In the Circassian language, pronouns belong to the following groups: personal, demonstrative, possessive, interrogative, adherent and indefinite.

In Adyghe, personal pronouns are only expressed in first person, second person and reflexive second-person in singular and plural forms.

Case First-person Second-person Reflexive third-person
Cyrillic IPA Cyrillic IPA Cyrillic IPA
Singular Absolutive сэ sa о wa ежь jaʑ
Ergative сэ sa о wa ежь jaʑ
Instrumental сэркӏэ sart͡ʃʼa оркӏэ wart͡ʃʼa ежькӏэ jaʑt͡ʃʼa
Adverbial сэрэу saraw орэу waraw ежьрэу jaʑraw
Plural Absolutive тэ ta шъо ʃʷa ежьхэр jaʑxar
Ergative тэ ta шъо ʃʷa ежьхэмэ jaʑxama
Instrumental тэркӏэ tart͡ʃʼa шъоркӏэ ʃʷart͡ʃʼa ежьхэмкӏэ jaʑxamt͡ʃʼa
Adverbial тэрэу taraw шъорэу ʃʷaraw ежьхэрэу jaʑxaxaw
сэ о усэплъэы
[sa wa wəsapɬə]
I you I am looking at you
"I am looking at you."
мы ӏофыр сэркӏэ къины
[mə ʔʷafər sart͡ʃʼa qəjnə]
this work (abs.) for me hard
"this work is hard for me."
ежь сэ къысиӏуагъ
[jaʑ sa qəsəjʔʷaːʁ]
him/her I (s)he told me
"he told me himself."

Demonstrative pronouns are мы "this", мо "that", а "that". There is a contradistinction between 'мы' and 'мо' on how far the referred object is. The pronoun 'а' is neutral on this matter. Third person pronouns are expressed as demonstrative pronouns.

Case Basic demonstratives
а мо мы
Cyrillic IPA Cyrillic IPA Cyrillic IPA
Singular Absolutive ар aːr мор mor мыр mər
Ergative ащ aːɕ мощ moɕ мыщ məɕ
Instrumental ащкӏэ aːɕt͡ʃʼa мощкӏэ moɕt͡ʃʼa мыщкӏэ məɕt͡ʃʼa
Adverbial арэу aːraw морэу moraw мырэу məraw
Plural Absolutive ахэр aːxar мохэр moxar мыхэр məxar
Ergative ахэмэ aːxama мохэмэ moxama мыхэмэ məxama
Instrumental ахэмкӏэ aːxamt͡ʃʼa мохэмкӏэ moxamt͡ʃʼa мыхэмкӏэ məxamt͡ʃʼa
Adverbial ахэрэу aːxaraw мохэрэу moxaraw мыхэрэу məxaraw
мор о уимашинэ
[mor wa wəjmaːʃina]
this (abs.) you your car
"That is your car."
ащ къысиӏуагъэр мыщ есӏотэжьыгъ
[aːɕ qəsəjʔʷaːʁar məɕ qəjnə]
that (erg.) the thing (s)he told me this (erg.) I told him back
"I told this person the things that person told me."
ахэмкӏэ мы джанэу мощ щыгъэр дахэ
[aːxamt͡ʃʼa d͡ʒaːnaw moɕ ɕəʁər daːxa]
for them (ins.) this shirt (adv.) that (erg.) the thing (s)he is wearing beautiful
"According to them, the shirt this person is wearing is beautiful."

The demonstrative pronouns джэ "that", дымы "this over here" and дымо "that over there" also exist in Circassian. There is a contradistinction between 'дымы' and 'дымо' on how far the referred object is. The pronoun 'джэ' is also neutral on this matter.

