Abkhaz language
Encyclopedia
Abkhaz is a Northwest Caucasian language
spoken mainly by the Abkhaz people
. It is the official language of Abkhazia
where around 100,000 people speak it. Furthermore, it is spoken by thousands of members of the Abkhazian diaspora in Turkey
, Georgia's autonomous republic of Adjara
, Syria
, Jordan
and several Western countries. Russia
has 9447 Abkhaz speakers, according to the 2002 census.
, indicating it originated in the northwest Caucasus
. Northwest Caucasian languages have been suggested as being related to the Northeast Caucasian languages
and both are often merged under the blanket term "North Caucasian languages
"; several linguists, notably Sergei Starostin
, posit a phylogenetic link between these two families. Some consider the proposed North Caucasian family to be a member of the Dené–Caucasian macrofamily
; however, the Dené–Caucasian hypothesis is itself unproven and highly controversial, and attempts to categorize Abkhaz as a Dené–Caucasian language are thus premature. Also, sometimes the North Caucasian families are grouped with the South Caucasian languages
into a pan-Caucasian or Ibero-Caucasian
macrofamily, but these have not been shown to be related and are widely considered to be a geographically based convention.
Abkhaz is often united with Abaza
into one language, Abazgi
, of which the literary dialects of Abkhaz and Abaza are simply two ends of a dialect continuum
. Grammatically, the two are very similar; however, the differences in phonology are substantial, and are the main reason why many other linguists prefer to keep the two separate. Most linguists (see for instance Chirikba 2003) believe that Ubykh
is the closest relative of the Abkhaz–Abaza dialect continuum.
. Abkhaz is also spoken by members of the large Abkhaz Muhajir diaspora
, which is mainly located in Turkey
with smaller groups living in Syria
, Iraq
and Jordan
; Georgia's autonomous republic of Adjara
; throughout the former USSR (e.g. Armenia
and the Ukraine
) and through more recent remigration in Western countries such as Germany
, the Netherlands
and the United States
. However, the exact number of Abkhaz-speakers in these countries remains unknown due to a lack of official records.
The literary Abkhaz language is based on the Abzhywa dialect.
/voiceless
/ejective
and palatalized
/labialized/plain distinctions. By contrast, the language has only two phonemically distinct vowels — which, however, have several allophones depending on the palatal and/or labial
quality of adjacent consonants.
and the adverbial
.
since 1862. The first alphabet was a 37-character Cyrillic alphabet invented by Baron Peter von Uslar
. In 1909 a 55-letter Cyrillic alphabet was used. A 75-letter Latin script devised by a Russian/Georgian linguist Nikolai Marr lasted from 1926 to 1928, when another Latin script was used. The Georgian script
was imposed in 1938, but after the death of Stalin, an Abkhaz desire to remain separate from Georgians led to the reintroduction of the current Cyrillic alphabet in 1954 designed in 1892 by Dimitri Gulya
together with Konstantin Machavariani and modified in 1909 by Aleksey Chochua.
, recorded by the Turkish traveller Evliya Çelebi
in the 17th century. Abkhaz has only been used as a literary language for about 100 years.
The 1992 law of Georgia, reiterated in the 1995 Constitution, grants Abkhaz the status of second official language on the territory of Abkhazia, along with Georgian
.
In November 2007, the de facto authorities of Abkhazia adopted a new law "on the state language of the Republic of Abkhazia" which mandates Abkhaz as the language of official communication. According to the law, all meetings held by the president, parliament or government must be conducted in Abkhaz (instead of Russian which is currently a de facto administrative language) from 2010 and all state officials will be obliged to use Abkhaz as their language of every-day business from 2015. Some, however, have considered the implementation of this law unrealistic and concerns have been made that it will drive people away from Abkhazia and hurt the independent press due to a significant share of non-Abkhaz speakers among ethnic minorities as well as Abkhaz themselves, and a shortage of teachers of Abkhaz. The law is an attempt to amend a situation where up to a third of the ethnic Abkhaz population are no longer capable of speaking their own language, and even more are unable to read or write it; instead, Russian is the language most commonly used in public life at present.
Translation:
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.
