The Bzhedug dialect () is a dialect of Adyghe.Bzhedug dialect The Bzhedug dialect is spoken by the Bzhedugs who live mostly in Adygea and Biga.
Phonology
Dropped consonants In the Bzhedug dialect (as in the Northern Shapsug dialect) in some cases the consonants н , м and р are dropped and are not pronounced.Наращение сонорных согласных
The consonant м is dropped before bilabial stops б , п , пI :
Meaning Bzhedug Standard Adyghe KabardianCyrillicIPACyrillicIPACyrillicIPA calm сабыр saːbər самбыр saːmbər самбыр saːmbər Saturday шэбэт ʃabat шэмбэт ʃambat щэбэт ɕabat finger Iэхъуабэ ʔaχʷaːba Iэхъуамбэ ʔaχʷaːmba Iэпхъуамбэ ʔapχʷaːmba toe лъэхъуабэ ɬaχʷaːba лъэхъуамбэ ɬaχʷaːmba лъэпхъуамбэ ɬapχʷaːmba wide шъуабгъо ʃʷaːbʁʷa шъуамбгъо ʃʷaːmbʁʷa фабгъуэ faːbʁʷa peel шъуапIэ ʃʷaːpʼa шъуампIэ ʃʷaːmpʼa фампIэ faːmpʼa board пхъэбгъу pχabʁʷ пхъэмбгъу pχambʁʷ пхъэбгъу pχabʁʷ worm хьэблыу ħabləw хьамлыу ħaːmɮəw хьэмбылыу ħambəɮəw
The consonant н is dropped before postalveolar affricates дж , ч , кI and before alveolar stops д , т , тI :
Meaning Bzhedug Standard Adyghe KabardianCyrillicIPACyrillicIPACyrillicIPA egg кIэкIэ t͡ʃʼat͡ʃʼa кIэнкIэ t͡ʃant͡ʃa джэдыкӀэ d͡ʒadət͡ʃʼa sweat пкIатIэ pt͡ʃʼaːtʼa пкIантIэ pt͡ʃʼaːntʼa пщIантIэ pɕʼaːntʼa flue pipe оджэкъ wad͡ʒaq онджэкъ wand͡ʒaq уэнжакъ wanžaq rice пыдж pəd͡ʒ пындж pənd͡ʒ пынжь pənʑ pillow шъхьатэ ʂħaːta шъхьантэ ʂħaːnta щхьэнтэ ɕħanta pants гъочэдж ʁʷat͡ʃad͡ʒ гъончэдж ʁʷant͡ʃad͡ʒ гъуэншэдж ʁʷanʃad͡ʒ fast псыкIэ psət͡ʃʼa псынкIэ psənt͡ʃʼa псынщIэ psənɕʼa shovel хьацэ ħaːt͡sa хьанцэ ħaːnt͡sa хьэнцэ ħant͡sa blue шхъуатIэ ʃχʷaːtʼa шхъуантIэ ʃχʷaːntʼa шхъуантIэ ʃχʷaːntʼa key IукIыбзэ ʔʷət͡ʃʼəbza IункIыбзэ ʔʷənt͡ʃəbza IункIыбзэ ʔʷənt͡ʃəbza vein лъытфэ ɬətfa лъынтфэ ɬəntfa лъынтхуэ ɬəntxʷa heavy отэгъу wataʁʷ онтэгъу wantaʁʷ уэндэгъу wandaʁʷ knee лъэгуаджэ ɬaɡʷaːd͡ʒa лъэгуанджэ ɬaɡʷaːnd͡ʒa лъэгуажьэ ɬaɡʷaːʑa butterfly хьапIырашъу ħapˈəpaʃʷ] хьампIырашъу ħampˈəpaʃʷ] хьэндырабгъуэ ħandəraːbʁʷa noise жъот ʒʷat жъонт ʒʷant peanuts чIыдэ t͡ʃʼəda чIындэ t͡ʃʼənda щIыдэ ɕʼəda chair пхъэтIэкIу pχatʼakʷʼ пхъэнтIэкIу pχantʼakʷʼ пхъэнтIэкIу pχantʼakʷʼ
Aspirated consonants
Phonological Shifts
The Voiceless velar fricative [] becomes the aspirated Voiceless velar plosive [] (like English c in car, cup, cop, or curse) after the Voiceless postalveolar fricative []. In this environment, the velar fricative undergoes hardening to become a plosive. This change only occurred in some Abzakh sub-dialects and in Bzhedug dialects. This should not be confused with the palatalized (like English c in camera, cannon, or cow).https://pangloss.cnrs.fr/corpus/show?oai_primary=cocoon-397bf64a-0319-38b8-b6c8-3e4a4acddb17&corpus=Abzakh&lang=en&oai_secondary=cocoon-b316a847-9762-324e-9483-a386ee16bc92&filter=%7B%22form-s%22%3A%7B%22phono%22%3A1%7D%2C%22transl-s%22%3A%7B%22fr%22%3A1%7D%2C%22note-s%22%3A%7B%22fr%22%3A0%7D%2C%22transl-t%22%3A%7B%22fr%22%3A0%7D%2C%22form-t%22%3A%7B%22phono%22%3A0%7D%7D
