ABSTRACT
Own name: Kedaes hikwa; Russian name: Khvarshiny. The majority of the Khvarshins live in the Tsumadin Region (rajon) of the Daghestan ASSR. The name given to them in Russian is taken from the Russian form of their largest village, Khvarshi. Their language belongs to the Avaro-Andi-Didoi group (Didoi sub-group) of the North-East Caucasian languages. The vocabulary has been much influenced by Avar, which also served as the medium through which many Arabic, Persian and Turkish loan-words entered the language. Khvarshin is not a written language; Avar is used as the literary language. Each village has its own dialect.
