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Cherkess language

Circassian
Cherkess
Ethnicity: Circassians
Geographic
distribution:
North Caucasus
Linguistic classification: Northwest Caucasian
Proto-language: Proto-Circassian
Subdivisions:
Glottolog: circ1239
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  Circassian

Circassian /sərˈkæsiən/, also known as Cherkess /ərˈkɛs/, is a dialect continuum of the North Caucasus. There are two Circassian languages, defined by their literary standards, Adyghe (КӀахыбзэ, West Circassian), with half a million speakers, and Kabardian (Къэбэрдейбзэ, East Circassian), with a million. The spoken languages, however, merge, with intermediate dialects intelligible to both standards. The earliest extant written records of the Circassian language are in the Arabic script, recorded by the Turkish traveller Evliya Çelebi in the 17th century.

The terms "Circassian" and "Cherkess" are sometimes used as synonyms for the Northwest Caucasian languages in general.

Adyghe Alphabet

Kabardian Alphabet

Dialectal letters

Sound changes between West Circassian (Temirgoy) and East Circassian (Kabardian) :


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