Adyghe language
Encyclopedia
Adyghe language also known as West Circassian (see: Circassian language
), 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, Bzhedugh; Hatukuay, Kemirgoy, Makhosh; Natekuay
, Shapsigh; Zhane, 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.
There are apparently around 128,000 speakers of the language on the native territory in Russia, almost all of them are 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 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
is a very close relative, treated by some as a dialect of Adyghe or of an overarching Circassian language
. The Ubykh
, Abkhaz
, and Abaza
languages are also close relatives thereof.
The language was standardized after the October Revolution
. Since 1938, Adyghe has used the Cyrillic alphabet
. Before that, an Arabic-based alphabet
was used together with the Latin
.
s. 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.
Below is a table of the standard vowels of Adyghe. All vowels except for /i/ can have a /j/ before it.
).
In the past, Arabic and Latin alphabets were used.
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 Israel
and taught in schools in their villages.
n tribes)) and (Kabard-Cherkess-(Eastern Circassia
n tribes), is classified as vulnerable.
Circassian language
Circassian language may refer to:* any of the Northwest Caucasian languages* in a more narrow sense,** the Adyghe language ** the Kabardian language...
), is one of the two official languages of the Republic of Adygea in the Russian Federation
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...
, the other being Russian
Russian language
Russian 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...
. It is spoken by various tribes of the Adyghe people
Adyghe people
The Adyghe or Adygs , also often known as Circassians or Cherkess, are in origin a North Caucasian ethnic groupwho were displaced in the course of the Russian conquest of the Caucasus in the 19th century, especially after the Russian–Circassian War of 1862.Adyghe people mostly speak Adyghe and most...
: Abzekh
Abadzekh
Abadzekhs are a people of Adyghe branch.A significant part of them live in diaspora, which are descendants of refugees from the Caucasian War with the Russian Empire. Their dominant religion is Sunni Islam...
, Adamey, Bzhedugh; Hatukuay, Kemirgoy, Makhosh; Natekuay
Natukhai people
Natukhai are a people of the Adyghe branch, whom are the original dwellers of the far north west of historical Circassia, and their areas historically extended from Anapa in the North to Tsemez in the south, currently Novorossiysk in the Russian Federation....
, Shapsigh; Zhane, 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.
There are apparently around 128,000 speakers of the language on the native territory in Russia, almost all of them are native speakers. In the whole world, some 300,000 speak the language. The largest Adyghe-speaking community is 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...
, spoken by the post Russian–Circassian War diaspora, in addition to that the Adyghe Language is spoken by the Cherkesogai
Cherkesogai
Cherkesogai or Circassian Armenians are ethnic Armenians who inhabit Russia's Krasnodar Krai and Republic of Adyghea since the end of 15th century that spoke the Adyghe language , apart from other Armenians living in the region. They reside mostly in the cities of Armavir and Maykop...
in Krasnodar Krai.
Adyghe belongs to the family of Northwest Caucasian languages
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...
. Kabardian
Kabardian language
The Kabardian language, also known as East Circassian , is a Northwest Caucasian language, closely related to the Adyghe language. It is spoken mainly in the Russian republics of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia and in Turkey and the Middle East...
is a very close relative, treated by some as a dialect of Adyghe or of an overarching Circassian language
Circassian language
Circassian language may refer to:* any of the Northwest Caucasian languages* in a more narrow sense,** the Adyghe language ** the Kabardian language...
. The Ubykh
Ubykh language
Ubykh or Ubyx is an extinct language of the Northwestern Caucasian group, spoken by the Ubykh people...
, Abkhaz
Abkhaz language
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 Abaza
Abaza language
The Abaza language is a language of the Caucasus mountains in the Russian Karachay-Cherkess Republic by the Abazins...
languages are also close relatives thereof.
The language was standardized after the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
. Since 1938, Adyghe has used the Cyrillic alphabet
Cyrillic 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...
. Before that, an Arabic-based alphabet
Arabic 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...
was used together with the Latin
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
.
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 stopGlottal stop
The glottal stop, or more fully, the voiceless glottal plosive, is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages. In English, the feature is represented, for example, by the hyphen in uh-oh! and by the apostrophe or [[ʻokina]] in Hawaii among those using a preservative pronunciation of...
s. 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
Hausa language
Hausa is the Chadic language with the largest number of speakers, spoken as a first language by about 25 million people, and as a second language by about 18 million more, an approximate total of 43 million people...
