Latinized Kabardian Alphabet

The following are latinized representations of official and literary Kabardian-Cherkess alphabet proposed by Amjad Jaimoukha . Please note that the Kabardians and Cherkess use the same official and literary language. There are only a few lexical differences. All examples are taken from Kabardian-English Dictionary by Amjad Jaimoukha, Amman : Sanjalay Press, 1997. This website is dotted with examples of latinized Kabardian orthography.

Latinized alphabet	English equivalent	Kabardian examples	Cyrillic equivalent
A a	dad, mad, bad	ade : there; father; dame: shoulder, wing; Mira?: Is it this?	А а
B b	B b	balije : radish; nobe : today; birib : pomposity	Б б
Ch ch	chest, chair	chin : whirligig; pichin : to tear off; helech : bad, spoilt	Ч ч
Ch’ ch ’	ch followed by glottal stop	ch’ e: tail, end; xech’in: to emerge (from some mass); f’ech ’: except	КI кI
D d	D d	dene : where; dade : grandpa; jed : hen	Д д
Dz dz	adze	dze : tooth; army; yedzin: to hurl; gwedz : wheat	Дз дз
E e (initial only in loan words)	schwa; heave n	eksponat : exhibit; lhepq : nation; race; breed; nape: face	Э э
ei (never in initial or final position)	day (short and undiphthongized )	zeik'we : campaign, outing	Е е
ey (never in initial position)	day (diphthongized)	f’ey : dirty	Ей ей
F f	F f	fe : skin; qefen : to dance; nef : blind	Ф ф
F’ f’	f followed by glottal stop	f’i : of good quality; zef’ech ’: initiative; l’if ’: good man	ФI фI
G g	Spanish/Dutch g, e.g. lago	gin : gunpowder; ghwegin : to weep; zhig : tree	Г г
Gh gh	Parisian r	ghasch’e : life; ghegha : flower; ghedirgh : clang	Гъ гъ
Ghw ghw	gh + w	ghw egw: way, road; mighwe : misfortune; ghw neghw : neighbour	Гъу гъу
Gw gw	Gwent	gw : heart; gwegwen : large metal pitcher; degw : deaf	Гу гу
H h	Arabic ح	he : dog; pihen : to weap; q’wh : ship	Хь хь
I i (only initial in interjections)	bin, din, sin	i’i : no; fiz : woman; qamishi : whip	Ы ы
iy (never initial)	see	txilhiybl : seven books; siy : my	И и
J j	J j	jegwn : to play; yejap’e: school; dij : bitter	Дж дж
K k	K k	there are no native words in literary Kabardian that have this sound; the equivalent is ch; used only in dialects and loan words, e.g. kasse : cash-desk; stekan : cup; rak : cancer	К к
Kw kw	could	kw : middle, centre; dekwn : to cram; xekw : country	Ку ку
K’w k’w	kw with glottal stop after k	k’w en: to go; qek’wen : to come; yemik’w : improper	КIу кIу
L l	L l	li : meat; delen : pie; mil: ice	Л л
L’ l’	lh followed by glottal stop	l’i : man; mil’en : not to die; pschil ’: slave	ЛI лI
Lh lh	Welsh ll , e.g. Llewellyn	lhap’e : expensive; delhen : to stroke; gwlh : bud	Лъ лъ
M m	M m	mode : there; qame : dagger; weram : street	М м
N n	N n	ne : eye; dene : where; sin: statue, monument	Н н
O o (initial only in loan words, final in very few words)	So (not diphthongized)	opit : experiment, test; sode : I accept; pso : unharmed, intact; lheposchhepo : barrier, hurdle	О о
P p	P p	pe : nose; nape: face; nip: flag	П п
P’ p’	p followed by glottal stop	p’ere ?: really?; p’ap’u: milk (child’s word); ’erip’ : domesticated, tame	ПI пI
Q q	Arabic ق	qak’we : come here; adaqe : cock; qiq : stammerer	Къ къ
Q’ q’	q + x’	q’able : grave; f’eq’iu : absolutely; beq ’: cow-shed	Кхъ кхъ
Qw qw	q + w	qwelen : speckled, spotted; diqwaqwe : fork, bifurcation; meqw : hay	Къу къу
Q’w q’w	q’ + w	q’w e: pig, swine; ch’aq’wiyt ’: two cocking pieces; ch’aq’w : gun cocking piece	Кхъу кхъу
R r (initial only in loan words)	rat (‘rolled’ )	roman : novel; mereim : Friday; mir : this	Р р
S s	S s	simaje : sick, ill; k’wesen : to elope; t’is : sit down	С с
Sch sch	alveolo -palatal sh	sch en: to sell; pschasche : girl; wesch : axe	Щ щ
Sch ’ sch ’	sch followed by glottal stop	sch’ ale: boy, lad; hesch’e : guest; psch’ipsch ’: sparkling	ЩI щI
Sh sh	shoot	shate : soured cream; qeshen : fiancée; yemizesh : indefatigable	Ш ш
T t	T t	tane : calf; satu : trade; qat : level, layer	Т т
T’ t’	t followed by glottal stop	t’i : ram; yat’e : mud; wet’psit ’: damp (of weather)	ТI тI
Ts ts	cats, bits	tsi : hair; batse : shaggy; lits : moss	Ц ц
Ts’ ts ’	ts followed by glottal stop	ts’ e: name; mats’e : grasshopper; k’wets ’: internal	ЦI цI
U u (never initial)	moon	pud : cheap; qaru : strength	У у
V v	V v	vi : bull; gheven : to boil; bev : abundant (of crops)	В в
W w	well	wane : saddle; qewat : nutritious; psinsch’ew : quickly	У у
’W ’w	’ + w	’w: mouth; zhi’eda’we: obedient; schi’w : top; button	Iу Iу
X x	Scottish/German ch, e.g. loch , ich	xade : garden; maxe : weak; ziqiyzix : well-dressed	Х х
X’ x’	Spanish j, e.g. jarra Arabic خ	x’arbiz : water-melon; malhx’e : son-in-law; tsirx ’: flimsy	Хъ хъ
Xw xw	x + w	xw : wheat; qeschexwn : to buy; delhxw : brother (of a woman)	Ху ху
X’w x’w	x’ + w	x’w men: to guard, protect; Mix’wr : seal; zchex’w : rude person	Хъу хъу
Y y	yes	yape : first; miyin : not large; bzchamiy : pipe; zurna	— —
Z z	Z z	zi : one; ’eze : skilful; mez : forest	З з
Zch zch	alveolo -palatal zh	zch e: mouth; mazche : comb; leghwpezch : leader of herdsmen	Жь жь
Zh zh	genre, eras ure	zhem : cow; qwazhe : village; lhemizh : bridge	Ж ж
’ ’	glottal stop	’ ene: three-legged table; Q’i’e !: Please!; We’!: Oh!	I I

