Ubykh language

Ubykh is agglutinative and polysynthetic: /ʃɨkʲʼɐjɨfɜnɜmɨt/ ('we will not be able to go back'), /ɐwqʼɜqʼɜjtʼbɜ/ ('if you had said it'). It is often extremely concise in its word forms.

The boundaries between nouns and verbs is somewhat blurred. Any noun can be used as the root of a stative verb (/mɨzɨ/ 'child', /sɨmɨzɨjtʼ/ 'I was a child'), and many verb roots can become nouns simply by the use of noun affixes (/qʼɜ/ 'to say', /sɨqʼɜ/ 'what I say').[4][5]

The noun system in Ubykh is quite simple. It has three main noun cases (the oblique-ergative case may be two homophonous cases with differing function, thus presenting four cases in total):

• direct or absolutive case, marked with the bare root; this indicates the subject of an intransitive sentence and the direct object of a transitive sentence (e.g. /tɨt/ 'a man')
• oblique-ergative case, marked in -/n/; this indicates either the subject of a transitive sentence, targets of preverbs, or indirect objects which do not take any other suffixes (/mɨzɨn/ '(to) a child')
• locative case, marked in -/ʁɜ/, which is the equivalent of English in, on or at.

There are X other cases that exist in Ubykh too:

• instrumental case (-/ɜwn(ɨ)/) was also treated as a case in Dumézil (1975).
• instrumental-comitative case (-/ɐlɜ/).
• Another pair of postpositions, -/lɐq/ ('to[wards]') and -/ʁɐfɜ/ ('for'), have been noted as synthetic datives (e.g. /ɜχʲɨlɐq ɜstʷɜdɜw/ 'I will send it to the prince'), but their status as cases is also best discounted.

Nouns do not distinguish grammatical gender. The definite article is /ɐ/ (e.g. /ɐtɨt/ 'the man'). There is no indefinite article directly equivalent to the English a or an, but /zɜ/-(root)-/ɡʷɜrɜ/ (literally 'one'-(root)-'certain') translates French un : e.g. /zɜnɜjnʃʷɡʷɜrɜ/ ('a certain young man').

Number is only marked on the noun in the ergative case, with -/nɜ/. The number marking of the absolutive argument is either by suppletive verb roots (e.g. /ɐkʷɨn blɜs/ 'he is in the car' vs. /ɐkʷɨn blɜʒʷɜ/ 'they are in the car') or by verb suffixes: /ɐkʲʼɜn/ ('he goes'), /ɐkʲʼɐn/ ('they go'). The second person plural prefix /ɕʷ/- triggers this plural suffix regardless of whether that prefix represents the ergative, the absolutive, or an oblique argument:

• Absolutive: /ɕʷɜstʷɐn/ ('I give you all to him')
• Oblique: /sɨɕʷɨntʷɐn/ ('he gives me to you all')
• Ergative: /ɐsɨɕʷtʷɐn/ ('you all give it/them to me')

Note that, in this last sentence, the plurality of it (/ɐ/-) is obscured; the meaning can be either 'You all give it to me' or 'You all give them to me'.

Adjectives, in most cases, are simply suffixed to the noun: /tʃɨbʒɨjɜ/ ('pepper') with /pɬɨ/ ('red') becomes /tʃɨbʒɨjɜpɬɨ/ ('red pepper'). Adjectives do not decline.

Postpositions are rare; most locative semantic functions, as well as some non-local ones, are provided with preverbal elements: /ɐsχʲɜwtxqʼɜ/ ('you wrote it for me'). However, there are a few postpositions: /sɨʁʷɜ sɨɡʲɐtɕʼ/ ('like me'), /ɐχʲɨlɐq/ ('near the prince').

Free pronouns in all North-West Caucasian languages lack an ergative-absolutive distinction.[3]

Possessed nouns have their plurality marked with the affix /-ɜw-/.

