Adyghe language

Adyghe
Адыгaбзэ, aːdəɣabza
Native to	Republic of Adygea (Russia), Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Macedonia
Ethnicity	Adyghe people, Shapsugs
Native speakers	500,000  (1993)
Language family	Northwest Caucasian Circassian Adyghe
Official status
Official language in	Adygea
Language codes
ISO 639-2	ady
ISO 639-3	ady

Adyghe /ˈædɨɡeɪ, ˌɑːdɨˈɡeɪ/ (Adyghe: Адыгэбзэ adyghabze), also known as West Circassian (КӀахыбзэ), is one of the two official languages of the Republic of Adygea in the Russian Federation, the other being Russian. It is spoken by various tribes of the Adyghe people: Abzekh, Adamey, Bzhedug; Hatuqwai, Temirgoy, Mamkhegh; Natekuay, Shapsug; Zhaney, Yegerikuay, each with its own dialect. The language is referred to by its speakers as Adygebze or Adəgăbză, and alternatively spelled in English as Adygean, Adygeyan or Adygei. The literary language is based on the Temirgoy dialect.

There are apparently around 128,000 speakers of the language on the native territory in Russia, almost all of them native speakers. In the whole world, some 300,000 speak the language. The largest Adyghe-speaking community is in Turkey, spoken by the post Russian–Circassian War (circa 1763–1864) diaspora; in addition to that, the Adyghe language is spoken by the Cherkesogai in Krasnodar Krai.

Adyghe belongs to the family of Northwest Caucasian languages. Kabardian (also known as East Circassian) is a very close relative, treated by some as a dialect of Adyghe or of an overarching Circassian language. Ubykh, Abkhaz, and Abaza are somewhat more distantly related to Adyghe.

The language was standardized after the October Revolution in 1917. Since 1936, the Cyrillic script has been used to write Adyghe. Before that, an Arabic-based alphabet was used together with the Latin.

Phonology

Adyghe exhibits a large number of consonants: between fifty and sixty consonants in the various Adyghe dialects. All dialects possess a contrast between plain and labialized glottal stops. A very unusual minimal contrast, and possibly unique to the Abdzakh dialect of Adyghe, is a three-way contrast between plain, labialized and palatalized glottal stops (although a palatalized glottal stop is also found in Hausa). The Black Sea dialect of Adyghe contains a highly unusual sound: a bidental fricative [h̪͆] which corresponds to the voiceless velar fricative [x] found in other varieties of Adyghe. Many Adyghe speakers (like most speakers of Kabardian) pronounce some of the ejective consonants as pharyngealized ejective consonants ([pˤʼ], [tˤʼ], [sˤʼ], [ɬˤʼ] [t͡sˤʼ]) or as pharyngealized consonants ([pˤ], [tˤ], [sˤ], [ɬˤ] [t͡sˤ]). The West Circassian languages (e.g. Bzhedug, Shapsug, Temirgoy and Abadzekh) lose the consonant [xʷ] and It became [f]. In the East Circassian languages (e.g. Kabardian) it's still pronounced as [xʷ], for example the Adyghe word "тфы" ( [tfə]  "five" is тхуы ( [txʷə] ) in Kabardian.

		Labial		Alveolar			Post­alveolar		Alveolo- palatal	Retro­flex		Velar			Uvular		Pharyngeal	Glottal
		plain	lab.	plain	lab.	lat.	plain	lab.		plain	lab.	plain	lab.	pal.	plain	lab.		plain	lab.
Plosive	voiceless	p		t								k2	kʷ	(kʲ)1	q	qʷ		ʔ	ʔʷ
	voiced	b		d								(ɡ)3	ɡʷ	(ɡʲ)1
	ejective	pʼ	pʷʼ	tʼ	tʷʼ								kʷʼ	kʲʼ
Affricate	voiceless			t͡s	t͡sʷ		t͡ʃ	(t͡ʃʷ)1
	voiced			d͡z	d͡zʷ		d͡ʒ
	ejective			t͡sʼ	t͡sʷʼ		t͡ʃʼ
Fricative	voiceless	f		s		ɬ	ʃ		ɕ	ʂ	ʂʷ	x			χ	χʷ	ħ
	voiced	v2		z			ʒ		ʑ	ʐ	ʐʷ	ɣ			ʁ	ʁʷ
	ejective			(sʼ)1		ɬʼ	ʃʼ	ʃʷʼ
Nasal		m		n
Approximant						l			j				w
Trill				r

