Adyghe is an ergative-absolutive language, unlike nominative-accusative languages, such as English, where the single argument of an intransitive verb ("She" in the sentence "She walks.") behaves grammatically like the agent of a transitive verb ("She" in the sentence "She finds it."), in ergative-absolutive language, the subject of an intransitive verb behaves like the object of a transitive verb, and differently from the agent of a transitive verb. For example, the word кӏалэ "boy" in the intransitive sentence кӏалэр малӏэ "the boy dies" behaves grammatically different from the word кӏалэ "boy" in the transitive sentence кӏалэм ар еукӏы "the boy kills it".
Nouns in Adyghe can have the following roles in a sentence:
Ergative case: Marked as -м /-m/, it serves to mark the one that causes change by doing the verb.
Absolutive case: Marked as -р /-r/, it serves to mark the one that is changed by the verb's, i.e. it is being created, altered, moved or ended by the verb.
Oblique case: Also marked as -м /-m/, it serves to mark the dative and applicative case roles. It acts as the indirect object in the sentence and its state is not changed by the verb, i.e. we have no indication of what happens to it or how it behaves after the verb.
In intransitive verbs the subject is in the absolutive case thus it indicates that the subject is changing ( created, altered, moved or ended).
In this example the boy is changing by moving:
Кӏалэр
Кӏалэ-р
[t͡ʃʼaːɮar
boy.ABS
макӏо
макӏо
maːkʷʼa]
(s)he is going
Кӏалэр макӏо
Кӏалэ-р макӏо
[t͡ʃʼaːɮar maːkʷʼa]
boy.ABS {(s)he is going}
"The boy is going."
In this example the man is changing by moving. The verb еон /jawan/ "to hit" describes the movement of hitting and not the impact itself, so we have no indication of what happens to the object (the wall in this case).
Лӏыр
Лӏы-р
[ɬʼər
man.ABS
дэпкъым
дэпкъы-м
dapqəm
wall.OBL
ео
ео
jawa]
(s)he is hitting
Лӏыр дэпкъым ео
Лӏы-р дэпкъы-м ео
[ɬʼər dapqəm jawa]
man.ABS wall.OBL {(s)he is hitting}
"The man is hitting the wall." lit. "the man is hitting at the wall."
In transitive verbs the subject is in the ergative case thus it indicates that the subject causes change to the object which gets the absolutive case.
In this example the wall changes by being destroyed (it was altered). The verb къутэн /qʷətan/ "to destroy" does not indicate how the subject (boy) destroyed the wall thus we have no indication of the boy changing, making him the one that caused the change (and not the one that changes).
Кӏалэм
Кӏалэ-м
[t͡ʃʼaːɮam
boy.ERG
дэпкъыр
дэпкъы-р
dapqər
wall.ABS
ыкъутагъ
ыкъутагъ
əqʷətaːʁ]
(s)he destroyed
Кӏалэм дэпкъыр ыкъутагъ
Кӏалэ-м дэпкъы-р ыкъутагъ
[t͡ʃʼaːɮam dapqər əqʷətaːʁ]
boy.ERG wall.ABS {(s)he destroyed}
"The boy destroyed the wall."
In this example the rock changes by moving (motion in air), the man causes the change and the wall acts as the indirect object of the preposition.
Лӏым
[ɬʼəm
man.ERG
мыжъор
məʒʷar
rock.ABS
дэпкъым
dapqəm
wall.OBL
тедзэ
tajd͡za]
(s)he is throwing at
Лӏым мыжъор дэпкъым тедзэ
[ɬʼəm məʒʷar dapqəm tajd͡za]
man.ERG rock.ABS wall.OBL {(s)he is throwing at}
"The man is throwing the rock at the wall."
It is important to distinguish between the intransitive and transitive verb, because the subject and object noun cases as well as the sentences' verb conjunctions (the prefixes that indicate person) depend on it. A fault in this can change the meaning of the sentence drastically, switching the roles of the subject and object. For instance, look at the following two sentences:
кӏалэм
кӏалэ-м
[t͡ʃʼaːɮam
boy.ERG
пшъашъэр
пшъашъэ-р
pʂaːʂar
girl.ABS
елъэгъу
елъэгъу
jaɬaʁʷə]
(s)he is seeing
кӏалэм пшъашъэр елъэгъу
кӏалэ-м пшъашъэ-р елъэгъу
[t͡ʃʼaːɮam pʂaːʂar jaɬaʁʷə]
boy.ERG girl.ABS {(s)he is seeing}
"The boy is seeing the girl."
кӏалэм
кӏалэ-м
[t͡ʃʼaːɮam
boy.OBL
пшъашъэр
пшъашъэ-р
pʂaːʂar
girl.ABS
еплъы
еплъы
japɬə]
(s)he is looking at
кӏалэм пшъашъэр еплъы
кӏалэ-м пшъашъэ-р еплъы
[t͡ʃʼaːɮam pʂaːʂar japɬə]
boy.OBL girl.ABS {(s)he is looking at}
"The girl is looking at the boy."
Even though the noun cases of the word boy кӏалэ are the same (In the Ergative-Oblique case marked as -м), they behave grammatically different because the verb еплъын "to look" is considered an intransitive verb in contrast to the verb елъэгъун "to see" which is transitive.
A Circassian noun can be in one of the following two states: singular or plural.
Singular nouns have zero morpheme (no prefixes / suffixes), while plural nouns use the additional хэ morpheme, which is attached to the main form of the word. For example: singular: унэ "home", тхылъ "book", plural: унэ-хэ-р "homes", тхылъ-хэ-р "books".
Unlike English verbs, Circassian verbs use -х- or -а- morphemes to form their plural versions. The second morpheme is attached to the verb in front of the verb's root, and the first is attached after it. For example: ар макӏо "he is going", ахэр макӏо-х "they are going"; ащ ыӏуагъ "he said", ахэмэ а-ӏуагъ "they said".
Definite and indefinite forms
Circassian nouns usually have either definite or indefinite form. The idea behind this concept is close to the idea of definite/indefinite articles in English. The definite form of Circassian nouns have -р or -м (noun cases) formats at the end of the word. For example: кӏалэ "boy" – indefinite noun, i.e. an undefined boy—this form of the word is used in generalizations or when the boy is unknown to either the speaker or listener (a/an or zero article in English)— кӏалэр, кӏалэм "the boy" – these forms are used when the mentioned boy is well known to both the speaker and listener.[citation needed]
The absolutive case of a definite noun is marked by the affix -р /-r/ both in the singular and plural forms (e.g. кӏалэр [t͡ʃʼaːɮar] 'the boy', кӏалэхэр [t͡ʃʼaːɮaxar] ('the boys'), шыр [ʃər] 'the horse'). The absolutive case usually expresses subject in conjunction with intransitive verbs or direct object in conjunction with transitive verbs: For example:
In the following example, Кӏалэр is in the absolutive case, it points to the subject (the boy), and the sentence is in the absolutive form with an intransitive verb (кӏуагъэ);
кӏалэр
кӏалэ-р
[t͡ʃʼaːɮar
the boy.ABS
еджапӏэм
еджапӏэ-м
jad͡ʒaːpʼam
the school.ERG
кӏуагъэ
кӏо-агъэ
kʷʼaːʁa]
(s)he went
кӏалэр еджапӏэм кӏуагъэ
кӏалэ-р еджапӏэ-м кӏо-агъэ
[t͡ʃʼaːɮar jad͡ʒaːpʼam kʷʼaːʁa]
{the boy.ABS} {the school.ERG} {(s)he went}
"the boy went to the school"
In the following example, джанэр is in the absolutive case, it points to the direct object (the shirt which is being laundered), and the sentence is in the ergative form (after the form of its subject – Бзылъфыгъэм) with a transitive verb (егыкӏы).
A noun in the ergative case is marked by the affix -м /-m/ (e.g. кӏалэм [t͡ʃʼaːɮam] 'the boy's', кӏалэхэм [t͡ʃʼaːɮaxam] 'the boys'', шым [ʃəm] 'the horse). This case has two roles: Ergative role and Oblique role.
The Ergative role functions as subject in conjunction with transitive verbs.
The Oblique role functions as indirect object with both transitive and intransitive verbs.
An example with an intransitive verb еджэ "reads" and indirect object тхылъым "book".
