Abkhaz is a North West Caucasian language related to Abaza,
Adyghe, Kabardian and
Ubykh. About 100,000 people speak Abkhaz in Abkhazia,
an autonomous republic within Georgia. There are also Abkhaz speakers, perhaps
hundreds of thousands, in Turkey, the republic of Adjara in Georgia, Syria,
Jordan, Germany and the USA.
Abkhaz first appeared in writing in 1862/3 in the Cyrillic alphabet using a spelling
system based on the Bzâp dialect and devised by the Russian soldier-linguist
Baron Peter von Uslar. Other spelling systems using the Georgian, Latin, and Cyrillic
alphabets appeared during the 20th century. The current Cyrillic-based system, which
has been in use since 1954, is considered somewhat cumbersome with its 14 extra
letters for consonants and its inconsistencies. Recently there have been suggestions that a new
Latin-based spelling system should be created.
Abkhaz alphabet and pronunciation
Sample text in Abkhaz
Дарбанзаалак
ауаҩы дшоуп ихы
дақәиҭны. Ауаа
зегь зинлеи
патулеи еиҟароуп.
Урҭ ирымоуп
ахшыҩи аламыси,
дара дарагь
аешьеи аешьеи
реиҧш еизыҟазароуп.
Translation
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They
are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another
in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Links
Information about Abkhaz language and people
http://www.abkhazia.org/lang.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abkhaz_language
http://www.kapba.de/Language2.html
http://www.eki.ee/books/redbook/abkhaz.shtml
Teach Yourself Abkhazian – online lessons
http://apsni.com
Online Abkhaz dictionary
http://www.freelang.net/online/abkhaz.php
Free Abkhaz fonts
http://apsni.com/tech.htm
Caucasian languages
Northeast Caucasian:
Aghul,
Akhvakh,
Archi,
Avar,
Budukh,
Chechen,
Dargwa,
Godoberi,
Hinukh,
Hunzib,
Ingush,
Khwarshi,
Lak,
Lezgian,
Tabassaran,
Tsez,
Udi
Northwest Caucasian:
Abaza,
Abhkaz,
Adyghe,
Kabardian,
Ubykh
South Caucasian (Kartvelian):
Georgian,
Laz,
Mingrelian,
Svan
Other languages written with the Cyrillic alphabet
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