Northwest Caucasian languages
The Northwest Caucasian languages, also called Abkhazo-Adyghean, or sometimes Pontic as opposed to Caspian for the Northeast Caucasian languages, are a group of languages spoken in the Caucasus region, chiefly in Russia , the disputed territory of Abkhazia, and Turkey, with smaller communities...
spoken mainly by the Abkhaz people
Abkhaz people
The Abkhaz or Abkhazians are a Caucasian ethnic group, mainly living in Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. A large Abkhazian diaspora population resides in Turkey, the origins of which lie in the emigration from the Caucasus in the late 19th century known as Muhajirism...
. It is the official language of Abkhazia
Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
where around 100,000 people speak it. Furthermore, it is spoken by thousands of members of the Abkhazian diaspora in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Georgia's autonomous republic of Adjara
Adjara
Adjara , officially the Autonomous Republic of Adjara , is an autonomous republic of Georgia.Adjara is located in the southwestern corner of Georgia, bordered by Turkey to the south and the eastern end of the Black Sea...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
and several Western countries. Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
has 9447 Abkhaz speakers, according to the 2002 census.
Classification
Abkhaz is a Northwest Caucasian languageNorthwest Caucasian languages
The Northwest Caucasian languages, also called Abkhazo-Adyghean, or sometimes Pontic as opposed to Caspian for the Northeast Caucasian languages, are a group of languages spoken in the Caucasus region, chiefly in Russia , the disputed territory of Abkhazia, and Turkey, with smaller communities...
, indicating it originated in the northwest Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
. Northwest Caucasian languages have been suggested as being related to the Northeast Caucasian languages
Northeast Caucasian languages
The Northeast Caucasian languages constitute a language family spoken in the Russian republics of Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, northern Azerbaijan, and in northeastern Georgia, as well as in diaspora populations in Russia, Turkey, and the Middle East...
and both are often merged under the blanket term "North Caucasian languages
North Caucasian languages
North Caucasian languages is a blanket term for two language phyla spoken chiefly in the north Caucasus and Turkey: the Northwest Caucasian family and the Northeast Caucasian family North Caucasian languages (sometimes called simply Caucasic as opposed to Kartvelian, and to avoid confusion with...
"; several linguists, notably Sergei Starostin
Sergei Starostin
Dr. Sergei Anatolyevich Starostin was a Russian historical linguist and scholar, best known for his work with hypothetical proto-languages, including his work on the reconstruction of the Proto-Borean language, the controversial theory of Altaic languages and the formulation of the Dené–Caucasian...
, posit a phylogenetic link between these two families. Some consider the proposed North Caucasian family to be a member of the Dené–Caucasian macrofamily
Macrofamily
In historical linguistics, a macro-family, also called a superfamily or phylum, is defined as a proposed genetic relationship grouping together language families in a larger scale clasification.However, Campbell regards this term as superfluous, preferring language family for those clasifications...
; however, the Dené–Caucasian hypothesis is itself unproven and highly controversial, and attempts to categorize Abkhaz as a Dené–Caucasian language are thus premature. Also, sometimes the North Caucasian families are grouped with the South Caucasian languages
South Caucasian languages
The Kartvelian languages are spoken primarily in Georgia, with a large group of ethnic Georgian speakers in Russia, the United States, the European Union, and northeastern parts of Turkey. There are approximately 5.2 million speakers of this language family worldwide.It is not known to be related...
into a pan-Caucasian or Ibero-Caucasian
Ibero-Caucasian languages
The term Ibero-Caucasian was proposed by Georgian linguist Arnold Chikobava for the union of the three language families that are specific to the Caucasus area, namely* Kartvelian languages...
macrofamily, but these have not been shown to be related and are widely considered to be a geographically based convention.
Abkhaz is often united with Abaza
Abaza language
The Abaza language is a language of the Caucasus mountains in the Russian Karachay-Cherkess Republic by the Abazins...
into one language, Abazgi
Abazgi
The term Abazgi refers to both the Abaza and Abkhaz as if they were all one people. It was once the preferred designation, but has now been replaced mainly by the two subdesignations....
, of which the literary dialects of Abkhaz and Abaza are simply two ends of a dialect continuum
Dialect continuum
A dialect continuum, or dialect area, was defined by Leonard Bloomfield as a range of dialects spoken across some geographical area that differ only slightly between neighboring areas, but as one travels in any direction, these differences accumulate such that speakers from opposite ends of the...
. Grammatically, the two are very similar; however, the differences in phonology are substantial, and are the main reason why many other linguists prefer to keep the two separate. Most linguists (see for instance Chirikba 2003) believe that Ubykh
Ubykh language
Ubykh or Ubyx is an extinct language of the Northwestern Caucasian group, spoken by the Ubykh people...
is the closest relative of the Abkhaz–Abaza dialect continuum.
