole
m ʕ al მჺალ common
Stop Stop Example English
tʼqʼa ტყა twenty
n kʼnatẽ კნათე boy
tʃʼ tʃʼqʼempʼʷ ჭყემფუ throat
Word-initial Three-consonant Clusters[6]
C1 C2 C3 Example English
p s t’ pst’u ფსტუ wife
t x ɾ txɾil თხრილ ditch
t’ k’ m t’k’mel ტკმელ dust
t’ q’ v t’q’ve თყვე prisoner
g ɾ d gɾdeml გრდემლ anvil

Of the words containing three-consonant onsets above, all but /pstu/ “wife” and /t’k’mel/ “dust” are native to Batsbi, the other ones being loanwords from Georgian.

Word-final clusters
C1 C2 Example English
ɾ k’ tsaɾkʼ ცარკ tooth
p x vepx ვეფხ tiger
t x matx მათხ sun
v r skʼi სკივრ skunk
n t’ abʒont’ აბჟონტ stirrup

Spelling systems

[edit]

Comparison table of various spelling systems for Batsbi

[edit]
Schiefner, 1856[9] Imnaishvili, 1977 Kadagidze, 1984 Mikeladze, 2012 Desheriev, 1953 Chrelashvili, 1999 IPA
Georgian
transcription
Latin
transcription
Georgian
transcription
Latin
transcription
Georgian
transcription
Latin
transcription
a a a ა, A a, a а а IPA: [a]
Ǎ ǎ, â а͏̆ а͏̆ IPA: [ă]
ā ā Ā ā а̄ а̄ IPA: [aː]
ā̄ IPA: [aː]
აჼ aⁿ აჼ aⁿ აჼ, აჼ à ã, àã а̃ а̃ IPA: [ã]
Ā̃ ā̃ IPA: [ãː]
b b b B b б б IPA: [b]
g g g G g г г IPA: [ɡ]
d d d D d д д IPA: [d]
e e e E e е, э е IPA: [e]
Ē ē, Ē ē е̄ IPA: [eː]
ĕ ĕ ě, ê е͏̆ е͏̆ IPA: [ĕ]
ეჼ eⁿ ეჼ eⁿ ეჼ Ẽ ẽ е̃ е̃ IPA: [ẽ]
Ē̃ ē̃ IPA: [ẽː]
w v v V v в в IPA: [v]
z z z Z z з з IPA: [z]
t t T t т т IPA: [tʰ]
თთ tt თჾ tჾ თჾ tჾ тт тт IPA: [tː]
i i i ი, I i, Ii и и IPA: [i]
Ī ī ӣ ӣ IPA: [iː]
ĭ ĭ î и͏̆ и͏̆ IPA: [ĭ]
იჼ iⁿ იჼ iⁿ იჼ Ĩ ĩ и̃ и̃ IPA: [ĩ]
Ī̃ ī̃ IPA: [ĩː]
k Ḳ ḳ кӀ кӀ IPA: [kʼ]
l l l L l л л IPA: [l]
ლლ ll ლჾ lჾ ლჾ lჾ лл лл IPA: [lː]
ლʻ ლʻ ლʻ лъ лъ IPA: [ɬ]
m m m M m м м IPA: [m]
n n n N n н н IPA: [n]
j j j J j й й IPA: [j]
ჲჼ j̇̃ IPA: [j̃]
o o o ო, O o, o о о IPA: [o]
Ō ō о̄ о̄ IPA: [oː]
ō̄ IPA: [oː]
ŏ ŏ ǒ, ô о͏̆ о͏̆ IPA: [ŏ]
ოჼ oⁿ ოჼ oⁿ ოჼ Õ õ о̃ о̃ IPA: [õ]
Ō̃ ō̃ IPA: [õː]
p P̣ p̣ пӀ пӀ IPA: [pʼ]
ž ž Ž ž ж ж IPA: [ʒ]
r r r R r р р IPA: [ɾ]
რʻ რʻ IPA: [ɾ̥]
s s s S s с с IPA: [s]
სს ss სჾ sჾ სჾ sჾ сс сс IPA: [sː]
t Ṭ ṭ тӀ тӀ IPA: [tʼ]
ტტ ṭṭ ტჾ ṭჾ ტჾ ṭჾ тӀтӀ тӀтӀ IPA: [tʼː]
u u u უ, U u, u у у IPA: [u]
Ū ū ӯ IPA: [uː]
ŭ ŭ Ǔ ǔ, û у͏̆ у͏̆ IPA: [ŭ]
უჼ uⁿ უჼ uⁿ უჼ, უჼ Ũ ũ, Ũ ũ у̃ у̃ IPA: [ũ]
p p P p п п IPA: [pʰ]
k k K k к к IPA: [kʰ]
ɣ ɣ Ɣ ɣ гӀ гӀ IPA: [ɣ]
q Q̣ q̣ къ къ IPA: [qʼ]
ყყ q̣q̣ ყჾ q̣ჾ ყჾ q̣ჾ къкъ къкъ IPA: [qʼː]
š š Š š ш ш IPA: [ʃ]
შჾ šჾ IPA: [ʃː]
č č Č č ч ч IPA: [t͡ʃʰ]
c c c C c ц ц IPA: [t͡sʰ]
ʒ ʒ ʒ Ʒ ʒ дз дз IPA: [d͡z]
C̣ c̣ цӀ цӀ IPA: [t͡sʼ]
c̣̔ č̣ č̣ Č̣ č̣ чӀ чӀ IPA: [t͡ʃʼ]
x x x X x х х IPA: [x]
ხხ xx ხჾ xჾ ხჾ xჾ хх хх IPA: [xː]
q q q Q q кх кх IPA: [qʰ]
ჴჴ qq ჴჾ qჾ ჴჾ qჾ ккх кхкх IPA: [qː]
ʒ̔ ǯ ǯ Ǯ ǯ дж дж IPA: [d͡ʒ]
h h H h хӀ хӀ IPA: [h]
ჰჾ hჾ h ჰ⁊ H⁊ h⁊/Ⱨ ⱨ хь хь IPA: [ħ]
Ӏъ Ӏъ IPA: [ʡ]
ʼ ʻ ʻ ʻ ჺ/ع ʻ Ӏ Ӏ IPA: [ʕ]
ʼ ʼ ʼ ʼ ʼ ъ IPA: [ʔ]
ф IPA: [f]
w IPA: [w]

