Adyghe language

Adyghe
Adyghe
West Circassian
Адыгабзэ
Native to	Adygea; Krasnodar Krai
Ethnicity	Circassians
Native speakers	575,900 (2015)
Language family	Northwest Caucasian Circassian Adyghe; ;
Early forms	Proto-Northwest Caucasian Proto-Circassian ;
Dialects	Abdzakh; Bzhedug; Hatuqwai; Mamkhegh; Natukhaj; Shapsug; Temirgoy (Standard dialect); Yegeruqwai; Hakuchi; Zhaney; And more...;
Writing system	Cyrillic; Latin; Arabic
Official status
Official language in	Adygea
Recognised minority; language in	Israel[citation needed]; Jordan[citation needed]; Syria[citation needed]
Language codes
ISO 639-2	ady
ISO 639-3	ady
Glottolog	adyg1241
	Distribution of the Adyghe language in Adygea, Russia (2002)
	Total percentage of the population speaking Adyghe or Kabardian language in Turkey (1965)
	This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

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Yinal speaking Adyghe.

Adyghe (/ˈædɪɡeɪ/ or /ˌɑːdɪˈɡeɪ/;^[2] Adyghe: Адыгабзэ, romanized: Adıgabzə, [aːdəɣaːbza]), also known as West Circassian (Adyghe: кӀахыбзэ, romanized: k’axıbzə), is a Northwest Caucasian language spoken by the western subgroups of Circassians.^[3] It is spoken mainly in Russia, as well as in Turkey, Jordan, Syria and Israel, where they settled after the Circassian genocide. It is closely related to the Kabardian (East Circassian) language, though some reject the distinction between the two languages in favor of both being dialects of a unitary Circassian language.

Since 1936, the Cyrillic script has been used to write Adyghe. Before that, an Arabic-based alphabet was used. In recent years, a new Latin script has been devised that seeks to include phonemes from all the Adyghe and Kabardian dialects, as well as other North Caucasian languages.

The language is referred to by its speakers, just like Kabardian, as Adıgabzə or Adyghabze, and alternatively transliterated in English as Adygean, Adygeyan or Adygei. The literary language is based on the Temirgoy dialect. It is one of two official languages of the Republic of Adygea in the Russian Federation, the other being Russian.

There are around 128,000 speakers of Adyghe in Russia, almost all of them native speakers. In total, some 300,000 speak it worldwide. The largest Adyghe-speaking community is in Turkey, spoken by the post Russian–Circassian War (circa 1763–1864) 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 (also known as East Circassian) is a very close relative, treated by some as a dialect of Adyghe or of an overarching Circassian language. Ubykh, Abkhaz and Abaza are somewhat more distantly related to Adyghe.

Dialects[]

The West Circassian (Adyghe) dialects family tree

The Black Sea coast dialects:
- Shapsug dialect (Adyghe: Шапсыгъабзэ)
  - North Shapsugs, Great Shapsugs, Kuban Shapsugs (Шапсыгъэ шху) dialect
    - Kfar Kama dialect (Кфар Камэм ишапсыгъэбзэ)
  - Temirgoy-Shapsugs, Pseuşko accent (Кӏэмгуе-шапсыгъ)
  - South Shapsugs, Small Shapsugs, Coastal Shapsugs, Black Sea Shapsugs (Шапсыгъэ-цӏыкӏу) dialect
  - Hakuchi dialect (ХьакӀуцубзэ, Къарацхаибзэ)
- Natukhai dialect (Adyghe: Нэтӏхъуаджэбзэ)
- Zhaney dialect
The Kuban River dialects:
- Bzhedug dialect (Adyghe: Бжъэдыгъубзэ): spoken by Circassians in the Republic of Adygea and the Biga district of the city of Çanakkale in Turkey
- Temirgoy (Adyghe: КӀэмыгуябзэ, КӀэмгуибзэ): literary standard of Adyghe. Also spoken by Circassians in the Republic of Adygea
- Abzakh dialect (Adyghe: Aбдзэхабзэ): spoken by Circassians in the village of Rehaniya in Israel and Circassians in Syria from the Golan Heights
- Mamkhegh dialect
- dialect
- Hatuqwai dialect
- dialect

Phonology[]

Adyghe exhibits a large number of consonants: between 50 and 60 consonants in the various Adyghe dialects. All dialects possess a contrast between plain and labialized glottal stops. A very unusual minimal contrast, and possibly unique to the Abzakh 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 and a labialized one is found in Tlingit). The Black Sea dialect of Adyghe contains a very uncommon sound: a bidental fricative [h̪͆], which corresponds to the voiceless velar fricative [x] found in other varieties of Adyghe.

