Kabardian language
Encyclopedia
The Kabardian language, also known as East Circassian (see: Circassian language
), 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
(the native territories) and in Turkey
and the Middle East
(the extensive post-war diaspora). It has 47 or 48 consonant phonemes of which 22 or 23 are fricatives, depending upon whether one counts [h] as phonemic, but this is contrasted with just three phonemic vowels. It is one of very few languages to possess a clear phonemic distinction between ejective affricates and ejective fricatives.
The Kabardian language has two major dialects, Kabardian and Besleney. Some linguists argue that Kabardian is only a dialect of an overarching Adyghe
or Circassian language
that consists of all of the dialects of Adyghe and Kabardian together, and the Kabardians themselves most often refer to their language using the Kabardian term Adighabze ("Adyghe language"). Several linguists, including Georges Dumézil
, have used the terms eastern Circassian (Kabardian) and western Circassian (Adyghe) in order to avoid this confusion, but both "Circassian" and "Kabardian" may still be found in linguistic literature. There are several key phonetic and lexical differences that create a reasonably well-defined separation between the eastern and western Circassian dialects, but the degree to which the two are mutually intelligible has not yet been determined. The matter is also complicated somewhat by the existence of Besleney, which is usually considered a dialect of Kabardian, but which also shares a large number of features with certain dialects of Adyghe.
Kabardian is written in a form of the Cyrillic alphabet
, and like all Northwest Caucasian languages, has an extremely complex verbal system. Kabardian is ergative.
Since 2004, the Turkish state broadcasting corporation TRT
has maintained a half-an-hour programme a week in the Terek dialect of Kabardian.
The glottalization of the ejective plosives (but not fricatives) can be quite weak, and has been reported to often be creaky voice
, that is, to have laryngealized voicing. Something similar seems to have happened historically in the Veinakh languages.
There are also three semi-vowels: /j/ (<й>), /w/ (<у>) and /ɥ/.
The vowel /o/ appears in some loan words; it is often pronounced /aw/.
The diphthong /aw/ is pronounced /oː/ in some dialects. /jə/ may be realised as /iː/, /wə/ as /uː/ and /aj/ as /eː/. This monothongisation does not occur in all dialects.
The vowel /aː/ is the only vowel which occurs initially in native words.
The vowels /a, aː/ can have the semi-vowel /j/ in front of it.
. In the period 1924-1936 it was written by Latin alphabet
. Since then it is written by modified Cyrillic alphabet
as many other languages spoken on the Russian territory (see Russification
).
Other letters represent diphthongs: <я> represents /jaː/, <и> /jə/, <о> /aw/ or /wa/, <ю> /ɥə/ and <е> represents or .
Many common nouns are singular or plural (i.e. they have one form which is singular or plural). Examples of these include сабњй (sābəy) child/children and ѕӀыху (ts’әxʷ) woman/women. The plural form of the verb is always used when a noun is plural, even if the noun does not take a plural ending.
Names can be 'pluralised' by placing the postposition сымэ (səma) after the name (e.g. Тымэс сымэ) Thomas and others. This is called the associative plural.
Like in English, there are uncountable nouns. In Kabardian, they take the singular form of the verb. шэ (ça), milk, is an example of an uncountable noun.
The absolutive case marks the subject of an intransitive verb and the object of a transitive verb (see ergative languages).
The ergative case is used to mark everything which the other cases do not mark, such as the subject of a transitive verb, the form of the noun which is used with prepositions/postpositions etc.
This case is used to describe a verb or how a verb was done:
Жыгхэр сатыруы хэсаф. (ʝəγxar sātərwə xasāʃ.)
tree-pl.-NOM row-ADV to plant-pret.-affirmitive
They planted the trees in rows.
Here is the positional conjugation of some verbs, showing how the root changes indicate position:
Examples:
щыт - [someone or something] stands (as a pose);
Iут - [someone or something] stands (behind);
чIэт - [someone or something] stands (under)
тет - [someone or something] stands (above)
дэт - [someone or something] stands (between), etc.
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 a Northwest Caucasian language
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...
, closely related to the Adyghe language
Adyghe language
Adyghe language , also known as West Circassian , 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,...
