Adyghe language

Adyghe
West Circassian
Адыгабзэ
Native to	Russia (incl. Circassia: Adygea
Ethnicity	Circassians, Cherkesogai
Native speakers	575,900 (2005–2015)
Language family	Northwest Caucasian Circassian Adyghe
Writing system	Cyrillic (current) Latin (historical) Arabic (historical) Georgian (historical & gaining popularity)
Official status
Official language in	Adygea
Language codes
ISO 639-2	ady
ISO 639-3	ady
Glottolog	adyg1241
Distribution of the Adyghe language in Adygea, Russia (2002)

Adyghe (/ˈædɪɡeɪ/ or /ˌɑːdɪˈɡeɪ/; Adyghe: Адыгабзэ, Adygabzæ IPA: [aːdəɣaːbza]), also known as West Circassian (КӀахыбзэ, K’axybzæ), 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 and Yegerikuay, each with its own dialect. The language is referred to by its speakers as Adygebze or Adəgăbză, and alternatively transliterated in English as Adygean, Adygeyan or Adygei. The literary language is based on the Temirgoy dialect.

There are apparently around 128,000 speakers of Adyghe in Russia, almost all of them native speakers. In total, some 300,000 speak it worldwide. 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 standardised 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. In recent years, use of the Latin script has seen a resurgence, particularly among Circassian Nationalists. Originally unstandardised, all dialects of Adyghe are now included in the ICSLO (Indigenous Caucasian Standard Latin Orthography), providing a standardised Latin script that is gaining popularity. (The ICSLO treats Kabardian as a dialect of Adyghe, so Kabardian-exclusive consonants such as the labiodental ejective fricative are also represented in its Adyghe Latin script.)

Dialects

The West Circassian (Adyghe) dialects family tree

• The Black Sea coast dialects:
  • Shapsug dialect (Template:Lang-ady)
    • North Shapsugs, Great Shapsugs, Kuban Shapsugs (Шапсыгъэ шху) dialect
      • Kfar Kama dialect (Кфар Камэм ишапсыгъэбзэ)
    • Temirgoy-Shapsugs, Pseuşko accent (Кӏэмгуе-шапсыгъ)
    • South Shapsugs, Small Shapsugs, Coastal Shapsugs, Black Sea Shapsugs (Шапсыгъэ-цӏыкӏу) dialect
    • Hakuchi dialect (ХьакӀуцубзэ, Къарацхаибзэ)
  • Natukhai dialect (Template:Lang-ady)
  • Zhaney dialect
• The Kuban River dialects:
  • Bzhedug dialect (Template:Lang-ady): spoken by Circassians in the Republic of Adygea and the Biga district of the city of Çanakkale in Turkey
  • Temirgoy (Template:Lang-ady): literary standard of Adyghe. Also spoken by Circassians in the Republic of Adygea
  • Abzakh dialect (Template:Lang-ady): spoken by Circassians in the village of Rehaniya in Israel and Circassians in Syria from the Golan Heights
  • Mamkhegh dialect
  • Yegeruqay dialect
  • Hatuqwai dialect
  • Mequash dialect

Phonology

Main article: Adyghe phonology

Adyghe exhibits a large number of consonants: between 50 and 60 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 Abzakh 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 very uncommon sound: a bidental [[voiceless bidental fricative|fricative [h̪͆]]], which corresponds to the voiceless velar fricative [x] found in other varieties of Adyghe.