Case Other demonstratives
дымо дымы джэ
Cyrillic IPA Cyrillic IPA Cyrillic IPA
Singular Absolutive дымор dəmor дымыр dəmər джэр d͡ʒar
Ergative дымощ dəmoɕ дымыщ dəməɕ джэщ d͡ʒaɕ
Instrumental дымощкӏэ dəmoɕt͡ʃʼa дымыщкӏэ dəməɕt͡ʃʼa джэщкӏэ d͡ʒaɕt͡ʃʼa
Adverbial дыморэу dəmoraw дымырэу dəməraw джэрэу d͡ʒaraw
Plural Absolutive дымохэр dəmoxar дымыхэр dəməxar джэхэр d͡ʒaxar
Ergative дымохэмэ dəmoxama дымыхэмэ dəməxama джэхэмэ d͡ʒaxama
Instrumental дымохэмкӏэ dəmoxamt͡ʃʼa дымыхэмкӏэ dəməxamt͡ʃʼa джэхэмкӏэ d͡ʒaxamt͡ʃʼa
Adverbial дымохэрэу dəmoxaraw дымыхэрэу dəməxaraw джэхэрэу d͡ʒaxaraw
дымощ ицуакъэ ишъо олъэгъуа?
[dəmoɕ jət͡sʷaːqa jəʃʷa waɬaʁʷaː]
that over there (erg.) his shoe its color do you see it?
"Do you see the color of that person's shoe over there?"
джэхэмэ садэгущыӏагъ
[d͡ʒaxama saːdaɡʷəɕəʔaːʁ]
those (erg.) I spoke to them
"I spoke to them."
дымор кӏалэу къысэуагъэр
[dəmor t͡ʃʼaːɮaw qəsawaːʁar]
that over there (abs.) boy (adv.) the one that hit me
"That is the boy that hit me over there."

The interrogative pronoun is тэ "which".

Case
Cyrillic IPA
Singular Absolutive тэр tar
Ergative тэщ taɕ
Instrumental тэщкӏэ taɕt͡ʃʼa
Adverbial тэрэу taraw
Plural Absolutive тэхэр taxar
Ergative тэхэмэ taxama
Instrumental тэхэмкӏэ taxamt͡ʃʼa
Adverbial тэхэрэу taxaraw

Auxiliary interrogative words:

  • хэт (хэта) "who".
  • сыд (шъыд) "what/which".
  • сыда (шъыда) "why".
  • тыдэ "where".
  • тхьэпш "how much".
  • сыд фэдиз "how much".
  • тэщтэу (сыдэущтэу) "how".
  • тары "which".
  • сыдигъу (шъыдгъо) "when".
  • сыдкӏэ (шъыдкӏэ) "with what".
  • сыд фэд? "what kind of?".
хэт къэкӏуагъэ?
[xat qakʷʼaːʁa]
who the person that came
"Who came?"
сыд кӏалэм ыцӏэ?
[səd t͡ʃʼaːɮam ət͡sʼa]
what the boy (erg.) his name
"What is the boy's name?"
непэ тыдэ ущыӏэщт?
[najpa təda wɕəʔaɕt]
today where you will be there
"Today where will you be?"
Case First-person Second-person Third-person Reflexive third-person
Cyrillic IPA Cyrillic IPA Cyrillic IPA Cyrillic IPA
Singular Absolutive сэсый sasəj оуй wawəj ий jəj ежьый jaʑəj
Ergative сэсый sasəj оуй wawəj ий jəj ежьый jaʑəj
Instrumental сэсыемкӏэ sasəjamt͡ʃʼa оуемкӏэ wawəjamt͡ʃʼa иемкӏэ jəjamt͡ʃʼa ежьыемкӏэ jaʑəjamt͡ʃʼa
Adverbial сэсыеу sasəjaw оуеу wawəjaw иеу jəjaw ежьыеу jaʑəjaw
Plural Absolutive тэтый tatəj шъошъуй ʃʷaʃʷəj яй jaːj ежьыяй jaʑəjaːj
Ergative тэтый tatəj шъошъуй ʃʷaʃʷəj яй jaːj ежьыяй jaʑəjaːj
Instrumental тэтыемкӏэ tatəjamt͡ʃʼa шъошъуемкӏэ ʃʷaʃʷəjamt͡ʃʼa яемкӏэ jaːjamt͡ʃʼa ежьыяимкӏэ jaʑəjaːjəmt͡ʃʼa
Adverbial тэтыеу tatəjaw шъошъуеу ʃʷaʃʷəjaw яеу jaːjaw ежьыяеу jaʑəjaːjaw
мы джэгуалъэхэр сэсиех
[mə d͡ʒaɡʷaːɬaxar sasəjax]
this toys (abs.) they are mine
"these toys are mine."
дымо унэ плъэгъурэ сэсый
[dəmo wəna pɬaʁʷəra sasəj]
that over there house what one you're seeing mine
"That house you are seeing is mine."
мыр оуя ежья?
[mər wawəjaː jaʑjaː]
this (abs.) is it yours? is it his?
"Is this yours or his?"