кӏалэр
кӏалэ-р
[t͡ʃʼaːɮar
the boy.ABS
тхылъым
тхылъ-ым
txəɬəm
the book.OBL
еджэ
еджэ
jad͡ʒa]
(s)he reads
кӏалэр тхылъым еджэ
кӏалэ-р тхылъ-ым еджэ
[t͡ʃʼaːɮar txəɬəm jad͡ʒa]
{the boy.ABS} {the book.OBL} {(s)he reads}
"the boy reads the book" Litrary: "the boy is involved in reading the book"
An example with an transitive verb реты "gives" and indirect object пшъашъэм "girl".
кӏалэм
кӏалэ-м
[t͡ʃʼaːɮam
the boy.ERG
мыӏэрысэр
мыӏэрыс-р
məʔarəsər
the apple.ABS
пшъашъэм
пшъашъэ-м
pʂaːʂam
the girl.OBL
реты
реты
rajtə]
(s)he gives it to
кӏалэм мыӏэрысэр пшъашъэм реты
кӏалэ-м мыӏэрыс-р пшъашъэ-м реты
[t͡ʃʼaːɮam məʔarəsər pʂaːʂam rajtə]
{the boy.ERG} {the apple.ABS} {the girl.OBL} {(s)he gives it to}
"the boy gives the apple to the girl"
The Ergative-Oblique case can also be used as an adverbial modifier. For example: Студентхэм мафэм ӏоф ашӏагъ "The students have worked during the day" (мафэм – adverbial modifier of time); Кӏалэхэр мэзым кӏуагъэх "The boys went to the forest" (мэзым – adverbial modifier of place).
Instrumental case
Indefinite nouns are marked by the suffix -кӏэ: тхылъ-кӏэ, "by/with a book", ӏэ-кӏэ "by/with a hand". Definite nouns express this case using the ergative suffix -м in conjunction with the affix -кӏэ: уатэ-м-кӏэ "by/with the hammer", тхылъы-м-кӏэ "by/with the book". The instrumental case expresses instruments (tools or means), directions or purposes of action.
In the following example, the instrumental case is used to indicate an instrument (tool):
ыцӏэр
ы-цIэ-эр
[ət͡sʼar
his name.ABS
къэлэмымкӏэ
къэлэм-ымкIэ
qalaməmt͡ʃʼa
pencil.INS
къытхыгъ
къы-тхы-ыгъ
qətxəʁ]
he wrote
ыцӏэр къэлэмымкӏэ къытхыгъ
ы-цIэ-эр къэлэм-ымкIэ къы-тхы-ыгъ
[ət͡sʼar qalaməmt͡ʃʼa qətxəʁ]
{his name.ABS} pencil.INS {he wrote}
"he wrote his name with the pencil"
In the following example, the instrumental case is used to indicate a purpose of action:
тыгъужъыр
тыгъужъы-р
[təʁʷəʐər
the wolf.ABS
бжыхьэм
бжыхьэ-м
bʒəħam
autumn.ERG
былымхэмкӏэ
былымхэ-мкӏэ
bəɮəmxamt͡ʃʼa
for the cattle.INS
дэи
дэи
dajə]
bad
тыгъужъыр бжыхьэм былымхэмкӏэ дэи
тыгъужъы-р бжыхьэ-м былымхэ-мкӏэ дэи
[təʁʷəʐər bʒəħam bəɮəmxamt͡ʃʼa dajə]
{the wolf.ABS} autumn.ERG {for the cattle.INS} bad
"The wolf during autumn is bad for the cattle."
In the following example, the instrumental case is used to indicate a direction:
хымкӏэ
хы-мкӏэ
[xəmt͡ʃʼa
from the sea.INS
жьыбгъэр
жьыбгъэ-р
ʑəbʁar
the wind.ABS
къэкӏыщтыгъэ
къэкӏыщтыгъэ
qat͡ʃʼəɕtəʁa]
it was coming
хымкӏэ жьыбгъэр къэкӏыщтыгъэ
хы-мкӏэ жьыбгъэ-р къэкӏыщтыгъэ
[xəmt͡ʃʼa ʑəbʁar qat͡ʃʼəɕtəʁa]
{from the sea.INS} {the wind.ABS} {it was coming}
"the wind was blowing from the sea"
Adverbial case
Has the suffix -эу /aw/ (e.g. кӏалэу [t͡ʃʼaːɮaw] 'boy'), шэу [ʃaw] 'horse'). The adverbial case usually expresses a transition into something, or defines the subject/object of a verb. It points to the real (literal, not grammatical) subject in the sentence. For example:
лӏыр
лӏыр
[ɬʼər
man.ABS
профессорэу
профессор-эу
profesoraw
professor.ADV
хъугъэ
хъу-гъэ
χʷəʁa]
(s)he became
лӏыр профессорэу хъугъэ
лӏыр профессор-эу хъу-гъэ
[ɬʼər profesoraw χʷəʁa]
man.ABS professor.ADV {(s)he became}
"The man became a professor."
лӏыжъэу
лӏыжъэ-у
[ɬʼəʐaw
old man.ADV
щысыгъэр
щысыгъэ-р
ɕəsəʁar
the one that sit
кӏожьыгъэ
кӏожьыгъэ
kʷʼaʑəʁa]
(s)he returned
лӏыжъэу щысыгъэр кӏожьыгъэ
лӏыжъэ-у щысыгъэ-р кӏожьыгъэ
[ɬʼəʐaw ɕəsəʁar kʷʼaʑəʁa]
{old man.ADV} {the one that sit} {(s)he returned}
"The old man who had sat there, left."
лӏыр
лӏы-р
[ɬʼər
man.ABS
тхьэматэу
тхьэматэ-у
tħamaːtaw
leader.ADV
дзэм
дзэ-м
d͡zam
army.OBL
къыхэкӏыжьыгъ
къыхэкӏыжьыгъ
qəxat͡ʃʼəʑəʁ]
(s)he returned
лӏыр тхьэматэу дзэм къыхэкӏыжьыгъ
лӏы-р тхьэматэ-у дзэ-м къыхэкӏыжьыгъ
[ɬʼər tħamaːtaw d͡zam qəxat͡ʃʼəʑəʁ]
man.ABS leader.ADV army.OBL {(s)he returned}
"The man has returned from the army as an officer."
Сomposition and suffixation are the most typical ways to form Circassian nouns. There are different ways of composing words, for example: мэзчэ́т (мэз "forest", чэт "chicken", pheasant), псычэ́т (псы "water", чэт "chicken", duck), мэкъумэ́щ "agriculture" (мэкъу "hay", мэщы́ "millet"), шхапӏэ "cafeteria" (шхэн "eat", пӏэ "place").
The following suffixes are used to form Circassian nouns:
Possessive cases are one of the most important grammatical characteristics of nouns in the Circassian language. There are two (in some versions of the Circassian grammar there is third form, called "cognate", which is somewhere between the two mentioned below) main forms of possessive cases:
Inalienable nouns include body parts (such as leg, which is necessarily "someone's leg" even if it is severed from the body), kinship terms (such as mother), name, and part-whole relations (such as top). Singular Circassian inalienable nouns are expressed by the following prefixes:
Alienable possession is used when referring to property, objects, concepts, ideas and attributes. Singular Circassian nouns of the proprietary form are expressed by the following prefixes:
In the Circassian language pronouns belong to the following groups: personal, demonstrative, possessive, interrogative, adherent, indefinite.
Personal pronouns are only expressed in first and second person in singular and plural forms: сэ /sa/ "I", тэ /ta/ "we" о /wa/ "you" and шъо /ʃʷa/ "you" (plural).
In order to express third person, the special demonstrative pronouns ар "he", мор "that", мыр "this", ахэр, мыхэр "they, that" are used. For Circassian personal pronouns there is no contrast between the absolutive and ergative grammatical cases (like it is with Circassian nouns). These two grammatical cases merge into one common case, so personal pronouns have only three different cases: absolutive-ergative, instrumental and adverbial.