). The Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
dialect of Adyghe contains a highly unusual sound: a bidental
Bidental consonant
Bidental consonants are consonants pronounced with both the lower and upper teeth. They are normally found only in speech pathology. The Extensions to the IPA symbol is both a superscript and a subscript bridge, ....
fricative [h̪͆] which corresponds to the voiceless velar fricative
Voiceless velar fricative
The voiceless velar fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The sound was part of the consonant inventory of Old English and can still be found in some dialects of English, most notably in Scottish English....
[x] found in other varieties of Adyghe.
| 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... |
Alveolar Alveolar consonant Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli of the superior teeth... |
Post- alveolar Postalveolar consonant Postalveolar consonants are consonants articulated with the tongue near or touching the back of the alveolar ridge, further back in the mouth than the alveolar consonants, which are at the ridge itself, but not as far back as the hard palate... |
Alveolo- palatal Alveolo-palatal consonant In phonetics, alveolo-palatal consonants are palatalized postalveolar sounds, usually fricatives and affricates, articulated with the blade of the tongue behind the alveolar ridge, and the body of the tongue raised toward the palate... |
Retro- flex Retroflex consonant A retroflex consonant is a coronal consonant where the tongue has a flat, concave, or even curled shape, and is articulated between the alveolar ridge and the hard palate. They are sometimes referred to as cerebral consonants, especially in Indology... |
Velar Velar consonant Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum).... |
Uvular Uvular consonant Uvulars are consonants articulated with the back of the tongue against or near the uvula, that is, further back in the mouth than velar consonants. Uvulars may be plosives, fricatives, nasal stops, trills, or approximants, though the IPA does not provide a separate symbol for the approximant, and... |
Pharyngeal Pharyngeal consonant A pharyngeal consonant is a type of consonant which is articulated with the root of the tongue against the pharynx.-Pharyngeal consonants in the IPA:Pharyngeal consonants in the International Phonetic Alphabet :... |
Glottal Glottal consonant Glottal consonants, also called laryngeal consonants, are consonants articulated with the glottis. Many phoneticians consider them, or at least the so-called fricative, to be transitional states of the glottis without a point of articulation as other consonants have; in fact, some do not consider... |
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | lab. Labialisation Labialization is a secondary articulatory feature of sounds in some languages. Labialized sounds involve the lips while the remainder of the oral cavity produces another sound. The term is normally restricted to consonants. When vowels involve the lips, they are called rounded.The most common... |
plain | lab. | lat. Lateral consonant A lateral is an el-like consonant, in which airstream proceeds along the sides of the tongue, but is blocked by the tongue from going through the middle of the mouth.... |
plain | lab. | plain | lab. | plain | lab. | plain | lab. | plain | lab. | ||||
| Plosive | 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... |
p | t | k | kʷ | q | qʷ | ʔ | ʔʷ | |||||||||
| voiced Voice (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... |
b | d | ɡ | ɡʷ | ||||||||||||||
| 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... |
pʼ | pʷʼ | tʼ | tʷʼ | kʼ | kʷʼ | ||||||||||||
| Affricate Affricate consonant Affricates are consonants that begin as stops but release as a fricative rather than directly into the following vowel.- Samples :... |
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... |
t͡s | t͡sʷ | t͡ʃ | ||||||||||||||
| voiced Voice (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... |
d͡z | d͡zʷ | d͡ʒ | |||||||||||||||
| 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... |
t͡sʼ | t͡sʷʼ | t͡ʃʼ | |||||||||||||||
| Fricative Fricative consonant Fricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate, in the case of German , the final consonant of Bach; or... |
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... |
f | s | ɬ | ʃ | ʃʷ | ɕ | ʂ | x | xʷ | χ | χʷ | ħ | |||||
| voiced Voice (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... |
v | z | ʒ | ʑ | ʐ | ʐʷ | ʁ | ʁʷ | ||||||||||
| 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... |
fʼ | ɬʼ | ʃʼ | ʃʷʼ | ||||||||||||||
| Nasal Nasal consonant A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :... |
m | n | ||||||||||||||||
| Approximant Approximant consonant Approximants are speech sounds that involve the articulators approaching each other but not narrowly enough or with enough articulatory precision to create turbulent airflow. Therefore, approximants fall between fricatives, which do produce a turbulent airstream, and vowels, which produce no... |
l | j | ||||||||||||||||
| Trill Trill consonant In phonetics, a trill is a consonantal sound produced by vibrations between the articulator and the place of articulation. Standard Spanish <rr> as in perro is an alveolar trill, while in Parisian French it is almost always uvular.... |
r | |||||||||||||||||
Below is a table of the standard vowels of Adyghe. All vowels except for /i/ can have a /j/ before it.
