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| Proto-Northwest Caucasian | |
|---|---|
| PNWC | |
| Reconstruction of | Northwest Caucasian languages |
| Lower-order reconstructions | |
Proto-Northwest Caucasian (sometimes abbreviated PNWC), also Proto-Adyghe-Abazgi or Proto-Adyghe-Abkhaz, is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Northwest Caucasian languages.
Proto-Northwest Caucasian, just like its descendants, had a very small vowel inventory, most commonly reconstructed as consisting of 2 vowels: /a/ and /ə/. Some degree of allophony might have existed, especially near labialized and palatalized (or both) consonants.
Some scholars assume that the rich consonantal distinctions appeared from a formerly rich vowel inventory, so **/Cy/ would result in */Cʷʲə/, **/Co/ in */Cʷa/ (or possibly /Cˤʷa/), and so on. However, this view is doubted due to the tendency of vowel systems to get richer over time, and the opposite being much more rare.
There was a primary four-way distinction of almost all obstruents in Proto-Northwest Caucasian. The following variations have been proposed:
The only living descendants to have kept the 4-way distinction are the Shapsug and Bzhedug dialects. They both feature an unaspirated /C˭/, aspirated /Cʰ/, ejective /Cʼ/ and voiced /C̬/ distinction, where all the remaining languages have merged them to plain /C/, ejective /Cʼ/ and voiced /C̬/.
Additionally, there also were distinctions in labialization, palatalization and glottalization (and, depending on the analysis, aspiration), with combinations of those also possible, such as in case of /qˤʷʲː/.
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Alveolo-palatal | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plain | Labialized | Labio- | Palatalized | Glottalized | Plain | Labialized | Labio- | Palatalized | Plain | Labialized | Plain | Labialized | Plain | Labialized | Labio- | Palatalized | Plain | Labialized | Labio- | Palatalized | Glottalized | Glottalized and labialized | Glottalized and labio-palatalized | Glottalized and palatalized | ||||
| Plosive | Voiceless | Plain | p | pʷ | pʷʲ | pʲ | pˤ | t | tʷ | tʷʲ | k | kʷ | kʲ | *q | *qʷ | *qʷʲ | *qˤʷ | *qˤʷʲ | *qˤʲ | |||||||||
| Geminated | *pː | *pʲː | *pˤː | *tː | *tʷː | *kʷː | *qː | *qʷː | *qʷʲː | *qʲː | *qˤː | *qˤʷː | *qˤʷʲː | *qˤʲː | ||||||||||||||
