Adyghe language

File:WIKITONGUES- Yinal speaking Adyghe and Kabardian.webm

Yinal speaking Adyghe

Adyghe,Template:Efn also known as West Circassian, is a Northwest Caucasian language spoken by the western subgroups of Circassians. It is spoken mainly in Russia and Turkey, as well as in Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Israel, where Circassians settled after the Circassian genocide (c. Template:Trim–1870) by the Russian Empire. It is closely related to the Kabardian language, though some reject the distinction between the two languages in favour 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. Template:Trim–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

File:WestCircassianFamilyTree.png

The West Circassian (Adyghe) dialects family tree

Black Sea coast dialects

• Shapsug dialect ()
  • North Shapsugs, Great Shapsugs, Kuban Shapsugs () dialect
    • Kfar Kama dialect ()
  • Temirgoy-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
• Temirgoy (Template:Langx): 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, 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 Template:IPAblink, which corresponds to the voiceless velar fricative Template:IPAblink 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		Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link
Plosive/ Affricate	ejective	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link				Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
	voiceless	Template:IPA link			Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link2	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
	voiced	Template:IPA link			Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link2	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link1	Template:IPA link
Fricative	ejective				Template:IPA link			Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
	voiceless	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link2	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
	voiced	Template:IPA link1			Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
Approximant		Template:IPA link								Template:IPA link				Template:IPA link
Trill					Template:IPA link

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	Template:IPA link
Near-open	Template:IPA link
Open	Template:IPA link

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 Perso-Arabic script was used. A new Latin alphabet based on the Turkish alphabet was designed to better facilitate Adyghe and Kabardian education in Turkey.

Cyrillic	Arabic	Latin	IPA	Pronunciation	Examples
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheа.oga	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheб.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
Template:Efn			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheв.ogg	Template:Langx, Template:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheг.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheгу.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:Pb, gwśyx̧, 'word'
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheгъ.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheгъу.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheд.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheдж.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheдз.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheдзу.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
		Template:Efn	Template:IPAblink Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheе.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
Template:Efn	–		Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheё.ogg	Template:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheж.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheжъ.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheжъу.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheжь.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheз.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheи.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheй.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
Template:Efn			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheк.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheку.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheкъ.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheкъу.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink Template:IPAblinkTemplate:Efn	File:Adygheкӏ.oga	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheкӏу.oga	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheл.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheлъ.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheлӏ.oga	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheм.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheн.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheо.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheп.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheпӏ.oga	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheпӏу.oga	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheр.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx rix̧on 'to tell'
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheс.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheт.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheтӏ.oga	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheтӏу.oga	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheу.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheф.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheх.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheхъ.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheхъу.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheхь.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheц.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheцу.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheцӏ.oga	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheч.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
	File:Hah with inverted damma below.png		Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheчъ.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:Pb čyx̧e 'cold'
	File:Hah with small v below.png		Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheчӏ.oga	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
	File:Seen with two dots above.png		Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheш.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheшъ.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheшъу.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			[ʃʼ]	File:Adygheшӏ.oga	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheшӏу.oga	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheщ.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
	–	–	–
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheы.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
	–	–	Template:IPA blink
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheэ.ogg	x̧etaž 'floor'Template:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheю.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheя.ogg	Template:LangxTemplate:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheӏ.oga	x̧e 'hand'Template:PbTemplate:Langx
			Template:IPAblink	File:Adygheӏу.oga	x̧wḉen 'to meet'Template:Pb x̧wsyn 'to be sitting near'Template:Pb x̧wdan 'thread'

