Circassian language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Circassian | |
|---|---|
| Cherkess | |
| Ethnicity: | Circassians |
| Geographic distribution: |
Caucasus |
| Linguistic classification: | Northwest Caucasian |
| Subdivisions: | |
 Circassian
|
|
Circassian, also known as Cherkess, is a dialect continuum of the Caucasus. There are two Circassian languages as defined by their literary standards, Adyghe (Adyge, West Circassian), with half a million speakers, and Kabardian (East Circassian) with a million. The spoken languages, however, merge, with geographically intermediate dialects intelligible to both standards.
The terms "Circassian" and "Cherkess" are sometimes also used as synonyms for the Northwest Caucasian languages in general.