1. In the Shapsug dialect (Adyghe: Шапсыгъэбзэ) (e.g. the Kfar Kama dialect), there exist an alveolar ejective fricative [sʼ] and a labialized voiceless palato-alveolar affricate [t͡ʃʷ] which correspond to [t͡sʼ] and [t͡sʷ] in other dialects, for example the Shapsug words "шӀусӀэ" (ʃʷ'əs'a) "black" and "чуакъо" (t͡ʃʷaːqʷa) "shoes" are pronounced in other dialects as "шӀуцӀэ" (ʃʷ'ət͡s'a) and "цуакъо" (t͡sʷaːqʷa). In the Shapsug dialect there is a palatalized voiced velar plosive [ɡʲ] and a palatalized voiceless velar plosive [kʲ] which in other Adyghe dialects those consonants were merged with [d͡ʒ] and [t͡ʃ], for example the Shpasug words "гьанэ" (ɡʲaːna) "shirt" and "кьэхьы" (kʲaħə) "long" are pronounced in other dialects as "джанэ" (d͡ʒaːna) and "чэхьы" (t͡ʃaħə).
2. Consonants that exist only in borrowed words.
3. In the Adyghe Temirgoy dialect, the consonant [ɣ] became [ɡ].

Despite the wealth of consonants, Adyghe has only three phonemic vowels in a classic vertical vowel system.

	Front	Central	Back
Close-mid		ə
Open-mid		e
Open		a

Grammar

Main article: Adyghe grammar

Adyghe, like all Northwest Caucasian languages, has a basic agent–object–verb typology, and is characterized by an ergative construction of the sentence.