		Bilabial & Labiodental				Bidental	Dental & Alveolar						Palato-alveolar			Alveolo-palatal			Retroflex (Laminal)			Velar					Uvular				Pharyngeal	Glottal
		plain	lab.	pal.	asp.		plain	lab.	pal.	asp.	lat.	pal. lat.	plain	lab.	asp.	plain	lab.	asp. lab.	plain	lab.	asp.	plain	lab.	asp. lab.	pal.	pal. asp.	plain	lab.	asp.	asp. lab.		plain	lab.	pal.
Nasal		m		mʲ			n		nʲ
Plosive	voiceless	p	pʷ	pʲ	pʰ		t		tʲ	tʰ												k	kʷ	kʰʷ	kʲ	kʲʰ	q	qʷ	qʰ	qʰʷ		ʔ	ʔʷ	ʔʲ
	voiced	b	bʷ	bʲ			d		dʲ													g	ɡʷ		gʲ			(ɢʷ)
	ejective	pʼ	pʷʼ				tʼ	tʷʼ															kʷʼ		kʲʼ		qʼ	qʷʼ
Affricate	voiceless						t͡s	t͡sʷ		t͡sʰ			t̠͡ʃ	t̠͡ʃʷ	t̠͡ʃʰ	ȶ͡ɕ	ȶ͡ɕʷ	ȶ͡ɕʰʷ	ʈ͡ʂ		ʈ͡ʂʰ						q͡χ	q͡χʷ
	voiced						d͡z	d͡zʷ					d̠͡ʒ			(ȡ͡ʑ)			ɖ͡ʐ
	ejective						t͡sʼ				t͡ɬʼ		t̠͡ʃʼ			ȶ͡ɕʼ			ʈ͡ʂʼ	ʈ͡ʂʷʼ
Fricative	voiceless	f		fʲ		h̪͆	s		sʲ		ɬ		ʃ	ʃʷ		ɕ	ɕʷ		ʂ	ʂʷ		x	xʷ		xʲ		χ	χʷ			ħ	h
	voiced	v		vʲ			z		zʲ		ɮ		ʒ	ʒʷ		ʑ	ʑʷ		ʐ	ʐʷ		ɣ					ʁ	ʁʷ			(ʕ/◌ˤ)
	ejective	fʼ					sʼ				ɬʼ		ʃʼ	ʃʷʼ		ɕʼ
Approximant	plain						(ɹ)				l	lʲ				j							ɰʷ								(ʕ̞ʷ/◌ˤʷ)
	compressed																						(ɰᵝʷ/◌ᵝʷ)
Trill							r		rʲ				r̠

Consonants found only in loanwords.
Consonants found in Shapsugh, Natukhai, Uzunyayla, and Baslaney dialects.
Consonants found in Shapsugh and Natukhai dialects.
Consonants found in some dialects/allophonic contexts, specifics unclear.
Consonants found in Baslaney dialect.
Consonants found in Baslaney and Kfar Kama dialects.
Consonants found in Black Sea Shapsugh dialect.
Consonants found in Abzakh and Kabardian dialects.
Consonants found in Abzakh dialect.
Consonants found in Kabardian dialect.
Consonants found in Hakuchi and in some other dialects/allophonic contexts, specifics unclear.
Consonants found in Shapsugh and Bzhedug dialects.

In contrast to its large consonant inventory, Adyghe has only three phonemic vowels in a vertical vowel system.

	Central
Close-mid	ə
Open-mid	ɜ
Open	a

Grammar

Main article: Adyghe grammar

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

Alphabet

Cyrillic:

А а [aː]	Б б [b]	В в [v]	Г г [ɣ] or [ɡ]	Гу гу [ɡʷ]	Гъ гъ [ʁ]	Гъу гъу [ʁʷ]	Д д [d]
Дж дж [d͡ʒ]	Дз дз [d͡z]	Дзу дзу [d͡zʷ]	Е е [ja/aj]	Ё ё [jo]	Ж ж [ʒ]	Жъ жъ [ʐ]	Жъу жъу [ʒʷ] or [ʐʷ]
Жь жь [ʑ]	З з [z]	И и [jə/əj]	Й й [j]	К к [k]	Ку ку [kʷ]	Къ къ [q]	Къу къу [qʷ]
Кӏ кӏ [t͡ʃʼ/kʼ]	Кӏу кӏу [kʷʼ]	Л л [ɮ] or [l]	Лъ лъ [ɬ]	Лӏ лӏ [ɬʼ]	М м [m]	Н н [n]	О о [aw/wa]
П п [p]	Пӏ пӏ [pʼ]	Пӏу пӏу [pʷʼ]	Р р [r]	С с [s]	Т т [t]	Тӏ тӏ [tʼ]	Тӏу тӏу [tʷʼ]
У у [w/əw]	Ф ф [f]	Х х [x]	Ху ху [xʷ]	Хъ хъ [χ]	Хъу хъу [χʷ]	Хь хь [ħ]	Ц ц [t͡s]
Цу цу [t͡sʷ]	Цӏ цӏ [t͡sʼ]	Ч ч [t͡ʃ]	ЧI чI [t͡ʂʼ]	Чъ чъ [t͡ʂ]	Ш ш [ʃ]	Шъ шъ [ʂ]	Шъу шъу [ʃʷ] or [ʂʷ]
Шӏ шӏ [ʃʼ]	Шӏу шӏу [ʃʷʼ]	Щ щ [ɕ]	Ъ ъ [ˠ]	Ы ы [ə]	Ь ь [ʲ]	Э э [a]	Ю ю [ju]
Я я [jaː]	ӏ [ʔ]	ӏу [ʔʷ]

