Kilit is an extinct Iranian dialect of Azerbaijan that is closely related to Talysh. It is probably a dialect of Iranian Tati, otherwise found only in Iran, specifically a subdialect of Harzandi. It was spoken in the villages around Kilit, located 12 kilometers southwest from the city of Ordubad in a district with the same name of Nakhchivan in Azerbaijan. It was still used by non-native speakers as a second language in the 1950s.[1][3]
History
The language has been long known to the Russian historians and travelers since the middle of nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries. The historian Chopin, first mentioned it back in 1852. He states the inhabitants of the village as amounting to 104. Zelinsky researched on the language in 1880 afterwards. In the 1950s a few speakers was reported who used the language probably only as a trade lingo or secret language.
In 1966, A. G. Gasanov collected a few words and phrases.[4] Although the possibility of a migration cannot be ruled out, however it is more likely, given more data about Tatic languages and proto-Tatic, that this group extended at least as far as the areas in which the remanent languages are spoken today.[1]
Chopin remarks that the inhabitants of Kilit village were professing Shiite faith and their language is not similar to any of the other local dialects. However he has been puzzled about their origin. He mentioned that they might be from Armenian origin or more likely Talyshi, Tat, Tajik or Zoroastrian.[9] Zelinsky considered it as a mixture of Kurdish, Persian and Arabic. Gasanov called it with a certain affinity towards Iranian languages. But only Zelinsky's materials are enough to understand that kiliti is not an argot, possesses an independent grammatical structure and have the main base of the root words and all the typical features of the Iranian languages. The existing materials also provide a sufficient basis to determine it as belonging to the northwestern Iranian group of languages. That language had no written tradition. According to Zelinsky, dozens of villages had spoken the language before, but it was just understandable to the villagers afterwards and then the Azerbaijani language replaced it.[4][5]
References and notes
^ abcStilo, D. L. 1994. Phonological systems in contact in Iran and Transcaucasia. In Persian studies in North America: Studies in Honor of Mohammad Ali Jazayery By Muhammed Ali Jaza'iri, Mehdi Marashi, Mohammad Ali: Festschrift Jazayery, Published by Ibex Publishers, Inc., p. 90. ISBN0-936347-35-X, ISBN978-0-936347-35-6
^ abZelinsky, S. P. 1880. Three Magali: Nakhichevan, Ordubadsky and Daralagezsky. Geografo-statistical and agricultural description. "Collected information about the Caucasus," t. VII, Tiflis. (Зелинский С. П. 1880. Три магала: Нахичеванский, Ордубадский и Даралагезский. Географо-статистическое и сельскохозяйственное описание. "Сборник сведений о Кавказе", т. VII, Тифлис.) (in Russian)
^The text reported by Zelinsky: Kiliti in Cyrillic: «Вахти князь аслнда еранали эмиабиа, манэ эшташа: бишемазун касака ман винэм ки, шемазун каланг зуна. Хачи ки, эшман хаба эшката, мандже вотма. Эшман хаба эшката ки, ки каланг ашмардиа, мандже ашмар дема деста са. О еранал манэ эшташа кюсэш эшман хаба эшката кэинг манданиш? мандже вотма ки, ману мурахаст каи манэм каим. Вотма на, писта на хаингу муни. Мандже вотма: ихтио хеста, вотим манем, шав мандже. Хачи ой эшчаман хаба эшката, мандже вотма…» The translation in Russian: Во время князя генерал приехал, меня потребовал: «иди на вашем наречии говори, я посмотрю, ваш язык какого сорта». Что не спросил меня, я ответил. Меня спросил, как считаете. Я сосчитал до ста. Тот генерал меня потребовал к себе, спросил меня: «Где останешься?» (где будешь ночевать?) Я сказал, что меня отпустите, я пойду домой. Сказал нет, должен остаться здесь». Я сказал, «Воля ваша, скажешь, останусь» Ночью остался. Что не спросил меня, я сказал (ответил)».
^Gasanov, A. G. 1966. "O 'tainom' iazyke zhitelei sela Kilit Nakhichevankoi ASSR." In Voprosy Dialektologii Tiurkskix lazykov, Vol. 4, edited by R. I. Avanesov, N. A. Baskakov, et al. Baku: Akademii Nauk Azerbaidzhanskoi SSR. (in Russian)
^Shopen, Ivan, 1852. Istoricheskiĭ pamiatnik sostoianiia Armianskoĭ-oblasti v ėpokhu eia prisoedineniia k Rossiĭskoĭ-Imperii. Published by V tip. Imp. Akademii nauk. P. 539 (in Russian)
