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Wikipedia / Circassian languages

Circassian (; ), also known as Cherkess ( ), is a subdivision of the Northwest Caucasian language family, spoken by the Circassian people. There are two main variants of the Circassian language, defined by their literary standards, Adyghe (; also known as West Circassian) and Kabardian (; also known as East Circassian). Despite phonological differences, Circassian languages are reciprocally intelligible, with speakers being able to communicate with varying degrees of efficiency. Some reject the distinction between the two languages in favour of both being dialects of a unitary Circassian language, others argue they are closely related but technically distinct languages.

Adyghe and Kabardian are generally considered typologically distinct languages. However, the local terms for these languages refer to them as dialects. The Circassian people call themselves (Adyghe) in their native language. While the self-designation for both Adyghe and Kabardian language is Adyghe, in linguistic and administrative terms, "Adyghe" refers specifically to the language of the western tribes of Circassians, while "Kabardian" refers to the language of the two eastern tribes (Kabardians and Besleney).

In the southwestern part of European Russia, there is also a Federal Subject called Adygea (, ), enclaved within Krasnodar Krai, which is named after the Circassian endonym. In the Russian language, the Circassian subdivision is treated as a group of languages and called (, meaning the Adyghe languages), whereas the Adyghe language is called (, "Adygean," meaning the language of those in the Republic of Adygea). The term , meaning Adygean, has thus been mistranslated to English as "Adyghe language". The terms Circassian and Cherkess are sometimes used in several languages as synonyms for the Northwest Caucasian languages in general or the Adyghe language in particular.

Circassian languages

Circassian languages

Adyghe language

The Black Sea coast dialects

Shapsug dialect (; )

North Shapsugs, Great Shapsugs, Kuban Shapsugs dialect (; )

The Kuban river dialects

Kabardian language

Kabardian

West Kabardian

Central Kabardian

  • Baksan (Basis for the literary language)

  • Malka

Eastern Kabardian

  • Terek

  • Mozdok

North Kabardian

Alphabets

Adyghe Alphabet

Adyghe language (also known as West Circassian, ; , ) — The language of the west Circassian tribes: Shapsug, Abzakh, Natukhai, Bzhedug, Temirgoy. The Alphabet is based on the Temirgoy dialect. The Circassian alphabet was created in 1918 by the Kabardian linguist Naguma Shora.

Kabardian Alphabet

Kabardian language (also known as East Circassian, ; , ) — The language of the east Circassian tribes : Kabarday and Baslaney. The Alphabet is based on the Kabardian dialect.

Grammar

Circassian, like all Northwest Caucasian languages, has a basic subject–object–verb typology and is characterised by the ergative construction of sentences.

Sound changes

Sound changes between Adyghe (Temirgoy) and Kabardian:

Ergative–absolutive

The following example shows an ergative–absolutive case marking system while using the same verb "break" in both intransitive and transitive forms:Here, "table" has the absolutive case mark -р /-r/ while "man" has the ergative case mark -м /-m/. The verb "break" is in the intransitive form "мэкъутэ" and the transitive form "екъутэ". The example above specifically shows SOV order, but Circassian allows any order.

Loanwords

Circassian languages contain "many loan-words from Arabic, Turkish, Persian (particularly in the area of religion) and Russian".

See also

References

Sources

Literature