ICSLO Latin Derivation for Adyghe:

A a [a]	B b [b]	Bu bu [bʷ]	By by [bʲ]	C c [t͡s]	Cu cu [t͡sʷ]	C' c' [t͡sʼ]	Cɦ cɦ [t͡sʰ]
Ç ç [t̠͡ʃ]	Ç' ç' [t̠͡ʃʼ]	Çu çu [t̠͡ʃʷ]	Çɦ çɦ [t̠͡ʃʰ]	C̨ c̨ [ȶ͡ɕ]	C̨' c̨' [ȶ͡ɕʼ]	C̨u c̨u [ȶ͡ɕʷ]	C̨ɦu c̨ɦu [ȶ͡ɕʰʷ]
Ꞓ ꞓ [ʈ͡ʂ]	Ꞓ' ꞓ' [ʈ͡ʂʼ]	Ꞓ'u ꞓ'u [ʈ͡ʂʷʼ]	Ꞓɦ ꞓɦ [ʈ͡ʂʰ]	D d [d]	Dy dy [dʲ]	E e [ɜ]	F f [f]
F' f' [fʼ]	Fy fy [fʲ]	Ꞙ ꞙ [h̪͆]	G g [g]	Gu gu [ɡʷ/ɢʷ]	Gy gy [gʲ]	Ǵ ǵ [ʁ]	Ǵu ǵu [ʁʷ]
Ǥ ǥ [ʕ]	ꬶ [◌ˤ]	Ğ ğ [ɣ]	H h [ħ]	Ꜧ ꜧ [ʔ]	Ꜧu ꜧu [ʔʷ]	Ꜧy ꜧy [ʔʲ]	Ḩ ḩ [h]
ɦ [◌ʰ]	İ i [i]	I ı [ə/ɯ]	J j [d̠͡ʒ]	Ʝ ʝ [ȡ͡ʑ]	Ɉ ɉ [ɖ͡ʐ]	K k [k]	Ku ku [kʷ]
K'u k'u [kʷʼ]	Kɦu kɦu [kʰʷ]	Ky ky [kʲ]	K'y k'y [kʲʼ]	Kyɦ kyɦ [kʲʰ]	L l [l/ɫ]	Ly ly [lʲ]	Ł ł [ɬ]
Ł' ł' [ɬʼ]	Ɫ ɫ [ɮ]	Ⱡ ⱡ [t͡ɬ]	Ⱡ' ⱡ' [t͡ɬʼ]	M m [m]	My my [mʲ]	N n [n]	Ny ny [nʲ]
O o [o]	P p [p]	Pu pu [pʷ]	P' p' [pʼ]	P'u p'u [pʷʼ]	Py py [pʲ]	Pɦ pɦ [pʰ]	Q q [q]
Qu qu [qʷ]	Qɦ qɦ [qʰ]	Qɦu qɦu [qʰʷ]	Q' q' [qʼ]	Q'u q'u [qʷʼ]	Ꝗ ꝗ [q͡χ]	Ꝗu ꝗu [q͡χʷ]	R r [r/ɹ/ɾ/r̠]
Ry ry [rʲ]	S s [s]	Sy sy [sʲ]	S' s' [sʼ]	Ş ş [ʃ]	Şu şu [ʃʷ]	Ş' ş' [ʃʼ]	Ş'u ş'u [ʃʷʼ]
S̨ s̨ [ɕ]	S̨u s̨u [ɕʷ]	S̨' s̨' [ɕʼ]	Ȿ ȿ [ʂ]	Ȿu ȿu [ʂʷ]	T t [t]	T' t' [tʼ]	T'u t'u [tʷʼ]
Ty ty [tʲ]	Tɦ tɦ [tʰ]	Ú ú [u]	u [◌ʷ]	V v [v]	Vy vy [vʲ]	W w [w]	X x [x]
Xu xu [xʷ]	Xy xy [xʲ]	X́ x́ [χ]	X́u x́u [χʷ]	Ỿ ỿ [j]	y [◌ʲ]	Z z [z]	Zy zy [zʲ]
Ź ź [d͡z]	Źu źu [d͡zʷ]	Ƶ ƶ [ʒ]	Ƶu ƶu [ʒʷ]	Z̨ z̨ [ʑ]	Z̨u z̨u [ʑʷ]	Ɀ ɀ [ʐ]	Ɀu ɀu [ʐʷ]