Morphosyntax

[edit]

Batsbi is an SOV language with ergative-absolutive alignment which makes extensive use of bound morphological derivation and inflection. It has both grammatical gender (i.e. noun classes) and several grammatical cases.

Pronouns

[edit]

Personal pronouns - first and second persons

[edit]

Batsbi pronouns encode three persons, two numbers, and clusivity for first person plural (“you and us” vs. “us but not you”). Demonstratives work as third person pronouns. First and second person pronouns are shown below in the absolutive and ergative cases.[7]

Singular Plural
First Second First

Inclusive

First

Exclusive

Second
Absolutive სო

so

ჰჾო

ħo

თხო

txo

ვე/ვაი

ve/vai

შუ

šu

Ergative ას

as

აჰჾ

ათხ

atx

ვე

ve

ეშ

I You (Thou) You and us Us but not you You (Ye)

Third person pronouns/Demonstratives

[edit]

Batsbi does not encode gender in pronouns. Gender is indexed instead on verbs and adjectives.

Singular Plural
Absolutive

o

ობი

obi

Ergative ოჴუს

oqus

ოჴარ

oqar

s/he they

Adnominal demonstratives

[edit]
Proximal Medial Distal
Absolutive

e

ის

is

o

Oblique ეჴ

eq

იცხ

icx

ოჴ

oq

this that that yonder

Adnominal demonstratives code no gender in Batsbi.

