Adyghe nouns
This article describes the properties of nouns in the Adyghe language.
Noun
Noun cases
Plurality is indicated by the suffix '-хэ' /-xa/
- кӏалэ [t͡ʃʼaːɮa] ('boy') becomes кӏалэхэ [t͡ʃʼaːɮaxa] ('boys').
- шы [ʃə] ('horse') becomes шыхэ [ʃəxa] ('horses').
Adyghe also declines nouns into four different cases, each with corresponding suffixes: absolutive, ergative, instrumental, and Adverbial.
| Case | Suffix | example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cyrillic | IPA | ||
| Absolutive | р | /r/ | кӏалэр [t͡ʃʼaːɮar] ('the boy') |
| Ergative-Oblique | м | /m/ | кӏалэм [t͡ʃʼaːɮam] ('the boy's') |
| Instrumental | (м)кӏэ | /(m)t͡ʃʼa/ | кӏалэмкӏэ [t͡ʃʼaːɮamt͡ʃʼa] ('using the boy') |
| Adverbial | эу | /aw/ | кӏалэу [t͡ʃʼaɮaw] ('boy') |
Absolutive case
Has the suffix ~р /~r/ (e.g. кӏалэр [t͡ʃʼaːɮar] 'the boy', кӏалэхэр [t͡ʃʼaːɮaxar] ('the boys')). It acts as the subject of intransitive verbs and the direct object of transitive verbs. A noun in the absolutive case also indicate that its state is being changed by verb, i.e. they are either created, altered, moved or ended by the verb. This case has two main functions:
- Marking the subject of intransitive verbs
кӏалэр еджапӏэм кӏуагъэ кӏалэ-р еджапӏэ-м кӏо-агъэ [t͡ʃʼaːɮar jad͡ʒaːpʼam kʷʼaːʁa] the boy (abs.) the school (erg.) (s)he went "the boy went to the school"
- Marking the direct object of transitive verbs
бзылъфыгъэм джанэр егъэкъабзэ бзылъфыгъэ-м джанэ-р егъэкъабзэ [bzəɬfəʁam d͡ʒaːnar jaʁaqaːbza] the woman (erg.) the shirt (abs.) (s)he cleans "the woman cleans the shirt"
Ergative-Oblique case
Has the suffix -м /-m/ (e.g. кӏалэм [t͡ʃʼaːɮam] 'the boy's', кӏалэхэм [t͡ʃʼaːɮaxam] 'the boys). It has two main roles: Ergative role and Oblique role.
- The Ergative role marks the subject of transitive verbs. They cause the object to change by doing the verb.
бзылъфыгъэм джанэр егъэкъабзэ бзылъфыгъэ-м джанэ-р егъэкъабзэ [bzəɬfəʁam d͡ʒaːnar jaʁaqaːbza] the woman (erg.) the shirt (abs.) (s)he cleans "the woman cleans the shirt"
- The Oblique role marks the indirect object of intransitive verbs.
кӏалэр тхылъым еджэ кӏалэ-р тхылъ-ым еджэ [t͡ʃʼaːɮar txəɬəm jad͡ʒa] the boy (abs.) the book (obl.) (s)he reads "the boy reads the book"
- The Ergative-Oblique case can also be used to mark the noun that possesses a property or an attribute.
кӏалэм иунэ дахэ кӏалэ-м и-унэ дахэ [t͡ʃʼaːɮam jəwna daːxa] the boy (erg.) his house beautiful "the house of the boy is beautiful"
- The Ergative-Oblique case can also be used to mark a location.
- чылэ /t͡ʃəɮa/ village → чылэм /t͡ʃəɮam/ in the village
- мэзахэ /mazaːxa/ dark → мэзахэм /mazaːxam/ in the dark
- чэщы /t͡ʃəɕə/ night → чэщым /t͡ʃəɕəm/ in the night.
- пчэдыжьы /pt͡ʃadəʑə/ morning → пчэдыжьым /pt͡ʃadəʑəm/ in the morning.
- зэман /zamaːn/ distant past → зэманым /zamaːnəm/ in the distant past.
