Circassian pronouns

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

Personal pronouns

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
сэоусэплъэы
[sawawəsapɬə]
IyouI am looking at you
"I am looking at you."
мыӏофырсэркӏэкъины
[məʔʷafərsart͡ʃʼaqəjnə]
thiswork (abs.)for mehard
"this work is hard for me."
ежьсэкъысиӏуагъ
[jaʑsaqəsəjʔʷaːʁ]
him/herI(s)he told me
"he told me himself."

Demonstrative pronouns

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
мороуимашинэ
[morwawəjmaːʃina]
this (abs.)youyour car
"That is your car."
ащкъысиӏуагъэрмыщесӏотэжьыгъ
[aːɕqəsəjʔʷaːʁarməɕqəjnə]
that (erg.)the thing (s)he told methis (erg.)I told him back
"I told this person the things that person told me."
ахэмкӏэмыджанэумощщыгъэрдахэ
[aːxamt͡ʃʼad͡ʒaːnawmoɕɕəʁərdaːxa]
for them (ins.)thisshirt (adv.)that (erg.)the thing (s)he is wearingbeautiful
"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
дымощицуакъэишъоолъэгъуа?
[dəmoɕjət͡sʷaːqajəʃʷawaɬaʁʷaː]
that over there (erg.)his shoeits colordo you see it?
"Do you see the color of that person's shoe over there?"
джэхэмэсадэгущыӏагъ
[d͡ʒaxamasaːdaɡʷəɕəʔaːʁ]
those (erg.)I spoke to them
"I spoke to them."
дыморкӏалэукъысэуагъэр
[dəmort͡ʃʼaːɮawqəsawaːʁar]
that over there (abs.)boy (adv.)the one that hit me
"That is the boy that hit me over there."

Interrogative pronoun

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?".
хэткъэкӏуагъэ?
[xatqakʷʼaːʁa]
whothe person that came
"Who came?"
сыдкӏалэмыцӏэ?
[sədt͡ʃʼaːɮamət͡sʼa]
whatthe boy (erg.)his name
"What is the boy's name?"
непэтыдэущыӏэщт?
[najpatədawɕəʔaɕt]
todaywhereyou will be there
"Today where will you be?"

Possessive pronouns

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
мыджэгуалъэхэрсэсиех
[məd͡ʒaɡʷaːɬaxarsasəjax]
thistoys (abs.)they are mine
"these toys are mine."
дымоунэплъэгъурэсэсый
[dəmowənapɬaʁʷərasasəj]
that over therehousewhat one you're seeingmine
"That house you are seeing is mine."
мыроуяежья?
[mərwawəjaːjaʑjaː]
this (abs.)is it yours?is it his?
"Is this yours or his?"

The nouns in Adyghe are different by their accessory signs, 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"
ышынахьыкӏэицӏэАслъан
[əʃənaːħət͡ʃʼajət͡sʼaaːsɬaːn]
his younger brotherhis nameAslan
"His younger brother's name is Aslan."
сэслъакъомэузы
[sasɬaːqʷamawzə]
Imy legit 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"
сэсицӏэАслъан
[sasəjt͡sʼaaːsɬaːn]
Imy nameAslan
"My name is Aslan."
сэсиунэишъофыжьы
[sasəjwənajəʃʷafəʑə]
Imy houseits colorwhite
"The color of my house is white."
яджанэхэрнахьдахэхуиджанэхэмэ
[jaːd͡ʒaːnaxarnaːħdaːxaxwəjd͡ʒaːnaxama]
their clothes (abs.)morebeautiful (plural)your clothes (erg.)
"Their clothes are more beautiful than yours."

Indefinite pronoun

In Adyghe whole one - зыгорэ. 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
зыгорэпчъэмкъытеуагъ
[zəɡʷarapt͡ʂamqətajwaːʁ]
someone (abs.)door (erg.)(s)he knocked it
"someone has knocked the door."
кӏалэ горэмбэнанэрешхы
[t͡ʃʼaːɮa ɡʷarambanaːnajaʃxə]
some boy (erg.)the banana (abs.)he eats
"some boy is eating the banana"
пшъэшъэдахэ горэммыркъысиӏуагъ
[pʂaʂadaːxa ɡʷarammərqəsiʔʷaːʁ]
girlsome pretty (erg.)thishe/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

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
сэрыкъэшъугъотын фае
[sarəqaʃʷəʁʷatən faːja]
it is methe one you must find
"the one you must find is me."
арыкъысиIуагъэ
[aːrəqəsiʔʷaːʁa]
that isthe thing he told me
"that is what he told me"
дыморыкIалэусфэсIуагъэ
[dəmorət͡ʃaːlawsəfasʔʷaːʁa]
that is over thereboy (adv.)the thing i talked about
"here is the boy i talked about"

References

    Bibliography

    • 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
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