The Northwest Caucasian Languages

A Phonological Survey

John Colarusso

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• eBook ISBN:
  9781317918165
• Subtopic: Linguistics
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Perhaps more than any other group of languages those of the Caucasus are famous for their enormous and difficult consonantal systems. It is by no means exceptional for one of these languages to have as many as 50 consonants, and of these languages those from the Northwest Caucasus have the largest and most complex consonantal systems. The extensive use of the articulatory regions of the mouth together with the occurrence of secondary modifications at many of these points is unequalled by any other known group of languages. This detailed study examines the languages of the Northwest Caucasus and provides an essential guide to this most complicated group of languages.

Chapter 1
The Northwest Caucasian Language Family

1. Characteristics of the Northwest Caucasian languages

The NWC languages exhibit several traits that are typical both of languages indigenous to the Caucasus as well as those such as Armenian and Ossetic, both Indo-European, which have come to be spoken in the Caucasus within historical times. Most striking of these areal characteristics is the occurrence of glottalic consonants in the stops. For most of the consonantal series there is an opposition between voiceless aspirated, voiced unaspirated, and glottalic stops and affricates. The glottalic members can be either true glottalic ejectives with complete glottal closure, or forms with slight glottal trilling, or even, on occasion, forms with weak glottal closure and no ejective airstream, closely resembling unaspirated stops. The occurrence of true glottalic ejectives is apparently (among the languages of western Asia and Europe) unique to the Caucasian languages and those non-Caucasian languages spoken in the Caucasus. Also universal among Caucasian languages are the oppositions of a velar and uvular series, and an alveolar and palato-alveolar series. The alveolar and palato-alveolar series usually comprise spirants, affricates, or both. The tendency to have velar - uvular and alveolar - palatoalveolar oppositions is more wide-spread, and as such is not peculiar to the Caucasus. No Caucasian language lacks such oppositions, however, and they are, therefore, a diagnostic feature of Caucasian phonology.

The problem of defining the NWC languages as a group distinct from the NEC and Kartvelian families is complicated by the diversity of the languages which make up the NWC family. The most striking phonological aspect of the NWC languages is their tendency to have complex consonantal systems, the elements of which enter into complex and difficult clusters. While the NEC languages often have complex consonantal inventories, their tendency to form clusters is limited, and while the Kartvelian languages have clusters which are even more complex than those found in the NWC group, their consonantal inventories do not show the large number of contrasts observed in the other Caucasian families. Further search for defining attributes of the NWC languages runs into difficulty. More specifically it is tempting at first glance to regard the fact that most NEC and Kartvelian languages have no more than two points of articulation (alveolar and palato-alveolar) for the coronal spirants and affricates and the fact that the NWC languages generally have three points of articulation for such coronal consonants (alveolar, alveo-palatal, and palato-alveolar) as diagnostic of the group as a whole. This generalization, however, breaks down in the case of Abaza, some dialects of which possess only alveolar and palato-alveolar affricates and spirants, while the NEC language Udi has three points of articulation for the coronal spirants (Deeters 1963, 20). Similarly it is not possible to regard the presence of both rounded velars and uvulars, universal in the NWC family, as peculiar to that group; rounded velars and uvulars can also be found in such NEC languages as Kʾɒri Lezgi (Trubetzkoy 1931, 22; Gaidarov and Alipulatov 1965, 43–4) and Khinalug¹ (Dešeriev 1959, 12–15). Indeed, the one phonological trait that is diagnostic of NWC languages is found in the vowel system and not in the consonantal system at all. Every NWC language, and in the Caucasus,² only NWC languages, has but two vowels, contrasting in height, and usually written “ə” and “a” (cf. infra chapter 2).