тыгъуасэ чылэм сэщыӏагъ тыгъуасэ чылэ-м сэ-щыӏ-агъ [təʁʷaːsa t͡ʃəɮam saɕəʔaːʁ] yesterday the village (erg.) I was there "Yesterday I was in the village" лӏыр мэзым хэт [ɬʼər mazəm xat] the man (arg.) in the forest(erg.) (s)he is standing in "The man is in the forest"
Instrumental–directional case
Has the suffix -мкӏэ /mt͡ʃʼa/ or -кӏэ /t͡ʃʼa/ (e.g. кӏалэмкӏэ [t͡ʃʼaːɮamt͡ʃʼa] 'using the boy', кӏалэкӏэ [t͡ʃʼaːɮat͡ʃʼa] 'using a boy', кӏалэхэмкӏэ [t͡ʃaːɮaxamt͡ʃʼa] 'using the boys', кӏалэхэкӏэ [t͡ʃʼaːɮaxat͡ʃʼa] 'using boys').
- Marking the instrument or tool of action:
- къэлэм /qalam/ pencil → къэлэмкӏэ /qalamt͡ʃʼa/ using a pencil.
- къэлэм /qalam/ pencil → къэлэмымкӏэ /qalaməmt͡ʃʼa/ using the pencil.
- уатэ /waːta/ hammer → уатэкӏэ /waːtat͡ʃʼa/ using a hammer.
- уатэ /waːta/ hammer → уатэмкӏэ /waːtamt͡ʃʼa/ using the hammer.
ыцӏэр къэлэмымкӏэ къитхэгъ ы-цIэ-эр къэлэм-ымкIэ къи-тхы-эгъ [ət͡sʼar qalaməmt͡ʃʼa qəjtxaʁ] his name (abs.) pencil (ins.) he wrote "he wrote his name with the pencil" нэрыплъымкӏэ елъэгъу нэрыплъ-ымкӏэ елъэгъу [narəpɬəmt͡ʃʼa jaɬaʁʷə] binocular (ins.) (s)he is seeing "(s)he is seeing with (using) the binocular"
кӏалэр адыгэбзэкӏэ мэгущыӏэ кӏалэ-р адыгэбзэ-кӏэ мэгущыӏэ [t͡ʃʼaːɮar aːdəɣabzat͡ʃʼa maɡʷəɕəːʔa] boy (arg.) using Adyghe language (ins.) (s)he is speaking "The boy is speaking (using) Adyghe language."
- Marking the direction of action:
- гъогу /ʁʷaɡʷ/ road → гъогумкӏэ /ʁʷaɡʷəmt͡ʃʼa/ from the road (direction).
- унэ /wəna/ house → унэмкӏэ /wənamt͡ʃʼa/ from the house.
- хы /xə/ sea → хымкӏэ /xəmt͡ʃʼa/ from the sea (direction).
- Америкэ /aːmerika/ America → Америкэмкӏэ /aːmerikamt͡ʃʼa/ from America (direction).
хымкӏэ жьыбгъэр къэкӏы хы-мкӏэ жьыбгъэ-р къэ-кӏы [xəmt͡ʃʼa ʑəbʁar qat͡ʃʼə] sea (ins.) the wind (abs.) come "the wind comes from the sea." унэмкӏэ кӏалэхэр макӏох унэ-мкӏэ кӏалэ-хэ-р макӏо-х [wənamt͡ʃa t͡ʃʼaːɮaxar maːkʷʼax] house(ins.) the boys (abs.) they are going "The boys are going toward the house's direction."
Adverbial case
Has the suffix -эу /aw/ (e.g. кӏалэу [t͡ʃʼaːɮaw] 'boy'), шэу [ʃaw] 'horse'). This case has a number of functions:
- Marking the profession or role of the subject:
лӏыр кӏэлэегъаджэу мэлажьэ лӏыр кӏэлэегъадж-эу мэлажьэ [ɬʼər t͡ʃʼaɮajaʁaːd͡ʒaw maɮaːʑa] man (abs.) as a teacher (adv.) (s)he is working "The man is working as a teacher."
