Adyghe language

Adyghe
West Circassian
Адыгабзэ
Native to	Adygea Krasnodar Krai
Ethnicity	Circassians, Cherkesogai
Native speakers	610,000 (2010–2020)
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† Makhosh (†) Ademey (†)
Writing system	Cyrillic Latin Arabic
Official status
Official language in	Russia Adygea
Recognised minority language in	Jordan Syria Israel Kfar Kama Rehaniya Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria
Language codes
ISO 639-2	ady
ISO 639-3	ady
Glottolog	adyg1241
Distribution of the Adyghe language in Adygea, Russia (2002)
Adyghe is classified as vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Yinal speaking Adyghe.

Adyghe (/ˈædɪɡeɪ/ or /ˌɑːdɪˈɡeɪ/; also known as West Circassian) is a Northwest Caucasian language spoken by the western subgroups of Circassians. It is spoken mainly in Russia, as well as in Turkey, Jordan, Syria and Israel, where Circassians settled after the Circassian genocide (c. 1864–1870) by the Russian Empire. 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.

The literary standard of Adyghe is based on its Temirgoy dialect. Adyghe and Russian are the two official languages of the Republic of Adygea in the Russian Federation.

In Russia, there are around 128,000 speakers of Adyghe, 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 diaspora from the Russian–Circassian War (c. 1763–1864). In addition, 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 (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 (Нэтӏхъуаджэбзэ)
• Zhaney dialect

The Kuban River dialects

• Bzhedug dialect (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 (Aбдзэхабзэ): spoken by Circassians in the village of Rehaniya in Israel and Circassians in Syria from the Golan Heights
• Mamkhegh dialect
• Yegeruqay dialect
• Hatuqwai dialect
• Mequash dialect

Phonology

Main article: Adyghe phonology

Adyghe exhibits between 50 and 60 consonants depending on the dialect. 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 in Tlingit). The Shapsug (Black Sea) dialect of Adyghe contains a very uncommon sound: a voiceless bidental fricative [h̪͆], which corresponds to the voiceless velar fricative [x] found in other varieties of Adyghe. This sound is only known to be used in the Black Sea dialect.

		Labial		Bidental	Alveolar			Post- alveolar		Alveolo- palatal		Retroflex	Velar		Uvular		Pharyngeal	Glottal
		plain	lab.		plain	sib.	lab.	plain	lab.	plain	lab.		plain	lab.	plain	lab.		plain	lab.
Nasal		m	mʷ		n
Plosive/ Affricate	ejective	pʼ	pʷʼ		tʼ	t͡sʼ	tʷʼ	t͡ʃʼ				t͡ʂʼ	kʼ	kʷʼ
	voiceless	p			t	t͡s	t͡sʷ	t͡ʃ		t͡ɕ2	t͡ɕʷ	t͡ʂ	k	kʷ	q	qʷ		ʔ	ʔʷ
	voiced	b			d	d͡z	d͡zʷ	d͡ʒ		d͡ʑ2	d͡ʑʷ	d͡ʐ	ɡ1	ɡʷ
Fricative	ejective				ɬʼ			ʃʼ	ʃʷʼ	ɕʼ	ɕʼʷ
	voiceless	f		h̪͆2	ɬ	s		ʃ	ʃʷ	ɕ	ɕʷ	ʂ	x	xʷ	χ	χʷ	ħ
	voiced	v1			ɮ	z		ʒ	ʒʷ	ʑ	ʑʷ	ʐ	ɣ		ʁ	ʁʷ
Approximant		w								j				w
Trill					r

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

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

	Central
Mid	ə
Near-open	ɐ
Open	aː

Grammar

Main article: Adyghe grammar

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

Orthography

The official alphabet for Adyghe is the Cyrillic script, which has been used since 1936. Before that, the Arabic script was used.

In 2012, the Circassian Language Association (Adyghe: Адыге Бзэ Хасэ; Turkish: Adıge Dil Derneği; danef.com) in Turkey has issued a call for the Circassian people for the creation of a standard Latin script to be used by all Circassian people on the globe. Their main motivation for the creation of this alphabet was that the majority of Circassian people live in Turkey and use the Latin alphabet in their daily life because they know Turkish. However, when trying to teach the language to the younger generation, teaching them a new alphabet takes time and makes the process more laborsome. ABX has created a Latin script based on the Turkish alphabet. They chose the Abzakh dialect as their base because it is the dialect with the most speakers in Turkey. However, the alphabet employed by the Circassian Language Association has been criticized by others. Some suggested that they created the alphabet without a good understanding of the Circassian phonology and have not even considered former Latin alphabets used to write Circassian and that the use of the Latin script would sever the ties with the homeland. Despite the criticism, the CLA has obtained a €40,000 funding from the European Union for the recording of the Circassian language with a Latin script and the preparation of multi-media learning materials for the language, and the materials created by ABX were accepted by the Ministry of National Education to be taught in Secondary Schools. This decision was protested and legally objected by the Federation of Caucasian Associations (Turkish: Kafkas Dernekleri Federasyonu; KAFFED) who created the materials for Circassian and Abaza languages with the Cyrillic script; however, the court ruled in favour of the Latin alphabet created by the CLA and continued the use of their alphabet in Circassian courses. Some glyphs in the Temirgoy-based Cyrillic alphabet have no equivalent in the Abzakh-based Latin alphabet because of dialectal differences. Though there are some additional letters in the alphabet for Eastern Circassian, the materials in the CLA website are in West Circassian.