Orthography

Cyrillic	IPA	Pronunciation	Words
А а	[aː]		ачъэ, апчъы
Б б	[b]		баджэ́, бэ
В в	[v]		кэнау
Г г	[ɣ]		гыны́, чъыгы
	([ɡ])
Гу гу	[ɡʷ]		гу, гущыӀ
Гъ гъ	[ʁ]		гъатхэ́, гъэмаф
Гъу гъу	[ʁʷ]		гъунэ́гъу, гъунджэ
Д д	[d]		дыджы́, дахэ
Дж дж	[dʒ]		джан, лъэмыдж
Дз дз	[dz]		дзыо, дзын
Дзу дзу	[dzʷ]		хьандзу, хьандзуачӀ
Е е	[e] [ja] [aj]		ешэн, еплъы́н
(Ё ё)	[jo]		ёлк
Ж ж	[ʒ]		жэ, жакӀэ
Жъ жъ	[ʐ]		жъы, жъажъэ
Жъу жъу	[ʐʷ]		жъун, жъуагъо
Жь жь	[ʑ]		жьыбгъэ, жьау
З з	[z]		занкӀэ, зандэ
И и	[i] [jə]		ихьан, икӀыпӀ
Й й	[j]		йод, бай
К к	[k]		кнопк, ручк
Ку ку	[kʷ]		кушъэ, ку
Къ къ	[q]		къалэ, къэкӀон
Къу къу	[qʷ]		къухьэ, къушъхьэ
КӀ кӀ	[kʼ] [tʃʼ]		кӀымаф, кӀыхьэ (кӀ, шкӀэ)
КӀу кӀу	[kʷʼ]		кӀун, кӀуакӀэ
Л л	[l]		лы, кӀалэ
	([ɮ])		блы
Лъ лъ	[ɬ]		лъэбэкъу, лъащэ
ЛӀ лӀ	[ɬʼ]		лӀы, лӀыгъэ
М м	[m]		мэзы́, мэлы
Н н	[n]		нэ, ны
О о	[o] [wa] [aw]		мощ, коны (о, осы, ощхы)
П п	[p]		пэ, сапэ
ПӀ пӀ	[pʼ]		пӀэ, пӀэшъхьагъ
ПӀу пӀу	[pʷʼ]		пӀун, пӀур
Р р	[r]		рикӀэн, риӀон
С с	[s]		сэ, сэшхо
Т т	[t]		тэтэ́жъ, тэ
ТӀ тӀ	[tʼ]		тӀы, ятӀэ
ТӀу тӀу	[tʷʼ]		тӀурыс, тӀурытӀу
У у	[u] [w]		ушхун, убэн
Ф ф	[f]		фыжьы́, фэен
Х х	[x]		хы, хасэ
Хъ хъ	[χ]		хъыен, пхъэн
Хъу хъу	[χʷ]		хъун, хъурай
Хь хь	[ħ]		хьэ, хьаку
Ц ц	[ts]		цагэ, цы
Цу цу	[tsʷ]		цуакъэ, цу
ЦӀ цӀ	[tsʼ]		цӀынэ, цӀыфы
Ч ч	[tʃ] ([kʲ])		чэфы, чэты
ЧӀ чӀ	[tʃʼ]		чӀыпӀэ, чӀыфэ
Чъ чъ	[tʂ]		чъыгай, чъыӀэ
Ш ш	[ʃ]		шы, шыблэ
Шъ шъ	[ʂ]		пшъашъэ, шъабэ
Шъу шъу	[ʂʷ]		шъугъуалэ, шъукъакӀу
ШӀ шӀ	[ʃʼ]		шӀын, шӀэны́гъ
ШӀу шӀу	[ʃʷʼ]		шӀуцӀэ, шӀуфэс
Щ щ	[ɕ]		щагу, щатэ
(Ъ ъ)	″
Ы ы	[ə]		ыкӀи, зы
(Ь ь)	′
Э э	[a]		этаж, нэнэжъ
(Ю ю)	[ju]		Юсыф, Юныс
Я я	[jaː]		яй, ябгэ
Ӏ	[ʔ]		Ӏэ, кӀасэ
Ӏу	[ʔʷ]		ӀукӀэн, Ӏусын, Ӏудан

Cyrillic	IPA
Гу гу	[ɡʷə]
Го го	[ɡʷa]
Гъу гъу	[ʁʷə]
Гъо гъо	[ʁʷa]
Жъу жъу	[ʐʷə]
Жъо жъо	[ʐʷa]
Ку ку	[kʷə]
Ко ко	[kʷa]
Къу къу	[qʷə]
Къо къо	[qʷa]
КӀу кӀу	[kʷʼə]
КӀо кӀо	[kʷʼa]
Шъу шъу	[ʂʷə]
Шъо шъо	[ʂʷa]
Ӏу	[ʔʷə]
Ӏо	[ʔʷa]

Adyghe dialect letters

Cyrillic	IPA	Pronunciation	Words	Dialects
Гь гь	([ɡʲ])		гьанэ, гьэгун	Shapsug dialect
Кь кь	([kʲ])		кьэт, кьэхьы, жакьэ	Shapsug dialect
СӀ сӀ	([sʼ])		сӀэ, шӀусӀэ	Shapsug dialect
ФӀ фӀ	[fʼ]		фӀы, фӀыцӀэ	Kabardian dialect
Ху ху	[xʷ]		хуабэ, махо, хужьы	Kabardian dialect
Чу чу	([tʃʷ])		чуакъо, чу	Shapsug dialect, Abzakh dialect
ЩӀ щӀ	([ɕʼ])		щӀалэ	Kabardian dialect
Ӏь	([h])		Ӏьыгь, Ӏьыдэдэм, дэӀьэ

Vowels

The vowels are written ⟨ы⟩ [ə], ⟨э⟩ [a] and ⟨а⟩ [aː].

