Meluhuk

Meluhuk is an extinct Turkic language spoken in the historic region of Alania, which corresponds to the modern-day Kabardino-Balkar Republic in the Russian Federation. The language is thought to have been spoken from the 1st to the 16th centuries.

Meluhuk is considered a member of the North East Caucasian language family, which also includes languages such as Chechen, Avar, and Kumyk. It is classified within the Avar-Andic branch of the family. The language exhibits a complex grammatical structure, with features such as a system of suffixes and prefixes used to indicate case, number, and grammatical function.

Only a limited number of texts and inscriptions have been discovered that indicate the existence of the meluhuk language. These include a few ancient inscriptions and a small corpus of texts written in the meluhuk alphabet. Unfortunately, much of what is known about meluhuk is derived from studies of these limited sources, and the language's complete grammar and vocabulary remain poorly understood.

Despite these challenges, linguistic researchers have made efforts to reconstruct meluhuk grammar and vocabulary based on available texts and other comparative studies. These studies have shed light on the language's historical development and its relationship to other languages within the North East Caucasian family.

The study of meluhuk continues to be an area of interest for scholars of linguistics and history. Further research is needed to better understand this enigmatic language and its place within the broader context of the North East Caucasian language family.