		Labial		Alveolar			Post-alveolar		Alveolo- palatal	Retroflex	Velar		Uvular		Pharyngeal	Glottal
		plain	lab.	plain	lab.	lat.	plain	lab.	Alveolo- palatal	Retroflex	plain	lab.	plain	lab.	Pharyngeal	plain	lab.
Nasal		m		n
Plosive	voiceless	p		t							k¹	kʷ	q	qʷ		ʔ	ʔʷ
	voiced	b		d							ɡ¹	ɡʷ
	ejective	pʼ	pʷʼ	tʼ	tʷʼ						kʼ	kʷʼ
Affricate	voiceless			t͡s	t͡sʷ		t͡ʃ			t͡ʂ
	voiced			d͡z	d͡zʷ		d͡ʒ
	ejective			t͡sʼ			t͡ʃʼ			t͡ʂʼ
Fricative	voiceless	f		s		ɬ	ʃ	ʃʷ	ɕ	ʂ	x		χ	χʷ	ħ
	voiced	v¹		z		ɮ	ʒ	ʒʷ	ʑ	ʐ	ɣ		ʁ	ʁʷ
	ejective					ɬʼ	ʃʼ	ʃʷʼ
Approximant									j			w
Trill				r

Consonants that exist only in borrowed words.
Note: Adyghe has many consonants that appear in dialects, and has a complex system of consonant allophony. More information on those can be found at Adyghe phonology.

In contrast to its large consonant inventory, Adyghe has only three phonemic vowels in a vertical vowel system.

	Central
Close-mid	ɘ
Open-mid	ɜ
Open	äː

Grammar[]

Adyghe, like all Northwest Caucasian languages, has a basic agent–object–verb typology, and is characterised by an ergative construction of the sentence.

Alphabet[]

The official alphabet for Adyghe is based on Cyrillic. The other one is one of the transliterations based on the current Cyrillic alphabet used in diaspora.^[4]^{[better source needed]}

Cyrillic

А а [aː]	Б б [b]	В в [v]	Г г [ɣ] or [ɡ]	Гу гу [ɡʷ]	Гъ гъ [ʁ]	Гъу гъу [ʁʷ]	Д д [d]
Дж дж [d͡ʒ]	Дз дз [d͡z]	Дзу дзу [d͡zʷ]	Е е [ja/aj]	Ё ё [jo]	Ж ж [ʒ]	Жъ жъ [ʐ]	Жъу жъу [ʐʷ]
Жь жь [ʑ]	З з [z]	И и [jə/əj]	Й й [j]	К к [k]	Ку ку [kʷ]	Къ къ [q]	Къу къу [qʷ]
Кӏ кӏ [t͡ʃʼ/kʼ]	Кӏу кӏу [kʷʼ]	Л л [ɮ] or [l]	Лъ лъ [ɬ]	Лӏ лӏ [ɬʼ]	М м [m]	Н н [n]	О о [aw/wa]
П п [p]	Пӏ пӏ [pʼ]	Пӏу пӏу [pʷʼ]	Р р [r]	С с [s]	Т т [t]	Тӏ тӏ [tʼ]	Тӏу тӏу [tʷʼ]
У у [w/əw]	Ф ф [f]	Х х [x]	Хъ хъ [χ]	Хъу хъу [χʷ]	Хь хь [ħ]	Ц ц [t͡s]	Цу цу [t͡ʃʷ]
Цӏ цӏ [t͡sʼ]	Ч ч [t͡ʃ]	ЧI чI [t͡ʂʼ]	Чъ чъ [t͡ʂ]	Ш ш [ʃ]	Шъ шъ [ʂ]	Шъу шъу [ʂʷ] or [ɕʷ]	Шӏ шӏ [ʃʼ]
Шӏу шӏу [ʃʷʼ]	Щ щ [ɕ]	Ъ ъ [ˠ]	Ы ы [ə]	Ь ь [ʲ]	Э э [a]	Ю ю [ju]	Я я [jaː]
ӏ [ʔ]	ӏу [ʔʷ]