Despite these obvious difficulties, it is possible to describe aspects of the consonantal systems of the NWC languages, which if not defining attributes of the group as a whole, at least typify most of its members. It is also possible to further identify features which are restricted to various sub-groupings or individual languages and dialects. As a whole members of the family have consonants in the labial, labio-dental, alveolar or dental, alveo-palatal, palato-alveolar, palatal, velar, uvular, pharyngeal, and laryngeal points of articulation. Furthermore, in many of the languages there is an opposition in the alveolar region between apical and lamina1 affricates and spirants. There is often an opposition between laminal and retroflexed spirants and affricates in the palato-alveolar region as well. It is, therefore, possible to have consonantal series at 11 points of articulation. In addition many of these series show secondary modifications such as rounding, pharyngealization, and palatalization. All of the languages show rounding in the velar and uvular regions. Some show rounded forms in the pharyngeal and laryngeal areas, and often in one or more of the coronal series as well. One language has a rounded labio-dental. A few languages and dialects have pharyngealized uvulars, both plain and rounded. One language has pharyngealized labials, and one dialect has pharyngealized coronals, alveolar or alveo-palatal, both plain and rounded. There is some use of palatalization. Historically, older palatalized velars and palato-alveolars have given rise to the palatals and lamino-palato-alveolar series. Many languages still retain a distinct palatalized uvular series, which is opposed to both velars and uvulars. The stops have at least the three-way contrast, universal in the Caucasus, between voiceless, voiced, and ejective series, and the spirants have a two-way contrast between voiceless and voiced members. Some languages have a fourway stop contrast, opposing voiceless aspirated series to a voiceless unaspirated series in addition to the voiced and ejective series. It is frequent to find ejective spirants scattered among the family, and a few languages have an opposition between voiceless aspirated, voiceless unaspirated, and voiced spirants. The nasals and glides, as well as the sonorants /l/ and /r/, have only voiced forms, except for one language which has at least one ejective glide.

The extensive use of the articulatory regions of the mouth together with the occurrence of secondary modifications at many of these points is unequaled by any other known group of languages. Only the NEC languages and the American Indian languages of the Northwest Coast of the United States and Canada show a comparable use of the articulatory regions. The Northwest Coast American Indian languages (e.g., Haida, Tlingit, Bella Coola, Squamish, etc.), show remarkably parallel tendencies to round many of the posterior series of the vocal tract, such as the velar, uvular, and sometimes the pharyngeal series. In fact, in their tendency to form large and difficult consonant clusters, and to make extensive use of the glottalic ejective source mechanism, many of the Northwest Coast American Indian languages strongly resemble the NWC languages. This impression is reinforced by the tendency of the Northwest Coast American Indian languages to have very small vowel systems. One may imagine that they have undergone many of the same types of historical processes which have also occurred in the history of the NWC languages (cf. Colarusso, forthcoming, a).

2. The members of the NWC family

There are three main sub-divisions of the NWC family, two of which are further sub-divided (sub-dialects are within parentheses):

1. Circassian³
   1. West Circassian or Kyakh
      • 1) Natukhay
      • 2) Shapsegh
      • 3) Hakuchi
        (Old Hakuchi)
      • 4) Abdzakh or Abadzakh
        (Old Abdzakh)
      • 5) Bzhedukh
        (Khamysh or Khamchey)
        (Chercheney or Kirkeney)⁴
      • 6) Khatukay
      • 7) Chemgwi or Terairgoy⁴
        (Kemirgoy)⁴
        (Yegerukay)
        (Mamkhetoy)
        (Makhoshey)
   2. East Circassian
      • 1) Kabardian
        (Greater Kabardian)
        (Lesser Kabardian)
        (Terek)
        (Kuban)
        (Mozdok)
        (Malka)
        (Baksan)
      • 2) Besleney or Besney
        (Old Besleney)
      • 3) Kubano-Zelenchuk
2. Ubykh
   (2 dialects both called /t°axə̀/, one poorly known)
3. Abkhaz-Abaza
   1. Abkhaz
      • 1) Bzyb or Northern Abkhaz
        (Kaladakhwar)
        (Aatsin)
      • 2) Abzhwi-samurzakan or Southern Abkhaz
        (Abzhwi)
        (Samurzakan)
      • 3) Ashkharwa, Shqarawa, Zelenchuk Abaza
        (Apsuy)
        (Kuvin)
   2. Abaza or Tapanta Abaza
      (Tapanta (tʾapʾanta))
      (Dudaruko-Bibard)
      (Lo-Kuban, Karapago, or Kubina (qʾ°bə̀yna))
      (Kum-Lo, Koydan, or Krasno-vostočnyj (g°əm làwkət))
      (Yegiboko)