укӏалэу сыд мыщ епӏуалӏэрэр? у-кӏалэ-у сыд мыщ е-п-ӏуа-лӏэ-рэ-р? [wət͡ʃʼaːɮaw səd məɕ japʔʷaːɬʼarar] as a boy (adv.) what this the thing you say about this "As a boy, what you think about this?"
лӏыр шакӏоу мэзым хэт лӏы-р шакӏо-у мэз-ым хэт [ɬʼər ʃaːkʷʼaw mazəm xat] man (abs.) as a hunter (adv.) forest (erg.) (s)he is standing among them "The man is in the forest as a hunter."
- Marking the subject that is doing a certain action :
лӏэу мэзым хэтым кӏэрахъо иӏыгъ лӏы-эу мэзы-м хэт-ым кӏэрахъо иӏ-ыгъ [ɬʼaw mazəm xatəm t͡ʃʼaraːχʷa jəʔəʁ] man (adv.) forest (erg.) the one that is standing in (erg.) gun (s)he has a "The man that is in the forest has a gun."
хэт цӏыфыхэу къыпдакӏохэрэр? хэт цӏыфы-х-эу къы-п-д-а-кӏо-хэ-рэ-р? [xaw t͡səfəxae qəpdaːkʷʼaxarar] who the people (adv.) the ones that come with you "Who are the people that are coming with you?"
- Marking the thing the subject become :
лӏыр профессорэу хъугъэ лӏыр профессор-эу хъу-гъэ [ɬʼər profesoraw χʷəʁa] man (abs.) professor (adv.) (s)he became "The man became a professor."
уинапэ плъыжьэу хъугъэ уи-напэ плъыжьы-эу хъу-гъэ [wəjnaːpa pɬəʑaw χʷəʁa] your face red (adv.) (s)he became "Your face became red."
Pro-drop
Adyghe is a pro-drop language. The subject and the object pronouns are sometimes omitted when verb conjugations reflect number and person.
- Both subject and object are mentioned :
кӏалэм пшъашъэр елъэгъу кӏалэ-м пшъашъэ-р елъэгъу [t͡ʃʼaːɮam pʂaːʂar jaɬaʁʷə] the boy (erg.) the girl (abs.) (s)he is seeing "the boy is seeing the girl"
- If the direct object is dropped :
кӏалэм елъэгъу кӏалэ-м елъэгъу [t͡ʃʼaːɮam jaɬaʁʷə] the boy (erg.) (s)he is seeing "the boy is seeing him/her/it"
- If the subject is dropped :
пшъашъэр елъэгъу пшъашъэ-р елъэгъу [pʂaːʂar jaɬaʁʷə] the girl (abs.) (s)he is seeing "(s)he is seeing the girl"
- Both subject and object are dropped :
елъэгъу елъэгъу [jaɬaʁʷə] (s)he is seeing "(s)he is seeing him/her/it"
Noun and adjective
In Adyghe, if a noun is accompanied by an adjective, the adjective is placed after the noun and it takes the noun case suffix.
- Absolutive case
пшъэшъэ дахэр макӏо [pʂaʂa daːxar maːkʷʼa] girl the pretty (abs.) (s)he is going "the pretty girl is going"
- Ergative case
кӏалэ кӏыхьэм ешхы мыер [t͡ʃʼaːɮa t͡ʃʼəħam jaʃxə məjar] boy the long (erg.) he is eating a/the the apple (abs.) "the long boy is eating the apple"
- Instrumental case
къэлэм папцӏэмкӏэ сэтхэ [qalam papt͡sʼamt͡ʃʼa satxa] pencil sharp (ins.) I am writing "I am writing with (using) the sharp pencil"
- Adverbial case
пшъашъэр пшъэшъэ дахэу мэхъущт [pʂaːʂar pʂaʂa daːxaw maχʷəɕt] the girl (abs.) pretty girl (adv.) (s)he will turn "the girl will become a pretty girl"
Participle
Participles in Adyghe are formed by adding any of the noun cases to the verbs. It is possible to indicate the subject or the object of a verb as a noun.