1a

e

DEM.proximal

ფსტუიჩოვ

pstʼuinčov

woman-ERG

ე ფსტუიჩოვ

e pstʼuinčov

DEM.proximal woman-ERG

"This woman"

1b

e

DEM.proximal

სტაკოვ

stʼakʼov

man-ERG

ე სტაკოვ

e stʼakʼov

DEM.proximal man-ERG

"This man

1c

o

DEM.distal

სტაკოვ

stʼakʼov

man-ERG

ო სტაკოვ

o stʼakʼov

DEM.distal man-ERG

"That man over there"

Interrogative pronouns

[edit]
who? what? when? how much? where? which one?
Absolutive მე

mẽ

ვუხ

vux

მაცა

macã

მელʻ

meɬ

მიჩ, მიჩა

mič, miča

მენუხ

menux

Ergative ჰჾა

ħã

სტევ

st’ev

მენხუიჩოვ

menxuičov

Noun classes

[edit]

As in other Nakh languages, Batsbi has several noun classes (grammatical genders) that are indexed through class prefixes on some vowel-initial verbs, adjectives, numerals, and a few other words.[7] That is, nouns themselves show no morphologically marks for gender. Gender indexing is highly complex in the language, with subject gender agreement on intransitive verbs (absolutive), but object agreement on transitive verbs. The table below shows gender agreement on verbs for three of the noun classes:

[7]
Noun class Subject Verb group Translation
Intransitive (subject agreement)
M აჰჾგე’

aħgeʔ

ეწე აʼა

v-etsʼe v-aʔã

You too M-should M-come
F აჰჾგე’

aħgeʔ

ეწე აʼა

j-etsʼe j-aʔã

You too F-should F-come
Bd დო

ესე

ese b-a

The horse Bd-is here (lit. “here is”)
Transitive (object agreement)
M დადას

dadas

ქალიქ იკესუ

kalik v-ik’esʷ

Father M-takes me (a man) to the city
F დადას

dadas

ქალიქ იკესუ

kalik j-ik’esʷ

Father F-takes me (a woman) to the city
Bd სე ვაშეჩოვ

sẽ vašečov

ოხკინ დო

b-oxkʼin dõ

My brother Bd-sold it, the horse (Bd)

Number of classes

[edit]

Holisky and Gagua (1994) analyse Batsbi as having five noun classes,[6] whereas Alice Harris posits that Batsbi has eight genders in total, based on the behaviour of words that fail to conform to the patterns of the five major classes.[7] The breakdown below follows Harris:

Label Singular Plural Description Nouns Adjective

“big”

Verb To Be English
M v- b- male humans
  • მარ mar
  • ჺუვ ʕuv
  • ვოჰჾ voħ
აჴჴო

v-aqqõ

v-a

“the husband is big”

“the shepherd is big”

“the son is big”

F j- d- female humans
  • ნან nan
  • ფსტუ pstʼu
  • ჲოჰჾ joħ
აჴჴო

j-aqqõ

j-a

“the mother is big”

“the wife is big”

“the daughter is big”

D d- various, default class

for unknown gender[7]

  • ბადერ bader
  • კუიტი kʼuit’i
  • დოკ dokʼ
  • დითხ ditx
აჴჴო

d-aqqõ

d-a

“the child is big”

“the cat is big”

“the heart is big”

“the meat is big”

Bd b- d- animals
  • ფჰჾუ pħu
  • ჩა ča


აჴჴო

b-aqqõ

b-a

“the dog is big”

“the bread is big” “the bear is big”

J j- various
  • ცარკ carkʼ
  • მაიჴი maiqi
  • ყარ q'ar
აჴჴოj-aqqõ

-ავი

j-avĩ

j-a

“the tooth is big”

“the milk is light” “the rain is light”

