Avar (self-designation Магӏарул мацӏ Maⱨarul maⱬ [maʕarul mat͡sʼ] "language of the mountains" or Авар мацӏ Avar maⱬ [awar mat͡sʼ] "Avar language") is a language that belongs to the Avar–Andic group of the Northeast Caucasian family.
It is spoken mainly in the western and southern parts of the Russian Caucasus republic of Dagestan, and the Balaken, Zaqatala regions of north-western Azerbaijan. Some Avars live in other regions of Russia. There are also small communities of speakers living in the Russian republics of Chechnya and Kalmykia; in Georgia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Jordan, and the Marmara Sea region of Turkey. It is spoken by about 762,000 people worldwide. UNESCO classifies Avar as vulnerable to extinction.