Geographical distribution
Abkhaz is spoken primarily in AbkhaziaAbkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
. Abkhaz is also spoken by members of the large Abkhaz Muhajir diaspora
Muhajir (Caucasus)
Circassians, the indigenous peoples of the Northwest Caucasus were cleansed from their homeland at the end of the Caucasian War by victorious Russia, which by its manner of suppression of the Caucasus directed at the Crimean Tartars and Circassians can be credited with "inventing the strategy of...
, which is mainly located in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
with smaller groups living in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
; Georgia's autonomous republic of Adjara
Adjara
Adjara , officially the Autonomous Republic of Adjara , is an autonomous republic of Georgia.Adjara is located in the southwestern corner of Georgia, bordered by Turkey to the south and the eastern end of the Black Sea...
; throughout the former USSR (e.g. Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
and the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
) and through more recent remigration in Western countries such as Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. However, the exact number of Abkhaz-speakers in these countries remains unknown due to a lack of official records.
Dialects
Abkhaz is generally viewed as having three major dialects:- Abzhywa, spoken in the Caucasus, and named after the historical area of AbzhywaAbzhywaAbzhywa is a historical region in Abkhazia.In Russian Empire it constituted an okrug of Abkhazia....
(Абжьыуа), sometimes referred to as Abzhui, the RussifiedRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
form of the name ("Abzhuiski dialekt", derived from the Russian form of the name for the area, Абжуа). - BzybBzyb dialectBzyb is a major dialect of Abkhaz, spoken in the Caucasus and Turkey. It is named after the Bzyb area.It differs from standard Abkhaz mainly in terms of phonology. It shares the and sounds with the Sadz dialect, and the , , , , , , and sounds are unique to Bzyp...
or Bzyp, spoken in the Caucasus and in Turkey, and named after the BzybBzybBzyb, Bzyp, Bzyph or Bziphi may refer to one of the following things related to Abkhazia:*Bzyb , the historical region of Abkhazia**Bzyb River, the river flowing through it**Bzyb , a village located in this region...
(Abkhaz бзыҧ) area. - Sadz, nowadays spoken only in Turkey, formerly also spoken between the rivers Bzyp and Khosta.
The literary Abkhaz language is based on the Abzhywa dialect.
Phonemes
Abkhaz has a very large number of consonants (58 in the literary dialect), with three-way voicedVoice (phonetics)
Voice or voicing is a term used in phonetics and phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless or voiced. The term, however, is used to refer to two separate concepts. Voicing can refer to the articulatory process in which the vocal cords vibrate...
/voiceless
Voiceless
In linguistics, voicelessness is the property of sounds being pronounced without the larynx vibrating. Phonologically, this is a type of phonation, which contrasts with other states of the larynx, but some object that the word "phonation" implies voicing, and that voicelessness is the lack of...
/ejective
Ejective consonant
In phonetics, ejective consonants are voiceless consonants that are pronounced with simultaneous closure of the glottis. In the phonology of a particular language, ejectives may contrast with aspirated or tenuis consonants...
and palatalized
Palatalization
In linguistics, palatalization , also palatization, may refer to two different processes by which a sound, usually a consonant, comes to be produced with the tongue in a position in the mouth near the palate....
/labialized/plain distinctions. By contrast, the language has only two phonemically distinct vowels — which, however, have several allophones depending on the palatal and/or labial
Labial consonant
Labial consonants are consonants in which one or both lips are the active articulator. This precludes linguolabials, in which the tip of the tongue reaches for the posterior side of the upper lip and which are considered coronals...
quality of adjacent consonants.
Typology
Abkhaz is typologically classified as an agglutinative language. Like all other Northwest Caucasian languages, Abkhaz has an extremely complex (polysynthetic) verbal system coupled with a very simple noun system; Abkhaz distinguishes just two cases, the nominativeNominative case
The nominative case is one of the grammatical cases of a noun or other part of speech, which generally marks the subject of a verb or the predicate noun or predicate adjective, as opposed to its object or other verb arguments...
and the adverbial
Adverbial case
The adverbial case is a noun case in the Abkhaz language and Georgian language that has a function similar to the translative and essive cases in Finnic languages. It is also featured in the Udmurt language. The term is sometimes used to refer to the ablative case in other languages.-Examples:In...