Orthography rules

• The letter Template:Angle bracket is not written after a Template:Angle bracket , Template:Angle bracket or a labialised consonant. For example: унэ "house" instead of уынэ.
• In case the letter Template:Angle bracket is the first letter of a word or when it is not related to any other consonant, it is pronounced as Template:Angle bracket. For example: унэ instead of уынэ. When it is related to a consonant, it becomes a vowel and pronounced as Template:Angle bracket. For example: чэту 'cat' instead of чэтыу.
• In case a labialised consonant is followed by a vowel Template:Angle bracket , instead of the letter Template:Angle bracket there is a Template:Angle bracket. For example: гъогу 'road' instead of гъуэгу.
• In case a labialised consonant is followed by a vowel Template:Angle bracket or Template:Angle bracket , the labialised consonant letter is written fully. For example: цуакъэ 'shoes'.
• In case the letter Template:Angle bracket is the first letter of a word or when it is not related to any other consonant, it is pronounced as [wɐ] Template:Angle bracket. For example, о 'you' instead of уэ.
• In case the letter Template:Angle bracket is the first letter of a word or when it is not related to any other consonant, it is pronounced as Template:Angle bracket. For example: еӏо 'he says' instead of йэӏо. When it is related to a consonant, it becomes a vowel and pronounced as Template:Angle bracket. For example: делэ 'fool' instead of дэйлэ.
• In case the letter Template:Angle bracket is the first letter of a word or when is not related to any other consonant, it is pronounced as Template:Angle bracket. For example: илъэс 'year' instead of йылъэс. When it is related to a consonant, it becomes a vowel and pronounced as Template:Angle bracket. For example: сиӏ 'I have' instead of сыйӏ.

Vowels

The vowels are written Template:Angle bracket , Template:Angle bracket and Template:Angle bracket . Other letters represent diphthongs: Template:Angle bracket represents , Template:Angle bracket or , Template:Angle bracket or , Template:Angle bracket represent or , and Template:Angle bracket represents or .

