Ingush language

Ingush (ГӀалгӀай, Ğalğaj, pronounced [ʁəlʁɑj]) is a Northeast Caucasian language spoken by about 300,000 people, known as the Ingush, across a region covering the Russian republics of Ingushetia and Chechnya.

Classification

Ingush and Chechen, together with Bats, constitute the Nakh branch of the Northeast Caucasian language family. They are not mutually intelligible, though there is pervasive passive bilingualism between Ingush and Chechen.

Geographic distribution

Ingush is spoken by about 413,000 people (2002), primarily across a region in the Caucasus covering parts of Russia, primarily Ingushetia and Chechnya. Speakers can also be found in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Belgium, Norway, Turkey and Jordan.

Official status

Ingush is, alongside Russian, an official language of Ingushetia, a federal subject of Russia.

Writing system

Ingush became a written language with an Arabic-based writing system at the beginning of the 20th century. After the October Revolution it first used a Latin alphabet, which was later replaced by Cyrillic.