| Front Front vowel A front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far in front as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Front vowels are sometimes also... | Central Central vowel A central vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a central vowel is that the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel... | Back Back vowel A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Back vowels are sometimes also called dark... |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Close Close vowel A close vowel is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a close vowel is that the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.This term is prescribed by the... |
i | u | |
| Mid Mid vowel A mid vowel is a vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned mid-way between an open vowel and a close vowel... |
e | ə | o |
| Open Open vowel An open vowel is defined as a vowel sound in which the tongue is positioned as far as possible from the roof of the mouth. Open vowels are sometimes also called low vowels in reference to the low position of the tongue... |
a |
Grammar
Adyghe, like all Northwest Caucasian languages, has a basic subject–object–verb typology, and is characterized by an ergative construction of the sentence.Orthography
The modern orthography is based on the Cyrillic alphabet with the addition of the special letter Ӏ (palochkaPalochka
Palochka is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet. This letter usually has only a capital form, which is also used in lowercase text. The capital form of Palochka often looks like the capital form of the Cyrillic letter Dotted I , the capital form of the Latin letter I , and the lowercase form of the...
).
| А а | Б б | В в | Г г | Гу гу | Гъ гъ | Гъу гъу | Д д |
| Дж дж | Дз дз | Дзу дзу | Е е | (Ё ё) | Ж ж | Жъ жъ | Жъу жъу |
| Жь жь | З з | И и | Й й | К к | Ку ку | Къ къ | Къу къу |
| КӀ кӀ | КӀу кӀу | Л л | Лъ лъ | ЛӀ лӀ | М м | Н н | О о |
| П п | ПӀ пӀ | ПӀу пӀу | Р р | С с | Т т | ТӀ тӀ | ТӀу тӀу |
| У у | Ф ф | Х х | Хъ хъ | Хъу хъу | Хь хь | Ц ц | Цу цу |
| ЦӀ цӀ | Ч ч | ЧӀ чӀ | Ш ш | Шъ шъ | ШӀ шӀ | ШӀу шӀу | Щ щ |
| (Ъ ъ) | Ы ы | (Ь ь) | Э э | (Ю ю) | Я я | Ӏ |
In the past, Arabic and Latin alphabets were used.
Adyghe outside Circassia
Adyghe is taught outside CircassiaCircassia
Circassia was an independent mountainous country located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia and was the largest and most important country in the Caucasus. Circassia was located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea...
in a Jordanian School for the Jordanian Adyghes, Prince Hamza Ibn Al-Hussein Secondary School in Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
. This school, which was established by the Adyghe Jordanians with support from His Majesty the late King Hussein of Jordan
Hussein of Jordan
Hussein bin Talal was the third King of Jordan from the abdication of his father, King Talal, in 1952, until his death. Hussein's rule extended through the Cold War and four decades of Arab-Israeli conflict...
, 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 Israel
Circassians in Israel
The Circassians in Israel refers to the Adyghe community who live in Israel.The Circassians in Israel are moderate Sunni Muslims, they tend to put an emphasis on the separation between their religion and their nationality...
and taught in schools in their villages.
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 CircassiaCircassia
Circassia was an independent mountainous country located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia and was the largest and most important country in the Caucasus. Circassia was located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea...
n tribes)) and (Kabard-Cherkess-(Eastern Circassia
Circassia
Circassia was an independent mountainous country located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia and was the largest and most important country in the Caucasus. Circassia was located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea...
n tribes), is classified as vulnerable.