Word Shift Adyghe Kabardian Abzakh / Bzhedug Standard IPA Cyrillic IPA Cyrillic IPA Cyrillic Rain ʃx → ʃkʰ waʃkʰ ошк waʃx ошх waʃx уэшх Rifle ʃxʷ → ʃkʷ ʃkʷant͡ʃʼ шконч ʃxʷant͡ʃʼ шхонч - - to eat ʃx → ʃkʰ ʃkʰan шкэн ʃxan шхэн ʃxan шхэн to laugh at ʃx → ʃkʰ daħa:ʃkʰən дэхьащкын daħa:ʃxən дэхьащхын daħa:ʃxən дэхьащхын enormous ʃx → ʃkʷ jənəʃkʷ инышку jənəʃxu инышху jənəʃxuə инышхуэ Almighty God ʃx → ʃkʷ tħa:ʃkʷ тхьашку tħa:ʃxu тхьашху tħəʃxuə тхьэшхуэ large room/house ʃx → ʃkʷ wənaʃkʷ унэшку wənaʃxu унэшху wənaʃxuə унэшхуэ festival ʃx → ʃkʷ mafaʃkʷ мэфэшку mafaʃxu мэфэшху ma:xʷaʃxuə мэхуэшхуэ
Affrication to Fricatives
Grammar
Noun instrumental case
In the instrumental case the noun has the suffix мджэ (-md͡ʒa) or -джэ (-d͡ʒa) unlike other dialects (e.g. Abzakh, Temirgoy and Standard Kabardian) that has the suffix -мкIэ (-mt͡ʃʼa) or -кIэ (-t͡ʃʼa) :
Bzhedug dialect: КIалэр Адыгэбзэджэ мэгущаIэ ↔ Standard: КIалэр АдыгэбзэкIэ мэгущыIэ – "The boy speaks (using) Adyghe language". Bzhedug dialect: Къэлэмымджэ сэтхэ ↔ Standard: КъэлэмымкIэ сэтхэ – "I write (using) with the pencil".
Future tense Suffix ~т (~t) In this dialect the future tense suffix is ~эт (~at) and in some cases ~ыт (~ət) unlike standard Adyghe (Temirgoy) that has the Suffix ~щт (~ɕt).
Word Adyghe Standard Kabardian Standard Adyghe Bzhedug IPA Cyrillic IPA Cyrillic IPA Cyrillic I will go səkʷʼaɕt сыкIощт səkʷʼat сыкIот səkʷʼanəwɕ сыкIуэнущ you will go wəkʷʼaɕt укIощт wəkʷʼat укIот wəkʷʼanəwɕ укIуэнущ he will go makʷʼaɕt мэкIощт makʷʼat мэкIот makʷʼanəwɕ мэкIуэнущ we will go təkʷʼaɕt тыкIощт ʂʷəkʷʼat тыкIот dəkʷʼanəwɕ дыкIуэнущ you (plural) will go ʃʷəkʷaɕt шъукIощт ʃʷəkʷʼat шъукIот fəkʷʼanəwɕ фыкIуэнущ they will go maːkʷatəɕx макIощтых maːkʷʼatəx макIотых jaːkʷʼanəwɕ якIуэнущ
Demonstratives Adyghe has three main demonstratives to indicate spatial proximity and visibility, which frequently act as determiners or prefixes attached to nouns, verbs, or adverbs: а- – That (invisible or out of the speaker's line of sight) мо- – That (visible to the speaker) мы- – This (close proximity to the speaker)
In the Shapsug, Bzhedugh, and Hatuqai dialects, the standard visible demonstrative мо- is replaced by a different prefix. Additionally, these dialects use a different locative suffix (-у or -уджэ) compared to the standard Adyghe -кӀэ.
