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

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

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

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

	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, 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

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

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

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

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