A past–present–future distinction of verb tense exists (the suffixes -/qʼɜ/ and -/ɜwt/ represent past and future) and an imperfective aspect suffix is also found (-/jtʼ/, which can combine with tense suffixes). Dynamic and stative verbs are contrasted, as in Arabic, and verbs have several nominal forms. Morphological causatives are not uncommon. The conjunctions /ɡʲɨ/ ('and') and /ɡʲɨlɜ/ ('but') are usually given with verb suffixes, but there is also a free particle corresponding to each:

• -/ɡʲɨ/ 'and' (free particle /ve/, borrowed from Arabic);
• -/ɡʲɨlɜ/ 'but' (free particle /ɜʁʷɜ/)

Pronominal benefactives are also part of the verbal complex, marked with the preverb /χʲɜ/-, but a benefactive cannot normally appear on a verb that has three agreement prefixes already.

Gender only appears as part of the second person paradigm, and then only at the speaker's discretion. The feminine second person index is /χɜ/-, which behaves like other pronominal prefixes: /wɨsχʲɜntʷɨn/ ('he gives [it] to you [normal; gender-neutral] for me'), but compare /χɜsχʲɜntʷɨn/ 'he gives [it] to you [feminine] for me').

Oblique 1 markers are limited to marking the agreement of a noun before a relational preverb and Oblique 2 markers are used for not only marking agreement with local and directional preverbs but also the simple oblique, or dative, arguments. [3]

The second-person /χɜ/- is an archaic pronoun used to indicate that the person being referred to is a female, or heckling the speaker in some way.

Dynamic Ubykh verbs are split up in two groups: Group I which contain the simple tenses and Group II which contain derived counterpart tenses. Only the Karaclar dialect uses the progressive tense and the plural is unknown.

The singular-plural distinction is used when the subject, the ergative, is singular or plural.

Square brackets indicate elided vowels; parenthesis indicate optional parts of the stem; and the colon indicates the boundary of a morpheme. [3]

The verbs in the simple past tense are conjugated with -/qʼɜ/ in the singular and -/qʼɜ-n(ɜ)/ in the plural.

Examples:

• /qʼɜ/ - to say → /ɐ-qʼɜ-qʼɜ/ (s)he said
• /fɨ/ - to eat → /ɐ-fɨ-qʼɜ/ (s)he ate
• /tɕʼɜ/ - to know → /ɐ-tɕʼɜ-qʼɜ/ (s)he knew
• /kʲʼɜ/ - to go → /ɐ-kʲʼɜ-qʼɜ/ (s)he went

The verbs in the mirative past tense are conjugated with -/jtʼ/ in the singular and -/jɬ(ɜ)/ in the plural.

Examples:

• /qʼɜ/ - to say → /ɐ-qʼɜ-jtʼ/ (s)he said apparently
• /fɨ/ - to eat → /ɐ-fɨ-jtʼ/ (s)he ate apparently
• /tɕʼɜ/ - to know → /ɐ-tɕʼɜ-jtʼ/ (s)he knew apparently
• /kʲʼɜ/ - to go → /ɐ-kʲʼɜ-jtʼ/ (s)he went apparently

The verbs in the present tense are conjugated with -/n/ in the singular and -/ɐ-n/ in the plural.

Examples:

• /qʼɜ/ - to say → /ɐ-qʼɜ-n/ (s)he says
• /fɨ/ - to eat → /ɐ-fɨ-n/ (s)he eats
• /tɕʼɜ/ - to know → /ɐ-tɕʼɜ-n/ (s)he knows
• /kʲʼɜ/ - to go → /ɐ-kʲʼɜ-n/ (s)he goes

The verbs in the present tense are conjugated with -/ɜw/ in the singular and -/n[ɜ]-ɜw/ in the plural. It conveys a sense of certainty, immediacy, obligation, or intentionality.

Examples:

• /qʼɜ/ - to say → /ɐ-qʼ-ɜw/ (s)he certainly will say
• /fɨ/ - to eat → /ɐ-f-ɜw/ (s)he certainly will eat
• /tɕʼɜ/ - to know → /ɐ-tɕʼ-ɜw/ (s)he certainly will know
• /kʲʼɜ/ - to go → /ɐ-kʲʼ-ɜw/ (s)he certainly will go

The verbs in the present tense are conjugated with -/ɜw:t/ in the singular and -/n[ɜ]-ɜw:t/ in the plural. It conveys a generic sense of the future as well as an exhortative sense such as: /ʃɨ-kʲʼɜ-n[ɜ]-ɜw/ (let's go!).