Cyrillic	Arabic	Latin	IPA	Pronunciation	Examples
А а	ا	Ā ā	[aː]		ачъэ, āčă, 'goat' апчъы, āpčə, 'they count'
Б б	ب	B b	[b]		баджэ, bāǯʼă, 'fox' бэ, bă, 'a lot'
В в	ڤ	V v	[v]		жъвэ, ẑvă, 'oar', лавэ, lāvă, 'lava'
Г г	ݝ	Ɣ ɣ	[ɣ]		гыны, ɣənə, 'powder' чъыгы, čəɣə, 'tree'
Гу гу	گو	G˚ g˚	[ɡʷ]		гу, g˚, 'heart' гущыӏ, g˚šʼəʾ, 'word'
Гъ гъ	غ	Ġ ġ	[ʁ]		гъатхэ, ġātxă, 'spring' гъэмаф, ġămāf, 'summer'
Гъу гъу	غو	Ġ˚ ġ˚	[ʁʷ]		гъунэгъу, ġ˚năġ˚, 'neighbour' гъунджэ, ġ˚nǯʼă, 'mirror'
Д д	د	D d	[d]		дыджы, dəǯʼə, 'bitter' дахэ, dāxă, 'pretty'
Дж дж	ج	Ǯʼ ǯʼ	[d͡ʒ]		джан, ǯʼān, 'shirt' лъэмыдж, łăməǯʼ, 'bridge'
Дз дз	ذ	Ʒ ʒ	[d͡z]		дзыо, ʒəo, 'bag' дзын, ʒən, 'to throw'
Дзу дзу	ذو	Ʒ˚ ʒ˚	[d͡zʷ]		хьандзу, ḥānʒ˚, 'rick' хьандзуачӏ, ḥānʒ˚āč̣, 'lower rick'
Е е	ئە / ەي	E e	[ɜj] [jɜ]		ешэн, ešăn, 'to catch' еплъын, epłən, 'to look at'
Ё ё	–	Jo jo	[jo]		ёлк, jolk, 'Christmas tree'
Ж ж	ڒ	Ž ž	[ʒ]		жэ, žă, 'mouth' жакӏэ, žāč̣ʼă, 'beard'
Жъ жъ	ظ	Ẑ ẑ	[ʐ]		жъы, ẑə, 'old' жъажъэ, ẑāẑă, 'slow'
Жъу жъу	ظو	Ẑ˚ ẑ˚	[ʒʷ]		жъун, ẑ˚n, 'to melt' жъуагъо, ẑ˚āġo, 'star'
Жь жь	ژ	Žʼ žʼ	[ʑ]		жьыбгъэ, žʼəbġă, 'wind' жьао, žʼāo, 'shadow'
З з	ز	Z z	[z]		занкӏэ, zānč̣ʼă, 'straight' зандэ, zāndă, 'steep'
И и	ئي / ي	I i	[ɘj] [jɘ]		ихьан, iḥān, 'to enter' икӏыпӏ, ič̣ʼəṗ, 'exit'
Й й	ي	J j	[j]		йод, jod, 'iodine' бай, bāj, 'rich'
К к	ك	K k	[k]		кнопк, knopk, 'button' команд, komānd, 'team, command'
Ку ку	کو	K˚ k˚	[kʷ]		кушъэ, k˚ŝă, 'cradle' ку, k˚, 'cart'
Къ къ	ق	Q q	[q]		къалэ, qālă, 'city' къэкӏон, qăč̣ʼon, 'to come'
Къу къу	قو	Q˚ q˚	[qʷ]		къухьэ, q˚ḥă, 'ship' къушъхьэ, q˚ŝḥă, 'mountain'
Кӏ кӏ	ڃ	Č̣ʼ č̣ʼ	[kʼ] [tʃʼ]		кӏымаф, č̣ʼəmāf, 'winter' кӏыхьэ, č̣ʼəḥă, 'long' кӏэ, č̣ʼă, 'tail' шкӏэ, šč̣ʼă, 'calf'
Кӏу кӏу	ࢰو	Ḳ˚ ḳ˚	[kʷʼ]		кӏон, č̣ʼon, 'to walk' кӏуакӏэ, ḳ˚āč̣ʼă, 'walking manner'
Л л	ل	L l	[l]		лагъэ, lāġă, 'painted' лы, lə, 'meat'
Лъ лъ	ݪ	Ł ł	[ɬ]		лъэбэкъу, łăbăq˚, 'step' лъащэ, łāšʼă, 'lame'
Лӏ лӏ	ࢦ	Ḷ ḷ	[ɬʼ]		лӏы, ḷə, 'man' лӏыгъэ, ḷəġă, 'bravery'
М м	م	M m	[m]		мазэ, māză, 'moon' мэлы, mălə, 'sheep'
Н н	ن	N n	[n]		нэ, nă, 'eye' ны, nə, 'mother'
О о	ئۆ / ۆ	O o	[ɜw] [wɜ]		мощ, mošʼ, 'that' коны, konə, 'bin' о, o, 'you' осы, osə, 'snow' ощхы, ošʼxə, 'rain'