Romanization

A a [aː]	B b [b]	V v [v]	G g [ɣ] or [ɡ]	Gu gu [ɡʷ]	Ğ ğ [ʁ]	Ğu Ğu [ʁʷ]	D d [d]
Dj dj/C c [d͡ʒ]	Dz dz [d͡z]	Dzu dzu [d͡zʷ]	E e [ja/aj]	Yo yo [jo]	Ɉ ɉ [ʒ]	Ĵ ĵ [ʐ]	Ĵu ĵu [ʐʷ]
J j [ʑ]	Z z [z]	İ i [jə/əj]	Y [j]	K k [k]	Ku ku [kʷ]	Q q [q]	Qu qu [qʷ]
K’ k’ [t͡ʃʼ/kʼ]	K’u k’u [kʷʼ]	L l [ɮ] or [l]	Tl tl [ɬ]	L’ l’ [ɬʼ]	M m [m]	N n [n]	O o [aw/wa]
P p [p]	P’ p’ [pʼ]	P’u p’u [pʷʼ]	R r [r]	S s [s]	T t [t]	T’ t’ [tʼ]	T’u t’u [tʷʼ]
W w/U u [w/əw]	F f [f]	X x [x]	Xh xh [χ]	Xhu xhu [χʷ]	H h [ħ]	Ts ts [t͡s]	Çü çü [t͡ʃʷ]
Ts’ ts’ [t͡sʼ]	Ç ç [t͡ʃ]	Ç’ ç’ [t͡ʂʼ]	Çh çh [t͡ʂ]	Ṩ ṩ [ʃ]	Ş̂ ş̂ [ʂ]	Ş̂u ş̂u [ʂʷ] or [ɕʷ]	Ş́ ş́ [ʃʼ]
Ş́u ş́u [ʃʷʼ]	Ş ş [ɕ]	I ı [ə]	Ə ə [a]	Yu yu [ju]	Ya ya [jaː]

Orthography[]