. It is spoken mainly in the Russian republics of Kabardino-Balkaria
Kabardino-Balkaria
The Kabardino-Balkar Republic , or Kabardino-Balkaria , is a federal subject of Russia located in the North Caucasus. Population: -Geography:The republic is situated in the North Caucasus mountains, with plains in the northern part....
and Karachay-Cherkessia
Karachay-Cherkessia
The Karachay-Cherkess Republic , or Karachay-Cherkessia is a federal subject of Russia . Population: -Geography:*Area: *Borders:**internal: Krasnodar Krai , Kabardino-Balkar Republic , Stavropol Krai ....
(the native territories) and 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...
and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
(the extensive post-war diaspora). It has 47 or 48 consonant phonemes of which 22 or 23 are fricatives, depending upon whether one counts [h] as phonemic, but this is contrasted with just three phonemic vowels. It is one of very few languages to possess a clear phonemic distinction between ejective affricates and ejective fricatives.
The Kabardian language has two major dialects, Kabardian and Besleney. Some linguists argue that Kabardian is only a dialect of an overarching Adyghe
Adyghe language
Adyghe language , also known as West Circassian , 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,...
or 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...
that consists of all of the dialects of Adyghe and Kabardian together, and the Kabardians themselves most often refer to their language using the Kabardian term Adighabze ("Adyghe language"). Several linguists, including Georges Dumézil
Georges Dumézil
Georges Dumézil was a French comparative philologist best known for his analysis of sovereignty and power in Proto-Indo-European religion and society...
, have used the terms eastern Circassian (Kabardian) and western Circassian (Adyghe) in order to avoid this confusion, but both "Circassian" and "Kabardian" may still be found in linguistic literature. There are several key phonetic and lexical differences that create a reasonably well-defined separation between the eastern and western Circassian dialects, but the degree to which the two are mutually intelligible has not yet been determined. The matter is also complicated somewhat by the existence of Besleney, which is usually considered a dialect of Kabardian, but which also shares a large number of features with certain dialects of Adyghe.
Kabardian is written in a form of 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...
, and like all Northwest Caucasian languages, has an extremely complex verbal system. Kabardian is ergative.
Since 2004, the Turkish state broadcasting corporation TRT
Turkish Radio and Television Corporation
The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, also known as TRT , is the national public broadcaster of Turkey and was founded in 1964. Around 70% of TRT's funding comes from a tax levied on electricity bills and a sales tax on television and radio receivers...
has maintained a half-an-hour programme a week in the Terek dialect of Kabardian.
Consonants
| 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... |
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... |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Central consonant A central or medial consonant is a consonant sound that is produced when air flows across the center of the mouth over the tongue. The class contrasts with lateral consonants, in which air flows over the sides of the tongue rather than down its center.... |
Lateral 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 | pal. 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.... |
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 | kʲ | 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 | tʼ | kʼ | kʲʼ | kʷʼ | qʼ | qʷʼ | |||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||||||
| 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 | ɕ | 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 | ɮ | ʒ | ʑ | 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 | ɕʼ | |||||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||||||
The glottalization of the ejective plosives (but not fricatives) can be quite weak, and has been reported to often be creaky voice
Creaky voice
In linguistics, creaky voice , is a special kind of phonation in which the arytenoid cartilages in the larynx are drawn together; as a result, the vocal folds are compressed rather tightly, becoming relatively slack and compact...
, that is, to have laryngealized voicing. Something similar seems to have happened historically in the Veinakh languages.
Vowels
The vowel system of Kabardian is very simple (there are only three phonemic vowels). The three vowels are /ə/, /a/ and /aː/.There are also three semi-vowels: /j/ (<й>), /w/ (<у>) and /ɥ/.
The vowel /o/ appears in some loan words; it is often pronounced /aw/.
The diphthong /aw/ is pronounced /oː/ in some dialects. /jə/ may be realised as /iː/, /wə/ as /uː/ and /aj/ as /eː/. This monothongisation does not occur in all dialects.
The vowel /aː/ is the only vowel which occurs initially in native words.
The vowels /a, aː/ can have the semi-vowel /j/ in front of 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... |
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... |
ə | o | |
| Open-Mid Open-mid vowel An open-mid vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of an open-mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned two-thirds of the way from an open vowel to a mid vowel... |
ɔ | ||
| 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 / aː |
Orthography
Kabardian language was written until 1924 by 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...
. In the period 1924-1936 it was written by Latin alphabet
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...