П п	پ	P p	[p]		пэ, pă, 'nose' сапэ, sāpă, 'dust'
Пӏ пӏ	ࢠ	Ṗ ṗ	[pʼ]		пӏэ, ṗă, 'bed' пӏэшъхьагъ, ṗăŝḥāġ, 'pillow'
Пӏу пӏу	ࢠو	Ṗ˚ ṗ˚	[pʷʼ]		пӏун, ṗ˚n, 'to rise; to adopt' пӏур, ṗ˚r, 'pupil; apprentice'
Р р	ر	R r	[r]		рикӏэн, rič̣ʼăn, 'to pour' риӏон, riʾon, 'to tell'
С с	س	S s	[s]		сэ, să, 'I, me' сэшхо, săšxo, 'sabre'
Т т	ت	T t	[t]		тэтэжъ, tătăẑ, 'grandfather' тэ, tă, 'we, us'
Тӏ тӏ	ط	Ṭ ṭ	[tʼ]		тӏы, ṭə, 'ram' ятӏэ, jāṭă, 'dirt'
Тӏу тӏу	طو	Ṭ˚ ṭ˚	[tʷʼ]		тӏурыс, ṭ˚rəs, 'old' тӏурытӏу, ṭ˚rəṭ˚, 'pair'
У у	و	U u / W w	[ɘw] [wɘ]		ушхун, ušx˚n, 'to straighten' убэн, ubăn, 'to tamp; to smoothen'
Ф ф	ف	F f	[f]		фыжьы, fəžʼə, 'white' фэен, făen, 'to want'
Х х	ݗ	X x	[x]		хы, xə, 'sea; six' хасэ, xāsă, 'council'
Хъ хъ	خ	Ꭓ ꭓ	[χ]		хъыен, ꭓəen, 'to move' пхъэн, pꭓăn, 'to sow'
Хъу хъу	خو	Ꭓ˚ ꭓ˚	[χʷ]		хъун, ꭓ˚n, 'to happen' хъурай, ꭓ˚rāj, 'circle'
Хь хь	ح	Ḥ ḥ	[ħ]		хьэ, ḥă, 'dog' хьаку, ḥāk˚, 'oven'
Ц ц	ث	C c	[t͡s]		цагэ, cāɣă, 'rib' цы, cə, 'body hair'
Цу цу	ثو	C˚ c˚	[t͡sʷ]		цуакъэ, c˚āqă, 'shoe' цу, c˚, 'ox'
Цӏ цӏ	ڗ	C̣ c̣	[t͡sʼ]		цӏынэ, c̣ənă, 'wet' цӏыфы, c̣əfə, 'person'
Ч ч	چ	Čʼ čʼ	[t͡ʃ]		чэфы, čʼăfə, 'cheerful' чэты, čʼătə, 'chicken'
Чъ чъ		Č č	[t͡ʂ]		чъыгай, čəɣāj, 'oak' чъыӏэ, čəʾă, 'cold'
Чӏ чӏ		Č̣ č̣	[t͡ʂʼ]		чӏыпӏэ, č̣əṗă, 'area' чӏыфэ, č̣əfă, 'debt'
Ш ш		Š š	[ʃ]		шы, šə, 'brother' шыблэ, šəblă, 'thunder'
Шъ шъ	ص	Ŝ ŝ	[ʂ]		шъэ, ŝă, 'hundred' шъабэ, ŝābă, 'soft'
Шъу шъу	صو	Ŝ˚ ŝ˚	[ʃʷ]		шъугъуалэ, ŝ˚ġ˚ālă, 'envious' шъукъакӏу, ŝ˚qāḳ˚, 'to come'
Шӏ шӏ	ض	Ṣ̂ ṣ̂	[ʃʼ]		шӏын, ṣ̂ən, 'to do' шӏэныгъ, ṣ̂ănəġ, 'knowledge'
Шӏу шӏу	ضو	Ṣ̂˚ ṣ̂˚	[ʃʷʼ]		шӏуцӏэ, ṣ̂˚c̣ă, 'black' шӏуфэс, ṣ̂˚făs, 'greetings'
Щ щ	ش	Šʼ šʼ	[ɕ]		щагу, šʼāg˚, 'yard' щатэ, šʼātă, 'sour cream'
(Ъ ъ)	–	–	–
Ы ы	ئہـ‍ / ‍ہ‍	Ə ə	[ɘ]		ыкӏи, əč̣ʼi, 'and also' зы, zə, 'one'
(Ь ь)	–	–	[[ʲ]]
Э э	ئە / ە	Ă ă	[ɜ]		ӏэтаж, ʾătāž, 'floor' нэнэжъ, nănăẑ, 'grandmother'
Ю ю	یو	Ju ju	[ju]		Юсыф, Jusəf, 'Joseph' Юныс, Junəs, 'Jonah'
Я я	یا	Ja ja	[jaː]		яй, jāj, 'theirs' ябгэ, jābɣă, 'evil'
Ӏ ӏ	ئ	ʾ	[ʔ]		ӏэ, ʾă, 'hand' кӏасэ, č̣ʼāsă, 'like'
Ӏу ӏу	ؤ	ʾ˚	[ʔʷ]		ӏукӏэн, ʾ˚č̣ʼăn, 'to meet' ӏусын, ʾ˚sən, 'to be near sitting' ӏудан, ʾ˚dān, 'thread'