Grammatical cases of personal pronouns:
Case
First-person
Second-person
Cyrillic
IPA
Cyrillic
IPA
Singular
Absolutive
сэ
sa
о
wa
Ergative
сэ
sa
о
wa
Instrumental
сэркӏэ
sart͡ʃʼa
оркӏэ
wart͡ʃʼa
Adverbial
сэрэу
saraw
орэу
waraw
Plural
Absolutive
тэ
ta
шъо
ʃʷa
Ergative
тэ
ta
шъо
ʃʷa
Instrumental
тэркӏэ
tart͡ʃʼa
шъоркӏэ
ʃʷart͡ʃʼa
Adverbial
тэрэу
taraw
шъорэу
ʃʷaraw
In a sentence a personal pronoun usually plays role of subject or object:
Сэ седжэ "I read (study)";
О уеджэ тхылъым "You are reading the book";
Тэ тэкӏо еджапӏэм "We are going to school";
Шъо ӏоф шъошӏэ "You (plural) are working";
Сэркӏэ мы ӏофы́р къины "This job is hard for me".
Demonstrative pronouns are мы "this", мо "that", а "that". There is a contradistinction between "мы" and "мо" on how far the referred object is. The pronoun "а" is neutral on this matter.
Мы унэм нахьи мо унакӏэу къашӏырэр нахь дах "This house, which is being built, is more beautiful than that one";
А тхылъэ́у пщэфыгъэм сегъэплъыба "Show me the book you have bought, please".
Demonstrative pronouns switch four grammatical cases:
Absolutive мыр, мор, ар;
Ergative мыщ, мощ, ащ;
Instrumental мыщкӏэ, мощкӏэ, ащкӏэ;
Adverbial мырэу, морэу, арэу.
The plural form of demonstrative pronouns is expressed by the -хэ- formant:
Absolutive мыхэр,
Ergative мыхэм,
Instrumental мыхэмкӏэ,
Adverbial мыхэу.
Possessive pronouns express the idea that something belongs to someone. There are several possessive pronouns in the Circassian language:
сэсый "my/mine",
оуий "your/yours",
ий "his",
тэтый "our/ours",
шъошъуй "your/yours" (plural),
яй "their/theirs".
These pronouns change their form in different grammatical cases in the same way. Let us show examples of how they are used in a sentence:
Мы унэр сэсый "This house is mine";
Мы чъыгхэр тэтыех "These trees are ours".
The following pronouns are interrogative pronouns of the Circassian language:
хэт (хэта)? "who?",
сыд (сыда)? "what?",
тхьапш? "how much (many)?",
тары? "which?",
сыдигъу? "when?",
тыдэ? "where?",
сыд фэд? "what kind of?".
The interrogative pronoun хэт? "who?" is used to address the nouns that belong to the class of human being, and the pronoun сыд? "what?" is for the nouns that belong to the class of thing. For example:
Хэт зыӏуагъэр? "Who has said (that)?",
Хэт унэм къихьагъэр? "Who has entered the house?",
Сыд плъэгъугъа? -Хьэ слъэгъугъэ. "What have you seen? – I've seen a dog".
Сыд къэпхьыгъэр? – "What have you brought?", Пхъэ къэсхьыгъэр – "I have brought firewood".
Circassian adherent pronouns:
ежь "self",
зэкӏэ "all",
шъхьадж "every",
ышъхьэкӏэ "self personally",
хэти, хэтрэ́ "everyone", "each",
сыди, сыдрэ́ "everything", "each", "any" and some others.
Examples:
Хэти зышъхьамысыжьэу ӏоф ышӏэн фае "Everyone must work without pitying himself";
Сыдрэ ӏофри дэгъу, угу къыбдеӏэу бгъэцакӏэмэ "Any job is good if done with full heart".
There is only one pronoun in the Circassian language which belongs to the group of indefinite pronouns. This pronoun is зыгорэ́. It has several close meanings: "someone", "one", "something", "somebody" and so on. The indefinite pronoun has the same forms in different grammatical cases like nouns have:
Case
Singular form
Plural form
Cyrillic
IPA
Cyrillic
IPA
Absolutive
зыгорэ
zəɡʷara
зыгорэхэр
zəɡʷaraxar
Ergative
зыгорэм
zəɡʷaram
зыгорэхэмэ
zəɡʷaraxama
Instrumental
зыгорэ(м)кӏэ
zəɡʷara(m)t͡ʃʼa
зыгорэхэ(м)кӏэ
zəɡʷaraxa(m)t͡ʃʼa
Adverbial
зыгорэу
zəɡʷaraw
зыгорэхэу
zəɡʷaraxaw
Here are examples of how these forms are used in a sentence:
Зыгорэ пчъэм къытеуагъ "Someone has knocked the door";
А тхылъ гъэшӏэгъоным зыгорэ къытегущыӏэгъагъ "Somebody has spoken about this interesting book".
In Adyghe, like all Northwest Caucasian languages, the verb is the most inflected part of speech. Verbs are typically head final and are conjugated for tense, person, number, etc. Some of Circassian verbs can be morphologically simple, some of them consist only of one morpheme, like: кӏо "go", штэ "take". However, generally, Circassian verbs are characterized as structurally and semantically difficult entities. Morphological structure of a Circassian verb includes affixes (prefixes, suffixes) which are specific to the language. Verbal affixes express meaning of subject, direct or indirect object, adverbial, singular or plural form, negative form, mood, direction, mutuality, compatibility and reflexivity, which, as a result, creates a complex verb, that consists of many morphemes and semantically expresses a sentence. For example: уакъыдэсэгъэгущыӏэжьы "I am forcing you to talk to them again" consists of the following morphemes: у-а-къы-дэ-сэ-гъэ-гущыӏэ-жьы, with the following meanings: "you (у) with them (а) from there (къы) together (дэ) I (сэ) am forcing (гъэ) to speak (гущыӏэн) again (жьы)".
In a sentence with a transitive verb, nouns in the absolutive case (marked as -р) play the role of direct object. In the sentences of this type the noun in the subject's position is in the ergative case (marked as -м):
Кӏалэм письмэр етхы "The boy is writing the letter";
Пхъашӏэм уатэр къыштагъ "The carpenter took the hammer";
Хьэм тхьакӏумкӏыхьэр къыубытыгъ "The dog has caught the rabbit".
In these sentences the verbs етхы "is writing", къыштагъ "took", къыубытыгъ "has caught" are transitive verbs, and the nouns письмэр "letter", уатэр "hammer", тхьакӏумкӏыхьэр "rabbit" are in the absolutive case (suffix -р) and express direct object in the sentences, while the nouns кӏалэм "boy", пхъашӏэм "carpenter", хьэм "dog" are subjects expressed in the ergative case.
In a sentence with an intransitive verb, there is no direct object, and the real subject is usually expressed by a noun in the absolutive case
Чэмахъор щыт "The cowherd is standing (there)";
Пэсакӏор макӏо "The security guard is going";
Лӏыр мэчъые "The man is sleeping".
In these sentences with intransitive verbs, nouns that the play role of subject are expressed in the absolutive case: чэмахъо-р "cowherd", пэсакӏо-р "guard", лӏы-р "man".
There are verbs in the Adyghe language that in different contexts and situations can be used both as transitive and intransitive. For example:
Апчыр мэкъутэ "The glass is being broken",
Кӏалэм апчыр екъутэ "The boy is breaking the glass".
In the first sentence the verb мэкъутэ "is being broken" is used as an intransitive verb that creates an absolutive construction. In the second sentence the verb е-къутэ "is breaking" creates an ergative construction. Both of the verbs are formed from the verb къутэ-н "to break".
In the Adyghe language, intransitive verbs can have indirect objects in a sentence. The indirect objects are expressed by a noun in the oblique case (which is also marked as -м). For example:
Кӏалэр пшъашъэм ебэу "The boy kisses the girl",
Лӏыр чъыгым чӏэлъ "The man lays under the tree".
Кӏалэр тхылъым еджэ "The boy reads the book".
In these sentences with intransitive verbs, nouns that play the role of indirect object are expressed in the oblique case: пшъашъэ-м "girl", чъыгы-м "tree", тхылъы-м "book".
Intransitive verbs can be turned into transitive with the causative prefix гъэ- (meaning "to force, to make"). For example:
Ар мачъэ "He is running", but Ащ ар е-гъа-чъэ "He forces him to run",
Ар мэкуо "He is screaming", but Ащ ар е-гъэ-куо "He makes him scream".
The verbs in the first sentences мачъэ "is running", мэкуо "is screaming" are intransitive, and the verbs in the second sentences егъачъэ "forces ... to run", егъэкуо "makes ... scream" are already transitive.
Dynamic and static verbs
Adyghe verbs can be either dynamic or static.
Dynamic verbs express (process of) actions that are taking place (natural role of verbs in English):
Сэ сэчъэ "I am running";
Сэ сэцӏэнлъэ "I am crawling",
Сэ сэлъэгъу "I am seeing",
Сэ сэӏо "I am saying".