For a survey of these languages one may see Deeters (1963), Balkarov (1970), and Paris (1974). The last work has much interesting historical data of a social nature, as well as information about the NWC speakers living outside the Soviet Union who far outnumber those still in the Caucasus. Many of these ccmmunrties in Turkey, the Middle East, Europe and the United States have dialects which have departed significantly from their Soviet counterparts. Many of these remain undescribed. This is also the case with many of the dialects still spoken in the Caucasus, some of which, such as Natukhay and Khatukay,⁵ are major dialects. Nevertheless the languages which have been analyzed present, on the whole, a continuum of dialects within each sub-group. Thus, Ashkharwa Abkhaz is close to the Abaza dialects, the subdialect Yegiboko Abaza being transitional between Ashkharwa and the other Abaza dialects. In East Circassian one finds a large continuum represented by Kabardian and its subdialects, all of which are very close to one another. The other two East Circassian languages, Besleney and Kubano-Zelenchuk, appear to be islands left in the midst of a large Kabardian expansion which coincided with a recent period of Kabardian political ascendancy. Besleney and Kubano-Zelenchuk represent a rare instance of discontinuity within a sub-group. Despite dialectal differences all the members of the NWC family share numerous traits of a superficial character despite etymological evidence⁶ which shows that the languages have undergone far-ranging and diverse developments. To describe the family it is sufficient to examine a few crucial dialects in detail while taking note of the differences presented by related dialects. We will turn first to the Circassian languages.

Footnotes to Chapter 1

¹ There is some evidence that Khinalug is not very closely related to the other NEC languages. It is perhaps better to treat it as on a level with NWC, Kartvelian, and NEC, as an isolate which may be remotely related to the other Caucasian languages and has been strongly influenced by Lezgi (Dešeriev 1959, 207; Kuipers 1963, 326). For a comparative study of NEC which treats Khinalug as a cognate language, cf. Gasanova et al. (1971).

² There are and were other languages with two vowel systems, cf. infra chapter 8.

³ Perhaps to be included in the Circassian group is the secret language of the nobility, called “shikwoshir”, “chakobsa”, or the “hunting language”. Until recently the Circassians were stratified into 4 rigid social groups, roughly, princes, noblemen, freemen, and slaves. The nobles and princes had a secret language first recorded by the traveler Jacob Reineggs (1796, 248), in the form of 19 words. These words present a language which seems to share no cognates with any other languages, including those of the NWC family, despite the fact that its overall appearance is one of a NWC language. Long thought to be extinct this language is in fact still maintained by the descendants of the princes and nobles. In Bzhedukh it is called /šʿ′akʾ°abza/ lit, ‘hunting’ /šʿ′akʾ°a/ + ‘language’ /bza/ (the name “chakobsa” reflects an earlier form of the word, */čʿ′akʾ°abza/). My principal informant, Mr....

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Original Title
• Original Copyright
• Dedication of the Garland Edition
• Original Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• A Tale
• Introduction
• Chapter 1. The Northwest Caucasian Language Family
• Chapter 2. The West Circassian or “KyaKh” Languages
• Chapter 3. The East Circassian Languages
• Chapter 4. Ubykh
• Chapter 5. Abkhaz
• Chapter 6. Abaza
• Chapter 7. The Palatalized and Pharyngealized Uvulars
• Chapter 8. The Vowels
• Appendix. The Phonological Systems of the Northwest Caucasian Languages and Dialects
• Bibliography