Orthography rules

• The letter ⟨ы⟩ [ə] is not written after a ⟨у⟩ [w], ⟨й⟩ [j] or a labialised consonant. For example: унэ [wənɐ] "house" instead of уынэ.
• In case the letter ⟨у⟩ is the first letter of a word or when it is not related to any other consonant, it is pronounced as [wə] ⟨уы⟩. For example: унэ instead of уынэ. When it is related to a consonant, it becomes a vowel and pronounced as [əw~u] ⟨ыу⟩. For example: чэту [t͡ʃɐtəw] "cat" instead of чэтыу.
• In case a labialised consonant is followed by a vowel ⟨э⟩ [ɐ], instead of the letter ⟨у⟩ there is a ⟨о⟩. For example: гъогу [ʁʷɐɡʷ] "road" instead of гъуэгу.
• In case a labialised consonant is followed by a vowel ⟨а⟩ [aː] or ⟨и⟩ [əj~i], the labialised consonant letter is written fully. For example: цуакъэ [t͡sʷaːqɐ] "shoes".
• In case the letter ⟨о⟩ is the first letter of a word or when it is not related to any other consonant, it is pronounced as [wɐ] ⟨уэ⟩. For example, о [wɐ] "you" instead of уэ.
• In case the letter ⟨е⟩ is the first letter of a word or when it is not related to any other consonant, it is pronounced as [jɐ] ⟨йэ⟩. For example: еӏо [jɐʔʷɐ] "he says" instead of йэӏо. When it is related to a consonant, it becomes a vowel and pronounced as [ɐj~e] ⟨эй⟩. For example: делэ [dɐjlɐ] "fool" instead of дэйлэ.
• 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 [jəɬɐs] "year" instead of йылъэс. When it is related to a consonant, it becomes a vowel and pronounced as [əj~i] ⟨ый⟩. For example: сиӏ [səjʔ] "I have" instead of сыйӏ.

Vowels

The vowels are written ⟨ы⟩ [ə], ⟨э⟩ [ɐ] and ⟨а⟩ [aː]. Other letters represent diphthongs: ⟨я⟩ represents [jaː], ⟨и⟩ [jə] or [əj], ⟨о⟩ [wɐ] or [ɐw], ⟨у⟩ represent [wə] or [əw], and ⟨е⟩ represents [jɐ] or [ɐj].

Other writing systems

The language of Adyghe is officially written in the Cyrillic script, and is also unofficially written in the Latin script. Before 1927, Adyghe was written in a version of the Arabic script; after the Soviet Latinisation campaign, an older variant of the Latin alphabet had been in use in the Soviet Union until 1938, when all Soviet languages transitioned into the Cyrillic alphabet.

Prior to the mid-19th century, Adyghe had no writing system. Starting from 1853, the process of creating an orthography for Adyghe was started. In Tbilisi in 1853, a document titled "Primer of the Circassian Language" (Archive) was published, in which an Arabic-based orthography influenced by the Ottoman Turkish alphabet was developed. This document became the first ever publication in Adyghe. In this document, several new letters were introduced to represent the consonants that exist in Adyghe language. This proposed orthography, although with many shortcomings, received widespread approval and usage. And thus, Arabic script became the accepted orthography for Adyghe.

