Hatuqway dialect

Hatuqway Adyghe dialect
Хьатикъое, Хьатыкъуай, Хьатыкъуайыбзэ
Native to	Circassia (modern-day Russia)
Region	Turkey, Israel
Ethnicity	Circassians Hatuqways
Language family	Northwest Caucasian Circassian Adyghe Steppe Dialects Hatuqway Adyghe dialect
Official status
Official language in	Hatuqway Principality (Historically)
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–

The Hatuqway dialect ^[a] is a dialect of Adyghe, spoken by the Hatuqway branch of the Circassian people. ^{[1] [2]} Linguistically, it is classified as one of the "Steppe dialects", a subgroup of that also includes the Temirgoy, Abzakh and Bzhedug dialects, although it also shares many grammatical and phonological features with the "Coastal dialects" of Shapsug and Natukhaj. ^{[1] [2]} Although a dialect of Western Circassian (Adyghe), it is considered the closest among the Western dialects to Eastern Circassian (Kabardian). ^[3]

Hatuqway is spoken only in the diaspora, especially in Turkey; ^[2] as a consequence of the Circassian genocide, there are no remaining speakers of the Hatuqway dialect in the Caucasus region. Consequently, Circassian dialectology studies rarely mention or analyze Hatuqway. ^{[1] [4]}

Etymology

Sphinx gate in Hattusa

The Hatuqway dialect takes its name from the Hatuqway tribe, which is believed to derive from Prince Hatuqo (Adyghe : Хьатыкъо), who, according to traditional Circassian geneologies, was the founder of the Hatuqway principality, and a prince descended from King Inal. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

The name has been the subject of a folk etymology, which explains it as referring to the Hittites ('Son of Hittite'). A study about Circassians in Kayseri found that local Circassians frequently claimed descent from the Hittites. ^[8] The etymology of Hattusa, capital of the Hittite Empire, is explained with Circassian хьэтӏу (two dogs) + щхьэ (head), which supposedly refers to the two sphinx statues guarding the gate of Hattusa. Some connected the Circassians with the Hattians rather than Hittites; ^{[9] [10] [11]} and some authors explained the etymology of "Hatuqway" as "Hatti-Son". ^{[12] [13]} The Adyghe Encyclopedia published in Russia compares Hattian mythology and Nart sagas, including stories found in the Hatuqway Nart corpus. ^[13] The Hittites spoke an Indo-European language, however the possibility of Hattians speaking a Northwest Caucasian language related to Circassian has been considered by linguists, although this is unconfirmed. ^{[14] [15] [16] [17]}

Distribution and status

Historically, the Hatuqway dialect was spoken in the Hatuqway Principality, which was originally located near the Black Sea coast, as well as the southern banks of the Kuban, a little further down from where the Afips (Афыпс) river flows. ^{[3] [5]} However, in the late 18th century, Hatuqway Principality was relocated west of the Temirgoys, in the territory situated between the Belaya (Шъхьагуащэ) and Pshish (Пщыщ) rivers. ^{[3] [1] [5]}

In the village of Khatukay in the Republic of Adygea, located in historical Hatuqway territory, Circassians are a minority and speak the standart Temirgoy dialect.

The Hatuqway dialect was recorded by Ottoman traveller Evliya Çelebi in the 17th century, who visited the Hatuqway region: ^[18]

This Circassian language, even now, cannot be written down; it is a language based on listening, produced from the throat, cheeks, and under the tongue, a sound that is like a sparrow's chirp and cannot be committed to paper. This humble servant of God, a traveler of the world and companion to man, the unpretentious Evliya, has traveled for 51 years, setting foot in 18 kingdoms across seven climes, and has written down 147 languages with my gem-scattering pen, including their eloquence, rhetoric, and poems, in order to converse with the people of every region. But I could not write down this Circassian language with its magpie-like sound. By the will of God, we will try to write this language as best as we can. They have a peculiar dialect, for they are not literate. That is why it cannot be committed to paper; it is a bird's language, and that is that.

