Bezhta language

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Bezhta
Kapucha
бежкьалас миц bežƛʼalas mic/beƶⱡʼalas mic
Pronunciation	[ˈbeʒt͡ɬʼɑlɑs mit͡s]
Native to	North Caucasus
Region	Southern Dagestan
Ethnicity	Bezhta people
Native speakers	6,800 (2006–2010)[1] 8,138 (2020 census)[2]
Language family	Northeast Caucasian Tsezic Bezhta–Hunzib–Khwarshi Bezhta
Dialects	Bezhta proper Tladal Khocharkhota Turk.Bezhta
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kap
Glottolog	bezh1248
ELP	Bezhta
Bezhta
Bezhta is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (2010)
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The Bezhta (or Bezheta) language (Bezhta: бежкьалас миц, bežƛʼalas mic, beƶⱡʼalas mic, pronounced [ˈbeʒt͡ɬʼɑlɑs mit͡s]), also known as Kapucha (from the name of a large village^[3]), belongs to the Tsezic group of the North Caucasian language family. It is spoken by about 6,200 people in southern Dagestan, Russia^[4]

Bezhta can be divided into three dialects – Bezhta Proper, Tlyadal [ru] and Khocharkhota^[4] – which are spoken in various villages in the region. Its closest linguistic relatives are Hunzib and Khwarshi.^[5] Bezhta is unwritten, but various attempts have been made to develop an official orthography for the language. The Bezhta people use Avar as the literary language. The first book ever printed in Bezhta was the Gospel of Luke (1999).^[6]