Static verbs express states or results of actions:
Сэ сыщыт "I am standing",
Сэ сыщылъ "I am lying.",
Сэ сыпхъашӏ "I am a carpenter",
Сэ сытракторист "I am a tractor-driver".
Certain verbs in English with one meaning can have two forms in Adyghe, one static and the other dynamic. For instance, the verb тӏысын "to sit down" is a dynamic verb that expresses someone moving into a sitting position, in contrast to щысын "to be sitting" which expresses the static of a person sitting.
Ныор пхъэнтӏэкӏум ис "The old-woman is sitting on the chair",
Ныор пхъэнтӏэкӏум мэтӏысы "The old-woman is sitting down on the chair".
Person
Adyghe verbs have different forms to express different persons (ex. "I", "You" and "They"). These forms are, mostly, created with specific prefixes. This is what it looks like in singular:
сэ-тхэ "I write",
о-тхэ "You write",
ма-тхэ "writes";
and in plural:
тэ-тхэ "We write",
шъо-тхэ "You write",
ма-тхэ-х "They write".
Tenses
Adyghe verbs have several forms to express different tenses, here are some of them:
The following prefixes increase the valency by one, meaning, they introduce another argument (person) in the verb.
Case
Prefix
Meaning
Example
Causative
гъэ~ [ʁa~]
"to force, to make"
гъэ-плъэн [ʁapɬan] "to make him look at"
Comitative
дэ~ [da~]
"with"
д-еплъын [dajpɬən] "to look with"
Benefactive
фэ~ [fa~]
"for"
ф-еплъын [fajpɬən] "to look for"
Malefactive
шӏо~ [ʃʷʼa~]
"against one's interest"
шӏу-еплъын [ʃʷʼajpɬən] "to look against his interest"
Reflexive
зэ~ [za~]
"self"
зэ-плъын [zapɬən] "to look at oneself"
Moods
Imperative mood of second person in singular has no additional affixes: штэ "take", кӏо "go", тхы "write"; in plural the affix -шъу is added in front of the verbs: шъу-къакӏу "you (plural) go", шъу-тхы "you (plural) write", шъу-штэ "you (plural) take".
Conditional mood is expressed with suffix -мэ: сы-кӏо-мэ "if I go", сы-чъэ-мэ "if I run", с-шӏэ-мэ "if I do".
Concessive mood is expressed with suffix -ми: сы-кӏо-ми "even if I go", сы-чъэ-ми "even if I run", с-шӏэ-ми "even if I do".
Optative mood is expressed with the complex suffix -гъо-т: у-кӏуа-гъо-т "would you go", п-тхы-гъа-гъо-т "would you write".
Interrogative form is expressed with the affix -а: мад-а? "is he sewing?", макӏу-а? "is he going".
Negative interrogative form is expressed with the affix -ба: ма-кӏо-ба "isn't he is going?", мэ-гыкӏэ-ба "isn't he washing?".
Participle
Present participles in the Circassian language are formed from the appropriate dynamic verbs with the suffix -рэ:
кӏо-рэ-р "one that's walking",
чъэ-рэ-р "one that's running".
Participles can also be created from static verbs. In this case no additional morphological modifications are required. For example: щысыр "sitting", щылъыр "lying". In the past and future tenses participles have no special morphological attributes, in other words, their form is identical to the main form of the verb. The forms of participles in different grammatical cases are equal to the forms of the appropriate verbs. The same is also true for their time-tenses.
Masdar
Masdar (a form of verb close to gerund) in Adyghe is formed by adding the suffix -н (-n):
тхы-н "a write (writing)",
чъэ-н "a run (running)",
штэ-н "a take (taking)",
гущыӏэ-н "a talk (talking)",
дзы-н "a throw (throwing)".
ар
ар
[aːr
that.ABS
тхэн
тхэ-н
txan
writing (Masdar)
дах
дах
daːx]
beautiful
ар тхэн дах
ар тхэ-н дах
[aːr txan daːx]
that.ABS {writing (Masdar)} beautiful
"That is a beautiful writing"
Masdar has grammatical cases:
Absolutive чъэны-р,
Ergative чъэны-м,
Instrumental чъэны-м-кӏэ,
Adverbial чъэн-эу
университетэм
университет-эм
[ʊnɪvɪrsɪˈtetam
university.ERG
ущеджэныр
ущеджэ-н-ыр
ɕajd͡ʒanər
studying in (Masdar)
къины
къины
qəjnə]
hard
университетэм ущеджэныр къины
университет-эм ущеджэ-н-ыр къины
[ʊnɪvɪrsɪˈtetam ɕajd͡ʒanər qəjnə]
university.ERG {studying in (Masdar)} hard
"Studying in the university is hard."
компьютерым
компьютер-ым
[kʰɔmpjʊtərəm
computer.ERG
джэгуныр
джэгу-н-ыр
d͡ʒagʷənər
playing (Masdar)
тхъагъо
тхъагъо
tχaːʁʷa]
fun
компьютерым джэгуныр тхъагъо
компьютер-ым джэгу-н-ыр тхъагъо
[kʰɔmpjʊtərəm d͡ʒagʷənər tχaːʁʷa]
computer.ERG {playing (Masdar)} fun
"Playing the computer is fun."
Masdar also can have different forms for different persons:
сы-чъэн "I will run",
у-чъэн "you will run",
чъэн "he will run".
пчэдыжьым
пчэдыжь-ым
[pt͡ʃadəʑəm
morning.ERG
учъэныр
у-чъэ-н-ыр
wət͡ʂanər
you running (Masdar)
дэгъу
дэгъу
daʁʷə]
good
пчэдыжьым учъэныр дэгъу
пчэдыжь-ым у-чъэ-н-ыр дэгъу
[pt͡ʃadəʑəm wət͡ʂanər daʁʷə]
morning.ERG {you running (Masdar)} good
"[You] running is good in the morning."
Negative form
In the Adyghe language negative form of a word is expressed with different morphemes (prefixes, suffixes). In participles, adverbial participles, masdars, imperative, interrogative and other forms of verbs their negative from is expressed with the prefix -мы, which, usually, goes before the root morpheme, that describes the main meaning:
у-мы-тх "you don't write",
у-мы-ӏуат "you don't disclose",
сы-къы-пфэ-мы-щэмэ "if you can't bring me",
у-къа-мы-гъа-кӏомэ "if you aren't forced to come".
In verbs the negative meaning can also be expressed with the suffix -эп/-п, which usually goes after the suffixes of time-tenses. For example:
From the morphological point of view adjectives in the Circassian language are not very different from nouns. In combinations with nouns they lose their grammatical independence. Adjectives form their plural form the same way nouns do, they also use the same affixes to form different grammatical cases (from Absolutive to Adverbial).
Adjectives can be either qualitative or relative.
Adjectives can be in singular or plural form: фыжьы "white" (singular) – фыжь-хэ-р "whites" (plural).
A qualitative adjective as a compliment in a sentence goes after the word it describes: кӏалэ дэгъу "good boy", унэ лъагэ "high house"; a relative adjective goes before it: пхъэ уатэ "wooden hammer", гъучӏ пӏэкӏор "iron bed". In the second case adjectives do not change their form, only the appropriate nous do. For example: in plural – гъучӏ пӏэкӏорхэр "iron beds".
Combining adjectives with nouns it is possible to produce a great lot of phrases: пшъэшъэ дахэ "beautiful girl", кӏалэ дэгъу "good boy", цӏыф кӏыхьэ "long man", гъогу занкӏэ "straight road", уц шхъуантӏэ "green grass" and so on. These phrases can be easily included into sentences. If a noun has a certain grammatical case, the adjective gets the suffix of the case instead of the noun, for example кӏэлэ кӏуачӏэ-р "the strong boy (abs.) and уатэ псынкӏэ-мкӏэ "using the light hammer (ins.).
Сэ
[sa
I
непэ
najpa
today
пшъэшъэ
pʂaʂa
a girl
дахэ
daːxa
beautiful
слъэгъугъэ
sɬaʁʷəʁa]
I saw
Сэ непэ пшъэшъэ дахэ слъэгъугъэ
[sa najpa pʂaʂa daːxa sɬaʁʷəʁa]
I today {a girl} beautiful {I saw}
"I have seen a beautiful girl today."