Over the following decades, several authors attempted to further improve the Adyghe Arabic orthography. The most successful attempt was the alphabet created by Akhmetov Bekukh. In this version, letters were designated for vowel sounds, and the orthography was transformed from an "Impure abjads to a true alphabet. In 1918, on the initiative of the Kuban Revolutionary Committee, a primer was published in Yekaterinodar. This official endorsement resulted in a literary boom in Adyghe and the publication of various newspapers, textbooks and other literature, including the Adyghe Maq, the main Adyghe language newspaper established in 1923.

During the abovementioned decades, parallel with this process, the Arabic orthography had also been standardized for the sister Circassian language of Kabardian. Although very similar in many aspects, there were minor variations, in which letters were included based on each respective phonology, and there were minor differences in presentation of a few consonants as well.

Adyghe Arabic alphabet

Below table shows the Adyghe Arabic alphabet as it was officially adopted between 1918 and 1927.

Forms				IPA	Adyghe Cyrillic equivalent	Adyghe Latin equivalent (1927–1938)	Unicode	Notes
Isolated	Final	Medial	Initial
ا	ـا	ـا	آ	[aː]	А а	ᴀ	U+0622 U+0627
ئ	ـئ	ـئـ	ئـ	[ʔ]	Ӏ ӏ	h	U+0626	This letter plays another role as well. It proceeds a vowel letter at the beginning of a word, with the exception of آ (equivalent to Cyrillic А а)
ؤ	ـؤ	-	-	[ʔʷ]	Ӏу ӏу	hv	U+0624
ە	ـە	-	ئە	[a]	Э э Е е1	e	U+06D5	The sound equivalent to Cyrillic letter "Е е" is represented by a digraph ئەیـ / ئەی / ـەی / ەی.
‍ہ‍	ـہ‍	ـہـ	ئہـ	[ə]	Ы ы	ə	U+06C1 and U+200D1	The main character consists of U+06C1 (ـہ / ہ), and is always written in medial form. Thus, the use of Zero-width joiner (U+200D) may be necessary based on context. Below are sample scenarios: صہص د‍ہص صہ‍ د‍ہ‍
ب	ـب	ـبـ	بـ	[b]	Б б	ʙ	U+0628
ت	ـت	ـتـ	تـ	[t]	Т т	t	U+062A
ث	ـث	ـثـ	ثـ	[t͡s]	Ц ц	c	U+062B
پ	ـپ	ـپـ	پـ	[p]	П п	ᴘ	U+067E
ࢠ	ـࢠ	ـࢠـ	ࢠـ	[p’]	Пӏ пӏ		U+08A0	Equivalent to ٮ (U+066E) in Kabardian Arabic alphabet.
ن	ـن	ـنـ	نـ	[n]	Н н	n	U+0646
ح	ـح	ـحـ	حـ	[ħ]	Хь хь	ɦ	U+062D
ج	ـج	ـجـ	جـ	[d͡ʒ]	Дж дж	ǥ	U+062C
خ	ـخ	ـخـ	خـ	[χ]	Хъ хъ		U+062E
ݗ	ـݗ	ـݗـ	ݗـ	[x]	Х х	x	U+0757
ڃ	ـڃ	ـڃـ	ڃـ	[kʼ][tʃʼ]	Кӏ кӏ1	ⱪ	U+0683	When the following letter is a و (Equivalent to Cyrillic Кӏу кӏу), instead of the letter ڃ, the letter ࢰ is used.
چ	ـچ	ـچـ	چـ	[t͡ʃ]	Ч ч	ꝁ	U+0686
				[t͡ʂ]	Чъ чъ	đ	- 1	Letter does not exist in unicode yet. Can be created by typing the letter ح (U+062D) and the symbol combining caron below ◌̬ (U+032C), thus resulting in ح̬ـ / ـح̬ـ / ـح̬ / ح̬
				[t͡ʃʼ]	ЧI чI		- 1	Letter does not exist in unicode yet. Can be created by typing the letter ح (U+062D) and the diacritic inverted damma below ◌ࣣ (U+08E3), thus resulting in حࣣـ / ـحࣣـ / ـحࣣ / حࣣ
د	ـد	-	-	[d]	Д д	d	U+062F
ذ	ـذ	-	-	[d͡z]	Дз дз	ᴣ	U+0630
ر	ـر	-	-	[r]	Р р	r	U+0631
ز	ـز	-	-	[z]	З з	z	U+0632
ژ	ـژ	-	-	[ʑ]	Жь жь		U+0698
ڗ	ـڗ	-	-	[t͡sʼ]	Цӏ цӏ		U+0697
ڒ	ـڒ	-	-	[ʒ]	Ж ж		U+0692
س	ـس	ـسـ	سـ	[s]	С с	s	U+0633
				[ʃ]	Ш ш	ħ	- 1	Letter does not exist in unicode yet. Can be created by typing the letter س (U+0633) and the diacritic combining diaeresis ◌̈ (U+0308), thus resulting in س̈ـ / ـس̈ـ / ـس̈ / س̈
ش	ـش	ـشـ	شـ	[ɕ]	Щ щ	ʃ	U+0634
ص	ـص	ـصـ	صـ	[ʂ]	Шъ шъ	š	U+0635
ض	ـض	ـضـ	ضـ	[ʃʼ]	Шӏ шӏ		U+0636
ط	ـط	ـطـ	طـ	[tʼ]	Тӏ тӏ		U+0637
ظ	ـظ	ـظـ	ظـ	[ʐ]	Жъ жъ	ⱬ	U+0638
غ	ـغ	ـغـ	غـ	[ʁ]	Гъ гъ		U+063A
ݝ	ـݝ	ـݝـ	ݝـ	[ɣ]	Г г1		U+075D	When the following letter is a و (Equivalent to Cyrillic Гу гу), instead of the letter ݝ, the letter گ is used.
ف	ـف	ـفـ	فـ	[f]	Ф ф	f	U+0641
ق	ـق	ـقـ	قـ	[q]	Къ къ	q	U+0642
ڤ	ـڤ	ـڤـ	ڤـ	[v]	В в	w	U+06A4	Equivalent to ۋ (U+06CB) in Kabardian Arabic alphabet.
ک	ـک	ـکـ	کـ	[k]	К к	k	U+0643
گ	ـگ	ـگـ	گـ	[g] ([gʷ])1	Г г (Гу гу)	g	U+06AF	When the following letter is a و (Equivalent to Cyrillic Гу гу), the letter گ is used. In all other cases, the letter ݝ is used for this specific homophone.
ࢰ	ـࢰ	ـࢰـ	ࢰـ	[kʼ] ([kʷʼ])1	Кӏ кӏ (Кӏу кӏу)	ⱪ	U+08B0	When the following letter is a و (Equivalent to Cyrillic Кӏу кӏу), the letter ࢰ is used. In all other cases, the letter ڃ is used for this specific homophone.
ل	ـل	ـلـ	لـ	[l]/[ɮ]	Л л	l	U+0644
ݪ	ـݪ	ـݪـ	ݪـ	[ɬ]	Лъ лъ		U+076A
ࢦ	ـࢦ	ـࢦـ	ࢦـ	[ɬʼ]	Лӏ лӏ		U+08A6
م	ـم	ـمـ	مـ	[m]	М м	m	U+0645
و	ـو	-	ئو / و	[u] / [w]	У у	v	U+0648
و	ـو	-	ئو / و	[ɘw] [wɘ]	У у	v	U+0648
ی	ـی	ـیـ	ئیـ / یـ	[i] / [j]	И и Й й	i / j	U+06CC
ۆ	ـۆ	-	ئۆ	[ɜw] [wɜ]	О о	o	U+06C6