Orthography

Cyrillic	Latin	IPA	Pronunciation	Words
А а	ā	[aː]		ачъэ (goat), апчъы (they count)
Б б	b	[b]		баджэ (wolf), бэ (a lot)
В в	v	[v]
Г г	ɣ	[ɣ]		гыны (powder), чъыгы (tree)
Гу гу	g°	[ɡʷ]		гу (heart), гущыӏ (word)
Гъ гъ	ġ / ǧ	[ʁ]		гъатхэ (spring), гъэмаф (summer)
Гъу гъу	ġ° / ǧ°	[ʁʷ]		гъунэгъу (neighbor), гъунджэ (mirror)
Д д	d	[d]		дыджы (bitter), дахэ (pretty)
Дж дж	ǯʹ	[d͡ʒ]		джан (shirt), лъэмыдж (bridge)
Дз дз	ʒ	[d͡z]		дзыо (bag), дзын (to throw)
Дзу дзу	ʒ°	[d͡zʷ]		хьандзу (rick), хьандзуачӏ (lower rick)
Е е	e	[aj] [ja]		ешэн (to catch), еплъын (to look at)
(Ё ё)	ë	[jo]		ёлк
Ж ж	ž	[ʒ]		жэ (mouth), жакӏэ (beard)
Жъ жъ	ẑ	[ʐ]		жъы (old), жъажъэ (slow)
Жъу жъу	ẑ°	[ʒʷ]		жъун (to melt), жъуагъо (star)
Жь жь	žʹ	[ʑ]		жьыбгъэ (wind), жьао (shadow)
З з	z	[z]		занкӏэ (straight), зандэ (steep)
И и	i	[əj] [jə]		ихьан (to enter), икӏыпӏ
Й й	j	[j]		йод, бай (rich)
К к	k	[k]		кнопк, ручк
Ку ку	k°	[kʷ]		кушъэ (cradle), ку (cart)
Къ къ	q	[q]		къалэ (city), къэкӏон (to come)
Къу къу	q°	[qʷ]		къухьэ (ship), къушъхьэ (mountain)
Кӏ кӏ	č̣ʹ	[kʼ] [tʃʼ]		кӏымаф (winter), кӏыхьэ (long), кӏэ (tail), шкӏэ (calf)
Кӏу кӏу	ḳ°	[kʷʼ]		кӏон (to walk), кӏуакӏэ (strong)
Л л	l	[l]		лагъэ (painted), лы (meat)
Лъ лъ	ł	[ɬ]		лъэбэкъу (step), лъащэ (lame)
Лӏ лӏ	ḷ	[ɬʼ]		лӏы (man), лӏыгъэ (bravery)
М м	m	[m]		мазэ (moon), мэлы (sheep)
Н н	n	[n]		нэ (eye), ны (mother)
О о	o	[aw] [wa]		мощ (that), коны (bin), о (you), осы (snow), ощхы (rain)
П п	p	[p]		пэ (nose), сапэ (dust)
Пӏ пӏ	ṗ	[pʼ]		пӏэ (bed), пӏэшъхьагъ (pillow)
Пӏу пӏу	ṗ°	[pʷʼ]		пӏун (to rise, to adopt), пӏур (pupil, apprentice)
Р р	r	[r]		рикӏэн (to pour into), риӏон (to tell him)
С с	s	[s]		сэ (i, me), сэшхо (sabre)
Т т	t	[t]		тэтэжъ (grandfather), тэ (we)
Тӏ тӏ	ṭ	[tʼ]		тӏы (ram), ятӏэ (dirt)
Тӏу тӏу	ṭ°	[tʷʼ]		тӏурыс (old), тӏурытӏу (pair)
У у	w	[əw] [wə]		ушхун (straighten), убэн (tamp, to make smooth)
Ф ф	f	[f]		фыжьы (white), фэен (to want)
Х х	x	[x]		хы (sea, six), хасэ (council)
Хъ хъ	χ	[χ]		хъыен (to move), пхъэн (to sow)
Хъу хъу	χ°	[χʷ]		хъун (to happen), хъурай (circle)
Хь хь	ḥ	[ħ]		хьэ (dog), хьаку (oven)
Ц ц	c	[t͡s]		цагэ (rib), цы (hair on body)
Цу цу	c°	[t͡sʷ]		цуакъэ (shoe), цу (ox)
Цӏ цӏ	c̣	[t͡sʼ]		цӏынэ (wet), цӏыфы (person)
Ч ч	č̍	[t͡ʃ]		чэфы (cheerful), чэты (chicken)
Чӏ чӏ	č̣	[t͡ʂʼ]		чӏыпӏэ (area), чӏыфэ (debt)
Чъ чъ	č	[t͡ʂ]		чъыгай (oak), чъыӏэ (cold)
Ш ш	š	[ʃ]		шы (brother), шыблэ (thunder)
Шъ шъ	ŝ	[ʂ]		шъэ (hundred), шъабэ (soft)
Шъу шъу	ŝ°	[ʃʷ]		шъугъуалэ (envious), шъукъакӏу (come – to plural)
Шӏ шӏ	ṣ̂	[ʃʼ]		шӏын (to do), шӏэныгъ (knowledge)
Шӏу шӏу	ṣ̂°	[ʃʷʼ]		шӏуцӏэ (black), шӏуфэс (greetings)
Щ щ	šʹ	[ɕ]		щагу (yard), щатэ (sour cream)
(Ъ ъ)	”	″
Ы ы	ə	[ə]		ыкӏи (and also), зы (one)
(Ь ь)	’	′
Э э	ă	[a]		ӏэтаж (floor), нэнэжъ (grandmother)
(Ю ю)	ju	[ju]		Юсыф (Joseph), Юныс (Jonah)
Я я	jā	[jaː]		яй (theirs), ябгэ (evil)
ӏ	ʾ	[ʔ]		ӏэ (hand), кӏасэ (like)
ӏу	՚°	[ʔʷ]		ӏукӏэн (to meet), ӏусын (to be near sitting), ӏудан (thread)