*Bd b- d- body parts (15 nouns)
  • ბაქ bak
  • ბჺარკ bʕarkʼ
  • ჭყემპუ čʼqʼempʼʷ
აჴჴოb-aqqõ

b-a

“it is a big fist”

“the eye is big” throat is

*D/J d- j- body parts (4 nouns)
  • ბატრ batʼr
  • ლარკ larkʼ
  • ტოტ tʼotʼ
  • ჭამაღ čʼamaǧ
d-a is lip is

ear is hand is cheek is

*B/B b- only 3 nouns
  • ბორაგ borag
  • ჩექამ čekam
  • ქაქამ kakam
b-a is/are knit slipper

boot autum wool

Exceptions and Nouns without inherent gender

[edit]

According to Holisky and Gagua (1994), the class with the largest number of nouns is the D-class (e.g. da “it is”), followed by the J-class (e.g. ja “it is”). Class D markers are also used when the noun class is unknown (as in open interrogatives, see 1a) and in clauses with mixed genders (1d).

2a

ვუხ

vux

what

და

d-a

Cl.D-be

ვუხ და

vux d-a

what Cl.D-be

"What is it?"

2b

ღოჭ

ǧočʼ

stick

ჲა

j-a

Cl.J-be

ღოჭ ჲა

ǧočʼ j-a

stick Cl.J-be

"It is a stick"

2c

ნექ

nek

knife

და

d-a

Cl.D-be

ნექ და

nek d-a

knife Cl.D-be

"It is a knife"

2d

ღოჭე

ǧočʼe

stick-and

ნექე

neke

knife-and

და

d-a

Cl.D-be

ღოჭე ნექე და

ǧočʼe neke d-a

stick-and knife-and Cl.D-be

"It is both a stick and knife"

Additionally, some nouns referring to humans have no inherent gender, so that class agreement is contextual. These includes the words for “teacher” (უჩიტელ učitʼel), “friend” (ნაყბისტ naq’bist’), “enemy” (მასთხოვ mastxov), “neighbor” (მეზობელ mezobel) and others.[6]

3a

უჩიტელ

učitʼel

teacher

v-a

Cl.M-is

უჩიტელ

učitʼel v-a

teacher Cl.M-is

"He is a teacher"

3b

უჩიტელ

učitʼel

teacher

j-a

Cl.F-is

უჩიტელ

učitʼel j-a

teacher Cl.F-is

"She is a teacher"

Gender agreement in adjectives

[edit]

Only eight vowel-initial adjectives agree in gender with the noun they modify:[6]

Adjective agreement (singular)
Gender

(sg/pl)

-aqqõ -ut’q’ĩ -avĩ -acĩ -uq’ĩ -asẽ -acũ -axxẽ
-აჴჴო -უტყი -ავი -აცი -უყი -ასე -აცუ -ახხე
M (v-/b-) v-aqqõ v-ut’q’ĩ v-avĩ v-acĩ v-uq’ĩ v-asẽ v-acũ v-axxẽ
F (j-/d-) j-aqqõ j-ut’q’ĩ j-avĩ j-acĩ j-uq’ĩ j-asẽ j-acũ j-axxẽ
D (d-) d-aqqõ d-ut’q’ĩ d-avĩ d-acĩ d-uq’ĩ d-asẽ d-acũ d-axxẽ
J (j-) j-aqqõ j-ut’q’ĩ j-avĩ j-acĩ j-uq’ĩ j-asẽ j-acũ j-axxẽ
Bd (b-/d-) b-aqqõ b-ut’q’ĩ b-avĩ b-acĩ b-uq’ĩ b-asẽ b-acũ b-axxẽ
English “big” “small” “light” “heavy” “thick” “empty” “short” “long”

Grammatical number and case

[edit]

Batsbi nouns are inflected for two numbers, singular and plural, and nine cases. Number inflection occurs via suffixation and/or root changes, and is chiefly unpredictable. Harris (ms) identifies nine suffixes for plural marking in the nominative case; note that vowel changes (i.e. ablaut) may also affect the root of the plural form.