Cyrillic	Romanization	IPA	Pronunciation	Words
А а	A a	[aː]	Menu 0:00	ачъэ (goat), апчъы (they count)
Б б	B b	[b]	Menu 0:00	баджэ (fox), бэ (a lot)
В в	V v	[v]	Menu 0:00
Г г	G g	[ɣ]	Menu 0:00	гыны (powder), чъыгы (tree)
Гу гу	Gu gu	[ɡʷ]	Menu 0:00	гу (heart), гущыӏ (word)
Гъ гъ	Ğ ğ	[ʁ]	Menu 0:00	гъатхэ (spring), гъэмаф (summer)
Гъу гъу	Ğu ğu	[ʁʷ]	Menu 0:00	гъунэгъу (neighbor), гъунджэ (mirror)
Д д	D d	[d]	Menu 0:00	дыджы (bitter), дахэ (pretty)
Дж дж	C c	[d͡ʒ]	Menu 0:00	джан (shirt), лъэмыдж (bridge)
Дз дз	Dz dz	[d͡z]	Menu 0:00	дзыо (bag), дзын (to throw)
Дзу дзу	Dzu dzu	[d͡zʷ]	Menu 0:00	хьандзу (rick), хьандзуачӏ (lower rick)
Е е	E e	[aj] [ja]	Menu 0:00	ешэн (to catch), еплъын (to look at)
(Ё ё)	(Yo yo)	[jo]	Menu 0:00	ёлк (Christmas tree)
Ж ж	Ɉ ɉ	[ʒ]	Menu 0:00	жэ (mouth), жакӏэ (beard)
Жъ жъ	Ĵ ĵ	[ʐ]	Menu 0:00	жъы (old), жъажъэ (slow)
Жъу жъу	Ĵu ĵu	[ʒʷ]	Menu 0:00	жъун (to melt), жъуагъо (star)
Жь жь	J j	[ʑ]	Menu 0:00	жьыбгъэ (wind), жьао (shadow)
З з	Z z	[z]	Menu 0:00	занкӏэ (straight), зандэ (steep)
И и	İ i	[əj] [jə]	Menu 0:00	ихьан (to enter), икӏыпӏ (exit)
Й й	Y y	[j]	Menu 0:00	йод (iodine), бай (rich)
К к	K k	[k]	Menu 0:00	кнопк (button), команд (team, command)
Ку ку	Ku ku	[kʷ]	Menu 0:00	кушъэ (cradle), ку (cart)
Къ къ	Q q	[q]	Menu 0:00	къалэ (city), къэкӏон (to come)
Къу къу	Qu qu	[qʷ]	Menu 0:00	къухьэ (ship), къушъхьэ (mountain)
Кӏ кӏ	K’ k’	[kʼ] [tʃʼ]	Menu 0:00	кӏымаф (winter), кӏыхьэ (long), кӏэ (tail), шкӏэ (calf)
Кӏу кӏу	K’u k’u	[kʷʼ]	Menu 0:00	кӏон (to walk), кӏуакӏэ (strong)
Л л	L l	[l]	Menu 0:00	лагъэ (painted), лы (meat)
Лъ лъ	Tl tl	[ɬ]	Menu 0:00	лъэбэкъу (step), лъащэ (lame)
Лӏ лӏ	L’ l’	[ɬʼ]	Menu 0:00	лӏы (man), лӏыгъэ (bravery)
М м	M m	[m]	Menu 0:00	мазэ (moon), мэлы (sheep)
Н н	N n	[n]	Menu 0:00	нэ (eye), ны (mother)
О о	O o	[aw] [wa]	Menu 0:00	мощ (that), коны (bin), о (you), осы (snow), ощхы (rain)
П п	P p	[p]	Menu 0:00	пэ (nose), сапэ (dust)
Пӏ пӏ	P’ p’	[pʼ]	Menu 0:00	пӏэ (bed), пӏэшъхьагъ (pillow)
Пӏу пӏу	P’u p’u	[pʷʼ]	Menu 0:00	пӏун (to rise, to adopt), пӏур (pupil, apprentice)
Р р	R r	[r]	Menu 0:00	рикӏэн (to pour into), риӏон (to tell him)
С с	S s	[s]	Menu 0:00	сэ (i, me), сэшхо (sabre)
Т т	T t	[t]	Menu 0:00	тэтэжъ (grandfather), тэ (we)
Тӏ тӏ	T’ t’	[tʼ]	Menu 0:00	тӏы (ram), ятӏэ (dirt)
Тӏу тӏу	T’u t’u	[tʷʼ]	Menu 0:00	тӏурыс (old), тӏурытӏу (pair)
У у	U u	[əw] [wə]	Menu 0:00	ушхун (straighten), убэн (tamp, to make smooth)
Ф ф	F f	[f]	Menu 0:00	фыжьы (white), фэен (to want)
Х х	X x	[x]	Menu 0:00	хы (sea, six), хасэ (council)
Хъ хъ	Xh xh	[χ]	Menu 0:00	хъыен (to move), пхъэн (to sow)
Хъу хъу	Xhu xhu	[χʷ]	Menu 0:00	хъун (to happen), хъурай (circle)
Хь хь	H h	[ħ]	Menu 0:00	хьэ (dog), хьаку (oven)
Ц ц	Ts ts	[t͡s]	Menu 0:00	цагэ (rib), цы (hair on body)
Цу цу	Tsu tsu	[t͡sʷ]	Menu 0:00	цуакъэ (shoe), цу (ox)
Цӏ цӏ	Ts’ ts’	[t͡sʼ]	Menu 0:00	цӏынэ (wet), цӏыфы (person)
Ч ч	Ç ç	[t͡ʃ]	Menu 0:00	чэфы (cheerful), чэты (chicken)
Чӏ чӏ	Ç’ ç’	[t͡ʂʼ]	Menu 0:00	чӏыпӏэ (area), чӏыфэ (debt)
Чъ чъ	Çh çh	[t͡ʂ]	Menu 0:00	чъыгай (oak), чъыӏэ (cold)
Ш ш	Ṩ ṩ	[ʃ]	Menu 0:00	шы (brother), шыблэ (thunder)
Шъ шъ	Ş̂ ş̂	[ʂ]	Menu 0:00	шъэ (hundred), шъабэ (soft)
Шъу шъу	Ş̂u ş̂u	[ʃʷ]	Menu 0:00	шъугъуалэ (envious), шъукъакӏу (come – to plural)
Шӏ шӏ	Ş́ ş́	[ʃʼ]	Menu 0:00	шӏын (to do), шӏэныгъ (knowledge)
Шӏу шӏу	Ş́u ş́u	[ʃʷʼ]	Menu 0:00	шӏуцӏэ (black), шӏуфэс (greetings)
Щ щ	Ş ş	[ɕ]	Menu 0:00	щагу (yard), щатэ (sour cream)
(Ъ ъ)	-	-
Ы ы	I ı	[ə]	Menu 0:00	ыкӏи (and also), зы (one)
(Ь ь)	-	-
Э э	Ə ə	[a]	Menu 0:00	ӏэтаж (floor), нэнэжъ (grandmother)
(Ю ю)	(Yu yu)	[ju]	Menu 0:00	Юсыф (Joseph), Юныс (Jonah)
Я я	(Ya ya)	[jaː]	Menu 0:00	яй (theirs), ябгэ (evil)
ӏ	’	[ʔ]	Menu 0:00	ӏэ (hand), кӏасэ (like)
ӏу	ü	[ʔʷ]	Menu 0:00	ӏукӏэн (to meet), ӏусын (to be near sitting), ӏудан (thread)