Adyghe Latin alphabet

The Adyghe orthography was officially switched to the Latin alphabet in 1927. The Adyghe Latin alphabet was compiled and finalized a year prior, in 1926. This alphabet was the sole official script in the Soviet Union. The Adyghe Latin alphabet consisted of 50 letters, many of them newly created, some even borrowed from Cyrillic. Another interesting feature of this iteration of the Adyghe Latin alphabet was that there was no distinction between lower case and upper case letters. Each letter only had one single case.

Below table shows Adyghe Latin alphabet as it was officially adopted between 1927 and 1938.

Letter	ᴀ	ʙ	c		d	ᴣ	e	ə	f
IPA	[aː]	[b]	[t͡s]	[t͡sʼ]	[d]	[d͡z]	[e]	[ə]	[f]
Letter	g	ǥ	ɦ	i	y	k	ꝁ	ʀ	ⱪ	l
IPA	[ɡ]	[d͡ʒ]	[ħ]	[i]	[j]	[k]	[t͡ʃ]	[ʲ]	[kʼ]	[l]
Letter			m	n	o	ᴘ		q	r	s
IPA	[ɬ]	[ɬʼ]	[m]	[n]	[o]	[p]	[pʼ]	[q]	[r]	[s]
Letter	š		ʃ	ħ	t		u	v	x
IPA	[ʂ]	[ʃʼ]	[ɕ]	[ʃ]	[t]	[tʼ]	[u]	[w]	[x]	[χ]
Letter	z	ⱬ					đ		h	w
IPA	[z]	[ʐ]	[ʑ]	[ʒ]	[ʁ]	[ɣ]	[t͡ʂ]	[t͡ʃʼ]	[ʔ]	[v]