The nouns in Adyghe are different by their accessory signs[clarification needed], which are broken down into the natural attribute and the property attribute. The natural attribute is for body parts and kin relationships (e.g. 'son', 'sister'). All other words belong to the property attribute.

  • Natural attributes are expressed with the following prefixes:
Prefix Meaning
Cyrillic IPA
Singular 1st person с- or сы- /s-/ or /sə-/ "my"
2nd person п- or у- /p-/ or /w-/ "your"
3rd person ы- /ə-/ "his"
Plural 1st person тэ- or т- /ta-/ or /t-/ "our"
2nd person шъо- or шъу- /ʃʷa-/ or /ʃʷə-/ "your"
3rd person a- /aː-/ "their"
ышынахьыкӏэ ицӏэ Аслъан
[əʃənaːħət͡ʃʼa jət͡sʼa aːsɬaːn]
his younger brother his name Aslan
"His younger brother's name is Aslan."
сэ слъакъо мэузы
[sa sɬaːqʷa mawzə]
I my leg it is hurting
"my leg hurts."
  • Property attributes are expressed by a different set of prefixes:
Prefix Meaning
Cyrillic IPA
Singular 1st person си- /səj-/ "my"
2nd person уи- /wəj-/ "your"
3rd person и- /jə-/ "his"
Plural 1st person ти- /təj-/ "our"
2nd person шъуи- /ʃʷəj-/ "your"
3rd person я- /jaː-/ "their"
сэ сицӏэ Аслъан
[sa səjt͡sʼa aːsɬaːn]
I my name Aslan
"My name is Aslan."
сэ сиунэ ишъо фыжьы
[sa səjwəna jəʃʷa fəʑə]
I my house its color white
"The color of my house is white."
яджанэхэр нахь дахэх уиджанэхэмэ
[jaːd͡ʒaːnaxar naːħ daːxax wəjd͡ʒaːnaxama]
their clothes (abs.) more beautiful (plural) your clothes (erg.)
"Their clothes are more beautiful than yours."

In Adyghe whole one - зыгорэ.[clarification needed] Serves for indication of all notions corresponding to English words "someone", "something", "someone", "something", "sometime", "somewhere", etc.

Changes either as noun – in number and in cases:

Case Singular form Plural form
Cyrillic IPA Cyrillic IPA
Absolutive зыгорэ zəɡʷara зыгорэхэр zəɡʷaraxar
Ergative зыгорэм zəɡʷaram зыгорэхэмэ zəɡʷaraxama
Instrumental зыгорэ(м)кӏэ zəɡʷara(m)t͡ʃʼa зыгорэхэ(м)кӏэ zəɡʷaraxa(m)t͡ʃʼa
Adverbial зыгорэу zəɡʷaraw зыгорэхэу zəɡʷaraxaw
зыгорэ пчъэм къытеуагъ
[zəɡʷara pt͡ʂam qətajwaːʁ]
someone (abs.) door (erg.) (s)he knocked it
"someone has knocked the door."
кӏалэ горэм бэнанэр ешхы
[t͡ʃʼaːɮa ɡʷaram banaːna jaʃxə]
some boy (erg.) the banana (abs.) he eats
"some boy is eating the banana"
пшъэшъэ дахэ горэм мыр къысиӏуагъ
[pʂaʂa daːxa ɡʷaram mər qəsiʔʷaːʁ]
girl some pretty (erg.) this he/she told me
"some pretty girl told me this"