Тэ
[ta
we
гъогу
ʁʷagʷ
road
занкӏэм
zaːnt͡ʃʼam
straight.ERG
тырыкӏуагъ
tərəkʷʼaːʁ]
we were walking
Тэ гъогу занкӏэм тырыкӏуагъ
[ta ʁʷagʷ zaːnt͡ʃʼam tərəkʷʼaːʁ]
we road straight.ERG {we were walking}
"We were walking on the straight road."
Circassian qualitative adjectives also have comparative and superlative forms. For example: нахь фыжь "whiter, more white" (comparative form) and анахь фыжь "whitest, most white",
The Comparative degree is formed by auxiliary word нахь:
Ар ощ нахь лъагэ – he is higher than you, Нахь ины хъугъэ – He became bigger [More big became], Нахь лIэблан охъун фай – You must be braver.
The superlative degrees is formed by auxiliary word анахь (more than all...):
Ар пшъашъэмэ анахь дахэ – She is the most beautiful among the girls, Ар зэкӏэмэ анахь лъагэ – It is the highest, Зэкӏэми шхын анахь дэгъумкӏэ ыгъэшхагъ – (S)he feeds him with the tastiest meal, Ар заужмэ анахь лъэшы – He is the strongest.
Affixes
The following suffixes are added to nouns:
Suffix
Meaning
Example
~кӏэ (~t͡ʃʼa)
new
унакӏэ (new house)
~жъы (~ʐə)
old
унэжъы (old house)
~шхо (~ʃxʷa)
large
унэшхо (large house)
~цӏыкӏу (~t͡sʼəkʷʼ)
small
унэцӏыкӏу (small house)
~жъый (~ʐəj)
small
унэжъый (small house)
The following suffixes are added to adjectives:
Suffix
Meaning
Example
~ӏо (~ʔʷa)
slightly
дыджыӏо (slightly too bitter)
~щэ (~ɕa)
too much
дыджыщэ (too much bitter)
~дэд (~dad)
very
дэгъудэд (very good)
~бз (~bz)
absolutely
дэгъуабз (absolutely good)
~шъыпкъ (~ʂəpq)
truly; really
дэгъушъыпкъ (really good)
~ашъу (~aːʃʷ)
kind of
дэгъуашъу (kind of good)
~кӏай (~t͡ʃʼaːj)
quite; pretty
дэгъукӏай (quite good)
~нчъэ (~nt͡ʂa)
lacking
акъылынчъэ (mindless)
Мы
[mə
this
джанэр
d͡ʒaːnar
shirt
оркӏэ
wart͡ʃʼa
for you
иныӏо
jənəʔʷa]
slightly big
Мы джанэр оркӏэ иныӏо
[mə d͡ʒaːnar wart͡ʃʼa jənəʔʷa]
this shirt {for you} {slightly big}
"This shirt is slightly big for you"
Мы
[mə
this
джанэр
d͡ʒaːnar
shirt
кӏалэм
t͡ʃʼaːɮam
boy.ERG
фэшӏыкӏэ
faʃʼət͡ʃʼa
for
иныщэ
jənəɕa]
too large
Мы джанэр кӏалэм фэшӏыкӏэ иныщэ
[mə d͡ʒaːnar t͡ʃʼaːɮam faʃʼət͡ʃʼa jənəɕa]
this shirt boy.ERG for {too large}
"This shirt is too large for the boy"
Мы
[mə
this
сурэтыр
səwratər
painting
дэхэдэд
daxadad]
very beautiful
Мы сурэтыр дэхэдэд
[mə səwratər daxadad]
this painting {very beautiful}
"This painting is very beautiful"
Opinion
To indicate a thought or an opinion of someone, the prefix шӏо~ (ʃʷʼa~) is added to the adjective. This can also be used on nouns but it is very uncommon. For example:
дахэ "pretty" → шӏодах "it's pretty for him.
дэхагъ "as pretty" → шӏодэхагъ "it was pretty for him.
ӏэшӏу "tasty" → шӏоӏэшӀу "it is tasty for him.
плъыжьы "red" → шӏоплъыжьы "it is red for him.
кӏалэхэмэ
кӏалэ-хэ-мэ
[t͡ʃaːlaxama
the boys.ERG
ашӏодахэп
я-шъо-дахэ-п
jaːʃʷadaːxap
it was not pretty for them
сиджанэ
си-джанэ
sid͡ʒaːna]
my shirt
кӏалэхэмэ ашӏодахэп сиджанэ
кӏалэ-хэ-мэ я-шъо-дахэ-п си-джанэ
[t͡ʃaːlaxama jaːʃʷadaːxap sid͡ʒaːna]
{the boys.ERG} {it was not pretty for them} {my shirt}
"my shirt was not beautiful for the boys."
мы
мы
[mə
this
мыӏэрысэм
мыӏэрысэ-м
məʔarəsam
apple.ERG
иуасэ
и-уасэ
jəwaːsa
its cost
пшӏолъапӏа?
п-шӏо-лъапӏ-а?
pʃʷaɬaːpʼaː]
is it expensive for you?
мы мыӏэрысэм иуасэ пшӏолъапӏа?
мы мыӏэрысэ-м и-уасэ п-шӏо-лъапӏ-а?
[mə məʔarəsam jəwaːsa pʃʷaɬaːpʼaː]
this apple.ERG {its cost} {is it expensive for you?}
"Is this apple expensive for you?"
All different forms of шӏо~.
Scaliness of an adjective
The suffix ~гъэ (~ʁa) is appended to indicate a measure of a certain adjective. Usually it is used for measurable adjectives like length, height, weight, size, strength and speed but it can be used on any adjective such as good, tasty, beauty, etc. This suffix can be used to scale adjectives, for instance, the word ӏэшӏу-гъэ (from the adjective ӏэшӏу "tasty") can be used to express different levels/qualities of tastiness. This suffix turns the adjective to a noun.
кӏыхьэ /t͡ʃʼaħə/ – long → кӏыхьагъэ /t͡ʃʼaħaːʁa/ – length.
ӏэтыгъэ /ʔatəʁa/ – high → ӏэтыгъагъэ /ʔatəʁaːʁa/ – height.
псынкӏэ /psənt͡ʃʼa/ – fast → псынкӏагъэ /psənt͡ʃʼaːʁa/ – speed.
дэгъу /daʁʷə/ – good → дэгъугъэ /daʁʷəʁa/ – level of goodness.
пхъэм
[pχam
the wood.ERG
иӏужъугъэ
jəʔʷəʒʷəʁa
its width
65
65
65
сантиметр
saːntimetr]
centimeters
пхъэм иӏужъугъэ 65 сантиметр
[pχam jəʔʷəʒʷəʁa 65 saːntimetr]
{the wood.ERG} {its width} 65 centimeters
"The wood's width is 65 centimeters"
кӏалэм
[t͡ʃʼaːɮam
boy.ERG
кӏочӏагъэ
kʷʼat͡ʃʼaːʁa
strength
хэлъ
xaɬ]
it is laying in
кӏалэм кӏочӏагъэ хэлъ
[t͡ʃʼaːɮam kʷʼat͡ʃʼaːʁa xaɬ]
boy.ERG strength {it is laying in}
"The boy has strength in him."
State of the adjective
The suffix ~гъакӏэ (~ʁaːt͡ʃʼa) is appended to adjectives to form nouns meaning "the state of being the adjective", in contract to the suffix ~гъэ which is used to measure and scale the adjective. Some examples:
кӏыхьэ /t͡ʃʼaħə/ – long → кӏыхьэгъакӏэ /t͡ʃʼaħəʁaːt͡ʃʼa/ – lengthiness; longness.
псынкӏэ /psənt͡ʃʼa/ – fast → псынкӏэгъакӏэ /psənt͡ʃʼaʁaːt͡ʃʼa/ – speediness.
{the girl.ERG} easily {using her prettiness} {(s)he fooled me}
"The girl fooled me easily by using her prettiness."
Adverbs
In the Adyghe language adverbs belong to these groups: adverbs of place, adverbs of time, adverbs of quality and adverbs of amount.
Adverbs of place
адэ – "there" (invisible).
модэ – "there" (visible).
мыдэ – "here".
модэкӏэ
модэ-кӏэ
[modat͡ʃʼa
over there.INS
тучаныр
тучан-ыр
tut͡ʃaːnər
shop.ABS
ӏут
ӏут
ʔʷərt]
it is standing
модэкӏэ тучаныр ӏут
модэ-кӏэ тучан-ыр ӏут
[modat͡ʃʼa tut͡ʃaːnər ʔʷərt]
{over there.INS} shop.ABS {it is standing}
"The shop is placed over there."