For example, макӏо /maːkʷʼa/ "(s)he is going" to макӏорэр /maːkʷʼarar/ "the one that is going". The forms of nouns that were created from verbs in different grammatical cases are equal to the forms of the appropriate verbs. The same is also true for their time-tenses, for example :
макӏорэм ылъэгъугъ моу щычъыягъэр макӏо-рэ-м ылъэгъу-гъ моу щы-чъые-агъ-эр [maːkʷʼaram əɬaʁʷəʁ maw ɕət͡ʂəjaːʁar] the one that is going (erg.) (s)he saw here the one that slept at that place (abs.) "The one who is going saw the one that slept here."
Because Adyghe is an ergative–absolutive language, the transitivity of the verb is the main factor determining the choice of the subject case, meaning the subject or the object of a verb can take different cases depending whatever the verb is intransitive or transitive.
There are two ways to form a participle:
- Adding the suffix ~рэ to a verb.
- Adding the prefix з~ and the suffix ~рэ to a verb.
In intransitive verbs, the suffix ~рэ indicates an indefinite subject, while combination of the prefix з~ and the suffix ~рэ indicate an indefinite object:
- мак1орэ - "the one who is going"
- еплъырэ - "the one who is looking"
- дэгущы1эрэ - "the one who is speaking with"
- зеплъырэ - "the one (s)he is looking at"
- здэгущы1эрэ - "the one (s)he is speaking with"
In transitive verbs, the suffix ~рэ indicates an indefinite object, while combination of the prefix з~ and the suffix ~рэ indicate an indefinite subject:
- ылъэгъурэ - "the one (s)he is seeing"
- ышхырэ - "the thing (s)he is eating"
- ыдзырэ - "the thing (s)he throws"
- зылъэгъурэ - "the one who sees it"
- зышхырэ - "the one who eats it"
- зыдзырэ - "the one who throws it"
Thus to summarize, the following table shows when it indicates an indefinite subject and when it indicates an indefinite object:
| Prefix | Suffix | Intransitive verbs | Transitive verbs |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | ~рэ | Indefinite subject | Indefinite object |
| з~ | ~рэ | Indefinite object | Indefinite subject |
Here are some more couple examples in both transitive and intransitive verbs:
| Verb | Absolutive case noun | Ergative case noun | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyrillic | IPA | Meaning | Cyrillic | IPA | Meaning | |
| макӏо | макӏорэ | maːkʷʼara | the one that is going | - | - | - |
| еплъы | еплъырэ | japɬəra | the one that is looking at | зеплъырэ | zajpɬəra | the thing (s)he is looking at |
| еджэ | еджэрэ | jad͡ʒara | the one that is reading it | зеджэрэ | zajd͡ʒara | the thing (s)he is reading |
| ешхы | ишхырэ | jəʃxəra | the thing (s)he is eating | зишхырэ | zəjʃxəra | the one that is eating it |
| елъэгъу | илъэгъурэ | jəɬaʁʷra | the thing (s)he is seeing | зилъэгъурэ | zəjɬaʁʷra | the one that is seeing it |
| реты | ритырэ | rəjtra | the thing (s)he is giving to him | зритырэ | zrəjtra | the one (s)he is giving it to |
- Examples of sentences with intransitive verbs :
кӏалэм еплъырэр пшъашъэр кӏалэ-м еплъы-рэ-р пшъашъ-эр [t͡ʃʼaːɮam japɬərar pʂaːʂar] the boy (erg.) the one that is looking at him/her the girl (abs.) "the one that is looking at the boy is the girl."
кӏалэр тхьылъэу зеджэрэм еплъ кӏалэ-р тхьылъ-эу з-еджэ-рэ-м еплъ [t͡ʃʼaːɮar txəɬaw zajd͡ʒaram japɬ] boy (abs.) book (adv.) the thing (s)he is reading (erg.) look "look at the book the boy is reading."
- Examples of sentences with transitive verbs :
кӏалэм ылъэгъурэр пшъашъэр кӏалэ-м з-илъэгъу-рэ-р пшъашъэ-р [t͡ʃʼaːɮam jəɬaʁʷərar pʂaːʂar] boy (erg.) the one (s)he is seeing the girl (abs.) "the one the boy is seeing is the girl."
тары цӏыфэу уукӏыгъагъэр? тары цӏыфэ-у у-укӏы-гъагъэ-р? [taːrə t͡sʼəfaw wəwt͡ʃʼəʁaːʁar] which person (adv.) the one you killed (abs.) "which person have you killed?"