Other letters represent diphthongs: ⟨я⟩ represents [jaː], ⟨и⟩ [jə], ⟨о⟩ [aw] or [wa] or [o], ⟨у⟩ represent [u] or [w] and ⟨е⟩ represents [aj] or [ja] or [e].

Writing systems

Modern Adyghe uses a Cyrillic alphabet with the addition of the letter ⟨Ӏ⟩ (palochka). Previously Arabic (before 1927) and Latin (1927–38) alphabets had been used.

• 

  Adyghe Arabic alphabet was used before 1927

• 

  Adyghe Latin alphabet 1927–38

• 

  Adyghe Latin alphabet 1927–38

• 

  Latin and Cyrillic alphabets compared

• 

  Latin alphabets compared

• 

  Arabic alphabets compared

Adyghe outside Circassia

Adyghe is taught outside Circassia in a Jordanian School for the Jordanian Adyghes, Prince Hamza Ibn Al-Hussein Secondary School in Amman. This school, which was established by the Adyghe Jordanians with support from His Majesty the late king Hussein of Jordan, is one of the first schools for the Adyghe communities outside Circassia. It has around 750 Jordanian Adyghe students, and one of its major goals is to preserve Adyghe among newer Adyghe generations, while also emphasizing the traditions of the Adyghes.

Adyghe is spoken by Circassians in Iraq and by Circassians in Israel, where it is taught in schools in their villages. It is also spoken by some Circassians in Syria, however the majority of Syrian Circassians speak Kabardian.

UNESCO 2009 map of endangered languages

According to the UNESCO 2009 map entitled "UNESCO Map of the World's Languages in Danger", the status of the Adyghe language in 2009, along with all its dialects (Adyghe, Western Circassian tribes) and (Kabard-Cherkess, Eastern Circassian tribes), is classified as vulnerable.

Sample text

УблапІэм ыдэжь ГущыІэр щыІагъ. Ар Тхьэм ыдэжь щыІагъ, а ГущыІэри Тхьэу арыгъэ. УблапІэм щегъэжьагъэу а ГущыІэр Тхьэм ыдэжь щыІагъ. Тхьэм а ГущыІэм зэкІэри къыригъэгъэхъугъ. Тхьэм къыгъэхъугъэ пстэуми ащыщэу а ГущыІэм къыримыгъгъэхъугъэ зи щыІэп. МыкІодыжьын щыІэныгъэ а ГущыІэм хэлъыгъ, а щыІэныгъэри цІыфхэм нэфынэ афэхъугъ. Нэфынэр шІункІыгъэм щэнэфы, шІункІыгъэри нэфынэм текІуагъэп.

Translation: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.

See also

• Hakuchi Adyghe dialect
• Kfar Kama Adyghe dialect

External links

• Grammar of the Circassian Language. Useful site to learn the Adyghe grammar.
• Louis Loewe (1854). A dictionary of the Circassian language, English-Circassian-Turkish. George Bell. 
• Adyghe alphabet, Omniglot.
• Adyghe transliteration schemes PDF.
• Adyghe sample, Language Museum.
• Adyghe, Ethnologue.
• Learning Adyghe resource.
• Learn Circassian, International Centre for Circassian Studies (ICCS).
• Rferl North Caucasus Radio.
• Adyghe transliteration tool.
• Ancient Adyghe Abkhaz–Abaza Ubykh alphabet.
• How to count in Adyghe language.
• Surat Aal Eimran 8-15, audio, 18:04.
• Adyghe language dictionary.