• 
  Adyghe Arabic alphabet used before 1927
• 
  Adyghe Latin alphabet used from 1927 to 1938 (page 1)
• 
  Adyghe Latin alphabet used from 1927 to 1938 (page 2)
• 
  Comparison of Adyghe Latin and Adyghe Cyrillic alphabets
• 
  Adyghe Arabic alphabet letters
• 
  Adyghe Latin alphabet letters

Examples of literary Adyghe

Native vocabulary

Cyrillic	Latin	IPA	Translation
сэ	să	[sɐ]	I
пшъашъэ	pŝāŝă	[p͡ʂaːʂɐ]	girl
тӏыс	ṭəs	[tʼəs]	to sit
тэдж	tăǯʼ	[tɐd͡ʒ]	to stand
Тэу ущыт?	Tăw ušʼət?	[tɐw‿wəʃət]	How are you?
Сышӏу.	Səṣ̂˚.	[səʃʷʼ]	I'm fine.
шы	šə	[ʃə]	horse
щы	šʼə	[ɕə]	three
жъуагъо	ẑ˚āġo	[ʐʷaːʁʷɐ]	star
тыгъэ	təġă	[təʁɐ]	sun
мазэ	māză	[maːzɐ]	moon
цуакъэ	c˚āqă	[t͡sʷaːqɐ]	shoe
шъукъеблагъ	ŝ˚qeblāġ	[ʂʷəqɐjblaːʁ]	welcome
лъэхъуамбэ	łăꭓ˚āmbă	[ɬɐχʷaːmbɐ]	toe
хьамлыу	ḥāmləw	[ħaːmləw]	worm
кӏэнкӏэ	č̣ʼănč̣ʼă	[kʼɐŋkʼɐ]	egg
хьампӏырашъу	ḥāmṗərāŝ˚	[ħaːmpʼəraːʂʷ]	butterfly
мэшӏоку	măṣ̂ok˚	[mɐʃʼʷɐkʷ]	train
пхъэтӏэкӏу	pꭓăṭăḳ˚	[p͡χɐtʼɐkʼʷ]	chair
тхьалъыкӏо	tḥāłəč̣ʼo	[t͡ħaːɬəkʼʷɐ]	prophet
къамзэгу	qāmzăg˚	[qaːmzɐɡʷ]	ant
псычэт	psəčʼăt	[p͡sət͡ʃɐt]	duck

Loanwords

Cyrillic	Latin	IPA	Translation	Etymology
республикэ	respublikă	[rʲespublʲikɐ]	republic	From Latin rēs pūblica ("public concern") via Russian республика.
компутер	komputer	[komputʲer]	computer	From Latin computāre ("to settle together") via Russian компьютер.
математикэ	mātemātikă	[maːtʲemaːtʲikɐ]	mathematics	From Ancient Greek μάθημα máthēma ("study, knowledge") via Russian математика.
спорт	sport	[sport]	sports	From English sport via Russian спорт.
быракъ	byraq	[bəraːq]	flag	Ultimately from Proto-Turkic *badrak ("spear, stick").
къартӏоф	qārṭof	[qaːrtʼʷɐf]	potato	From German Kartoffel ("potato") via Russian картофель.
томат	tomāt	[tomaːt]	tomato	From Spanish tomate, which in turn derives from Nahuan tomatl, via Russian томат.
орэндж	orănǯʼ	[wɐrɐnd͡ʒ]	orange	From Persian نارنگ nârang or نارنج nâranj.
нэмаз	nămāz	[nɐmaːz]	salah (Islamic praying)	From Persian نماز namâz.
къалэ	qālă	[qaːlɐ]	city	Akkadian kalakku ("fort").
дунай	dunāj	[dəwnaːj]	earth	From Arabic دنيا dunyā ("world").

• There are thirteen labialised consonants; however, in some dialects, there are three additional ones: Кхъу [q͡χʷ], Ху [xʷ] and Чъу [t͡ɕʷ].

Adyghe outside Circassia

Adyghe is taught outside Circassia in Prince Hamza Ibn Al-Hussein Secondary School, a school for Jordanian Adyghes in Jordan's capital city of Amman. This school, established by the Jordanian Adyghes 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 aims to preserve the Adyghe language and traditions among future generations.

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.

Vitality

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.

