Circassian pronouns

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

## Personal pronouns

[edit]

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

[edit]

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 | mə | 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."

## Interrogative pronoun

[edit]

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?"

## Possessive pronouns

[edit]

| 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."

## Indefinite pronoun

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

### Bibliography

[edit]

* 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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