Examples:

• /qʼɜ/ - to say → /ɐ-qʼ-ɜw:t/ (s)he will say
• /fɨ/ - to eat → /ɐ-f-ɜw:t/ (s)he will eat
• /tɕʼɜ/ - to know → /ɐ-tɕʼ-ɜw:t/ (s)he will know
• /kʲʼɜ/ - to go → /ɐ-kʲʼ-ɜw:t/ (s)he will go

In all dialects and speakers, only two static tenses exist: present and past.

There are five basic aspects that exist besides the aspects that exist within the Ubykh tense system. They are: habitual, iterative, exhaustive, excessive, and potential.

A speaker may combine one of these aspects with another to convey more complex aspects in conjunction with the tenses. [3]

A few meanings covered in English by adverbs or auxiliary verbs are given in Ubykh by verb suffixes:

• /ɐsfɨfɜn/ ('I can eat it') - /ɐzdʑʷɜfɜn/ ('I can drink it')
• /ɐsfɨɡʲɜn/ ('I eat it all the time') - /ɐzdʑʷɜɡʲɜn/ ('I drink it all the time')
• /ɐsfɨlɜn/ ('I am eating it all up') - /ɐzdʑʷɜlɜn/ ('I am drinking it all up')
• /ɐsfɨtɕʷɜn/ ('I eat it too much') - /ɐzdʑʷɜtɕʷɜn/ ('I drink it too much')
• /ɐsfɐjɨn/ ('I eat it again') - /ɐzdʑʷɐjɨn/ ('I drink it again')

Questions may be marked grammatically, using verb suffixes or prefixes:

• Yes–no questions with -/ɕ/: /wɜnɜ ɐwbjɜqʼɜɕ/? ('did you see that?')
• Complex questions with -/j/: /sɐkʲʼɜ wɨpʼtsʼɜj/? ('what is your name?')

Other types of questions, involving the pronouns 'where' and 'what', may also be marked only in the verbal complex: /mɐwkʲʼɜnɨj/ ('where are you going?'), /sɐwqʼɜqʼɜjtʼɨj/ ('what had you said?').

Many local, prepositional, and other functions are provided by preverbal elements providing a large series of applicatives, and here Ubykh shows remarkable complexity. Two main types of preverbal elements exist: determinants and preverbs. The number of preverbs is limited, and mainly show location and direction. The number of determinants is also limited, but the class is more open; some determinant prefixes include /tʃɜ/- ('with regard to a horse') and /ɬɜ/- ('with regard to the foot or base of an object').

For simple locations, there are a number of possibilities that can be encoded with preverbs, including (but not limited to):

• above and touching
• above and not touching
• below and touching
• below and not touching
• at the side of
• through a space
• through solid matter
• on a flat horizontal surface
• on a non-horizontal or vertical surface
• in a homogeneous mass
• towards
• in an upward direction
• in a downward direction
• into a tubular space
• into an enclosed space

There is also a separate directional preverb meaning 'towards the speaker': /j/-, which occupies a separate slot in the verbal complex. However, preverbs can have meanings that would take up entire phrases in English. The preverb /jtɕʷʼɐ/- signifies 'on the earth' or 'in the earth', for instance: /ʁɜdjɜ ɐjtɕʷʼɐnɐɬqʼɜ/ ('they buried his body'; literally, "they put his body in the earth"). Even more narrowly, the preverb /fɐ/- signifies that an action is done out of, into or with regard to a fire: /ɐmdʒɜn zɜtʃɨtʃɜqʲɜ fɐstχʷɨn/ ('I take a brand out of the fire').

Ubykh syllables have a strong tendency to be CV, although VC and CVC also exist. Consonant clusters are not as large as in Abzhywa Abkhaz or in Georgian, rarely being larger than two terms. Three-term clusters exist in two words - /ndʁɜ/ ('sun') and /pstɜ/ ('to swell up'), but the latter is a loan from Adyghe, and the former more often pronounced /nədʁa/ when it appears alone. Compounding plays a large part in Ubykh and, indeed, in all Northwest Caucasian semantics. There is no verb equivalent to English to love, for instance; one says "I love you" as /tʂʼɜnɨ wɨzbjɜn/ ('I see you well').

