The village Kryts is located on the northern side of Azerbaijan in the Quba region. The Kryts people, also known as the Kryz or Krytsyn, are an indigenous ethnic group in the North Caucasus region. They speak the Kryts language, which is a Northeast Caucasian language that belongs to the Avar-Andic-Tsezic language family.
Kryts
Population in the Project Area: 6000
The People
Quba
Kryts people are mainly found in parts of the Quba Rayon of Azerbaijan. Kryts people live in 35 villages (Quba), 26 villages in Khachmaz district. The village Kryts is located on the northern side of Azerbaijan in the Quba region, at an altitude of 2000-2030 meters above sea level, near the bank of the Gudialchai river, which originates from the Caucasus mountain range and flows through the Quba-Khachmaz regions into the Caspian Sea. The sides of the village’s roads are covered with large stones, as if they were laid by human hands. There you will find large stone boulders that are built next to houses. One side of Kryts is a ravine and the other side is rocky place. People living in Kryts, like another mountain population, respect the guest very much. They are happy when tourists from Azerbaijan and from other regions of the world come to the village. It is an honor for them when you visit their homes. They will treat the guest with flava, meat, dairy products, tea, jams and cracking fragrances. In many cases, they prepare a room for your staying. The Kryts people are the Sunni branch of Islam. They follow all Islamic traditions and customs. But they have not preserved Islamic customs. The history of the Kryts is not well studied, according to some researchers, they are descendants of one of the tribes of the Caucasus, Arya. Kryts are mainly engaged in cattle breeding and sheep breeding. Due to the large pastures in the countryside, they have a nomadic lifestyle. Agriculture is second-rate. They produce dairy products, yarn from wool. Women are mainly engaged in weaving. Kryts carpet is well-known worldwide . Due to the frequent connections from the village to the district, the Kryts do not have to keep a large reserve for the winter.
The Project
Mother-Tongue literacy.
The Kryts language is part of the Samur branch of the Northeast Caucasian language family. The Kryts language has several dialects, including Kryts, Jek, Khaput, Yergyudzh, and Alyk. These dialects are all distinct from one another, but they are all part of the same language family. The Kryts language is one of the most unwritten languages of the Dagestan group of the Caucasian languages. The so-called Lezgian languages are included In the Shahdagh subgroup. In Kryts, they communicate with each other in the Kryts language, since there are no representatives of other ethnic groups living there. They know the state language. Azerbaijan language is spoken at schools, in public and in the state structures. The Kryts language is weakly differentiated. The speech (sayings) of Kryts, Jack, Khaptul and Alik are distinguished, the vowel system of the Kryts language is complex, nine vowels are confirmed. Among the Lezgian languages, Kryts language is the closest to Budukh language. The use of lexical units, idioms and some grammatical forms of the Azerbaijan language can be observed in the Christian language. They use the Latin alphabet.
Our team has done a sociolinguistic survey in the region and found many interesting facts. Kryts consider themselves to be an ancient nation and not only the government of Azerbaijan, but also linguists living in the world think about protecting this language. Kryts study Azerbaijanian language for higher education. From their reactions, we could identify that, Kryts have a fear that one day they will lose their language. But they have volunteer actions of preserving their language by creating dictioniories using latin scripts. The people in Kyts are comparatively educated. So based on our survey, we have plans for developing a adaptive efficient way of training and preserving the culture.
The language of contact with the outside world for the Kryts is Azerbaijan. They can speak fluently in two languages. We cant find the active use of Kryts anywhere except with regions where majority of people are Kritsali and know Kritsali. The influence of the official language Azerbaijanian is predominant in the mother tongue. Many words are based on Azerbaijanian.
Progress
As of March 2023
A comprehensive sociocultural survey was conducted in the Kryt-speaking region to assess the status of the Kryt language and its sociocultural features. Various methodologies, including questionnaires, interviews, and observation, were employed to achieve the objectives of the survey, which include identifying the language attitude of Kryt language speakers, assessing the stability of the language, examining the language use and bilingual ability of the community, and evaluating the language’s vitality. The survey found that the Kryt-speaking community has a positive attitude towards their mother tongue, and they have made notable efforts to develop their language. For instance, the community members have attempted to create dictionaries using Latin scripts. Based on the findings, the team plans to develop an efficient method of training basic skills through the mother tongue, including orthography development, in order to support and promote the language. We believes that with the right approach, the Kryt language can thrive, and the community can preserve their unique culture and identity.