| Ejective | *pʼ | *pʷʲʼ | *pʲʼ | *pˤʼ | *tʼ | *tʷʼ | *tʷʲʼ | *kʼ | *kʷʼ | *kʷʲʼ | *qʼ | *qʷʼ | *qʷʲʼ | *qʲʼ | *qˤʼ | *qˤʷʼ | *qˤʷʲʼ | *qˤʲʼ | ||||||||||
| Voiced | *b | *bʷ | *bʷʲ | *bʲ | *bˤ | *d | *dʷ | *ɡ | *ɡʷ | *ɡʷʲ | *ɡʲ | *ɢ | *ɢʷ | *ɢʷʲ | *ɢʲ | |||||||||||||
| Affricate | Voiceless | Plain | *ts | *tsʷ | *tsʷʲ | *tsʲ | *tʃ | *tʃʷ | *tɕ | *tɕʷ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Geminated | *tsː | *tsʷː | *tsʲː | *tʃʷː | *tɕː | *tɕʷː | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ejective | *tsʼ | *tsʷʼ | *tsʷʲʼ | *tsʲʼ | *tʃʼ | *tʃʷʼ | *tɕʼ | *tɕʷʼ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Voiced | *dz | *dzʷ | *dzʷʲ | *dzʲ | *dʒ | *dʒʷ | *dʑ | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Fricative | Voiceless | Plain | *f | *s | *sʷ | *sʷʲ | *sʲ | *ʃ~ʃː | *ʃʷ | *ɕ | *ɕʷ | *x | *xʷ | *xʷʲ | *xʲ | *χ | *χʷ | *χʷʲ | *χʲ | *χˤ | *χˤʷ | *χˤʲ | ||||||
| Geminated | *ʃʷː | *ɕː | *ɕʷː | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Voiced | *z | *zʷ | *zʷʲ | *zʲ | *ʒ | *ʒʷ | *ʑ | *ʷʑ | *ɣ | (*ɣʷʲ)? | *ɣʲ | *ʁ | *ʁʷ | *ʁʷʲ | *ʁʲ | *ʁˤ | *ʁˤʷ | *ʁˤʷʲ | *ʁˤʲ | |||||||||
| Nasal | m | *mˤ | n | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sonorant | *w | *r | *rʲ | *j | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lateral fricative | Voiceless | Plain | *ɬ | *ɬʷ | (*ɬʷʲ) | *ɬʲ~ɬʲʼː | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Geminated | *ɬː | *ɬʷː | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Voiced | *ɮʷʲ | *ɮʲ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lateral approximant | *l | *lʲ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lateral affricate | Voiceless | Plain | *tɬ | *tɬʷ | *tɬʷʲ | *tɬʲ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Geminated | *tɬː | *tɬʷː | *tɬʷʲː | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ejective | *tɬʼ | *tɬʷʼ | *tɬʷʲʼ | *tɬʲʼ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Voiced | *dɮ | *dɮʷ | *dɮʷʲ | *dɮʲ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Proto-NWC | Proto-Abazgi | Ubykh | Proto-Circassian |
|---|---|---|---|
| *p | |||
| *pː | b | b | pː |
| *b | |||
| *pʼ | |||
| *f | xʷ | ||
| *w | |||
| *m | |||
| *pʲ | p | tʷ | t |
| *pʲː | b | (tʷ~dʷ) | tː |
| *bʲ | b | dʷ | d |
| *pʲʼ | pʼ | tʷʼ | tʼ |
| *pʷ | p | f | p |
| *bʷ | f | f | b |
| *pʷʲ | tsʲ | tʷ | – |
| *bʷʲ | dzʲ | dʷ | d |
| *pʷʲʼ | tsʲʼ | tʷʼ | tʼ |
| *pˤ | p | vˤ | p |
| *pˤː | – | bˤ | pː |
| *bˤ | b | bˤ | b |
| *pˤʼ | – | pˤʼ | pʼ |
| *mˤ | m | mˤ | m |
| *t | |||
| *tː | t | tː | |
| *d | |||
| *tʼ | |||
| *r | r | d-, r~ʁ | tː-, r |
| *n | |||
| *rʲ | r | ɮ | dz |
| *tʷ | tʷ | t | |
| *tʷː | d(ʷ) | tʷ | tː |
| *dʷ | d | ||
| *tʷʼ | tʼ | ||
| *tʷʲ | tʷ | – | ts |
| *tʷʲʼ | tʷʼ | tʷʼ | tsʼ |
| *ts | s~ts | ||
| *tsː | ts | tsː | |
| *dz | dz | dz~z | |
| *tsʼ | |||
| *s | |||
| *z | z | dz~z | z |
| *tsʲ | (s) | ||
| *tsʲː | dzʲ(?) | ts | tsː |
| *dzʲ | dz~z | ||
| *tsʲʼ | tsʼ | ||
| *sʲ | s | ||
| *zʲ | z | dzʲ~zʲ | z |
| *tsʷ | sʷ- | ||
| *tsʷː | tsʷ | tsʷ | tsʷː |
| *dzʷ | – | dzʷ | |
| *tsʷʼ | |||
| *sʷ | |||
| *zʷ | dzʷ~zʷ | zʷ | |
| *tsʷʲ | (tʃ) | – | tsʲ |
| *dzʷʲ | dʒ~ʒ | dʒʲ | dzʲ |
| *tsʷʲʼ | tʃʼ | tʃʲʼ | tsʲʼ |
| *sʷʲ | sʲ | tʃʷ | sʲ |
| *zʷʲ | dzʲ~zʲ | ʒʷ | zʲ |
| *tʃ | tsʲ | ts | s |
| *dʒ | dzʲ | dz | dz~z |
| *tʃʼ | tsʲʼ | tsʼ | tsʲʼ(?) |
| *ʃ(~ʃː) | sʲ | s | s |
| *ʒ | zʲ | z | z |
| *tɕ | |||
| *tɕː | dzʲ(~tɕ) | tɕ | tɕː |
| *dʑ | dʑ~ʑ | ||
| *tɕʼ | |||
| *ɕ | ʃ(?) | ɕ | ʃ |
| *ɕː | ʃ | ɕ | ʃː |
| *ʑ | ʒ | ʑ | ʒ |
| *j | |||
| *tʃʷ | tʃ | tʃ | tɕ |
| *tʃʷː | zʷ | tʃ | tɕː |
| *dʒʷ | dzʷ~zʷ | dʒ | dʑ~ʑ |
| *tʃʷʼ | tʃʼ | tʃʼ | tɕʼ |
| *ʃʷ | sʷ | ʃ | ʃ |
| *ʃʷː | ʃ | ʃ | ʃː |
| *ʒʷ | zʲ(?) | ʒ | ʒ |
| *tɕʷ | tʃ | tɕ | tʃ |
| *tɕʷː | dʒ~ʒ | tɕ | tʃː |
| *tɕʷʼ | tʃʼ | tɕʼ | tʃʼ |
| *ɕʷ | ʃʷ | ʃʷ | sʲ |
| *ɕʷː | ʃ | sʷ | ʃː |
| *ʑʷ | ʒʷ | ʒʷ | zʲ |
| *tɬ | x | ɕ | tɕ |
| *tɬː | ts | (sʲ) | tɕː |
| *dɮ | l | ɮ | tħ |
| *tɬʼ | x/tsʼ | tsʲʼ | tɕʼ |
| *ɬ | – | sʲ | ɕ |
| *ɬː | x | sʲ | ɕː |
| *l | l | d-, Ø~j | tħ-,ɮ |
| *tɬʲ | xʲ | ɕ | tɕ |
| *dɮʲ | ɣʲ | ʁ(~zʲ) | ɣ |
| *tɬʲʼ | ɕ | tɬʼ | tɬʼ |
| *ɬʲ (~ɬʲʼː) | ɕ | ɬ | ɬ |
| *ɮʲ | ʑ | ɮ | ɮ |
| *lʲ | r-, l~ɣʲ | ɮ | d- |
| *tɬʷ | tsʷ | tsʷ | tʃ |
| *tɬʷː | tsʷ | tsʷ | tʃː |
| *dɮʷ | l | w | ħ |
| *tɬʷʼ | tsʼ(ʷ) | tsʼ(ʷ) | tʃʼ |
| *ɬʷ | ʃ | sʷ | x(ʷ) |
| *ɬʷː | ʃ | s(ʷ) | ɕː |
| *tɬʷʲ | tʃʷ | f | x |
| *tɬʷʲː | ʒʷ | dʑ | tɕː |
| *dɮʷʲ | dʒʷ | dʒ | ɮ |
| *tɬʷʲʼ | tʃʷʼ | tsʼ | tɕʼ |
| *ɬʷʲ (~ɬʷː) | ʃ | ʃʷ | x(ʷ) |
| *ɮʷʲ | ʒ | ʒʷ | ɣʲ |
| *k | k | kʲ | kʲ |
| *ɡ | ɡ | ɡʲ | ɡʲ |
| *kʼ | kʼ | kʲʼ | kʲʼ |
| *x | x | ɕ | x |
| *ɣ | ɣ | ɣ~ʁ | ɣ |
| *kʲ | kʲ | – | kʲ |
| *ɡʲ | ɡʲ | – | ɡʲ |
| *xʲ | xʲ | sʲ | ɕ |
| *ɣʲ | ɣʲ | zʲ | ʑ |
| *kʷ | |||
| *kʷː | ɡʷ | ɡʷ | kʷː |
| *ɡʷ | |||
| *kʷʼ | |||
| *xʷ | xʷ | x | x(ʷ) |
| *ɡʲʷ | ɡʷ | ɡʲ 1 | ɡʷ |
| *kʷʲʼ | kʷʼ | kʲʼ | kʷʲʼ |
| *xʷʲ | sʷ | xʲ | xʷ |
| *ɣʷʲ(?) | zʷ | ʁʲ | ʁʷ |
| *q | (ħ) | q | q- |
| *qː | q | q | qː |
| *ɢ | ɣ | ʁ | ʁ |
| *qʼ | qʼ | qʼ | qː |
| *χ | ħ | χ | χ |
| *ʁ | ʕ | ʁ | ʁ |
| *qʲː | q | qʲ | – |
| *ɢʲ | ɣʲ | ʁʲ | – |
| *qʲʼ | qʲʼ | qʲʼ | ʔ |
| *χʲ | ħ | xʲ | χʲ |
| *ʁʲ | ʕ | ʁʲ | ʁ |
| *qʷ | ħʷ | qʷ | qʷ-, qʷː |
| *qʷː | qʷ | qʷ | qʷː |
| *ɢʷ | ɣʷ | ʁʷ | ʁʷ |
| *qʷʼ | qʷʼ | qʷʼ | qʷː |
| *χʷ | ħʷ | χʷ | χʷ |
| *ʁʷ | ʕʷ | ʁʷ | ʁʷ |
| *qʷʲ | ħ(ʷ) | xʲ | qʷ- |
| *qʷʲː | – | qʲ | qʷː |
| *ɢʷʲ | ɣ(ʷ) | ʁʲ | ʁʷ |
| *qʷʲʼ | ʕʷ(qʷʼ?) | qʲʼ | ʔʷ |
| *χʷʲ | ħ(ʷ) | χʲ | χʷ |
| *ʁʷʲ | ʕ(ʷ) | ʁʲ | ʁʷ |
| *qˤː | ʕ | – | qː |
| *qˤʼ | ħ(?) | qˤʼ | qː |
| *χˤ | – | χˤ | χ |
| *ʁˤ | ʕ | ʁˤ | ʁ |
| *qˤʲ | q | q(ˤ) | ħ |
| *qˤʲː | ʔ | qʼ | ʔ |
| *qˤʲʼ | ħ | qʼ | ʔ |
| *χˤʲ | ħ | χ(ˤ) | ħ |
| *ʁˤʲ | ʕ | ʁ | j |
| *qˤʷ | ħʷ | χˤʷ | qʷ- |
| *qˤʷː | ʕʷ | qˤ(ʷ) | qʷː |
| *qˤʷʼ | qʷʼ(qʷ) | qˤʷʼ | qʷː |
| *χˤʷ | ħʷ | χˤʷ | χʷ |
| *ʁˤʷ | (ħʷ?) | ʁˤʷ | ʁʷ |
| *qˤʷʲ | qʷ | χʷ | ħ |
| *qˤʷʲː | ʕʷ | qʷʼ | ʔʷ |
| *qˤʷʲʼ | ħʷ | qʷʼ | ʔʷ |
| *ʁˤʷʲ | ʕʷ | w | w~ʁʷ |
The most noticeable changes are:
| English | Proto-NWC Schulze | Proto-NWC Colarusso | Proto-Abazgi | Abkhaz | Abaza | Ubykh | Proto-Circassian | Adyghe | Kabardian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One | za | – | za-kʼə | akʼə | zakʼə | za | zə | zə | zə |
| Two | tʼqʷʼa | tʼqʼo | ʕʷ-ba | ɥ-ba | ʕʷ-ba | tʼqʷʼa | tʷʼə | tʷʼə | tʷʼə |
| Three | λ:ə | (y-)x̂ə/a | χ-ba | χ-ba/x-ba | χ-ba | ʂa | ɕə | ɕə | ɕə |
| Four | pʼλʼa | – | pɕ-ba | pɕ-ba | pɕ-ba | pʼɬʼə | t͡ɬə | pɬʼə | pɬʼə |
| Five | sx̂ʷə | (w-/y-)ćx̂ə | χʷ-ba | χʷ-ba/xʷ-ba | χʷ-ba | ɕxə | txʷə | tfə | txʷə |
| Six | ɬʷə | (w-)x̂cə | tʃʷba? | f-ba | t͡s-ba | fə | xə | xə | xə |
| Seven | bδə | ɣə́ | bəʑ-ba | bəʑ-ba | bəʑ-ba | blə | bɮə | blə | bɮə |
| Eight | – | (w-/y-)ɣə/a | aʕ-ba | aa-ba | aʕ-ba | ʁʷa | jə | jə | jə |
| Nine | bğʷʲə | ɣə́ | – | ʑʷ-ba | ʒʷ-ba | bʁʲə | bʁʷə | bʁʷə | bʁʷə |
| Ten | bćʷʼə | (p-/w-)źə́/źá | – | ʑʷa-ba | ʒʷa-ba | ʑʷə | pʃʼə | pʃʼə | pɕʼə |
| English | Proto-NWC | Proto-Abazgi | Abkhaz | Abaza | Ubykh | Proto-Circassian | Adyghe | Kabardian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | – | sa/sarˈa | sa/sarˈa | sa/sarˈa | səsan | sa | sa | sa |
| Heart | ɡʲʷə | ɡʷə | ɡʷə | ɡʷə | ɡʲə | ɡʷə | ɡʷə | ɡʷə |
| Sea | – | – | – | – | ɕʷa | xə | xə | xə |
| They sell it | – | – | – | – | aːɕan | – | jaːɕan | jaːɕan |
| I go | – | – | – | – | skʲʼan | skʷʼan | skʷʼan | skʷʼan |
| I say | – | – | – | – | sqʼan | – | sʔʷan | sʔʷan |
| Language/tongue | bǝźA | bzǝ | aːbz | bzǝ | bza | bza | bza | bza |
| Red | – | – | – | – | pɬə | pɬəʑ | pɬəʑ | pɬəʑ |
| Book, Letter | – | – | – | – | txəɬ | txəɬ | txəɬ | txəɬ |
| top of the back | – | – | – | – | txə | txə | txə | txə |
| Ox | c:ʷǝ | t͡sʷə | á-ć̌ | t͡ʃʷə | t͡sʷə | t͡sʷːə | t͡sʷə, t͡ʃʷə | və |
| Blood | – | – | – | – | ɬa | ɬə | ɬə | ɬə |
| Month/Moon | – | – | aːmza | məzə | məʒa | maːza | maːza | maːza |
| Beard | – | – | – | – | ʒaːkʲʼa | ʒaːkʲʼa | ʒaːt͡ʃʼa | ʒaːt͡ʃʼa |
| Dust | – | – | – | – | saːpa | saːpa | saːpa | saːba |
| Barefoot | – | – | – | – | ɬapsʼə | ɬapsʼa | ɬapt͡sʼa | ɬapt͡sʼa |
| Donkey | – | – | – | – | t͡ʃədə | ʃədə | ʃədə | ʃədə |
| Hedgehog | – | – | – | – | pəzʲə | pəʐ | pəʐ | – |
| Water | – | – | – | – | bzə | psə | psə | psə |
| Fault | – | – | – | – | laːʑa | laːʑa | laːʑa | laːʑa |
| House | ʁ́Iʷǝna | – | – | ʕʷna | – | wəna | wəna | wəna |
| Mother | (a)nǝ | (a)nǝ | á-n | anǝ | na | aːna | nə | aːna |
| Father | (a)ṕ:ǝ | ab | ab | aba | tʷǝ | at:a | tǝ | aːda |
| heavy | anǝTa | xanǝta | á-χ́anta | χ́anta | – | want:aʁʷ | wantaʁʷ | wandaʁʷ |
| cattle-shed | anǝTa | bawǝ-ra | bora | a-bóra, -bówra | bow | – | – | bow |
| guest | – | – | – | – | pč̣́a | ħa-č̣́á | ħaṣ́a | ħāč̣́a |
| mountain / hill | bǝɣA | – | bʁa | – | – | bɣǝ | bɣǝ | bɣǝ |
| measles / scarlet fever / navel | bǝč̣́ǝ | bǝč̣́ǝ | a-bč̣́ǝ́ | bč̣́ǝ | bǝč̣́ǝ́ | – | nǝbǝǯ́ | bǝnža |
| dust / bubble / blister | bǝbǝ | – | á-bǝb | – | – | psǝ-bǝb | psǝ-bǝb | psǝ-bǝb |
The proposed North Caucasian language family comprises the Northeast and Northwest Caucasian language families. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwest (Pontic) |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northeast (Caspian) |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italics indicate extinct languages | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
