Information about the Northwest Caucasian (or Abkhazo-Adyghean) languages

Where are the Northwest Caucasian languages spoken?

These languages are spoken in Russia (in the autonomous republics of Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, Karachay-Cherkessia and Adygea), in Georgia (in the autonomous republic of Abkhazia), and in Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Iraq and northern Azerbaijan.

Total number of speakers (estimated):

Approximately 1 050 000 according to UNESCO

Approximately 1 650 000 according to the site ethnologue.com (SIL)

Classification

The Northwest Caucasian language family has 4 languages, and many variants.

Circassian Group

Adyghe: 300 000 speakers according to UNESCO and 500 000 according to SIL

Kabardian: 650 000 speakers according to UNESCO and 1 000 000 according to SIL

Ubykh: extinct

Abkhaz-Abaza Group

Abkhazian: 125 000 speakers according to UNESCO and 45 000 according to SIL

Abaza: 31 000 speakers according to UNESCO and 110 000 according to SIL

Comments on the classification of Northwest Caucasian languages:

These languages have long been considered to be part of the “Caucasian” languages family. This hypothetical family consisted of three main branches: the Northeast Caucasian languages, the Northwest Caucasian languages and South Caucasian languages. The validity of this larger family is not, however, widely accepted today by linguists. At best, if the term “Caucasian Languages” is sometimes still used, it is a geographical rather than a linguistic reference. Starostin proposed the consolidation of the two northern families, but this grouping is still controversial. As a result, all three families are presented separately here.

Each of the two groups in this family is actually a collection of dialects which are geographically widely dispersed.

Are Northwest Caucasian languages in danger?

According to UNESCO all of these languages are endangered with Abaza being probably the most threatened. Ubykh is extinct.

Sources:

Hewitt, George: Introduction to the Study of the languages of the Caucasus. LINCOM EUROPA, München 2004.

http://armazi.uni-frankfurt.de/armaziII/enebi.htm

http://titus.fkidg1.uni-frankfurt.de/ecling/ecling.htm