Reduplication occurs in some roots, often those with onomatopoeic values (/χˤɜχˤɜ/, 'to curry[comb]' from /χˤɜ/ 'to scrape'; /kʼɨrkʼɨr/, 'to cluck like a chicken' [a loan from Adyghe]); and /wɜrqwɜrq/, 'to croak like a frog').

Roots and affixes can be as small as one phoneme. The word /wɜntʷɐn/, 'they give you to him', for instance, contains six phonemes, each a separate morpheme:

• /w/ - 2nd singular absolutive
• /ɜ/ - 3rd singular dative
• /n/ - 3rd ergative
• /tʷ/ - to give ^a
• /ɐ/ - ergative plural
• /n/ - present tense

However, some words may be as long as seven syllables (although these are usually compounds): /ʂɨqʷʼɜwɨɕɜɬɐdɨtʃɜ/ ('staircase').

As with all other languages, Ubykh is replete with idioms. The word /ntʷɜ/ ('door'), for instance, is an idiom meaning either "magistrate", "court", or "government." However, idiomatic constructions are even more common in Ubykh than in most other languages; the representation of abstract ideas with series of concrete elements is a characteristic of the Northwest Caucasian family. As mentioned above, the phrase meaning "I love you" translates literally as 'I see you well'; similarly, "you please me" is literally 'you cut my heart'. The term /wɨrɨs/ ('Russian'), an Arabic loan, has come to be a slang term meaning "infidel", "non-Muslim" or "enemy" (see History below).

The majority of loanwords in Ubykh are derived from either Adyghe or Arabic, with smaller numbers from Persian, Abkhaz, and the South Caucasian languages. Towards the end of Ubykh's life, a large influx of Adyghe words was noted; Vogt (1963) notes a few hundred examples. The phonemes /ɡ/ /k/ /kʼ/ were borrowed from Arabic and Adyghe. /ɬʼ/ also appears to come from Adyghe, although it seems to have arrived earlier on. It is possible, too, that /ɣ/ is a loan from Adyghe, since most of the few words with this phoneme are obvious Adyghe loans: /pɐɣɜ/ ('proud'), /ɣɜ/ ('testis').

Many loanwords have Ubykh equivalents, but were dwindling in usage under the influence of Arabic, Circassian, and Russian equivalents:

• /bɨrwɨ/ ('to make a hole in, to perforate' from Iranic languages) = /pɕɐtχʷ/
• /tʃɐj/ ('tea' from Chinese) = /bzɨpɕɨ/
• /wɨrɨs/ ('enemy' from Persian) = /bˤɜqˤʼɜ/

Some words, usually much older ones, are borrowed from less influential stock: Colarusso (1994) sees /χˤʷɜ/ ('pig') as a borrowing from a proto-Semitic *huka, and /ɜɡʲɜrɨ/ ('slave') from an Iranian root; however, Chirikba (1986) regards the latter as being of Abkhaz origin ( ← Abkhaz agər-wa 'lower cast of peasants; slave', literally 'Megrelian').

While not many dialects of Ubykh existed, one divergent dialect of Ubykh has been noted (in Dumézil 1965:266-269). Grammatically, it is similar to standard Ubykh (i.e. Tevfik Esenç's dialect), but has a very different sound system, which had collapsed into just 62-odd phonemes:

• /dʷ/ /tʷ/ /tʷʼ/ have collapsed into /b/ /p/ /pʼ/.
• /ɕʷ/ /ʑʷ/ are indistinguishable from /ʃʷ/ /ʒʷ/.
• /ɣ/ seems to have disappeared.
• Pharyngealisation is no longer distinctive, having been replaced in many cases by geminate consonants.
• Palatalisation of the uvular consonants is no longer phonemic.

Ubykh had been cited in the Guinness Book of Records (1996 ed.) as the language with the most consonant phonemes, but since 2017 the !Xóõ language (a member of the Tuu languages) has been considered by the book to have broken that record, with 130 consonants.[7] Ubykh has 20 uvular and 29 pure fricative phonemes, more than any other known language.

All examples from Dumézil 1968.[8]

• Notes