Circassian adherent pronouns:

  • зыр, зым "one"
  • зыхэр, зыхэм "some"
  • зыгорэ, зыгорэм "someone, something"
  • тӏур, тӏум "both"
  • тэдрэзым "each one"
  • нэмыкӏыр "other"
  • ежь "self"
  • зэкӏэ "whole, all"
  • пстэури "everyone"
  • шъхьадж "every"
  • ышъхьэкӏэ "self personally"
  • хэти, хэтрэ "everyone", "each"
  • сыди, сыдрэ "everything", "each"
  • тыди, тыдэкӏи "everywhere"
  • зи, зыми "no one" (verb has to be negative)
  • зыгорэп "nothing" (verb has to be negative)
  • зыгори, зыгорэми "nobody, no one" (verb has to be negative)

Examples:

Хэти зышъхьамысыжьэу 1оф ыш1эн фае "Everyone must work hard".
Сыдрэ 1офри дэгъу, угу къыбде1эу бгъэцак1эмэ "Each job is good if it is made with soul".
Зыгори чэщдэсым къэкӏощтэп "Nobody will come to the party".
Пстэури экзамыным феджэх "Everyone is studying for the exam".
Ышъхьэкӏэ къыкӏонэу зэрэфамые къыӏуагъ "He said himself that he doesn't want to come".
Зыр къещхымэ унэм икӏыщтэп "One will not go out of the house if it is raining".
Зыхэр чэщым къыдэкӏыщтых, зыхэр къыдэкӏыщтыхэп "Some will go out in the night, some won't".

Indicatory pronouns

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Pronoun Cyrillic IPA Meaning
сэ сэры sarə it is me
о оры warə it is you
ежь ежьыр jaʑər it is him
тэ тэры tarə it is us
шъо шъоры ʃʷarə it is you (plural)
ежьхэ ежьхэр jaʑəxar it is them
Determiner Cyrillic IPA Meaning
а ары aːrə that one indeed
джэ джары d͡ʒaːrə exactly that one indeed
мо моры morə that one
дыо дыуары dəwaːrə that one over there
дымы дымары dəmaːrə this one over here
мы мары maːrə this one
тэ тары taːrə which one
сэры къэшъугъотын фае
[sarə qaʃʷəʁʷatən faːja]
it is me the one you must find
"the one you must find is me."
ары къысиIуагъэ
[aːrə qəsiʔʷaːʁa]
that is the thing he told me
"that is what he told me"
дыморы кIалэу сфэсIуагъэ
[dəmorə t͡ʃaːlaw səfasʔʷaːʁa]
that is over there boy (adv.) the thing i talked about
"here is the boy i talked about"

References

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Bibliography

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  • Аркадьев, П. М.; Ландер, Ю. А.; Летучий, А. Б.; Сумбатова, Н. Р.; Тестелец, Я. Г. Введение. Основные сведения об адыгейском языке в кн.: "Аспекты полисинтетизма: очерки по грамматике адыгейского языка" под ред.: П. М. Аркадьев, А. Б. Летучий, Н. Р. Сумбатова, Я. Г. Тестелец. Москва: РГГУ, 2009 (Arkadiev, P. M.; Lander, Yu. A.; Letuchiy, A. B.; Sumbatova, N. R.; Testelets, Ya. G.
  • Introduction. Basic information about Adyghe language in "Aspects of polysyntheticity: studies on Adyghe grammar" edited by: P. M. Arkadiev, A. B. Letuchiy, N. R. Sumbatova, Ya. G. Testelets. Moscow, RGGU, 2009) (in Russian) ISBN 978-5-7281-1075-0