Labialised consonants[]

Гу [ɡʷ], Гъу [ʁʷ], Дзу [d͡zʷ], Ку [kʷ], Къу [qʷ], КIу [kʷʼ], ПIу [pʷʼ], ТIу [tʷʼ], Хъу [χʷ], Цу [t͡sʷ], Шъу [ʃʷ], ШIу [ʃʷʼ], Iу [ʔʷ].

In some dialects: Кхъу [q͡χʷ], Ху [xʷ], Чъу [t͡ɕʷ].

Orthography rules[]

The letter ⟨ы⟩ [ə] is not written after a ⟨у⟩ [w], ⟨й⟩ [j] or a labialised consonant. For example: унэ [wəna] "house" instead of уынэ, илъэс [jəɬas] "year" instead of йылъэс, шӏу [ʃʷʼə] "well" instead of шӏуы, цумпэ [t͡sʷəmpa] "strawberry" instead of цуымпэ.
In case the letter ⟨у⟩ is the first letter of a word or when is not related to any other consonant, it is pronounced as [wə] ⟨уы⟩. For example: унэ [wəna] "house" instead of уынэ, урыс [wərəs] "Russian" instead of уырыс, куу [kʷəwə] "deep" instead of кууы. When it's related to a consonant it becomes a vowel and pronounced as [əw]~[u] ⟨ыу⟩. For example: чэту [t͡ʃaːtəw] "cat" instead of чэтыу, бзу [bzəw] "bird" instead of бзыу, дуней [dəwnej] "world" instead of дыуней.
In case a labialised consonant is followed by a vowel ⟨э⟩ [a], instead of the letter ⟨у⟩ there is a ⟨о⟩. For example: гъогу [ʁʷaɡʷ] "road" instead of гъуэгу, машӏо [maːʃʷʼa] "fire" instead of машӏуэ, шъо [ʃʷa] "you (plural)" instead of шъуэ.
In case a labialised consonant is followed by a vowel ⟨а⟩ [aː] or ⟨и⟩ [i/əj], the labialised consonant letter is written fully. For example: цуакъэ [t͡sʷaːqa] "shoes", гуащэ [ɡʷaɕa] "princes", шъуи [ʃʷəj] "yours (plural).
In case the letter ⟨о⟩ is the first letter of a word or when is not related to any other consonant, it is pronounced as [wa] ⟨уэ⟩. For example, о [wa] "you" instead of уэ, орэд [warad] "song" instead of уэрэд, онтэгъу [wantaʁʷ] "heavy" instead of уэнтэгъу, зао [zaːwa] "war" instead of зауэ, ныо [nəwa] "old woman" instead of ныуэ.
In case the letter ⟨е⟩ is the first letter of a word or when is not related to any other consonant, it is pronounced as [ja] ⟨йэ⟩. For example: еӏо [jaʔʷa] "he says" instead of йэӏо, еплъы [japɬə] "he sees" instead of йэплъы, мые [məja] "apple" instead of мыйэ, бае [baːja] "rich" instead of байэ, шъэжъые [ʂaʐəja] "knife" instead of шъэжъыйэ. When it's related to a consonant it becomes a vowel and pronounced as [aj]~[e] ⟨эй⟩. For example, : делэ [dajla] "fool" instead of дэйлэ, къедж [qajd͡ʒ] "read" instead of къэйдж, непэ [najpa] "today" instead of нэйпэ.
In case the letter ⟨и⟩ is the first letter of a word or when is not related to any other consonant, it is pronounced as [jə] ⟨йы⟩. For example: илъэс [jəɬas] "year" instead of йылъэс, иунэ [jəwəna] "his house" instead of йыуын, шӏои [ʃʷʼajə] "dirty" instead of шӏойы, дэи [dajə] "bad" instead of дэйы. When it's related to a consonant it becomes a vowel and pronounced as [əj]~[i] ⟨ый⟩. For example: сиӏ [səjʔ] "I have" instead of сыйӏ, уиунэ [wəjwəna] "your house" instead of уыйуынэ, къины [qəjnə] "hard" instead of къыйны.