Labialised consonants

Гу [ɡʷ], Гъу [ʁʷ], Дзу [d͡zʷ], Ку [kʷ], Къу [qʷ], КIу [kʷʼ], ПIу [pʷʼ], ТIу [tʷʼ], Хъу [χʷ], Цу [t͡sʷ], Шъу [ʃʷ], ШIу [ʃʷʼ], Iу [ʔʷ].

In some dialects : Кхъу [q͡χʷ], Ху [xʷ], Чъу [t͡ɕʷ].

Writing system rules

• The letter ⟨ы⟩ [ə] is not written after a ⟨у⟩ [w], ⟨й⟩ [j] or a labialised consonant. For example, : унэ [wəna] "house" instead of уынэ, илъэс [jəɬas] "year" instead of йылъэс, шӏу [ʃʷʼə] "well" instead of шӏуы, цумпэ [t͡sʷəmpa] "strawberry" instead of цуымпэ.
• In case the letter ⟨у⟩ is the first letter of a word or when is not related to any other consonant, it is pronounced as [wə] ⟨уы⟩. For example, : унэ [wəna] "house" instead of уынэ, урыс [wərəs] "Russian" instead of уырыс, куу [kʷəwə] "deep" instead of кууы. When it's related to a consonant it becomes a vowel and pronounced as [əw]~[u] ⟨ыу⟩. For example, : чэту [t͡ʃaːtəw] "cat" instead of чэтыу, бзу [bzəw] "bird" instead of бзыу, дуней [dəwnej] "world" instead of дыуней.
• In case a labialised consonant is followed by a vowel ⟨э⟩ [a], instead of the letter ⟨у⟩ there is a ⟨о⟩. For example, : гъогу [ʁʷaɡʷ] "road" instead of гъуэгу, машӏо [maːʃʷʼa] "fire" instead of машӏуэ, шъо [ʃʷa] "you (plural)" instead of шъуэ.
• In case a labialised consonant is followed by a vowel ⟨а⟩ [aː] or ⟨и⟩ [i/əj], the labialised consonant letter is written fully. for example : цуакъэ [t͡sʷaːqa] "shoes", гуащэ [ɡʷaɕa] "princes", шъуи [ʃʷəj] "yours (plural).
• In case the letter ⟨о⟩ is the first letter of a word or when is not related to any other consonant, it is pronounced as [wa] ⟨уэ⟩. For example : о [wa] "you" instead of уэ, орэд [warad] "song" instead of уэрэд, онтэгъу [wantaʁʷ] "heavy" instead of уэнтэгъу, зао [zaːwa] "war" instead of зауэ, ныо [nəwa] "old woman" instead of ныуэ.
• In case the letter ⟨е⟩ is the first letter of a word or when is not related to any other consonant, it is pronounced as [ja] ⟨йэ⟩. For example, : еӏо [jaʔʷa] "he says" instead of йэӏо, еплъы [japɬə] "he sees" instead of йэплъы, мые [məja] "apple" instead of мыйэ, бае [baːja] "rich" instead of байэ, шъэжъые [ʂaʐəja] "knife" instead of шъэжъыйэ. When it's related to a consonant it becomes a vowel and pronounced as [aj]~[e] ⟨эй⟩. For example, : делэ [dajla] "fool" instead of дэйлэ, къедж [qajd͡ʒ] "read" instead of къэйдж, непэ [najpa] "today" instead of нэйпэ.
• In case the letter ⟨и⟩ is the first letter of a word or when is not related to any other consonant, it is pronounced as [jə] ⟨йы⟩. For example, : илъэс [jəɬas] "year" instead of йылъэс, иунэ [jəwəna] "his house" instead of йыуын, шӏои [ʃʷʼajə] "dirty" instead of шӏойы, дэи [dajə] "bad" instead of дэйы. When it's related to a consonant it becomes a vowel and pronounced as [əj]~[i] ⟨ый⟩. For example, : сиӏ [səjʔ] "I have" instead of сыйӏ, уиунэ [wəjwəna] "your house" instead of уыйуынэ, къины [qəjnə] "hard" instead of къыйны.