Sample texts

Al-Fatiha (الفَاتِحَةِ)

Al-Fatiha in Adyghe	Transliteration	English translation	Arabic original
1. Алахьэу гукӏэгъушӏэу, гукӏэгъу зыхэлъым ыцӏэкӏэ! 2. Зэрэдунае и Тхьэу Алахьым щытхъур ыдэжь, 3. Гукӏэгъушӏэу, гукӏэгъу зыхэлъэу, 4. Пщынэжь мафэр зиӏэмырым! 5. Шъхьащэ тэ къыпфэтэшӏы, тыолъэӏу О ӏэпыӏэгъу укъытфэхъунэу! 6. Гъогу занкӏэм О тырыщ, 7. Шӏу О зыфэпшӏагъэхэм ягъогу нахь, губж лъэш зыфэпшӏыгъэхэр зытетхэр арэп, гъощагъэхэр зытетхэри арэп.	1. Ālāḥăw g°č̣′ăġ°ṣ̂ăw, g°č̣′ăġ° zǝxălъǝm ǝc̣ăč̣′ă! 2. Zărădwnāe i Tḥăw Ālāḥǝm šʹǝtx°r ǝdăž′, 3. G°č̣′ăġ°ṣ̂ăw, g°č̣′ăġ° zǝxălъăw, 4. Pšʹǝnăž′ māfăr ziʾămǝrǝm! 5. Ŝḥāšʹă tă qǝpfătăṣ̂ǝ, tǝolъăʾ° O ʾăpǝʾăġ° wqǝtfăx°năw! 6. Ġog° zānč̣′ăm O tǝrǝšʹ, 7. Ṣ̂° O zǝfăpṣ̂āġăxăm яġog° nāḥ, g°bž lъăš zǝfăpṣ̂ǝġăxăr zǝtetxăr ārăp, ġošʹāġăxăr zǝtetxări ārăp.	1. In the name of Allāh, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful! 2. [All] praise is [due] to Allāh, Lord of the worlds, 3. The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful, 4. Sovereign of the Day of Recompense! 5. It is You we worship and You we ask for help! 6. Guide us to the straight path, 7. The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have earned [Your] anger or of those who are astray.	١-بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ ٢-الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ٣-الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ ٤-مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ ٥-إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ ٦-اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ ٧-صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ

John 1:1-5

John 1:1-5 in Adyghe	Transliteration	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.	Ublāṗăm ədăžʼ G˚šʼəʾăr šʼəʾāġ. Ār Tḥăm ədăžʼ šʼəʾāġ, ā G˚šʼəʾări Tḥăw ārəġă. Ublāṗăm šʼeġăžʼāġăw ā G˚šʼəʾăr Tḥăm ədăžʼ šʼəʾāġ. Tḥăm ā G˚šʼəʾăm zăč̣ʼări qəriġăġăꭓ˚ġ. Tḥăm qəġăꭓ˚ġă pstăwmi āšʼəšʼăw ā G˚šʼəʾăm qəriməġġăꭓ˚ġă zi šʼəʾăp. Məč̣ʼodəžʼən šʼəʾănəġă ā G˚šʼəʾăm xăłəġ, ā šʼəʾănəġări c̣əfxăm năfənă āfăꭓ˚ġ. Năfənăr ṣ̂˚nč̣ʼəġăm šʼănăfə, ṣ̂˚nč̣ʼəġări năfənăm teḳ˚āġăp.	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.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

UDHR in Adyghe	Transliteration	IPA	English translation
Цӏыф пстэури шъхьэфитэу, ялъытэныгъэрэ яфэшъуашэхэмрэкӏэ зэфэдэу къалъфы. Акъылрэ зэхэшӏыкӏ гъуазэрэ яӏэшъы, зыр зым зэкъош зэхашӏэ азфагу дэлъэу зэфыщытынхэ фае.	C̣əf pstăwri ŝḥăfităw, jāłətănəġără jāfăŝ˚āšăxămrăč̣ʼă zăfădăw qāłfə. Āqəlră zăxăṣ̂əč̣ʼ ġ˚āzără jāʾăŝə, zər zəm zăqoš zăxāṣ̂ă āzfāg˚ dăłăw zăfəšʼətənxă fāe.	[tsʼəf pstawərəj ʂħafəjtawə jaːɬətanəʁara jaːfaʂʷaːʃaxamratʃʼa zafadawə qaːɬfə aqəɮra zaxaʃʼətʃʼ ʁʷaːzara jaːʔaʃə zər zəm zaqʷaʃ azfaːgʷ daɬawə zafəɕətənxa faːja]	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.

See also

• Adyghe Maq, the main Adyghe-language newspaper
• Anthem of the Republic of Adygea

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.
• Sample Adyghe document in Arabic Script, 1924, تەزغەو نەخوشتەر-گوبغویش: تەزغەو نەشتەر-گوبغواب / Тэзгъэу нэхъущтэр-губгъуищ: тэзгъэу нэщтэр-губгъуаб. Zubrilin, Aleksey Arsenevich. Moscow and Krasny Vostok, USSR.
• 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