.
Writing system
Abkhaz has had its own adaptation of the Cyrillic alphabetCyrillic alphabet
The Cyrillic script or azbuka is an alphabetic writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 10th century AD at the Preslav Literary School...
since 1862. The first alphabet was a 37-character Cyrillic alphabet invented by Baron Peter von Uslar
Peter von Uslar
Baron Peter von Uslar Baron Peter von Uslar Baron Peter von Uslar Baron Peter von Uslar Baron Peter von Uslar Baron Peter von Uslar Baron Peter von Uslar Baron Peter von Uslar Baron Peter von Uslar ( – was a Russian general, engineer and linguist of German descent, known...
. In 1909 a 55-letter Cyrillic alphabet was used. A 75-letter Latin script devised by a Russian/Georgian linguist Nikolai Marr lasted from 1926 to 1928, when another Latin script was used. The Georgian script
Georgian alphabet
The Georgian alphabet is the writing system used to write the Georgian language and other Kartvelian languages , and occasionally other languages of the Caucasus such as Ossetic and Abkhaz during the 1940s...
was imposed in 1938, but after the death of Stalin, an Abkhaz desire to remain separate from Georgians led to the reintroduction of the current Cyrillic alphabet in 1954 designed in 1892 by Dimitri Gulya
Dimitri Gulya
Dmitry Gulia was an Abkhazian Soviet writer and poet, considered to be one of the founders of Abkhaz literature.Dmitry Iosifovich Gulia was born in the village of Uarcha in the modern Gulripsh District of Abkhazia to a peasant family. Gulia studied at a teacher seminary in the city of Gori...
together with Konstantin Machavariani and modified in 1909 by Aleksey Chochua.
History
The earliest extant written records of the Abkhaz language are in the Arabic alphabetArabic alphabet
The Arabic alphabet or Arabic abjad is the Arabic script as it is codified for writing the Arabic language. It is written from right to left, in a cursive style, and includes 28 letters. Because letters usually stand for consonants, it is classified as an abjad.-Consonants:The Arabic alphabet has...
, recorded by the Turkish traveller Evliya Çelebi
Evliya Çelebi
Evliya Çelebi was an Ottoman traveler who journeyed through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years.- Life :...
in the 17th century. Abkhaz has only been used as a literary language for about 100 years.
Status
Both Georgian and Abkhaz law enshrines an official status of the Abkhaz language in Abkhazia.The 1992 law of Georgia, reiterated in the 1995 Constitution, grants Abkhaz the status of second official language on the territory of Abkhazia, along with Georgian
Georgian language
Georgian is the native language of the Georgians and the official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus.Georgian is the primary language of about 4 million people in Georgia itself, and of another 500,000 abroad...
.
In November 2007, the de facto authorities of Abkhazia adopted a new law "on the state language of the Republic of Abkhazia" which mandates Abkhaz as the language of official communication. According to the law, all meetings held by the president, parliament or government must be conducted in Abkhaz (instead of Russian which is currently a de facto administrative language) from 2010 and all state officials will be obliged to use Abkhaz as their language of every-day business from 2015. Some, however, have considered the implementation of this law unrealistic and concerns have been made that it will drive people away from Abkhazia and hurt the independent press due to a significant share of non-Abkhaz speakers among ethnic minorities as well as Abkhaz themselves, and a shortage of teachers of Abkhaz. The law is an attempt to amend a situation where up to a third of the ethnic Abkhaz population are no longer capable of speaking their own language, and even more are unable to read or write it; instead, Russian is the language most commonly used in public life at present.
Sample text
Дарбанзаалак ауаҩы дшоуп ихы дақәиҭны. Ауаа зегь зинлеи патулеи еиҟароуп. Урҭ ирымоуп ахшыҩи аламыси, дара дарагь аешьеи аешьеи реиҧш еизыҟазароуп.Translation:
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.
External links
- Introduction, basic phrases and grammar and texts
- A course in Abkhaz for beginners (the English language version is not complete yet)
- Abkhaz alphabet and pronunciation (Omniglot)
- აფხაზური სამწიგნობრო ენის ქართულ გრაფიკაზე გადაყვანის ისტორიიდან
- Из истории перехода абхазского книжного языка на грузинскую графику
- Abkhaz entry in LanguageServer (University of Graz)
- Abkhaz entry in The Rosetta Project
- Abkhaz at Language Museum
- Example of Abkhaz language