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 Perso-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 Perso-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, Perso-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 Perso-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 Perso-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
				Template:IPAblink			U+0622 U+0627
				Template:IPAblink			U+0626	This letter plays another role as well. It proceeds a vowel letter at the beginning of a word, with the exception of (equivalent to Cyrillic А а)
		-	-	Template:IPAblink			U+0624
		-		Template:IPAblink	1		U+06D5	The sound equivalent to Cyrillic letter "" is represented by a digraph .
				Template:IPAblink			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:
				Template:IPAblink			U+0628
				Template:IPAblink			U+062A
				Template:IPAblink			U+062B
				Template:IPAblink			U+067E
				Template:IPAblink		File:Latin letter small capital P with bottom hook.svg	U+08A0	Equivalent to (U+066E) in Kabardian Arabic alphabet.
				Template:IPAblink			U+0646
				Template:IPAblink			U+062D
				Template:IPAblink			U+062C
				Template:IPAblink		File:Latin small letter broad X.svg	U+062E
				Template:IPAblink			U+0757
				Template:IPAblinkTemplate:IPAblink	1		U+0683	When the following letter is a (Equivalent to Cyrillic ), instead of the letter , the letter is used.
				Template:IPAblink			U+0686
File:Hah with small v below.png	File:Hah with small v below-fina.png	File:Hah with small v below-medi.png	File:Hah with small v below-init.png	Template:IPAblink			- 1	Letter does not exist in unicode yet. Can be created by typing the letter (U+062D) and the symbol combining caron below ◌̬ (U+032C), thus resulting in
File:Hah with inverted damma below.png	File:Hah with inverted damma below-fina.png	File:Hah with inverted damma below-medi.png	File:Hah with inverted damma below-init.png	Template:IPAblink		File:Latin small letter D with descender.svg	- 1	Letter does not exist in unicode yet. Can be created by typing the letter (U+062D) and the diacritic inverted damma below ◌ࣣ (U+08E3), thus resulting in
		-	-	Template:IPAblink			U+062F
		-	-	Template:IPAblink			U+0630
		-	-	Template:IPAblink			U+0631
		-	-	Template:IPAblink			U+0632
		-	-	Template:IPAblink		File:Latin small letter reversed Ghe with low right hook.svg	U+0698
		-	-	Template:IPAblink		File:Latin small letter C with descender.svg	U+0697
		-	-	Template:IPAblink		File:Latin small letter reversed Ghe with low left hook.svg	U+0692
				Template:IPAblink			U+0633
File:Seen with two dots above.png	File:Seen with two dots above-fina.png	File:Seen with two dots above-medi.png	File:Seen with two dots above-init.png	Template:IPAblink			- 1	Letter does not exist in unicode yet. Can be created by typing the letter (U+0633) and the diacritic combining diaeresis ◌̈ (U+0308), thus resulting in
				Template:IPAblink			U+0634
				Template:IPAblink			U+0635
				Template:IPAblink		File:Latin small letter low turned C with ascender.svg	U+0636
				Template:IPAblink		File:Latin small letter bashkir Th.svg	U+0637
				Template:IPAblink			U+0638
				Template:IPAblink		File:Latin small letter Ghe.svg	U+063A
				Template:IPAblink	1	File:Latin small letter Ghe with caron.svg	U+075D	When the following letter is a (Equivalent to Cyrillic ), instead of the letter , the letter is used.
				Template:IPAblink			U+0641
				Template:IPAblink			U+0642
				Template:IPAblink			U+06A4	Equivalent to (U+06CB) in Kabardian Arabic alphabet.
				Template:IPAblink			U+0643
				Template:IPAblink (Template:IPAblink)1	()		U+06AF	When the following letter is a (Equivalent to Cyrillic ), the letter is used. In all other cases, the letter is used for this specific homophone.
				Template:IPAblink (Template:IPAblink)1	()		U+08B0	When the following letter is a (Equivalent to Cyrillic ), the letter is used. In all other cases, the letter is used for this specific homophone.
				Template:IPAblink/Template:IPAblink			U+0644
				Template:IPAblink		File:Latin small letter L with bottom bar.svg	U+076A
				Template:IPAblink		File:Latin small letter L with deferred descender.svg	U+08A6
				Template:IPAblink			U+0645
		-		Template:IPAblink Template:IPAblink			U+0648
				Template:IPAblink / Template:IPAblink		/	U+06CC
		-		Template:IPAblink Template:IPAblink			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	File:Latin small letter C with descender.svg	d	ᴣ	e	ə	f	File:Latin small letter reflected F.svg
IPA	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink
Letter	g	ǥ	ɦ	i	y	k	ꝁ	ʀ	ⱪ	l
IPA	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink
Letter	File:Latin small letter L with bottom bar.svg	File:Latin small letter L with deferred descender.svg	m	n	o	ᴘ	File:Latin letter small capital P with bottom hook.svg	q	r	s
IPA	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink
Letter	š	ʖ	ʃ	ħ	t	ƀ	u	v	x	File:Latin small letter broad X.svg
IPA	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink
Letter	z	ⱬ	File:Latin small letter reversed Ghe with low right hook.svg	File:Latin small letter reversed Ghe with low left hook.svg	г	г̌	đ	File:Latin small letter D with descender.svg	h	w
IPA	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink

Latin alphabet in Turkey

In 2012, the Circassian Language Association (Template:Langx, ABX; Template:Langx) 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 and 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 (Template:Langx; 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. The most notable of these differences is the lack of differentiation between post-alveolar, alveolo-palatal and retroflex sounds. Though there are some additional letters in the alphabet for Kabardian, the materials in the CLA website are primarily in Adyghe.

Latin	Aa	Bb	Cc	Ćć (1)	Çç (2)	Dd	Ee	Éé (3)	Ff
Cyrillic
IPA	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink
Latin	Gg	Ǵǵ	Ğğ	Hh	Ḣḣ	Iı	İi (3)	Jj	Kk
Cyrillic
IPA	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink
Latin	Ḱḱ	Ll	Ĺĺ	Mm	Nn	Oo (4)	Öö (4)	Pp	Ṕṕ
Cyrillic
IPA	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink		Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink
Latin	Qq (1)	Rr	Ss	Śś	Šš	Şş	Tt	Ṫṫ	Uu (4)
Cyrillic
IPA	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink
Latin	Üü (4)	Ww	Xx	Yy	Zz	Źź	` (5)	Áá*
Cyrillic
IPA		Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAblink	(varies)	Template:IPAblink

1) Ć is the equivalent of both Кӏ and Чӏ and shows the ejective potalveolar affricate. Qq, on the other hand, only corresponds to Кӏ and shows an ejective velar plosive.