. Since then it is written by modified 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...
as many other languages spoken on the Russian territory (see Russification
Russification
Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attributes by non-Russian communities...
).
| А а | Э э | Б б | В в | Г г | Гу гу | Гъ гъ | Гъу гъу |
| Д д | Дж дж | Дз дз | Е е | Ё ё | Ж ж | Жь жь | З з |
| И и | Й й | К к | Ку ку | КӀ кӀ | КӀу кӀу | Къ къ | Къу къу |
| Кхъ кхъ | Кхъу кхъу | Л л | Лъ лъ | ЛӀ лӀ | М м | Н н | О о |
| П п | ПӀ пӀ | Р р | С с | Т т | ТӀ тӀ | У у | Ф ф |
| ФӀ фӀ | Х х | Ху ху | Хь хь | Хъ хъ | Хъу хъу | Ц ц | ЦӀ цӀ |
| Ч ч | Ш ш | Щ щ | ЩӀ щӀ | Ъ ъ | Ы ы | Ь ь | Ю ю |
| Я я | Ӏ | Ӏy |
Vowels
The vowels are written as <ы> /ə/, <э> /a/ and <а> /aː/.Other letters represent diphthongs: <я> represents /jaː/, <и> /jə/, <о> /aw/ or /wa/, <ю> /ɥə/ and <е> represents
Number
There are two numbers: singular and plural. The plural is formed by adding -хэ (-xa) to the verb. The plural ending is optional (i.e. only used when the speaker wishes to emphasise the fact that the noun is plural).Many common nouns are singular or plural (i.e. they have one form which is singular or plural). Examples of these include сабњй (sābəy) child/children and ѕӀыху (ts’әxʷ) woman/women. The plural form of the verb is always used when a noun is plural, even if the noun does not take a plural ending.
Names can be 'pluralised' by placing the postposition сымэ (səma) after the name (e.g. Тымэс сымэ) Thomas and others. This is called the associative plural.
Like in English, there are uncountable nouns. In Kabardian, they take the singular form of the verb. шэ (ça), milk, is an example of an uncountable noun.
Case
There are four cases: ergative, nominative, instrumental and adverbial. They are formed:| Case | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -р -r | дзэр dzar |
| Ergative | -м -m | дзэм dzam |
| Instrumental | -kӀэ -cç’a | дзэkӀэ dzacça |
| Adverbial | -уэ -wa | дзэуэ dzawa |
Absolutive
The absolutive case marks the subject of an intransitive verb and the object of a transitive verb (see ergative languages).
Ergative
The ergative case is used to mark everything which the other cases do not mark, such as the subject of a transitive verb, the form of the noun which is used with prepositions/postpositions etc.
Adverbial
This case is used to describe a verb or how a verb was done:
Жыгхэр сатыруы хэсаф. (ʝəγxar sātərwə xasāʃ.)
tree-pl.-NOM row-ADV to plant-pret.-affirmitive
They planted the trees in rows.
Verbs
The verbal system of Kabardian is very complex. The verb usually goes at the end of the sentence.Conjugation
Here is the positional conjugation of some verbs, showing how the root changes indicate position:
| stands | sits | lies | |
| Body position/Pose | щыт (ʃət) | щыс (ʃəs) | щылъ (ʃəɬ) |
| On | тет (tajt) | тес (tajs) | телъ (tajɬ) |
| Under | чIэт (cç’at) | щIэс (cç’as) | щIэлъ (cç’aɬ) |
| Among | хэт (xat) | хэс (xas) | хэлъ (xaɬ) |
| Within some area | дэт (dat) | дэс (das) | дэлъ (daɬ) |
| Behind | Iут (wət) | Iyc (wəs) | Iулъ (wəɬ) |
Examples:
щыт - [someone or something] stands (as a pose);
Iут - [someone or something] stands (behind);
чIэт - [someone or something] stands (under)
тет - [someone or something] stands (above)
дэт - [someone or something] stands (between), etc.
Dialects
- Kabardian
- West Kabardian
- Kuban
- Kuban-Zelenchuk (Cherkess)
- Central Kabardian
- Baksan (basis for the literary language)
- Malka
- Eastern Kabardian
- Terek
- Mozdok
- North Kabardian
- Mulka
- Zabardiqa (1925 until 1991 Soviet Zaparika)
- West Kabardian
- Beslenei