Vowels

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

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

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 used before 1927
• 
  Adyghe Latin alphabet used from 1927–38
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  Adyghe Latin alphabet used from 1927–38
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  Adyghe Latin and Adyghe Cyrillic alphabets compared
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  Adyghe Latin alphabet letters
• 
  Adyghe Arabic alphabet letters

Adyghe outside Circassia

Adyghe is taught outside Circassia in a Jordanian school for the Jordanian Adyghes, Prince Hamza Ibn Al-Hussein Secondary School in the capital Amman. This school, which was established by the Adyghe Jordanians with support from 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 emphasising 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 many Circassians in Syria, although 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

Ублапӏэм ыдэжь Гущыӏэр щыӏагъ. Ар Тхьэм ыдэжь щыӏагъ, а Гущыӏэри Тхьэу арыгъэ. Ублапӏэм щегъэжьагъэу а Гущыӏэр Тхьэм ыдэжь щыӏагъ. Тхьэм а Гущыӏэм зэкӏэри къыригъэгъэхъугъ. Тхьэм къыгъэхъугъэ пстэуми ащыщэу а Гущыӏэм къыримыгъгъэхъугъэ зи щыӏэп. Мыкӏодыжьын щыӏэныгъэ а Гущыӏэм хэлъыгъ, а щыӏэныгъэри цӏыфхэм нэфынэ афэхъугъ. Нэфынэр шӏункӏыгъэм щэнэфы, шӏункӏыгъэри нэфынэм текӏуагъэп.

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.

Example

The following texts are excerpts from the official translations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Adyghe and Kabardian, along with the original declaration in English.

English	Adyghe	Kabardian
Universal Declaration of Human Rights	Цlыф Фэшъуашэхэм Афэгъэхьыгъэ Дунэепстэу Джэпсалъ	Цlыху Хуэфащэхэм Теухуа Дунейпсо Джэпсалъэ
Article 1	1-нэрэ пычыгъу	1-нэ пычыгъуэ
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.	ЦIыф пстэури шъхьэфитэу, ялъытэныгъэрэ яфэшъуашэхэмрэкIэ зэфэдэу къалъфы. Акъылрэ зэхэшIыкI гъуазэрэ яIэшъы, зыр зым зэкъош зэхашІэ азфагу дэлъэу зэфыщытынхэ фае.	ЦIыху псори щхьэхуиту, я щIыхьымрэ я хуэфащэхэмрэкIэ зэхуэдэу къалъхур. Акъылрэ зэхэщIыкI гъуазэрэ яIэщи, зыр зым зэкъуэш зэхащІэ яку дэлъу зэхущытын хуейхэщ.

See also

• Adyge mak', the main Adyghe-language newspaper

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.
• 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.
• Adyghe language dictionary.
• Recordings of Adyghe language