Circassian[a] (Adyghe:Адыгабзэ;Kabardian:Адыгэбзэ), also known asCherkess (/tʃɜːrˈkɛs/chur-KESS), is a subdivision of theNorthwest Caucasian language family, spoken by theCircassian people. There are two main variants of the Circassian language, defined by their literary standards,Adyghe (кӀахыбзэ; also known as West Circassian) andKabardian (къэбэрдейбзэ; also known as East Circassian). The languages are highlymutually intelligible with one another, but differ to a degree where they would be considered clear-cut dialects. The earliest extant written records of the Circassian language are in theArabic script, recorded by theTurkish travellerEvliya Çelebi in the 17th century,[1] although theGreek andGeorgian alphabets were adapted for them in ancient and medieval times.[2]
There is consensus among the linguistic community about the fact that Adyghe and Kabardian are typologically distinct languages.[3][4][5] However, the local terms for these languages refer to them as dialects. The Circassian people call themselvesадыгэ (adyge; English: Adyghe) in their native language. In the southwestern part of European Russia, there is also aFederal Subject calledAdygea (Russian:Адыгея,Adygeya), enclaved withinKrasnodar Krai, which is named after the Circassianendonym. In theRussian language, the Circassian subdivision is treated as a group of languages and calledадыгские (adygskie, meaning the Adyghe languages), whereas the Adyghe language is calledадыгейский (adygeyskiy, meaning the language of those in [the Republic of] Adygea). The termsCircassian andCherkess are sometimes used in several languages as synonyms for theNorthwest Caucasian languages in general or the Adyghe language in particular.
The Adyghe alphabet contains some inconsistencies between visual representation and pronunciation which can be a point of confusion for learners. It is tempting to read the Circassian alphabet letters phonologically, but this is not always accurate. For example:
While the letterКӏ appears to represent[kʼ], it is actually pronounced as[t͡ʃʼ] (Чӏ).
Kabardian language (also known asEast Circassian,Adyghe:Къэбэрдейбзэ;Qeberdeýbze,Russian:Кабардино-черкесский) — The language of the east Circassian tribes :Kabarday andBaslaney. The Alphabet is based on theKabardian dialect.
In the Kabardian alphabet, certain letters have dual pronunciations.Кӏ is pronounced either as[kʼ] or as[t͡ʃʼ] (likeЧӏ), andДж is pronounced either as[ɡʲ] (Гь) or as[d͡ʒ]. This variation is due to a historical sound shift: in Proto-Kabardian, these letters were originally[ɡʲ] and[kʼ], but they shifted to[d͡ʒ] and[t͡ʃʼ] in the majority of modern Kabardian dialects.
The following example shows an ergative–absolutive case marking system while using the same verb "break" in both intransitive and transitive forms:
Ergative language
Sentence:
ӏанэр мэкъутэ.
Лӏым ӏанэр екъутэ.
Word:
ӏанэ-р
мэкъутэ
Лӏы-м
ӏанэ-р
екъутэ
Gloss:
The table-ABS
breaks
The man-ERG
the table-ABS
breaks
Function:
S
VERBintrans
A
O
VERBtrans
Translation:
"The table breaks."
"The man breaks the table."
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.
^Arkadiev, Peter; Lander, Yury (2020). "The Northwest Caucasian Languages". In Polinsky, Maria (ed.).The Oxford Handbook of the Languages of the Caucasus. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 4.
^Kerasheva, Z. I. (1957).Особенности шапсугского диалекта адыгейского языка [Features of the Shapsug Dialect of the Adyghe Language] (in Russian). Maykop: Adyghe Book Publishing House.
^Arkadiev, Peter; Lander, Yury (2020). "The Northwest Caucasian Languages". In Polinsky, Maria (ed.).The Oxford Handbook of the Languages of the Caucasus. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 5.
