| Kabardian | ||
|---|---|---|
| къэбэрдеибзэ qabardjajəbza | ||
| Spoken in | Russia, Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Germany, USA | |
| Region | Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia | |
| Total speakers | 1,000,000 | |
| Language family | Northwest Caucasian
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| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1 | None | |
| ISO 639-2 | kbd | |
| ISO 639-3 | kbd | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | ||
The Kabardian language is closely related to the Adyghe language (see Adyghe people), both members of the Northwest Caucasian language family. It is spoken mainly in the Russian republics of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia (the native territories) and in Turkey and the Middle East (the extensive post-war diaspora). It has 47 or 48 consonant phonemes of which 22 or 23 are fricatives, depending upon whether one counts [h] as phonemic, but this is contrasted with just two phonemic vowels. It is one of very few languages to possess a clear phonemic distinction between ejective affricates and ejective fricatives.
The Kabardian language has two major dialects, Kabardian and Besleney. Some linguists argue that Kabardian is only a dialect of an overarching Adyghe or Circassian language that consists of all of the dialects of Adyghe and Kabardian together, and the Kabardians themselves most often refer to their language using the Kabardian term Adighabze ("Adyghe language"). Several linguists, including Georges Dumézil, have used the terms eastern Circassian (Kabardian) and western Circassian (Adyghe) in order to avoid this confusion, but both "Circassian" and "Kabardian" may still be found in linguistic literature. There are several key phonetic and lexical differences that create a reasonably well-defined separation between the eastern and western Circassian dialects, but the degree to which the two are mutually intelligible has not yet been determined. The matter is also complicated somewhat by the existence of Besleney, which is usually considered a dialect of Kabardian, but which also shares a large number of features with certain dialects of Adyghe.
Kabardian is written in a form of the Cyrillic alphabet, and like all Northwest Caucasian languages, has an extremely complex verbal system. Kabardian is ergative.
Since 2004, the Turkish state broadcasting corporation TRT has maintained a half-an-hour programme a week in the Terek dialect of Kabardian.
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Phonology
Vowels
The vowel system of Kabardian is very simple (there are only three phonetic vowels). The three vowels are /ə/, /a/ and /aː/.
There are also three semi-vowels: /j/ (<й>), /w/ (<у>) and /ɥ/.
The vowel /o/ appears in some loan words; it is often pronounced /aw/.
The diphthong /aw/ is pronounced /oː/ in some dialects. /jə/ may be realised as /iː/, /wə/ as /uː/ and /aj/ as /eː/. This monothongisation does not occur in all dialects.
The vowel /aː/ is the only vowel which occurs initially in native words.
Orthography
Vowels
The vowels are written as <ы> /ə/, <э> /a/ and <а> /aː/.
Other letters represent diphthongs: <я> represents /jaː/, <и> /jə/, <о> /aw/ or /wa/, <ю> /ɥə/ and <е> represents <aj> or <ja>.
Grammar
Nouns
The noun system of Kabardian is quite simple compared to other Caucasian langaues.
Number
There are two numbers: singular and plural. The plural is formed by adding -хэ (-xa) to the verb. The plural ending is optional (i.e. only used when the speaker wishes to emphasise the fact that the noun is plural).
Many common nouns are singular or plural (i.e. they have one form which is singular or plural). Examples of these include сабњй (sābəy) child/children and ѕӀыху (ts’әxʷ) woman/women. The plural form of the verb is always used when a noun is plural, even if the noun does not take a plural ending.
Names can be 'pluralised' by placing the postposition сымэ (səma) after the name (e.g. Тымэс сымэ) Thomas and others. This is called the associative plural.
Like in English, there are uncountable nouns. In Kabardian, they take the singular form of the verb. шэ (ça), milk, is an example of an uncountable noun.
Case
There are four cases: ergative, nominative, instrumental and adverbial. They are formed:
| Case | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -р -r | дзэр dzar |
| Ergative | -м -m | дзэм dzam |
| Instrumental | -kӀэ -cç’a | дзэkӀэ dzacça |
| Adverbial | -уэ -wa | дзэуэ dzawa |
Nominative
The Nominative case marks the subject of an intransitive verb and the object of a transitive verb (i.e. it marks the noun with the lowest ranking macrorole).
Ergative
The ergative case is used to mark everything which the other cases do not mark, such as the subject of a transitive verb, the form of the noun which is used with prepositions/postpositions etc.
Adverbial
This case is used to describe a verb or how a verb was done:
Жыгхэр сатыруы хэсаф. (ʝəγxar sātərwə xasāʃ.)
tree-pl.-NOM row-ADV to plant-pret.-affirmitive
They planted the trees in rows.
Verbs
The verbal system of Kabardian is very complex. The verb usually goes at the end of the sentence.
Infinitives
The infinitive ends in -н (-n).
Positions
Changes in the verb take the role of prepositions.
Conjugation
Here is the positional conjugation of some verbs, showing how the root changes indicate position:
| ' | stands | sits | lies |
| Body position/Pose | щыт (ʃət) | щыс (ʃəs) | щылъ (ʃəɬ) |
| On | тет (tajt) | тес (tajs) | телъ (tajɬ) |
| Under | чIэт (cç’at) | чIэс (cç’as) | чIэлъ (cç’aɬ) |
| Among | хэт (xat) | хэс (xas) | хэлъ (xaɬ) |
| Within some area | дэт (dat) | дэс (das) | дэлъ (daɬ) |
| Behind | ут (wət) | yc (wəs) | улъ (wəɬ) |
Examples:
щыт - stand (as a pose);
ут - stand (behind);
чIэт - stand (under) etc.
Dialects
- Kabardian
- West Kabardian
- Kuban
- Kuban-Zelenchuk (Cherkess)
- Central Kabardian
- Baksan (basis for the literary language)
- Malka
- Eastern Kabardian
- Terek
- Mozdok
- West Kabardian
- Besleney
Sources
External links
- Ranko Matasović (2008). "A Short Grammar of Kabardian". http://www.ffzg.hr/~rmatasov/KabardianGrammar.pdf.
- Adyga.org - Popular Circassian internet forum
- Audio.Adyga.org - Vertual Circassian Dictionary
- Atlas of Caucasian Languages, Guide: North Caucasian
- Ethnologue: Kabardian
- Kabardian (къэбэрдеибзэ) alphabet
- Circassian language online lessons
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