Numeral systems in Lezgic languages

Abstract The paper presents an overview of numeral systems in Lezgic languages (East Caucasian) and discusses hypotheses about their diachronic development. Similarly to other branches of the East Caucasian family, languages of the Lezgic branch have either a decimal (base-10) or a vigesimal (base-20) system. Decimal systems are attested in languages and dialects in the northwestern part of the Lezgic area, while languages with vigesimal systems are spoken in the southeast. The article analyzes unusual features of numeral systems in several Lezgic languages: the fossilization of gender markers in a subset of decimal numerals (‘30’–‘90’), a shared decimal-based etymon for ‘40’, and north–south dialectal variation in numeral systems of Agul and Tabasaran, which are likely the result of contact influence. These phenomena challenge the traditional view that the vigesimal numeral system is original to the Lezgic languages and suggest that the hypothesis of the originality of the decimal system should not be overlooked.