Nominative
Suffix Nom-Singular Nom-Plural English
-i საგ

sag

საგ

sag-i

deer
-iš ნიყ

niq’

ნიყიშ

niq’-

road(s)
-bi ხე

xẽ

ხენბი

xen-bi

tree(s)
-mi დოკ

dok’

მი

dak’-mi

heart(s)
-arč ფჰჾუ

pḥu

ფჰჾარჩ

pḥ-arč

dog(s)
-erč ტჺირ

tʼʕir

ტჺირერჩ

tʼʕir-erč

star(s)
-ar კეჭ

kʼeč̣

არ

ač̣-ar

bundle(s)
-er ჲოპყ

jopʼqʼ

პყერ

apʼqʼ-er

ash(es)


Batsbi makes use of nine noun cases total. In the majority of nouns, the ergative and instrumental cases have a common form.

ნეკ

nekʼ
'knife'

ცოკალ

t͜sʰokʼal
'fox'

დოკ

dok’

'heart'

Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative nekʼ nekʼi t͜sʰokʼal t͜sʰokʼli dok’ dak’bi
Genitive nekʼẽ nekʼã t͜sʰokʼlẽ t͜sʰokʼlã dak’ĩ dak’bĩ
Dative nekʼen nekʼin t͜sʰokʼlen t͜sʰokʼlin dak’an dak’bin
Ergative/Instrumental nekʼev nekʼiv t͜sʰokʼlev t͜sʰokʼliv dak’av dak’bav
Contacting nek’ex nekʼax t͜sʰokʼlex t͜sʰokʼlax dak’ox dak’bax
Allative nekʼegʷ nekʼigʷ t͜sʰokʼlegʷ t͜sʰokʼligʷ dak’ogʷ dak’bigʷ
Adverbial nekʼeɣ nekʼiɣ t͜sʰokʼleɣ t͜sʰokʼliɣ dak’oɣ dak’biɣ
Comitative nekʼt͜sʰĩ,

nekʼet͜sʰĩ

nekʼicĩ t͜sʰokʼlet͜sʰĩ t͜sʰokʼlit͜sʰĩ

Verbs

[edit]

Verds in Batsbi encode not only tense, and aspect, but also gender, person, mood, and other categories. Person suffixes also encode whether the subject of the verb is ergative or absolutive. Person suffixes for are shown in the table below. Note that Batsbi verbs also agree with the object through a prefix denoting a noun class, not shown in the table that follows.

Singular Plural
First Ergative

to cut

თეტო

tet’o-s

თეტოთხ

tet’o-tx

Absolutive

to take

-იკესუ

-ikʼe-

-იკესთხუ

-ikʼe-txʷ

Second Ergative

to cut

თეტოჰჾ

tet’o-ħ

თეტუიშ

tet’w-

Absolutive

to take

-ისკეჰჾუ

-ikʼe-ħʷ

-ისკეშუ

-ikʼe-šʷ

Third Ergative

to cut

თეცტ

tet’ʷ

Absolutive

to take

Batsbi has explicit inflections for agentivity of a verb; it makes a distinction between:

as woʒe (I fell down through no fault of my own)
so woʒe (I fell down and it was my own fault)

Postpositions

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In Batsbi, a number of spatial and time relations are expressed via postpositions. In many cases, the nouns that precede the postposition occur in the dative case, although there are exceptions.

Postposition Example English
მაქ

mak

ტივენ მაქ ბა

t’iv-en mak ba

They (M) are on the bridge

(lit. bridge on they.are)

on’
კიკელ

kʼikʼel

ტივენ კიკელ ვაიხნას

tʼiv-en kʼikʼel vaixnas

I (M) walked under the bridge

(lit. bridge under I walked)

‘under’
ფეხ

pex

ნანენ ფეხ

nan-en pex

Next to mother

(lit. mother next to)

next to’
ჰჾათხ(ე)

ħatx(e)

წენინ ჰჾათხე

c’en-in ħatxe

In front of the house

(lit. house in front of)

in front of’

Note that some of the directions or states which in English and Indo-European languages are expressed via prepositions, are in Batsbi expressed via locative cases.