адэ
адэ
[aːda
there
кӏалэр
кӏалэ-р
t͡ʃʼaːɮar
boy.ABS
кӏуагъэ
кӏу-агъэ
kʷʼaːʁa]
(s)he went
адэ кӏалэр кӏуагъэ
адэ кӏалэ-р кӏу-агъэ
[aːda t͡ʃʼaːɮar kʷʼaːʁa]
there boy.ABS {(s)he went}
"The boy went there."
Adverbs of time
непэ – "today".
непенэу – "all day long".
тыгъуасэ – "yesterday".
тыгъуасэнахьыпэ – "day before yesterday".
неущы – "tomorrow".
неущмыкӏэ – "the day after tomorrow".
гъэрекӏо – "last year".
мыгъэ – "this year".
къакӏорэгъэ – "next year".
джы – "now".
джырэкӏэ – "for now".
джыкӏэ – "so far".
жыри – "again"
джыри – "still"
джыдэдэм – "right now".
джынэс – "until now".
пчэдыжьым – "at morning".
щэджагъом – "at noon".
щэджэгъоужым – "at afternoon".
пчыхьэм – "at evening".
чэщым – "in the night".
зэманым – "in the past".
тӏэкӏушӏэмэ (тӏэкӏу машӏэмэ) – "soon".
бэшӏэмэ (бэ машӏэмэ) – "later".
тӏэкӏушӏагъэу – "recently".
бэшӏагъэу – "long time ago".
пэтырэу – "while".
етӏанэ (етӏуанэ) – "afterwards"
пасэу – "early"
кӏасэу – "lately"
ренэу – "always"
тӏэкӏушӏэмэ
тӏэкӏушӏэмэ
[tʼakʷʼʃʼama
soon
тышхэнэу
ты-шхэ-нэу
təʃxanaw
we (to) eat
тыкӏощт
ты-кӏо-щт
təkʷʼaɕt]
we will go
тӏэкӏушӏэмэ тышхэнэу тыкӏощт
тӏэкӏушӏэмэ ты-шхэ-нэу ты-кӏо-щт
[tʼakʷʼʃʼama təʃxanaw təkʷʼaɕt]
soon {we (to) eat} {we will go}
"Soon we will go to eat."
непэ
непэ
[najpa
today
пасэу
пасэу
paːsaw
early
еджапӏэм
еджапӏэм
jad͡ʒaːpʼam
school.ERG
тынэсышъугъ
тынэсышъугъ
tənasəʃʷəʁ]
we could arrive
непэ пасэу еджапӏэм тынэсышъугъ
непэ пасэу еджапӏэм тынэсышъугъ
[najpa paːsaw jad͡ʒaːpʼam tənasəʃʷəʁ]
today early school.ERG {we could arrive}
"Today we successfully arrived school early."
Adverbs of amount
макӏэ – "few".
тӏэкӏу – "a bit".
тӏэкӏурэ – "few times, for a short period of time".
бэ "a lot".
бэрэ "a lot of times, for a long period of time".
ӏаджэ "many".
хъои "plenty".
апӏэ "load of".
заулэ "several".
сыдэу "so".
шхыныр
шхыны-р
[ʃxənər
food.ABS
сыдэу
сыдэу
sədaw
so
фабэ
фабэ
faːba]
hot
шхыныр сыдэу фабэ
шхыны-р сыдэу фабэ
[ʃxənər sədaw faːba]
food.ABS so hot
"The food is so hot."
кӏалэм
кӏалэ-м
[t͡ʃʼaːɮam
boy.ERG
ахъщэ
ахъщэ
aːχɕa
money
бэ
бэ
ba
a lot
иӏ
иӏ
jəʔ]
(s)he has
кӏалэм ахъщэ бэ иӏ
кӏалэ-м ахъщэ бэ иӏ
[t͡ʃʼaːɮam aːχɕa ba jəʔ]
boy.ERG money {a lot} {(s)he has}
"The boy has a lot of money."
чэщым
чэщы-м
t͡ʃaɕəm
night.ERG
лӏыр
лӏы-р
ɬʼər
man.ABS
тӏэкӏурэ
тӏэкӏурэ
tʼakʷʼra
short period of time
макӏо
макӏо
maːkʷʼa]
(s)he went
чэщым лӏыр тӏэкӏурэ макӏо
чэщы-м лӏы-р тӏэкӏурэ макӏо
t͡ʃaɕəm ɬʼər tʼakʷʼra maːkʷʼa]
night.ERG man.ABS {short period of time} {(s)he went}
"In the night, the man goes for a small period of time."
Adverbs of quality
Adverbs of this group are formed from the appropriate qualitative adjectives using the suffix ~эу /~aw/. Adverbs in this group describe the manner in which the verb was done.
Лэжьакӏохэр пчэдыжьым жьэ́у къэтэджых "Workers get up early at morning" and so on.
Contradiction
Adyghe has the word нахь /naːħ/ "rather, actually" which can be used to introduce a clarification or a contradiction in a sentence, for instance, the speaker would use this word when clarifying his statement in contract to the listener's belief. Some examples:
In English the word "and" is used to connect parts of speech with others, while in Circassian, there are different ways to connect different parts of speech with others.
Case
Suffix
Example
Cyrillic
IPA
Indefinite nouns
рэ
/ra/
кӏалэ-рэ пшъашъэ-рэ къэкӏуагъэх "a boy and a girl came."
Definite nouns
мрэ
/mra/
кӏалэ-мрэ пшъашъэ-мрэ кӏуагъэх "the boy and the girl came."
Pronouns
рэ
/ra/
сэ-рэ о-рэ тыкӏуагъ "You and I went."
Indefinite adjectives
рэ
/ra/
кӏэлэ кӏыхьэ-рэ пшъашъэ дахэ-рэ къэкӏуагъэх "a tall boy and a pretty girl came."
Definite adjectives
мрэ
/mra/
кӏэлэ кӏыхьэ-мрэ пшъашъэ дахэ-мрэ къэкӏуагъэх "a tall boy and a pretty girl came."
Numbers
рэ
/ra/
кӏэлэ тӏу-рэ пшъашъэ щы-рэ къэкӏуагъэх "two boys and three girls came."
Universal nouns
и
/i/
кӏал-и пшъашъ-и къэкӏуагъэх "boys and girls came."
Adverbs
мкӏи
/mt͡ʃʼi/
мафэ-мкӏи чэщы-мкӏи къэкӏуагъэх "they came in the day and in the night."
The conjunctions ыкӏи /ət͡ʃəj/ "and" can also be used to connect different parts of speech.
Verbs: Кӏалэр еджэ ыкӏи матхэ "The boy reads and writes".
Adjectives: Кӏалэр дахэ ыкӏи кӏыхьэ "The boy is handsome and tall".
Conjunctions
Conjunctions in the Circassian language play the same role like in English, they are used to connect together, in different ways, words or parts of a difficult sentence. According to structure of Circassian conjunctions they can be separated into two groups: simple and complex.
{if that so} tomorrow {starting from} studying.ADV {I will start} exam.ERG for
"If that so, I will start studying for the exam starting from tomorrow."
Particles
In the Circassian language particles are different both by their semantics and structure. Semantically they fall into the following groups: affirmative, negative, interrogative, intensive, indicatory and stimulating.
Affirmative
ары "yes".
хъун, хъущт "fine, OK".
адэ "of course (expresses confidence)".
For example:
– Непэ тадэжь къакӏоба. – Хъун. "- Come to us today. – OK"; – Къэсӏуагъэр къыбгурыӏуагъа? – Ары. "- Have you understood what I have said? – Yes"; Адэ, непэ тыдэкӏыни тыкъэшхэщт. "Certainly, we will go out today and eat."
Negative
хьау "no".
For example: Хьау, хьау, зыми сэ сыфаеп "No, no, I don't want a thing";
Interrogative
шӏуа "perhaps".
For example: Сыдигъо шӏуа автобусыр къызыкӏощтыр? "When perhaps will the bus come?";
Intensive
адэ "well".
кӏо "well".
