The Besleney dialect (Beslenej, ; ) is a dialect of the East Circassian language, spoken by the Besleney subgroup of Circassians. However, because the Besleney tribe lived at the center of Circassia, the Besleney dialect also shares a large number of features with dialects of Western Circassian and functions as a transitional linguistic link between the West Circassian (Adyghe) and East Circassian (Kabardian) languages.
Phonology
The Besleney dialect is characterized by its conservatism. Unlike Modern Standard Kabardian, Besleney was not affected by the two major phonological shifts (Phase 1 and Phase 2) that defined the evolution of the Kabardian dialects. Consequently, Besleney preserves the original consonant inventory of Proto-Kabardian.
Retention of Palatalized Velars (No Phase 2) Besleney did not undergo "Phase 2" (Velar Palatalization). It retains the distinct Proto-Kabardian series of palatalized velars: the voiced stop , the voiceless stop , and the ejective .
In most other dialects, including Standard Kabardian, these consonants shifted forward to become palato-alveolar affricates (, , ).
Besleney (retained) vs Standard Kabardian :
Meaning Besleney (Proto-Kabardian Form) Standard KabardianCyrillicIPACyrillicIPA chicken гьэд ɡʲad джэд d͡ʒad cat гьэду ɡʲadəw джэду d͡ʒadəw shirt гьанэ ɡʲaːna джанэ dʒaːna to studyto read егьэн jaɡʲan еджэн jadʒan glass абгь ʔaːbgʲ абдж ʔaːbd͡ʒ game гьэгу ɡʲagʷ джэгу d͡ʒagʷ bitter дыгь dəɡʲ дыдж dəd͡ʒ sick сымагьэ səmaːɡʲa сымаджэ səmaːd͡ʒa evil бзагьэ bzaːɡʲa бзаджэ bzaːd͡ʒa valley къуэлагьэ qʷalaːɡʲa къуэладжэ qʷalaːd͡ʒa noon щэгьагъуэ ɕaɡʲaːʁʷa шэджагъуэ ʃad͡ʒaːʁʷa infidel гьаур ɡʲaːwər джаур d͡ʒaːwər girl хъыгьэбз χəɡʲabz хъыджэбз χəd͡ʒabz
Besleney (retained) vs Standard Kabardian :
Meaning Besleney (Proto-Kabardian Form) Standard KabardianCyrillicIPACyrillicIPA throat кьий kʲəj чий t͡ʃəj spleen кьэ kʲa чэ t͡ʃa to cough пскьэн pskʲan псчэн pst͡ʃan
Besleney (retained) vs Standard Kabardian (written as ):
Meaning Besleney (Proto-Kabardian Form) Standard KabardianCyrillicIPACyrillicIPA ceiling кӀьафэ kʲʼaːfa кӀафэ t͡ʃʼaːfa rope кӀьапсэ kʲʼaːpsa кӀапсэ t͡ʃʼaːpsa gun кӀьэрахъуэ kʲʼaraːχʷa кӀэрахъуэ t͡ʃʼaraːχʷa long кӀьыхь kʲʼəħ кӀыхь t͡ʃʼəħ to kill укӀьын wkʲʼən укӀын wt͡ʃʼən to move away ӀукӀьын ʔʷəkʲʼən ӀукӀын ʔʷət͡ʃʼən key ӀункӀьыбзэ ʔʷənkʲʼəbza ӀункӀыбз ʔʷənt͡ʃʼəbz beard жьакӀьэ ʑaːkʲʼa жьакӀэ ʑaːt͡ʃʼa poor тхьэмыщкӀь tħaməɕkʲʼ тхьэмыщкӀэ tħaməɕt͡ʃʼa to be ashamed укӀьытэн wəkʲʼətan укӀытэн wət͡ʃʼətan short кӀьагуэ kʲʼaːɡʷa кӀагуэ t͡ʃʼaːɡʷa tail кӀьэ kʲʼa кӀэ t͡ʃʼa
Retention of Affricates (No Phase 1) Besleney did not undergo "Phase 1" (Spirantization). It retains the original Proto-Kabardian postalveolar and retroflex affricates: , , and .
In Standard Kabardian, these original affricates underwent spirantization, becoming the fricatives , , and .
The following table demonstrates how Besleney retains the affricates (matching Proto-Kabardian), while Standard Kabardian has shifted them to fricatives.
+ Besleney Retention vs Standard Kabardian Shift Meaning Besleney / Proto-Kabardian(Retained Affricate) Standard Kabardian(Shifted Fricative) fox () () village () () village () () night () () cow () () spear () () goat () () to run () () to sleep () () to come out from under () () to regret () () mustache () () new () () winter () () young-man () () guest () () area () () iron () () to sleep / () () tree () () to run () () to run down () () he-goat () () door () ()
Comparison of Phases Because Besleney was affected by neither Phase 1 nor Phase 2, words that are merged or shifted in Standard Kabardian remain distinct in Besleney.
The following table shows how words like "new" (which underwent Phase 1 in Std. Kabardian) and "tail" (which underwent Phase 2 in Std. Kabardian) are distinct in Besleney.
Word Besleney(No Shift) Other Kabardian dialects(Phase 1 only) Modern Standard Kabardian(Phase 1 & 2) tail kʲʼa kʲʼa t͡ʃʼa new t͡ʃʼa ʃʼa ʃʼa winter t͡ʃʼəmaːxʷa ʃʼəmaːxʷa ʃʼəmaːxʷa mustache paːt͡ʃʼa paːʃʼa paːʃʼa
Grammar Unlike Modern Kabardian, Baslaney doesn't use the prefix н-. It uses the prefix къ- in all cases.
+ Besleney vs Standard Kabardian Meaning Besleney / Proto-Kabardian Standard Kabardian I look at you I looked at you I look at y'all I looked at y'all
See also Hakuchi Adyghe dialect Shapsug Adyghe dialect Bzhedug Adyghe Dialect Abzakh Adyghe dialect
References
External links UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive - Recording Details for Kabardian Beslenei dialect