Shapsug: The visible demonstrative prefix is pronounced as a labial glide [w]. In Cyrillic, this is represented by a vowel shift (e.g., forming оу). Bzhedugh & Hatuqai: The visible demonstrative shifted and is pronounced as a glottal fricative [h]. Because the standard Adyghe Cyrillic alphabet lacks an official letter for this specific "h" sound, the digraph хӀ (using the Cyrillic palochka) is used in the orthography to replace the standard мо-.
The following table illustrates the general locative forms derived from these demonstratives. Note that the locative suffix -у remains consistent across the dialects; only the visible demonstrative prefix changes:
Word Shapsug Bzhedugh & Hatuqai Standard Adyghe IPA Cyrillic IPA Cyrillic IPA Cyrillic here məw, məwd͡ʒa мыу, мыуджэ məw, məwd͡ʒa мыу, мыуджэ mət͡ʃʼa мыкӀэ there (visible) waw, wawd͡ʒa оу, оуджэ how, howd͡ʒa хӀоу, хӀоуджэ mot͡ʃʼa мокӀэ there (invisible) aːw, aːwd͡ʒa ау, ауджэ aːw, aːwd͡ʒa ау, ауджэ aːt͡ʃʼa акӀэ there (emphasis) d͡ʒaw, d͡ʒawd͡ʒa джэу, джэуджэ d͡ʒaw, d͡ʒawd͡ʒa джэу, джэуджэ d͡ʒət͡ʃʼa джэкӀэ where taw, tawd͡ʒa тэу, тэуджэ taw, tawd͡ʒa тэу, тэуджэ tət͡ʃʼa тэкӀэ
Usage with Nouns When modifying nouns, these demonstratives precede the noun to indicate its spatial relationship and visibility to the speaker. For example, using the noun кӀалэ (boy) in Bzhedugh and Hatuqai: а кӀалэ – that boy (invisible or out of sight) хӀо кӀалэ – that boy (visible); that boy over there мы кӀалэ – this boy
Usage as Prefixes To demonstrate how this visible demonstrative functions as a bound prefix, the base хӀо- attaches directly to various roots and suffixes in Bzhedugh and Hatuqai to form demonstrative pronouns, adverbs of time, and manner (acting as the direct equivalent to the standard мо-): хӀодэ – there хӀоры – that's it; there he is хӀоу – there хӀоущтэу – like that хӀощгъум – then
The following table illustrates these derivations across dialects:
Meaning Bzhedugh & Hatuqai Standard Adyghe Standard Kabardian Cyrillic IPA Cyrillic IPA Cyrillic IPA that (abs.) хӀор hawr мор mawr мор mawr that (erg.) хӀой hawj мощ mawɕ мобы mawbə using that хӀощджэ hawɕd͡ʒa мощкӀэ mawɕt͡ʃʼa - - like that хӀоущтэу hawɕtaw моущтэу mawɕtaw мопхуэдэу mawpxʷadaw that is it хӀоры hawrə моры mawrə мораш mawraːɕ there хӀодэ hawda модэ mawda модэ mawda there (locative) хӀоу haw моу maw - - the other хӀодрэ hawdra модрэ mawdra модрэ mawdra then хӀощгъум hawɕʁʷəm мощгъум mawɕʁʷəm - - like that (similar) хӀощфэд hawɕfad мощфэд mawɕfad мопхуэд mawpxʷad
Present participles In standard Adyghe, present participles (often functioning equivalently to gerunds) decline using standard nominal case suffixes. However, the Shapsug, Bzhedugh, and Hatuqai dialects feature a distinct phonological elision in the absolutive case, where the final absolutive suffix -р (-r) is not pronounced.