For example:
Адэ, Пщымаф, гущыӏэу птыгъэр пгъэцэкӏэжьын фай. "Well, Pshimaf, you must keep your word". Кӏо, кӏалэр еджэн фаи къытдэкӏышъугъэп. "Well, because the boy needs to study he couldn't come out with us.
Indicatory
мары "this is it",
моры "that is it".
For example: Мары машинэу зигугъу къыпфэсшӏыгъагъэр "This is the car which I have told you about";
Stimulating
еу "come on".
For example: Еу, псынкӏэу зегъахь! "Come on, get out of here quickly".
Others
ашъыу "er", "uh", "I mean" (said when one has made a mistake in speech, before one corrects it)
For example: Уатэр къэсфэхь, Ашъыу, отычэр къэсфэхь " Bring me the hammer, er, I mean, bring me the ax".
ашъыу "argh", "ugh" (an expression of bad mood or vexation or dissatisfaction)
For example: Ашъыу!, зэ щыгъэт "Ugh!, shut up for a moment".
хъугъэ "that's enough" (an expression of giving up)
For example: Хъугъэ!, некӏо тыкӏожьыщт "That's enough, let's return".
еоой "alas"
For example: еоой, идж сыд цӏыфым ышӏэжьыщтэр? "Alas, what will the person do now?".
The determiner 'а' /ʔaː/ refer to a referent that is far away and invisible to both the speaker and the listener(s). It is similar to the English language determiner that, but with the condition that the referent has to be invisible or far away.
The determiner 'мо' refer to a referent that is visible and in a known distance from both the speaker and the listener(s) (both the speaker and the listener(s) can see the referent). It is similar to the English language determiner that, but with the condition that the referent has to be visible.
The determiner 'мы' refer to a referent that is close to both the speaker and the listener(s). It is exactly like the English language determiner this.
The intensive determiner 'джэ' refer to a referent which is usually invisible. This determiner is used when the referent in the conversation is clear to both the speaker and the listener(s). Someone would use this determiner in order to emphasizes that both he and the listener(s) have the same referent in mind.
In the Circassian language, as well as in other Ibero-Caucasian languages, role of prepositions belongs to postpositions. It is difficult to define the exact count of postpositions in the Circassian language, because even such major parts of speech as nouns (from the point of view of their functionality) sometimes can be included into the group, together with some verb prefixes. For example, in the sentence Тхылъыр столым телъ "The book is lying on the table" the noun has no preposition, but the meaning remains clear because in the verb те-лъ "is lying" the prefix те- expresses something's being on a surface, so this form of the verb literally means "on the surface is lying".
Nouns and adverbs sometimes play role of postpositions. For example, nous that describe different parts of human body (head, nose, side and so on) sometimes function as postpositions. For example: Шъузыр лӏым ыпэ итэу кӏощтыгъэ "The wife was going in front of the husband" (the preposition "in front of" in the Circassian sentence is expressed by the phrase ыпэ итэу "being in front of his nose").
Nouns and pronouns combine with a postposition in the ergative grammatical case only. For example, the postposition дэжь "near, beside" requires a word in the ergative case:
чъыгы-м дэжь "near the tree";
ныбджэгъу-м пае "for the friend".
Postpositions can attach possessive prefixes to themselves. For example, in singular:
сэ с-а-дэжь "near me",
о у-а-дэжь "near you",
ащ ы-дэжь "near him";
in plural:
тэ т-а-дэжь "near us",
шъо шъу-а-дэжь "near you",
ахэмэ а-дэжь "near them".
The following words are used as postpositions in the Circassian language:
The suffix ~a /aː/ initials the interrogative particle that indicates a yes-or-no question. For example:
макӏо "(s)he is going" → макӏуа? "is (s)he going?"
кӏалэ "boy" → кӏала? "is it a boy?"
дахэ "beautiful" → даха? "is (s)he beautiful?"
Кӏала ӏаным тесыр? – Is it a boy that sits on the table?
Кӏалэр ӏаным теса? – Is the boy sits on the table?
Кӏалэр ӏана зытесыр? – Is it a table the boy is sits on?
If question is posited to word having the negative suffix ~п (~p), it is converted to suffix ~ба (~baː)[clarification needed]. The suffix ~ба /baː/ initials the negative interrogative particle. For example:
макӏо "(s)he is going" → макӏо-ба? "isn't (s)he is going?"
кӏалэ "boy" → кӏалэ-ба? "isn't it is a boy?"
дахэ "beautiful" → дахэ-ба? "isn't (s)he is beautiful?"
Кӏалэба ӏаным тесыр? – Isn't it a boy that sits on the table?
Кӏалэр ӏаным тесыба? – Isn't the boy sits on the table?
Кӏалэр ӏанэба зытесыр? – Isn't it a table the boy is sits on?
If question is posited by auxiliary interrogative words:
хэт (хэта) "who".
сыд (шъыд) "what/which".
сыда (шъыда) "why".
тыдэ "where".
тхьэпш "how much".
сыд фэдиз "how much".
тэщтэу (сыдэущтэу) "how".
тары "which".
сыдигъу (шъыдгъо) "when".
сыдкӏэ (шъыдкӏэ) "with what".
сыд фэд? "what kind of?".
хэт
[xat
who
къэкӏуагъэ?
qakʷʼaːʁa]
the person that came
хэт къэкӏуагъэ?
[xat qakʷʼaːʁa]
who {the person that came}
"Who came?"
сыд
[səd
what
кӏалэм
t͡ʃʼaːɮam
the boy.ERG
ыцӏэ?
ət͡sʼa]
his name
сыд кӏалэм ыцӏэ?
[səd t͡ʃʼaːɮam ət͡sʼa]
what {the boy.ERG} {his name}
"What is the boy's name?"
непэ
[najpa
today
тыдэ
təda
where
ущыӏэщт?
wɕəʔaɕt]
you will be there
непэ тыдэ ущыӏэщт?
[najpa təda wɕəʔaɕt]
today where {you will be there}
"Today where will you be?"
Syntax
Order of words in a Circassian sentence is, generally, free, but the situation where verb goes at the end is the most typical.
Трактористыр пасэу къэтэджыгъ "The tractor-driver got up early".
Structure of a full sentence is, usually, defined by its form of verb. In the Circassian language there are the following types of sentences:
Nominative sentence, where subject is in the absolutive grammatical case, verb is intransitive, and there is no direct object:
Гъатхэ́р къэсыгъ, чъыгхэр къызэӏуихыхэу ригъэжъагъ "Spring has come, the trees have started to bloom";
Ergative sentence, where subject is in ergative case, direct object is in absolutive case, and the verb is transitive:
Агрономым губгъохэ́р къыплъахьыгъэх "The agronomist has reviewed the fields";
Sentence, where subject is in zero form. In this type of sentences both transitive and intransitive verbs can be used:
Нанэ тхъу къыситыгъ "Mother gave me some butter";
Кӏэлэ тэрэз ащ фэдэу псэурэ́п "A good guy does not behave like that".
This type of Circassian sentences is rarer than the first two. In the Circassian language there are compound sentences that can consist both of independent parts only, and of the main part in combination with dependent subparts.
Compound sentences with independent parts:
Нэф къэшъыгъ, ау цӏыфхэр джыри урамхэм къатехьагъэхэ́п "The morning has already come, but the people have not appeared on the streets yet";
Зэкӏэ́ къалэ́м къикӏыжьыгъэх, ау ежь Ибрахьимэ ӏофхэр иӏэу къэуцугъ "Everybody has returned from the city, but Ibrahim has stayed because of his affairs."
Compound sentences with dependent parts are structurally different. The most typical Circassian compound sentence with a dependent part is the sentence where its dependent part expresses some sort of circumstances explaining the main part:
Мэзэ́ псау́м ащ ӏоф ышӏагъэ́п, сыда пӏомэ дэсыгъэпы́шъ ары́ "He has not worked for the whole month, because he has been away".
When there is a certain amount of the noun, the noun is followed by -и (-i) and the multiplier digit root.
for example:
Зы кӀалэ – One boy (zə t͡ʃaːla), КӀалитӀу – two boys (t͡ʃaːlitʷʼ), КӀалиплӏ – four boys (t͡ʃaːlipɬʼ), КӀалишъэ – 100 boys (t͡ʃaːliʂa), Зы мафэ – one day (zə maːfa), МафитIу – two days (maːfitʷʼ), Мафищы (мафищ) – three days (maːfiɕ).