NOTE: In some cases were confusion may arise when reading sh , sch, etc, either as one or two letters, a hyphen could be inserted in the latter case, thus, sh vs. s-h and sch vs. s-ch. There are precedents in European languages. In Catalan, for example, a period is used to distinguish between two consecutive ls ( l.l) and the combined letter ll , while in Scotland a hyphen is sometimes found in words like ‘Ross-shire’.

Official Kabardian Alphabet (Cyrillic) *

А	Э *	Б	В	Г	Гу	Гъ	Гъу	Д	Дж
Дз	Е	Ё	Ж	Жь	З	И	Й	К	Ку
КI	КIу	Къ	Къу	Кхъ	Кхъу	Л	Лъ	ЛI	М
Н	О	П	ПI	Р	С	Т	ТI	У	Ф
ФI	Х	Ху	Хь	Хъ	Хъу	Ц	ЦI	Ч	Ш
Щ	ЩI	Ы	Э * *	Ю	Я	I	Iу	Ъ	Ь

* B. M. Kardanov (ed.), Kabardinsko-russki slovar [Kabardian-Russian Dictionary], Kabardino-Balkarian Science and Research Institute, Moscow : State Press of Foreign and National Dictionaries, 1957 , p12.

Official Adigean Alphabet (Cyrillic) **

А	Б	В	Г	Гъ	Д	Дж	Дз	Е	Ё
Ж	Жъ	Жь	З	И	Й	К	Къ	КI	Л
Лъ	ЛI	М	Н	О	П	ПI	Р	С	Т
ТI	У	Ф	Х	Хъ	Хь	Ц	ЦI	Ч	Чъ
ЧI	Ш	Шъ	ШI	Щ	Ы	Э	Ю	Я	I
Ъ	Ь

** A. A. Hat’ene & Z. I. Ch’erashe, Adigabzem Yizexef Gwshi’alh [Explanatory Dictionary of the Adigean Language], Bzem , Literaturem, Istoriem ya Adige Nauchne-Issledovatelske Institut [Adigean Science and Research Institute of Language, Literature and History], Maikop: Circassian Book Press, 1960 , pxvi.

Certain phonetic nuances in Adigean, such as the difference between ‘щ’ and ‘ш’, and ‘ч’ and ‘чъ’, are lost in the Latin system for Kabardian.

Back to Amjad Jaimoukha's Circassian Culture & Folklore page

This Page hosted by Yahoo Geocities Get your own Free Home Page

---

* Schwa in Circassian words.

* * In loan words.