Vowels[]

The vowels are written ⟨ы⟩ [ə], ⟨э⟩ [a] and ⟨а⟩ [aː].

Other letters represent diphthongs: ⟨я⟩ represents [jaː], ⟨и⟩ [jə] or [əj], ⟨о⟩ [wa] or [o], ⟨у⟩ represent [u] or [w] or [wə] and ⟨е⟩ represents [aj] or [ja].

Writing systems[]

Modern Adyghe uses a Cyrillic alphabet with the addition of the letter ⟨Ӏ⟩ (palochka). Previously, Arabic (before 1927) and Latin (1927–38) alphabets had been used.

Adyghe Arabic alphabet used before 1927
Adyghe Latin alphabet used from 1927–38
Adyghe Latin alphabet used from 1927–38
Adyghe Latin and Adyghe Cyrillic alphabets compared
Adyghe Latin alphabet letters
Adyghe Arabic alphabet letters

Examples of literary Adyghe[]

Native vocabulary[]

Adyghe	Romanisation	Pronunciation	English
Сэ	Sə	[sa]	I
Пшъашъэ	Pş̂aş̂ə	[pʂaːʂa]	Girl
ТIыс	T’ıs	[tʼəs]	To sit
Тэдж	Tədj	[tadʒ]	To stand
Тэу ущыт?	Təw wuşıt?	[taw wʃət]	How are you?
СышIу	Sış́u	[səʃʼəw]	I am fine
Шы	Ṩı	[ʃə]	Horse
Щы	Şı	[ɕə]	Three
Жъуагъо	Ĵüağo	[ʐʷaːʁʷa]	Star
Тыгъэ	Tığə	[təʁa]	Sun
Мазэ	Mazə	[maːza]	Moon
Цуакъэ	Çüaqə	[tsʷaːqa]	Shoe
Шъукъеблагъ	Ş̂üqeblağ	[ʂʷəqʲablaːʁ]	Welcome
Лъэхъуамбэ	Tləxhuambə	[ɬaħʷaːmba]	Toe
Хьамлыу	Hamlıw	[ħaːmləw]	Worm
КIэнкIэ	K’ənk’ə	[kʼankʼa]	Egg
ХьампIырашъу	Hamp’ıraş̂ü	[ħaːmpʼəraːʂʷ]	Butterfly
МэшIоку	Məş’ouk	[maʃʼʷakʷ]	Train
ПхъэтIэкIу	Pxhət’əuk’	[pħatʼakʼʷ]	Chair
ТхьалъыкIо	Thal’ık’o	[tħaːɬəkʼʷa]	Prophet
Къамзэгу	Qamzəug	[qaːmzaɡʷ]	Ant
Псычэт	Psıçət	[psətʃat]	Duck

Loanwords[]