Except апэрэ/япэрэ – first (aːpara/jaːpara) are formed by prefix я- (jaː-) and suffix – нэрэ (- nara). For example:
ятIунэрэ – second (jaːtʷʼənara), ящынэрэ – third (jaːɕənara), яплIынэрэ – fourth (jaːpɬʼənara).
first – япэрэ [jːpara]
second – ятӀунэрэ [jaːtʷʼənara]
third – ящынэрэ [jaːɕənara]
fourth – яплӀынэрэ [jaːpɬʼənara]
firth – ятфынэрэ [jaːtfənara]
sixth – яхынэрэ [jaːxənara]
seventh – яблынэрэ [jaːblənara]
eighth – яинэрэ [jaːjənara]
ninth – ябгъунэрэ [jaːbʁʷənara]
tenth – япшӀынэрэ [jaːpʃʼənara]
eleventh – япшӀыкӏузынэрэ [jaːpʃʼəkʷʼəzənara]
twelfth – япшӀыкӏутӏунэрэ [jaːpʃʼəkʷʼətʷʼənara]
twenty th – ятӏокӏынэрэ [jaːtʷʼat͡ʃənara]
hundredth – яшъэнэрэ [jaːʂanara]
Япэрэ мафэ – First day (jaːpara maːfa), ЯтIонэрэ мафэ – second day (jaːtʷʼənara maːfa), ЯтIонэрэ цуакъо – second shoe (jaːpara t͡ʃʷaːqʷa), Яхэнэрэ классым щегъэжьагъэу тутын сешъо~I have been smoking since the sixth class.
Are formed by changing the last vowel ~ы (~ə) of number to ~эрэ (~ara):
о плIэрэ къыосIогъах – I have told you four times already.
Number can also define measure of a share: Numbers "one" and "two" are formed by words псау (psaw) (whole, whole), ренэ (rena) (whole, whole about length of time), ныкъо (nəqʷa) (the half).
Fractional numerals are formed from cardinal numerals with the help of the -(а)нэ /aːna/ morpheme:
щы /ɕə/ "three" – щанэ /ɕaːna/ "third", плӏы /pɬʼə/ "four" – плӏанэ /pɬʼaːna/ "fourth", хы "six" – ханэ /xaːna/ "sixth" and so on.
In a sentence: Чӏыгоу къытатыгъэм изыщанэ картоф хэдгъэтӏысхьа́гъ "On one third of the allocated land we have planted potatoes", Хатэм изыщанэ помидор хэдгъэтIысхагъ- third part of vegetable garden we used for the tomatoes, Ахъщэ къыратыгъэм ыпӏланэ чыфэ ритыгъ – The quarter of the money he received, he lent.
half (1÷2) – ныкъо [nəqʷa]
one third (1÷3) – щанэ [ɕaːna]
two thirds (2÷3) – щанитӏу [ɕaːnitʷʼ] (1÷3 × 2)
one fourth (1÷4) – плӀанэ [pɬʼaːna]
two fourths (2÷4) – плӀанитӏу [pɬʼaːnitʷʼ] (1÷4 × 2)
three fourths (3÷4) – плӀанищ [pɬʼaːniɕ] (1÷4 × 3)
one fifth (1÷5) – тфанэ [tfaːna]
one sixth (1÷6) – ханэ [xaːna]
one seventh (1÷7) – бланэ [blaːna]
one eighth (1÷8) – янэ [jaːna]
one ninth (1÷9) – бгъуанэ [bʁʷaːna]
one tenth (1÷10) – пшӀанэ [pʃʼaːna]
one eleventh (1÷11) – пшӀыкӏузанэ [pʃʼəkʷʼəzaːna]
one twelfth (1÷12) – пшӀыкӏутӏуанэ [pʃʼəkʷʼətʷʼaːna]
Approximate numerals are formed as a combination of three cardinal numerals where the main constructive numeral is, usually, the numeral зы "one". for example
зыхыбл /zəxəbl/ зы-хы-бл "about six or seven", зытӏущ /zətʷʼəɕ/ зы-тӏу-щ "about two or three".
In a sentence: Непэ садэжь нэбгырэ зытIущ къыIухьагъ "About two or three people have approached me today".
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The Shapsug dialect is a dialect of Adyghe. The Shapsug dialect is spoken by the Shapsugs, which are one of the largest Circassian population in the diaspora outside Republic of Adygea, alongside Abzakhs. The Shapsug dialect is very similar to the Natukhai dialect and together, they make the Black Sea coast dialects of Adyghe. The Shapsug dialect consists of three main sub dialects: Great Shapsug, Small Shapsug and Hakuchi. The Shapsug dialect is best known as the dialect with palatalized velar stops.
Eastern Circassian grammar, as described in this article, is the grammar of standard East Circassian also known as Kabardian, as spoken and written by the Kabardian and Besleney communities primarily in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic and Karachay-Cherkessian Republic in Russia.
In Adyghe, like all Northwest Caucasian languages, the verb is the most inflected part of speech. Verbs are typically head final and are conjugated for tense, person, number, etc. Some of Circassian verbs can be morphologically simple, some of them consist only of one morpheme, like: кӏо "go", штэ "take". However, generally, Circassian verbs are characterized as structurally and semantically difficult entities. Morphological structure of a Circassian verb includes affixes which are specific to the language. Verbs' affixes express meaning of subject, direct or indirect object, adverbial, singular or plural form, negative form, mood, direction, mutuality, compatibility and reflexivity, which, as a result, creates a complex verb, that consists of many morphemes and semantically expresses a sentence. For example: уакъыдэсэгъэгущыӏэжьы "I am forcing you to talk to them again" consists of the following morphemes: у-а-къы-дэ-сэ-гъэ-гущыӏэ-жьы, with the following meanings: "you (у) with them (а) from there (къы) together (дэ) I (сэ) am forcing (гъэ) to speak (гущыӏэн) again (жьы)".
This article describes the properties of nouns in the Adyghe language.
In Kabardian, like all Northwest Caucasian languages, the verb is the most inflected part of speech. Verbs are typically head final and are conjugated for tense, person, number, etc. Some of Circassian verbs can be morphologically simple, some of them consist only of one morpheme, like: кӏуэ "go", щтэ "take". However, generally, Circassian verbs are characterized as structurally and semantically difficult entities. Morphological structure of a Circassian verb includes affixes which are specific to the language. Verbs' affixes express meaning of subject, direct or indirect object, adverbial, singular or plural form, negative form, mood, direction, mutuality, compatibility and reflexivity, which, as a result, creates a complex verb, that consists of many morphemes and semantically expresses a sentence. For example: уакъыдэсогъэпсэлъэжы "I am forcing you to talk to them again" consists of the following morphemes: у-а-къы-дэ-со-гъэ-псэлъэ-жы, with the following meanings: "you (у) with them (а) from there (къы) together (дэ) I (со) am forcing (гъэ) to speak (псэлъэн) again (жы)".
In the Circassian language, pronouns belong to the following groups: personal, demonstrative, possessive, interrogative, adherent and indefinite.
Hindustani verbs conjugate according to mood, tense, person and number. Hindustani inflection is markedly simpler in comparison to Sanskrit, from which Hindustani has inherited its verbal conjugation system. Aspect-marking participles in Hindustani mark the aspect. Gender is not distinct in the present tense of the indicative mood, but all the participle forms agree with the gender and number of the subject. Verbs agree with the gender of the subject or the object depending on whether the subject pronoun is in the dative or ergative case or the nominative case.
References
Bibliography
Аркадьев, П. М.; Ландер, Ю. А.; Летучий, А. Б.; Сумбатова, Н. Р.; Тестелец, Я. Г. Введение. Основные сведения об адыгейском языке в кн.: "Аспекты полисинтетизма: очерки по грамматике адыгейского языка" под ред.: П. М. Аркадьев, А. Б. Летучий, Н. Р. Сумбатова, Я. Г. Тестелец. Москва: РГГУ, 2009 (Arkadiev, P. M.; Lander, Yu. A.; Letuchiy, A. B.; Sumbatova, N. R.; Testelets, Ya. G.
Introduction. Basic information about Adyghe language in "Aspects of polysyntheticity: studies on Adyghe grammar" edited by: P. M. Arkadiev, A. B. Letuchiy, N. R. Sumbatova, Ya. G. Testelets. Moscow, RGGU, 2009) (in Russian) ISBN978-5-7281-1075-0
Ranko Matasović, A Short Grammar of East Circassian (Kabardian): .
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