2) Ç normally stands for Ч but when it is followed by Ü and Ö, it is equivalent to Цу in the Cyrillic script.

3) É and İ are not direct equivalents of Е and И. The Cyrillic letters denote the [jɜ] and [jə] sounds at the beginning of syllables and [e] and [i] sounds at the end. The Latin letters are only used for the sounds [e] and [i]. The diphthongs are written as "Ye" and "Yi", respectively.

4) Circassian languages do not have phonemic rounded vowels but the labialized consonants affect the vowels around them to create allophonic rounded vowels. The letters O, Ö, U and Ü are used to show these allophonic rounded vowels. O/Ö and U/Ü works similar to the vowel use О and У in the Adyghe Cyrillic alphabet with O/Ö showing labialized consonant+[ɜ] combinations and U/Ü the labialized consonant+[ə] combinations. However, Ö and Ü are used when these combinations occur next to postalveolar sounds (Ş, J, Ç). The diphthongal uses of О and У, i.e. [wɜ] and [wə], are written as "We" and "Wı". Another use of Ö and Ü is writing Turkish loanwords containing these letters.

5) Wıçüpe (уцупэ; the place of stopping) is written with a ` (accent grave) or ' (apostrophe) and has a complicated use. It is equivalent to Ӏ (palochka) in its use an ejective marker but not as the glottal stop. The glottal stop is not written as a letter but is implied through the use of consecutive vowels like in "mıerıs" (мыӀэрыс; apple). As many ejective sounds have their own letters (Ć, Ṕ, Q, Š, Ṫ), only some ejective sounds are written with the wıçüpe (ş`, ĺ`). Another use of wıçüpe is to show that an U at the end of a word represents a labialized consonant and not a labialized consonant + [ə] combination. For example, джэгу in Cyrillic is written cegu` to make sure that it is pronounced [d͡ʒɜgʷ] as a single syllable but wıçüpe is removed when the word takes a suffix and the allophonic [u] is audible, as in cegum [d͡ʒɜgum].

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

Examples of literary Adyghe

Native vocabulary

Cyrillic	Latin	IPA	Translation
			I
			girl
			to sit
			to stand
			How are you?
			I'm fine.
			horse
			three
			star
			sun
			moon
			shoe
			welcome
			toe
			worm
			egg
			butterfly
			train
			chair
			prophet
			ant
			duck

Loanwords

Cyrillic	Latin	IPA	Translation	Etymology
			republic	From Latin ('public concern') via Russian .
			computer	From Latin ('to settle together') via Russian .
			mathematics	From Ancient Greek ('study, knowledge') via Russian .
			sports	From English sport via Russian .
			flag	Ultimately from Proto-Turkic *badrak ('spear; stick').
			potato	From German ('potato') via Russian .
			tomato	From Spanish , which in turn derives from Nahuan , via Russian .
			orange	From Persian نارنگ or نارنج .
			salah (Islamic praying)	From Persian نماز .
			city	Akkadian ('fort').
			earth	From Arabic دنيا ('world').

• There are thirteen labialised consonants; however, in some dialects, there are three additional ones: , and .

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.Template:Better source needed

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 Iskhak 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

Al-Fatiha in Adyghe	Transliteration	English translation	Arabic original
		1. In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful! 2. [All] praise is [due] to Allah, 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.

John 1:1–5

John 1:1–5 in Adyghe	Transliteration	English translation
		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
		[t͡sʼəf pstawərəj ʂ͡ħafəjtawə jaːɬətanəʁara jaːfaʂʷaːʃaxamrat͡ʃʼa zafadawə qaːɬfə aqəɮra zaxaʃʼət͡ʃʼ 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 Template:Webarchive. Useful site to learn the Adyghe grammar.
• Sample Adyghe document in Arabic Script, 1924, / . Zubrilin, Aleksey Arsenevich. Moscow and Krasny Vostok, USSR.
• Adyghe alphabet, Omniglot.
• .
• 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