Adyghe	Romanisation	Pronunciation	English	Origin
Республикэ	Respublikə	[rʲaspʷəblʲəka]	Republic	Latin (rēs + pūblicus, 'public concern')
Компутер	Komputer	[kʷampʲətʲar]	Computer	Latin (com + putāre, 'to settle together')
Математикэ	Matematikə	[maːtʲamaːtʲəka]	Maths	Ancient Greek (μάθημα máthēma, 'study, knowledge')
Спорт	Sport	[spʷart]	Sports	French (desport, 'entertainment')
Быракъ	Bıraq	[bəraːq]	Flag	Turkic (batrak, 'spear, stick')
КъартIоф	Qart’of	[qaːrtʼʷaf]	Potato	German (Kartoffel, 'potato')
Томат	Tomat	[tʷamaːt]	Tomato	Nahuan (tomatl, 'tomato')
Орэндж	Worəndj	[warandʒ]	Orange	Persian (نارنگ nârang or نارنج nâranj, orange)
Нэмаз	Nəmaz	[namaːz]	Salah (Islamic praying)	Persian (نماز namâz, 'Salah')
Къалэ	Qalə	[qaːla]	City	Akkadian (kalakku, 'fort')
Дунай	Dunay	[dʷənaːj]	Earth	Arabic (دنيا dunyā, 'Earth')

Adyghe outside Circassia[]

Adyghe is taught outside Circassia in a Jordanian school for the Jordanian Adyghes, Prince Hamza Ibn Al-Hussein Secondary School in the capital Amman. This school, which was established by the Adyghe Jordanians with support from 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 emphasising the traditions of the Adyghes.^[5]

Adyghe is spoken by Circassians in Iraq and by Circassians in Israel, where it is taught in schools in their villages. It is also spoken by many Circassians in Syria, although the majority of Syrian Circassians speak Kabardian.

Publications[]

There are many books written in or translated into Adyghe. An Adyghe translation of the Quran by Ishak Mashbash is available. The New Testament and many books of the Old Testament have been published in Adyghe by the Institute for Bible Translation in Moscow.

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 Circassian tribes) and (Kabard-Cherkess, Eastern Circassian tribes), is classified as vulnerable.^[6]

Sample text[]

Adyghe	Romanization	English translation
Ублапӏэм ыдэжь Гущыӏэр щыӏагъ. Ар Тхьэм ыдэжь щыӏагъ, а Гущыӏэри Тхьэу арыгъэ. Ублапӏэм щегъэжьагъэу а Гущыӏэр Тхьэм ыдэжь щыӏагъ. Тхьэм а Гущыӏэм зэкӏэри къыригъэгъэхъугъ. Тхьэм къыгъэхъугъэ пстэуми ащыщэу а Гущыӏэм къыримыгъгъэхъугъэ зи щыӏэп. Мыкӏодыжьын щыӏэныгъэ а Гущыӏэм хэлъыгъ, а щыӏэныгъэри цӏыфхэм нэфынэ афэхъугъ. Нэфынэр шӏункӏыгъэм щэнэфы, шӏункӏыгъэри нэфынэм текӏуагъэп.	Wıblap’əm ıdəj Guşı’ər şı’ağ. Ar Thəm ıdəj şı’ağ, a Guşı’əri Thəw arığə. Wıblap’əm şeğəjağəw a Guşı’ər Thəm ıdəj şı’ağ. Thəm a Guşı’ər zeç’əri qıriğəğəxhuğ. Thəm qığəxhuğə pstəwmi aşışəw a Guşı’əm qırimığğəxhuğə zi şı’ər. Mık’odıjın s̨ı’ənığə a Guşı’əm xətlığ, a şı’ənığəri ts’ıfxəm nəfınə afəxhuğ. Nəfınər ş́unç’ığəm şənəfı, ş́unç’ığəri nəfınəm tek’uağəp.	In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. This one was in the beginning With God. All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence. What has come into existence by means of him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light is shining in the darkness, but the darkness has not overpowered it.

Example[]

The following texts are excerpts from the official translations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Adyghe and Kabardian, along with the original declaration in English.

