| Bzyb | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| бзыҧ | ||||
| Spoken in | Turkey, Abkhazia | |||
| Region | Bzyb | |||
| Language family | ||||
| Language codes | ||||
| ISO 639-3 | abk | |||
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Bzyb (also spelled Bzyp) is a major dialect of Abkhaz, spoken in the Caucasus and Turkey. It is named after the Bzyb (бзыҧ) area.
It differs from standard Abkhaz mainly in terms of phonology. It shares the [ɕʷ] and [ʑʷ] sounds with the Sadz dialect, and the [t͡ɕ], [d͡ʑ], [t͡ɕʼ], [ɕ], [ʑ], [χˤ], and [χˤʷ] sounds are unique to Bzyp. Standard Abkhaz (which is based on the Abzhywa dialect) lacks these sounds.
The Bzyp consonant inventory appears to have been the fundamental inventory of Proto-Abkhaz, with the inventories of Abzhywa and Sadz being reduced from this total, rather than the Bzyp series being innovative.