Proto-Circassian language

Proto-Circassian (or Proto-Adyghe–Kabardian) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Adyghean and Kabardian languages.

Phonology

Vocalism and accent

Northwest Caucasian family tree

In bisyllabic roots, two possible places of accent are reconstructed, with the following development of structures in descendant languages:

In other words, Adyghe retains the distinction between *a and *ǝ in the 2nd syllable, if it was originally stressed; the 2nd syllable vowel is dropped in originally unstressed syllables. Kabardian retains the distinction uniformly, by dropping *ǝ but not *a. Both groups retain the quality distinction in the first syllable, and additionally display a long vowel in roots of the original shape *CaCa (regardless of stress).

Consonants

The consonant system is reconstructed with a four-way phonation contrast in stops and affricates, and a two-way contrast in fricatives.

1. In the Proto-Circassian language there exist a palatalized voiced velar stop [gʲ] and a palatalized voiceless velar stop [kʲ]. Those consonants exist in the Shapsug dialect (e.g. Kfar Kama Adyghe dialect) and Beslenei dialect. In other Adyghe dialects those consonants were merged with [d͡ʒ] and [t͡ʃ].

2. The consonants glottal stop [ʔ] and labialized glottal stop [ʔʷ] in Proto-Circassian came from uvular ejective [qʼ] and labialized uvular ejective [qʷʼ].

3. The consonant labialized voiceless alveolar affricate [tsʷː] survived in the Adyghe Bzhedug and Temirgoy dialects, It became labialized voiceless palato-alveolar affricate [tʃʷ] in the Shapsug and Abzakh dialects, and became voiced labiodental fricative [v] in the Kabardian dialect.

4. The consonant voiceless uvular affricate [q͡χ] and labialized voiceless uvular affricate [q͡χʷ] survived in some words in the Kabardian language. In the Adyghe language dialects they become [χ], [χʷ], [q] and [qʷ].

5. In the Proto-Circassian language there existed labialized voiceless alveolar sibilant [sʷ] and labialized voiced alveolar sibilant [zʷ]. They merged with [ʃʷ] and [ʒʷ] in the Adyghe language and they become [f] and [v] in Kabardian. There also existed voiced alveolar lateral affricate [d͡ɮ] that become [ɣ] in Adyghe and [ʒ] in Kabardian.

6. In the Proto-Circassian there existed alveolar lateral ejective affricate [t͡ɬʼ]. This consonant survived in the Kabardian language Beslenei dialect. The words [t͡ɬʼə] (man) and [t͡ɬʼaːna] (quarter) for example pronounced in other dialects as [ɬʼə] and [ɬʼaːna]. In most Circassian dialects it become alveolar lateral ejective fricative [ɬʼ].

7. The consonants labialized voiceless velar fricative [xʷ] survived in the East Circassian dialects (e.g. Kabardian dialect). In the West Circassian dialects it become voiceless labiodental fricative [f] (e.g. Shapsug, Bzhedug, Temirgoy and Abzakh dialect).

8. The Adyghe Shapsug dialect of Kfar Kama speakers have an Alveolar ejective fricative [sʼ] that corresponds a lot to [tsʼ] in other Adyghe and Kabardian dialects. This consonant perhaps came from Proto-Circassian Alveolar ejective affricate [t͡sʼ] but the Shapsug dialect have both [t͡sʼ] and [sʼ]. For example the Shapsug words /t͡sʼəf/ "person", /t͡sʼaːpʼa/ "mean (adj)" and /t͡sʼaːʃʷta/ "slip".

Other noticeable changes

• In the Shapsug dialect the ejective consonants /pʼ/ /tʼ/ /sʼ/ /ɬʼ/ /t͡sʼ/ /ʃʼ/ /ʃʷʼ/ /pʷʼ/ /tʷʼ/ became pharyngealized consonants /pˤ/ /tˤ/ /sˤ/ /ɬˤ/ /t͡sˤ/ /ʂ/ /ʂʷ/ /pˤ/ /tˤ/.

• The reflexes of a series of obstruent consonants, described as "tense" or "geminate". In Kabardian, they become simple voiced consonants, while in Adyghe, the outcome depends on the dialect: in Bzhed, these remain as tense, in Temirgoy, they become simple voiceless consonants.

• The consonants [tʃː] become [ʃ] in the Abzakh dialect and [ʒ] in the Kabardian dialect.
• The consonants [kʲː] become [t͡ʃ] in most West Circassian languages (Abzakh, Bzhadug and Temgoy) and [d͡ʒ] in the Kabardian dialect.
• The consonants [tʃʼ] become [ɕʼ] in the Kabardian dialect and [aj] in Abzakh.
• The consonants [tː] become [d] in the Kabardian dialect.
• The consonants [tsː] become [dz] in the Kabardian dialect.

• Many ejective affricates become ejective fricatives.
• A series of labialized alveolar sibilant affricates and fricatives becomes labiopalatalized in Adyghe, and labiodental in Kabardian.
• The ejective consonants become pharyngealized consonants ([pˤ], [tˤ], [sˤ], [ɬˤ] [t͡sˤ]) in the Shapsug dialect.

• The Kabardian dialect lost the consonants /ʃʷʼ/ /ʐʷ/ /ʂʷ/ /ʐ/ /ʂ/ and they become /fʼ/ /v/ /f/ /ʑ/ /ɕ/.

Grammar

Noun instrumental case

The suffix that was added for instrumental case nouns was -мгьэ (-mɡʲa) or -гьэ (-gʲa). In most West Circassian and East Circassian dialects it became -мкIэ (-mt͡ʃa) or -кIэ (-t͡ʃa). In a few dialects it became -мджэ (-md͡ʒa) or -джэ (-d͡ʒa).

For example:

Numbers

Words

χʲ

See also

• Proto Abkhaz-Abaza
• Proto-Northwest Caucasian language

References

• STAROSTIN, Sergei A.; NIKOLAYEV, Sergei L. (1994). A North Caucasian Etymological Dictionary: Preface.