— Evliya Çelebi, Seyahatname

Following the Circassian genocide and exile, the Hatuqway population was dispersed, the tribe effectively dissapeared from the map. ^[19] Currently, there are no remaining speakers of the Hatuqway dialect in the Caucasus region. Almost the entire Hatuqway tribe was exiled; ^[8] the few Hatuqway remaining in the Caucasus have assimilated into the Temirgoy dialect. ^[20] The dialect survives in the diaspora, specifically in Turkey. It is spoken in approximately 20 Circassian villages located in the Pınarbaşı district of the Kayseri province, ^[1] as well as in Bozüyük and Biga. ^{[21] [8]}

Consequently, Circassian dialectology studies conducted within the Caucasus rarely mention or analyze Hatuqway. ^[4] Thus, the collection of data from the diaspora in Turkey is considered essential to filling the gaps in the study of this dialect. ^[1] Data on the Hatuqway dialect is largely drawn from acoustic analyses of diaspora communities. ^[2]

Classification

Circassian languages are divided into two groups: "West Circassian", known in English as "Adyghe", and "East Circassian", known in English as "Kabardian". ^[22] The two are closely related and mutually intelligible to some degree. Both Adyghe and Kabardian speakers refer to their language as "Adyghe" and consider the eastern and western language variants to be dialects of one Circassian Adyghe language, rather than two related languages. ^[23]

Hatuqway is classified as a dialect of West Circassian, or Adyghe. ^{[1] [8]} Within the western group, Hatuqway is classified as one of the "Steppe dialects", a subgroup of that also includes the Temirgoy, Abzakh and Bzhedug dialects, ^[1] although it also shares many grammatical and phonological features with the "Coastal Dialects" of Shapsug and Natukhaj. ^{[1] [2]} Thus, it can be considered an "in-between" dialect. Although a dialect of Western Circassian (Adyghe), it is considered the closest among the Western dialects to Eastern Circassian. ^[3] This may be due to frequent interaction with Kabardians in Kayseri, as Hatuqways are a minority among the majority Kabardians.

Phonology and Grammar

Proto-Circassian is reconstructed as having a four-way laryngeal contrast in its stop series: voiced, voiceless unaspirated, voiceless aspirated, and ejective. While most modern Circassian varieties have neutralized the distinction between voiceless unaspirated and voiceless aspirated stops, the Hatuqway dialect generally maintains the original four-way contrast. ^[2] Hatuqway occupies a "middle ground" compared to other dialects: while Shapsug and Temirgoy preserve a three-way posterior coronal contrast, and Besleney and Turkish Kabardian neutralize them to a single place, Hatuqway possesses two coronal places of articulation posterior to /s/. The specific realization of these two places varies by speaker, manifesting as contrasts such as /ʃ/ vs. /ɕ/, /ʃ/ vs. /ʂ/, or /ɕ/ vs. /ʂ/. ^[2]

The dialect features gerund forms ending in -рэ, such as кӏорэ ("going") or чъэрэ ("running"). ^{[20] [24]}

The Hatuqway dialect exhibits distinct phonetic shifts when compared to the West Circassian literary standard (based largely on the Temirgoy dialect). In the instrumental case the noun has the suffix -джэ (unlike other dialects that has the suffix -кӏэ: ^{[1] [20]}

Comparison of Instrumental Case Suffixes

English	Hatuqway Adyghe	Literary Adyghe	Shapsug Adyghe	Literary Kabardian
In Circassian	Адыгабзэджэ	АдыгабзэкIэ	Адыгабзэгьэ	АдыгэбзэкIэ
With the book	тхылъымджэ	тхылъымкIэ	тхылъымгьэ	тхылъымкIэ
With feet	лъакъомджэ	лъакъомкIэ	лъакъомгьэ	лъакъуэмкӀэ
According to me	сэрыджэ	сэрыкIэ	сэрыгьэ	сэркӀэ