English^[7]	Adyghe^[8]	Adyghe Latin	Pronunciation	Kabardian equivalent^[9]	Kabardian Latin
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 1)	Цlыф Фэшъуашэхэм Афэгъэхьыгъэ Дунэепстэу Джэпсалъ (1-нэрэ пычыгъу)	Ts’ıf Fəş̂uwaṩəxəm Afəğəhığə Dunəyepstəw Djəpsatl (1-nərə pıçıug)	[tsʼəf faʂʷaːʃaxam aːfaʁaħəʁa dʷənajapstaw dʒapsaːɬ \| zəna pətʃəʁʷ]	Цlыху Хуэфащэхэм Теухуа Дунейпсо Джэпсалъэ (1-нэ пычыгъуэ)	Ts’ıux Xwəfaşəxəm Tewxwa Duneypso Djəpsatlə (1-nə pıçığwə)
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.	ЦIыф пстэури шъхьэфитэу, ялъытэныгъэрэ яфэшъуашэхэмрэкIэ зэфэдэу къалъфы. Акъылрэ зэхэшIыкI гъуазэрэ яIэшъы, зыр зым зэкъош зэхашӏэ азфагу дэлъэу зэфыщытынхэ фае.	Ts’ıf pstəwri ş̂həfitəw, yatlıtənığərə yafəş̂uwaṩəxəmrək’ə zəfədəw qatlfı. Aqılrə zəxəş́ık’ ğuazərə yaş́əş̂ı, zır zım zeqoṩ zəxaş́ə azfaug dətləw zəfışıtınxə faye.	[tsʼəf pstawrʲə ʂħafʲətaw \| jaːɬətanəʁara jaːfaʂʷaːʃaxamrakʼa zafadaw qaːɬfə ‖ aːqəlra zaxaʃʼəkʼ ʁʷaːzara jaːʔaʂə \| zər zəm zaqʷaʃ zaxaːʃʼa aːzfaːɡʷ daɬaw zafəɕətənxa faːja ‖]	ЦIыху псори щхьэхуиту, я щIыхьымрэ я хуэфащэхэмрэкIэ зэхуэдэу къалъхур. Акъылрэ зэхэщIыкI гъуазэрэ яIэщи, зыр зым зэкъуэш зэхащӏэ яку дэлъу зэхущытын хуейхэщ.	Ts’ıux psori şhəxwuyitu, ya ş’ıhımrə ya xwəfaşəxəmrək’ə zəxwədəw qatlxur. Aqılrə zəxəş’ık’ ğuazərə ya’eşi, zır zım zəqwəṩ zəxaş’ə yauk dəutl zəxuşıtın xweyxəş.

References[]

^ "Adyghe". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
^ "Adyghe". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
^ Aydın, Şamil Emre (2015), Çerkes Diyalektleri ISBN 9786056569111
^ "Адыгабзэ". Retrieved 5 April 2020.
^ Circassians bid to save ancient language. Al Jazeera. 14 May 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
^ "UNESCO Map of World's language in Danger" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
^ http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/Language.aspx?LangID=eng
^ http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/Language.aspx?LangID=ady
^ http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/Language.aspx?LangID=kbd

External links[]

Grammar of the Circassian Language. Useful site to learn the Adyghe grammar.
Louis Loewe (1854). A dictionary of the Circassian language, English-Circassian-Turkish. George Bell.
Adyghe alphabet, Omniglot.
"Adyghe transliteration schemes" (PDF)..
Adyghe sample, Language Museum.
Learning Adyghe resource.
Learn Circassian, International Centre for Circassian Studies (ICCS).
Rferl North Caucasus Radio.
Adyghe transliteration tool.
Ancient Adyghe Abkhaz–Abaza Ubykh alphabet.
How to count in Adyghe language.
Adyghe language dictionary.
Recordings of Adyghe language

[1] "Adyghe". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-08-03.

[2] "Adyghe". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)

[3] Aydın, Şamil Emre (2015), Çerkes Diyalektleri ISBN 9786056569111

[4] "Адыгабзэ". Retrieved 5 April 2020.

[5] Circassians bid to save ancient language. Al Jazeera. 14 May 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2011.

[6] "UNESCO Map of World's language in Danger" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2009.

[7] ttp://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/Language.aspx?LangID=eng

[8] ttp://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/Language.aspx?LangID=ady

[9] ttp://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/Language.aspx?LangID=kbd

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