Numerals

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Like most of its relatives, Bats' numerals are vigesimal, using 20 as a common base. This is mainly evident in the construction of higher decads, so:

40 (šauztʼqʼ) is formed from 2  ×  20
200 (icʼatʼqʼ) formed from is 10  ×  20[6]

When modifying nominals, the numeral precedes the noun it modifies.

Basic numbers
1 cħa 11 cħajtʼtʼ 1+10
2 ši 12 šiitʼtʼ 2+10
3 qo 13 qoitʼtʼ 3+10
4 Dʕivʔ 14 Dʕevajtʼtʼ 4+10
5 pxi 15 pxiitʼtʼ 5+10
6 jetx 16 jetxajtʼː 6+10
7 vorɬ 17 vorɬajtʼtʼ 7+10
8 barɬ 18 barɬajtʼtʼ 8+10
9 isː 19 tʼqʼexc’ 20–1
10 itʼtʼ 20 tʼqʼa
Higher decads
21 tʼqʼacħa 20+1
22 tʼqʼaš 20+2
30 tʼqʼaitʼtʼ 20+10
31 tʼqʼacħaitʼtʼ (20+1)+10
32 tʼqʼašiitʼtʼ (20+2)+10
40 šauztʼqʼ 2×20
50 šauztʼqʼaitʼtʼ (2×20)+10
60 qouztʼqʼ 3×20
70 qouztʼqʼaitʼtʼ (3×20)+10
80 Dʕe(v)uztʼqʼ 4×20
90 Dʕe(v)uztʼqʼaitʼtʼ (4×20)+10
100 pxauztʼqʼ 5×20
120 jexcʼatʼqʼ from jetxcʼatʼqʼ 6x20
160 barɬcʼatʼqʼ 8×20
200 icʼatʼqʼ from itʼːcʼatʼqʼ 10x20
1000 atas from Georgian

In Bats, as in its closest relatives Chechen and Ingush, the number four (Dʕivʔ) begins with a noun-class marker, represented by D (by default, or another capital letter for the other classes). This marker will agree in class with the class of the nominal which the number modifies, even if that nominal is not overtly expressed and is only apparent through pragmatic or discursive context, as in Vʕivʔev (four (males)). This is seen in the word 'four' itself as well as its derivatives.

References

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  1. ^ "UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in danger". UNESCO. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
  2. ^ "Batsbi alphabet, pronunciation and language". Omniglot.com. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  3. ^ Kevin Tuite (2007). The rise and fall and revival of the Ibero-Caucasian hypothesis, pp. 7-8. Historiographia Linguistica, 35 #1.
  4. ^ HG1994[full citation needed]
  5. ^ Hauk, Bryn; Hakim, Jacob (Summer 2019). "Acoustic properties of singleton and geminate ejectives in Tsova-Tush" (PDF). ICPhS 2019 Conference Proceedings.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Holisky, Dee Ann and Gagua, Rusudan, 1994. "Tsova-Tush (Batsbi)", in The indigenous languages of the Caucasus Vol 4, Rieks Smeets, editor. Caravan Books, pp. 147-212
  7. ^ a b c d e f Harris, Alice. Batsbi Sketch Grammar.
  8. ^ Easterday, Shelece (2019-07-04). Highly complex syllable structure: A typological and diachronic study. [object Object]. doi:10.5281/zenodo.3268721.
  9. ^ Schiefner, Anton (1856). Versuch über die Thusch-Sprache oder die khistische Mundart in Thuschetien. St. Petersburg.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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