In some cases, standart т becomes ть: ^[1]

Change of /t/ in Hatuqway

English	Hatuqway Adyghe	Literary Adyghe	Literary Kabardian
Wolf	тьыгъужь	тыгъужъы	дыгъужь
Wing	тьамэ	тамэ	дамэ
Sun	тьыгъэ	тыгъэ	дыгъэ
Us	тьэ	тэ	дэ
Hammer	уатьэ	уатэ	уатэ
Garden	хатьэ	хатэ	хадэ

The Hatuqway dialect displays specific vowel shifts compared to the literary standard: ^[1]

Vowel Shifts

English	Hatuqway Adyghe	Literary Adyghe	Literary Kabardian
Word	гущаIэ	гущыIэ	псалъэ
Where	тэдэ	тыдэ	дэнэ
Swing	хъаерэн	хъэрен	хъыринэ
Small	жъий	жъый	жьей

A primary morphological distinction of Hatuqway is the future tense suffix. While the West Literary (Temirgoy) and Abzakh dialects use the suffix -щт, the Hatuqway dialect uses -т. This feature is shared with the Bzhedug dialect and some subgroups of Shapsug: ^{[1] [20] [25]}

Comparison of Future Tense Conjugation

English	Hatuqway Adyghe	Literary Adyghe	Shapsug Adyghe (Variant)
I will go	сыкIот	сыкIощт	сыкӏот
You will go	укIот	укIощт	укӏот
He/She will go	кIот	кIощт	рэкӏот
We will go	тыкIот	тыкIощт	тыкӏот
You (pl.) will go	шъукIот	шъукIощт	шъукӏот
They will go	кIотых	кIощтых	рэкӏотых

In the West Literary standard, the third-person plural possessive prefix is а-. However, the Hatuqway dialect uses я-, a feature it shares with the Shapsug dialect and the Kabardian (East Circassian) language: ^[1]

Comparison of Possessive Prefixes

English	Hatuqway Adyghe	Literary Adyghe	Literary Kabardian
The strongest of them	янахь лъэшыр	анахь лъэшыр	я нэхъ лъэщыр
The most beautiful of them	янахь дахэр	анахь дахэр	я нэхъ дахэр

The preverb къы- functions freely across all dialects, sub-dialects, and the Adyghe literary language: къы-одэӏу —- "he/she listens to you." However, in standart Adyghe, when this preverb meets a personal marker, the vowel component of the preverb къы- drops out (elision) in rapid speech. However, in the Hatuqway dialect, the vowel is typically retained. For example: ^[25]

Vowel Elision in the Preverb "къы-"

English	Hatuqway Adyghe	Literary Adyghe
He/She looked at you	къы-о-плъыгъ	къ-о-плъыгъ
He/She is waiting for you	къы-у-а-жэ	къ-о-жэ

In several instances, dialects and sub-dialects present different phonetic variants of the same preverbs: ^[25]

Phonetic Variants of Spatial Preverbs

English	Hatuqway Adyghe	Literary Adyghe
To step on someone/something	джъэхэ-хьан	жэхэ-хьан
To look at someone/something	джъэхэ-плъэн	жэхэ-плъэн

In the standart dialect, both presumptive mood expressing probability ("likely," "probably") and the obligatory mood expressing necessity ("must," "necessary") are the same. However in Hatuqway, they are distinguished: ^[25]

Distinctions Between Presumptive and Obligatory Moods

Dialect Group	Presumptive (Probability)	Obligatory (Necessity)
Literary Adyghe	кIогъэн фае "Probably went"	кIогъэн фае "Must go"
	жъогъэн фае "Probably plowed"	жъогъэн фае "Need to plow"
Hatuqway	кIуагъэн фае "Probably went"	кIогъэн (кIуэгъэн) фае "Must go"
	фэгъэсагъэн фае "Probably accustomed"	фэгъэсэгъэн фае "Necessary to accustom"