Consequently, absolutive present participles in these dialects end simply in -рэ instead of the standard -рэр. For example, the standard Adyghe phrase кӀалэу кӀорэр ("the boy who is going") is realized in these dialects as кӀалэу кӀорэ.
+ Present Participle Declension (e.g., кӀон - "to go") Case Standard Adyghe Shapsug, Bzhedugh & Hatuqai Absolutive кӀорэр кӀорэ Ergative / Oblique кӀорэм кӀорэм Instrumental кӀорэмкӀэ кӀорэмджэ
Location
Adyghe demonstratives mark three degrees of deixis: proximal мы- ("this; here"), medial мо- ("that; there", in view), and distal а- ("that; there", out of view). Standard Adyghe derives adverbs of place from these roots with two series, named here by their distal forms акӀэ and адэ — e.g. proximal мыкӀэ~мыдэ "here", medial мокӀэ~модэ "(over) there", distal акӀэ~адэ "yonder".
Many dialects, among them Shapsug, Bzhedugh and part of Abzakh, lack the акӀэ series altogether; in its place they use four series — адэ, а тӀэкӀум (with the postposition тӀэкӀу(м) "a bit, a spot"), ау and аукӀэ. Two regular correspondences distinguish these western dialects. In the аукӀэ series the final element — Standard -кӀэ — surfaces as -гьэ in Shapsug (аугьэ)Kerasheva, Z. I. (1957). Особенности шапсугского диалекта адыгейского языка [Features of the Shapsug Dialect of the Adyghe Language] (in Russian). Maykop: Adyghe Book Publishing House, p. 61. and as -джэ in Bzhedugh (ауджэ). Second, the medial root мо- is reduced to о- in both Shapsug and Bzhedugh (модэ, моу → одэ, оу). Bzhedugh and the Hatuqay subdialect behave identically and are shown together.
Meaning Series Variety Standard Adyghe Shapsug Bzhedugh / Hatuqay Abzakh (some) here(мы-/мэ-) акӀэ мыкӀэ — адэ мыдэ мыдэ мыдэ мыдэ а тӀэкӀум — мы тӀэкӀум мы тӀэкӀум мы тӀэкӀум ау — мэу мэу мэу аукӀэ — мэугьэ мэуджэ мэукӀэ there, visible(мо-/о-) акӀэ мокӀэ — адэ модэ одэ одэ модэ а тӀэкӀум — о тӀэкӀум о тӀэкӀум мо тӀэкӀум ау — оу оу моу аукӀэ — оугьэ оуджэ моукӀэ there, out of sight(а-) акӀэ акӀэ — адэ адэ адэ адэ адэ а тӀэкӀум — а тӀэкӀум а тӀэкӀум а тӀэкӀум ау — ау ау ау аукӀэ — аугьэ ауджэ аукӀэ
The interrogative тэ- "where" and the emphatic demonstrative (Standard джэ-, Shapsug гьэ-) take the same series: Standard тэкӀэ and джэкӀэ correspond to Shapsug тэу~тэугьэ and гьэу~гьэугьэ.
Vocabulary
Unique words Word Adyghe Standard Kabardian Standard Adyghe Bzhedug IPA Cyrillic IPA Cyrillic IPA Cyrillic what səd сыд ʂəd шъыд sət сыт how sədaw сыдэу ʂədaw шъыдэу dawə дауэ why sədaː сыда ʂədaː шъыда сыт щхьэкIэ sət ɕħat͡ʃʼa when sədəjʁwa сыдигъо ʂədəjʁwa шъыдигъо сыт щыгъуи sət ɕəʁʷəj how much səd fadəjz сыд фэдиз ʂədfadəjz шъыд фэдиз sət xuadəjz сыт хуэдиз with what sədt͡ʃʼa сыдкIэ ʂədd͡ʒa шъыдджэ he/she/it aɕ ащ aj ай abə абы this/here məɕ мыщ məj мый məbə мыбы near daʑ дэжь daj дэй dajʒ деж self jaʑ ежь jaj ей jazə езы
Sample text The North Wind and the Sun, written in Bzhedug: