Adyghe, also known as West Circassian (or Lower Circassian), is a Northwest Caucasian language spoken by the western subgroups of Circassians. Native to Circassia in the Caucasus, it is one of the two official languages of Adygea (the other being Russian), although it is mainly spoken in Turkey, Jordan, Syria, and Israel, where Circassians settled after the Circassian genocide by the Russian Empire. Adyghe literary language () is the standardised form of the language, based mostly on the Chemguy dialect which was chosen for its grammatical and phonological simplicity, it was also historically spoken by the Prince of Princes of Circassia. In addition to Chemguy, there was also significant input from Shapsug, Bzhedug, Abzakh and other dialects.

Adyghe is closely related to the Kabardian or East Circassian language; 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. Despite phonological differences, Circassian languages are reciprocally intelligible, with speakers being able to communicate with varying degrees of efficiency. 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). Ubykh, Abkhaz and Abaza are more distantly related to Adyghe.

Classification

Adyghe is also known as West Circassian or Lower Circassian. Adyghe belongs to the Northwest Caucasian language family. Glottochronological studies suggest that the common Proto-Northwest Caucasian language split into the Circassian, Abkhaz, and Ubykh branches roughly 5,000 years ago.

History Standardization of Adyghe Pre-Soviet attempts One of the earliest attempts to create a standard for the Adyghe language was made by Natouko Sheretluk (Natouko Efendi), a Shapsug nobleman. He opened a madrasa in his native village of Bogundyr and compiled an Adyghe alphabet and grammar. Leonty Lyulye, a Russian official who lived for many years among the Shapsugs, Natukhays, and Abadzekhs on the Black Sea coast, published a "Russian-Circassian Dictionary" and a brief grammar in Odessa in 1846. Lyulye identified three dialects of Adyghe: "Kabardian", "Besleney", and a third he called "Common Circassian" (referring to the Western coastal dialects). He tried to base his dictionary on this "Common" dialect. Another pre-Soviet attempt was made by Wumar Bersey, an Abzakh. On March 14, 1853, he published the "Primer of the Circassian Language" (Adyghe Alphabet) in Tiflis (Tbilisi), based on the Arabic script. This date (March 14) is now celebrated annually as the "Day of the Adyghe Language".

Modern Standard Adyghe The standard register of Adyghe, known as Literary Adyghe (), was created by Circassian linguist Daut Ashkhamaf based largely on the Chemguy dialect, which was chosen for its simplicity. However, Literary Adyghe is a constructed dialect and is distinct from the natural Chemguy dialect, as there was significant input from the dialects of other tribes who remained in the Caucasus after the Circassian exile, spesifically the Bzhedug, Shapsug, and partly Abzakh. In the 1930s, Ashkhamaf even utilized the term "Bzhedug-Temirgoy dialect" to describe the basis of the literary language. He argued that through the development of the literary language, these dialects were merging. In some cases, literary dialect preferred words from other dialects over Chemguy words, such as Bzhedug "" (hand) and "" (god) instead of the Chemguy "" and "", as well as specific ordinal numbers and verb forms. Thus, being supra-dialectal, literary Adyghe stands in contrast to territorial dialects and serves as the unifying literary form of the language for speakers of diverse dialects.

Attempts to unify Adyghe and Kabardian There were proposals to merge Adyghe and Kabardian to create a single Circassian literary language. Another proposal was to select one of the two to serve as the single literary language for all Circassians. A rejected proposal by Circassian scholars argued for recognizing Kabardian as the sole literary language for all Circassians, as it had the most speakers. There were attempts to create a single unified alphabet for Adyghe, Kabardian, Chechen and Karachay-Balkar; but efforts failed because the leaders of the movement were accused of being "bourgeois nationalists" and executed in 1937. One year earlier, Z.M. Naloev, who was involved in the creation of the Kabardian alphabet, was executed by firing squad for alleged treason; he was rehabilitated posthumously in 1957. The Bolsheviks supported the creation of separate alphabets and grammars for the "Kyakh" (Western; the modern Adyghe language) and Kabardian, despite ongoing debates on unifying them. Thus, Adyghe and Kabardian speakers could communicate easier orally as opposed to in writing due to different graphical representations and spelling rules. A more moderate proposal developed by the linguist M.A. Kumakhov aimed to unify the alphabets and orthography without forcing a complete merger of spoken Adyghe and Kabardian. This project proposed standardizing the representation of identical phonemes (using the same letter for the same sound where they currently differ, such as the Adyghe жъvs. Kabardian жь). The project was accepted by specialists at regional conferences in Nalchik and Maikop in 1998 and 1999. While the Parliament of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic approved the project, the Parliament of the Republic of Adygea did not proceed to discuss it. The "One Nation, One Republic, One Language" () movement among Circassians pushes for the unification of the three Circassian republics and recognition of Adyghe and Kabardian as not related languages, but as dialects of a single Circassian language, arguing that the division of Circassians into different "nations" (Adyghe vs. Kabardian vs. Cherkess) was a result of Soviet "ethnic engineering". The International Circassian Association (ICA) officially stated the goal of creating a "uniform Circassian language" in its 2015 congress resolution.

Publications There are many books written in or translated into Adyghe. А significant milestone was the publication of the "ABC-book of the Circassian language" by Wumar Bersey in Tbilisi on March 14, 1853, a date now celebrated as the Day of the Adyghe Language and Writing.

In the early 20th century, reformist movements in Baksan led to the publication of religious and ethical textbooks such as "The History of Islam" () in 1918. A popular Adyghe translation of the Quran was made by Koshbaye Pshimaf Iskhak Mashbash. The New Testament and many books of the Old Testament have been published in Adyghe by the Institute for Bible Translation in Moscow. In 2020 a bilingual edition of Ecclesiastes was released in Adyghe and Kabardian.

In 1908, Circassian Union and Charity Society in Istanbul began printing Adyghe language texts in the newspaper Ghuaze. Following this, the "Adığe-Gazete" (Adyghe Newspaper) was introduced in 1919. In 1920, the bulletin "Diyane" was published in Istanbul using a Latin-based Adyghe alphabet.

In the Middle East, a Circassian cultural society established in 1927 in El-Quneitra, Syria, published the newspaper "Mardzh" (Voice) from 1928 to 1932.

Adyghe Maq is the main Adyghe language newspaper in Russia. It is published in the capital of the Adyghe Republic, Maykop, five times a week. The newspaper "Socialist Adygea" started in Krasnodar in 1926 and relocated to Maikop ten years later. he Adigean branch of the Union of Soviet Writers launched the literary almanac "Friendship" in Maikop in 1946. For younger readers, the children's magazine "Constellation" is published in the Adyghe language. Other early newspapers included Qerehetlıq (Black People) in 1924 and Adığe Psevuç (Adyghe Life) in 1926.

One of the most important translated texts in the Adyghe language is the Adyghe Mawlid, an Islamic text, a translation of Süleyman Çelebi's Ottoman Turkish text, "Vesîletü'n-Necât". This translation was undertaken by the Circassian scholar Abdurrahman Efendi. The Adyghe Mawlid is written in the Shapsug dialect, with a very large number of Arabic, Turkish Persian loanwords. The original publication utilized a modified Arabic/Ottoman alphabet, incorporating specialized marks and letters to represent unique Circassian phonemes that do not exist in standard Ottoman Turkish. Poetically, the translation remains highly faithful to Süleyman Çelebi's original structure. It consists of 1,034 lines (517 couplets) and strictly adheres to the classical remel meter (fâilâtun fâilâtun fâilun). The text is recited in Circassian villages to this day.

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.

Dialects

Black Sea coast dialects Shapsug dialect () North Shapsugs, Great Shapsugs, Kuban Shapsugs () dialect Kfar Kama dialect () Chemguy-Shapsugs, Pseuşko accent () South Shapsugs, Small Shapsugs, Coastal Shapsugs, Black Sea Shapsugs () dialect Hakuchi dialect () Natukhai dialect () Zhaney dialect

Kuban River dialects Bzhedug dialect (): spoken by Circassians in the Republic of Adygea and the Biga district of the city of Çanakkale in Turkey Chemguy (): literary standard of Adyghe. Also spoken by Circassians in the Republic of Adygea Abzakh dialect (): spoken by Circassians in the village of Rehaniya in Israel and Circassians in Syria from the Golan Heights Mamkhegh dialect Yegeruqay dialect Hatuqay dialect Makhosh dialect

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 in the Abzakh dialect is a three-way contrast between plain, labialized and palatalized glottal stops. The Shapsug (Black Sea) dialect of Adyghe contains a very uncommon sound: a voiceless bidental fricative , which corresponds to the voiceless velar fricative found in other varieties of Adyghe. This sound is only known to be used in the Black Sea dialect.

+ Adyghe consonant system Labial Alveolar Post-alveolar Alveolo-palatal Retroflex Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Glottal Nasal Plosive 1 ()2 1 ()2   ()2 Affricate   Fricative 1 Approximant Trill

These consonants exist only in borrowed words. In the Black Sea coast Adyghe dialects (e.g. Shapsug dialect and Natukhai dialect) there exist a palatalized voiced velar stop , a palatalized voiceless velar stop and a palatalized velar ejective that were merged with , and in most Adyghe dialects.Палатализация (смягчение) и аффрикатизация согласных Переднеязычные мягкие шипящие аффрикаты дж, ч, к1 Консонантная система уляпского говора в сопоставлении с аналогами других диалектов адыгских языков Studia Caucasologica I page 11 For example the Shapsug words "гьанэ" "shirt", "кьэт" "chicken" and "кӀьапсэ" "rope" are pronounced in other dialects as "джанэ" , "чэт" and кӀапсэ .

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

Central Mid Near-open Open

Orthography

Modern alphabet

Other alphabets