Ownership зи-
To indicate the ownership of a certain noun, the noun gets the prefix зи- (zəj-), for example :
- икӏалэ /t͡ʃ'aːɮa/ - his/her boy → зикӏалэ /zəjt͡ʃʼaːɮa/ - the one the boy belongs to (father or mother).
- иӏанэ /ʔaːna/ - his/her table → зиӏанэ /zəjʔaːna/ - the owner of the table.
- ицӏэ /t͡sʼa/ - his/her name → зицӏэ /zəjt͡sʼa/ - the owner of the name (a person with the name)
хэт зицӏэр Том [xat zəjt͡sʼar tom] who the one who named Tom (name) "Who is the one named Tom?"
мыр зимащинэм къысиӏуагъ шъунэмысынэу [mər zəjmaːɕinam səjnaʔʷaːs səjnaʔʷaːs] this the owner of the car (s)he told me don't touch it (said to plural) "The owner of this car told me that you (plural) shouldn't touch it."
унэр зиер лӏы [wənar zəjjar ɬʼə] house (abs.) the owner of a man "The owner of the house is a man."
Creating nouns from adjective
In Adyghe someone (person) or something (animal, plant, object) that have a specific adjective can be
presented with the adjective word with the additional noun case suffix (absolutive, ergative, etc.) For
example:
- дахэ /daːxa/ - pretty → дахэр /daːxar/ - the pretty person (absolutive case).
- ашӏу /aːʃʷʼə/ - tasty → ашӏухэр /aːʃʷʼəxar/ - the tasty ones (absolutive case).
- мэзахэ /mazaːxa/ - dark → мэзахэм /mazaːxam/ - in the dark (ergative case).
- чъыӏэ /t͡ʂəʔa/ - cold → чъыӏэм /t͡ʂəʔam/ - in the cold (ergative case).
кӏуачӏэхэр тиунэ къэгъакӏох кӏуачӏэ-хэ-р ти-унэ къэ-гъа-кӏо-х [kʷʼaːt͡ʃʼaxar təjwna qaʁaːkʷʼax] the strong ones (abs.) our house make them come "bring the strong ones to our house"
унэм шъукъихьэжь чъыӏэм шъуигъэсмэджэщт унэ-м шъу-къ-ихьэ-жь чъыӏэ-м шъуи-гъэ-смэджэ-щт [wənam ʃʷəqiħaʑ t͡ʂəʔam ʃʷiʁasmad͡ʒat] house (erg.) get inside (to plural) the cold (erg.) it will make you (plural) sick "get inside the house, the cold will make you sick (said to plural)"
сымаджэхэмэ шъукъадж япэу сымаджэ-хэ-мэ шъу-къадж япэ-эу [səmaːd͡ʒaxama ʃʷəqaːd͡ʒ jaːpaw] the sick ones (egs.) call them (said to plural) firstly "First call the sick ones. (said to plural)"
In Adyghe any adjective that is measurable or comparable can be turned into a noun by adding the
suffix -агъэ /-aːʁa/, for example:
- дахэ /daːxa/ - pretty → дахагъэ /daːxaːʁa/ - beauty.
- кӏуачӏэ /kʷʼaːt͡ʃʼa/ - strong → кӏуачӏагъэ /kʷʼaːt͡ʃʼaːʁa/ - strength.
- псао /psaːwa/ - whole, fine → псэуагъэ /psawaːʁa/ - health condition.
- делэ /dajla/ - fool → делагъэ /dajlaːʁa/ - foolishness.
- псынкӏэ /psənt͡ʃʼa/ - fast → псынкӏагъэ /psənt͡ʃʼaːʁa/ - speed.
- ӏазэ /ʔaːza/ - skilled → ӏэзагъэ /ʔazaːʁa/ - skill.
Сянэ ипсэуагъэ сыфэгуаӏэ С-янэ и-псэу-агъэ сы-фэ-гуаӏэ [sijaːna jipsawaːʁa səfaɡʷaːʔa] my mother his/her health condition I worry for him/her "The worry for my mother's health condition"