 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations .(June 2012) |
| 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-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 |
| *pʼʲ | 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-c | ||
| *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 | bćʼʷə | (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 | – | – | – | – | ʒaːkʼʲa | ʒaːkʼʲa | 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 Northwest Caucasian languages, also called West Caucasian, Abkhazo-Adyghean, Abkhazo-Circassian, Circassic, or sometimes Pontic languages, is a family of languages spoken in the northwestern Caucasus region, chiefly in three Russian republics, the disputed territory of Abkhazia, Georgia, and Turkey, with smaller communities scattered throughout the Middle East.
Ubykh or Päkhy is an extinct Northwest Caucasian language once spoken by the Ubykh people, a subgroup of Circassians who originally inhabited the eastern coast of the Black Sea before being deported en masse to the Ottoman Empire in the Circassian genocide.
Abkhaz, also known as Abkhazian, is a Northwest Caucasian language most closely related to Abaza. It is spoken mostly by the Abkhaz people. It is one of the official languages of Abkhazia, where around 100,000 people speak it. Furthermore, it is spoken by thousands of members of the Abkhazian diaspora in Turkey, Georgia's autonomous republic of Adjara, Syria, Jordan, and several Western countries. 27 October is the day of the Abkhazian language in Georgia.
Pontic is a proposed language family or macrofamily, comprising the Indo-European and Northwest Caucasian language families, with Proto-Pontic being its reconstructed proto-language.
Abaza is a Northwest Caucasian language spoken by Abazins in Russia. The language has gone through several different orthographies based primarily on Latin and Cyrillic letters. Its consonant-to-vowel ratio is remarkably high; making it quite similar to many other languages from the same parent chain. The language evolved in popularity in the mid to late 1800s, but has become an endangered language.
Labialization is a secondary articulatory feature of sounds in some languages. Labialized sounds involve the lips while the remainder of the oral cavity produces another sound. The term is normally restricted to consonants. When vowels involve the lips, they are called rounded.
The Nart sagas are a series of tales originating from the North Caucasus. They form much of the basic mythology of the ethnic groups in the area, including Abazin, Abkhaz, Circassian, Ossetian, Karachay-Balkar, and to some extent Chechen-Ingush folklore.
The North Caucasian languages, sometimes called simply Caucasic, is a proposed language family consisting of a pair of well established language families spoken in the Caucasus, predominantly in the north, consisting of the Northwest Caucasian family and the Northeast Caucasian family. There are some 34 to 38 distinct North Caucasian languages.
In phonetics, ejective consonants are usually voiceless consonants that are pronounced with a glottalic egressive airstream. In the phonology of a particular language, ejectives may contrast with aspirated, voiced and tenuis consonants. Some languages have glottalized sonorants with creaky voice that pattern with ejectives phonologically, and other languages have ejectives that pattern with implosives, which has led to phonologists positing a phonological class of glottalic consonants, which includes ejectives.
Circassians, also called Cherkess or Adyghe, are an indigenous Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation native to the historical country-region of Circassia in the North Caucasus. As a consequence of the Circassian genocide perpetrated by the Russian Empire in the 19th century during the Russo-Circassian War, most Circassians were exiled from their homeland in Circassia to modern-day Turkey and the rest of the Middle East, where most of them are today. In the early 1990s, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization estimated that there are as many as 3.7 million Circassians in diaspora in over 50 countries.
Kabardian, (; also known as East Circassian, is a Northwest Caucasian language closely related to the Adyghe language. Circassian nationalists reject the distinction between the two languages and refer to them both as "Circassian".
Adyghe is a Northwest Caucasian language spoken by the western subgroups of Circassians. It is spoken mainly in Russia, as well as in Turkey, Jordan, Syria and Israel, where Circassians settled after the Circassian genocide. It is closely related to the Kabardian language, though some reject the distinction between the two languages in favor of both being dialects of a unitary Circassian language.
The Caucasian languages comprise a large and extremely varied array of languages spoken by more than ten million people in and around the Caucasus Mountains, which lie between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.
The Abkhazians or Abkhazes are a Northwest Caucasian ethnic group, mainly living in Abkhazia, a disputed region on the northeastern coast of the Black Sea. A large Abkhaz diaspora population resides in Turkey, the origins of which lie in the population movements from the Caucasus in the late 19th century. Many Abkhaz also live in other parts of the former Soviet Union, particularly in Russia and Ukraine.
The Proto-Dené–Caucasian language is the hypothetical common ancestor of the Basque, Burushaski, North Caucasian, Sino-Tibetan, Yeniseian, Na-Dené and possibly also other languages of Eurasia and North America.
Abkhaz is a language of the Northwest Caucasian family which, like the other Northwest Caucasian languages, is very rich in consonants. Abkhaz has a large consonantal inventory that contrasts 58 consonants in the literary Abzhywa dialect, coupled with just two phonemic vowels.
Proto-Circassian is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Adyghean and Kabardian languages.
Proto-Abkhaz-Abaza is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Abkhaz and Abaza languages.
Adyghe is a language of the Northwest Caucasian family which, like the other Northwest Caucasian languages, is very rich in consonants, featuring many labialized and ejective consonants. Adyghe is phonologically more complex than Kabardian, having the retroflex consonants and their labialized forms.
John Colarusso is a linguist specializing in Caucasian languages. Since 1976, he has taught at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.