The morphological formants of the Hatuqway dialect largely coincide with those of the Bzhedug dialect. This is particularly evident in preverbs like къа-, фа-, and ха-, which utilize a different vowel sound than their Temirgoy counterparts: ^[25]

Vowel Change in Directional Preverbs

English	Hatuqway Adyghe	Literary Adyghe
Comes here	къа-кIо	къэ-кIо
Goes there	фа-кIо	фэ-кIо

A specific phonetic difference observed in Hatuqway is the inversion of the vowels ы and э in reflexive and spatial preverbs: ^[25]

Phonetic Inversion in Reflexive/Spatial Preverbs

English	Hatuqway Adyghe	Literary Adyghe
To tie something to oneself	зыхэ-шIэн	зэхэ-шIэн
To feel / To sense something	зэхэ-шIэн	зыхэ-шIэн

Vocabulary

The Hatuqway dialect shares a lot of its vocabulary with Bzhedug and Temirgoy, and also employs some unique words:

Vocabulary Comparison

English	Hatuqway Adyghe	Literary Adyghe	Literary Kabardian
To fall	ебэджын	ефэхын	ехуэхын
Mat	пIуаблэ	арджан	арджэн
Wide	шъуабгъо	шъуамбгъо	фабгъуэ
What	шъыд / дыра / да	сыд	сыт
There	хаддэ / ходдэ	адэ	модэ
Ball	Iэгуау	пIырагу	топ
Princess	гощэ	гуащэ	гуащэ
Tea	псыплъыжь	чай	шей
Coffee	псышӏуцӏэ	къэхьыо	къэхьэуэ
Money	нэгъэцӏыу	ахъщэ	ахъшэ

Despite being a Western dialect, it also shares some vocabulary with Kabardian:

Lexical Parallels

English	Hatuqway Adyghe	Standard Adyghe	Standard Kabardian
Pig	кхъо	къо	кхъуэ
Chair	щэнт	пхъэнтӏэкӏу	шэнт
Village	къуаджэ	кой	къуажэ
Bread	кӏакъу	хьалыгъу	щӏакхъуэ
Twin	тIолъфэныкъу	тIуазэ	тӏолъхуэныкъуэ

^{[1] [20] [26] [24]}

Sample text

The Hatuqway dialect is one of the dialects which play a role in the preservation of the Nart sagas. ^[27] Many Nart sagas have been recorded in the Hatuqway dialect. These are some excerpts: ^[28]

Hatuqway Adyghe	English translation
«Саусырыкъоджэ» шъуедж, ар цIэу къыфэсэшIышъы», — ыIуи кIэлэцIыкIур Сэтэнае-гощэ дахэм къыритыжьигъ.	"Call him 'Sosruko,' that is the name I give him," he said, and he [ Tl epsh] gave the little boy back to the beautiful Lady Satanay.
Iэкуандэ нарт Чэлэхъсэты ыпхъугъ. Чэлэхъсэтыр, къызэраIотэжьырэмджэ, Саусырыкъо къыукIыгъагъ. Ар зэрэхъугъагъэр мары. Сэ слъэгъугъэп, ау къызэраIуатэрэмджэ, Саусырыкъорэ Шэбатныкъорэ псэлъыхъо къэкIогъагъэх Iэкондэ дахэм дэй. ЯпсэупIэ иIэгъоблагъо шыуитIор къызэхьэм, лIыжьым къыгъэлъэгъуагъэх.	Akuanda was the daughter of the Nart Chelekhset. According to what is recounted, Chelekhset was killed by Sosruko. That's what happened. I did not see it myself, but as the story is told, Sosruko and Shebatnyqo had come to court the beautiful Akuanda. When the two horsemen arrived near their dwelling, the old man caught sight of them.

Notes

1. Also known as Hatukay, Hatıkuay, Hatkoy, Hatuqay; Adyghe: Хьатикъое, Хьатыкъуай, Хьатыкъуайыбзэ

References

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