Adyghe language

Adyghe exhibits a large number of consonants: between 50 and 60 consonants are used across 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 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.

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.[4]

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

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

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

The language of Adyghe is officially written in the Cyrillic script but is also unofficially written in the Latin script, in a version of the Arabic script before 1927, and then a version of the Latin alphabet implemented by the Soviet Union until 1938.

• 
  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)
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  Comparison of Adyghe Latin and Adyghe Cyrillic alphabets
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  Adyghe Latin alphabet letters
• 
  Adyghe Arabic alphabet letters

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.[6]

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.

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.

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.[7]

• Adyghe Maq, the main Adyghe-language newspaper

Adyghe edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

• 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