Social:Proto-Circassian language

Proto-Circassian
	Proto-Adyghe–Kabardian
Reconstruction of	Circassian languages
Reconstructed; ancestor	Proto-Northwest Caucasian
Lower-order reconstructions	Proto-Kabardian;

Short description: Reconstructed ancestor of the Circassian languages

Proto-Circassian (or Proto-Adyghe–Kabardian) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Adyghean and Kabardian languages.

Phonology

Proto‑Circassian

Proto-East Circassian

	Kabardian

	Besleney

Proto‑West Circassian

Kuban river

	Chemguy

	Abzakh

	Bzhedugh

	Hatuqay

Black Sea coast

	Shapsug

	Natukhaj

A Circassian dialects family tree.

Note on Orthography: This article employs Cyrillic characters alongside IPA to assist readers familiar with the Circassian alphabet. However, standard Adyghe orthography contains inconsistencies; notably, the digraph кӏ represents the sound [t͡ʃʼ] despite visually suggesting a velar ejective [kʼ]. To ensure phonetic precision, this article utilizes the following distinctions: чӏ for [t͡ʃʼ], чӏъ for [ʈʂʼ], and кӏь for [kʲʼ].

Orthographic Convention
This article uses specific Cyrillic notation to resolve ambiguities in the standard alphabet:
чӏ	[t͡ʃʼ] (Standard кӏ)
чӏъ	[ʈʂʼ] (Retroflex)
кӏь	[kʲʼ] (Palatalized velar)

Consonants

The consonant system is reconstructed with a four-way phonation contrast in stops and affricates, and a two-way contrast in fricatives.

Shifts

The following table shows how Proto-Circassian consonants diverged and evolved in the Western and Eastern dialects.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Proto- Circassian	Western Circassian (Adyghe)				Eastern Circassian (Kabardian)
Proto- Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedug	Chemguy	Abzakh	Besleney	Kabardian
b `б`	b `б`				b `б`
p `п`	p `п`				b `б`
pʰ `пʰ`	pʰ `пʰ`		p `п`		p `п`
pʼ `пӏ`	pʼ `пӏ`				pʼ `пӏ`
d `д`	d `д`				d `д`
t `т`	t `т`				d `д`
tʰ `тʰ`	tʰ `тʰ`		t `т`		t `т`
tʼ `тӏ`	tʼ `тӏ`				tʼ `тӏ`
ɡʲ `гь`	ɡʲ `гь`	d͡ʒ `дж`			ɡʲ `гь`	d͡ʒ `дж` (ɡʲ `гь` in some dialects)
kʲ `кь`	kʲ `кь`	t͡ʃ `ч`			ɡʲ `гь`	d͡ʒ `дж` (ɡʲ `гь` in some dialects)
kʲʰ `кʰь`	kʲʰ `кʰь`	t͡ʃʰ `чʰ`	t͡ʃ `ч`		kʲ `кь`	t͡ʃ `ч` (kʲ `кь` in some dialects)
kʲʼ `кӏь`	kʲʼ `кӏь`	t͡ʃʼ `чӏ`			kʲʼ `кӏь`	t͡ʃʼ `чӏ` (kʲʼ `кӏь` in some dialects)
ɡʷ `гу`	ɡʷ `гу`				ɡʷ `гу`
kʷ `ку`	kʷ `ку`				ɡʷ `гу`
kʷʰ `кʰу`	kʷʰ `кʰу`		kʷ `ку`		kʷ `ку`
kʷʼ `кӏу`	kʷʼ `кӏу`				kʷʼ `кӏу`
q `къ`	q `къ`				q `къ`
qʰ `кʰъ`	qʰ `кʰъ`		q `къ`		q͡χ `кхъ`
qʷ `къу`	qʷ `къу`				qʷ `къу`
qʷʰ `кʰъу`	qʷʰ `кʰъу`		qʷ `къу`		q͡χʷ `кхъу`
Proto- Circassian	Western Circassian				Eastern Circassian
Proto- Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedug	Chemguy	Abzakh	Besleney	Kabardian
d͡z `дз`	d͡z `дз`				d͡z `дз`
t͡s `ц`	t͡s `ц`				d͡z `дз`
t͡sʰ `цʰ`	t͡sʰ `цʰ`		t͡s `ц`		t͡s `ц`
t͡sʼ `цӏ`	t͡sʼ / sʼ `цӏ / сӏ`	t͡sʼ `цӏ`			t͡sʼ `цӏ`
d͡ʐʷ `джъу`	d͡ʐʷ `джъу`				v `в`
t͡ʂʷ `чъу`	t͡ʂʷ `чъу`				v `в`
t͡ɕʷʰ `чъʰу`	t͡ʂʷʰ `чъʰу`		t͡ʂʷ `чъу`		f `ф`
d͡ʒ `дж`	d͡ʒ `дж`			ʒ `ж`	d͡ʒ `дж`	ʒ `ж`
t͡ʃ `ч`	t͡ʃ `ч`			ʃ `ш`	d͡ʒ `дж`	ʒ `ж`
t͡ʂ `чъ`	t͡ʃ `ч`	t͡ʂ `чъ`		ʂ `шъ`	d͡ʐ `джъ`	ʒ `ж`
t͡ʃʰ `чʰ`	ʃʰ `шʰ`		ʃ `ш`		t͡ʃ `ч`	ʃ `ш`
t͡ʂʰ `чʰъ`	ʃʰ `шʰ`		ʃ `ш`		t͡ʂ `чъ`	ʃ `ш`
t͡ʃʼ `чӏ`	t͡ʃʼ `чӏ`			ɕʼ / ʔʲ `щӏ / ӏ`	t͡ʃʼ `чӏ`	ɕʼ `щӏ`
t͡ʂʼ `чӏъ`	t͡ʃʼ `чӏ`	t͡ʂʼ `чӏъ`		ɕʼ / ʔʲ `щӏ / ӏ`	t͡ʂʼ `чӏъ`	ɕʼ `щӏ`
Proto- Circassian	Western Circassian				Eastern Circassian
Proto- Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedug	Chemguy	Abzakh	Besleney	Kabardian
z `з`	z `з`				z `з`
s `с`	s `с`				s `с`
ʑ `жь`	ʒ `ж`	ʑ `жь`			ʑ `жь`
ɕ `щ`	ʃ `ш`	ɕ `щ`			ɕ `щ`
ɕʼ `шӏ`	ʃʼ `шӏ`				ɕʼ `щӏ`
ʐʷ `жъу`	ʑʷ `жьу`	ʐʷ `жъу`			v `в`
ʂʷ `шъу`	ɕʷ `щу`	ʂʷ `шъу`			f `ф`
ʂʷʼ `шӏу`	ʂʷʼ `шӏу`				fʼ `фӏ`
ʒ `ж`	ʒ `ж`				ʒ `ж`	ʑ `жь`
ʐ `жъ`	ʐ `жъ`				ʐ `жъ`	ʑ `жь`
ʃ `ш`	ʃ `ш`				ʃ `ш`	ɕ `щ`
ʂ `шъ`	ʂ `шъ`				ʂ `шъ`	ɕ `щ`
ʃʰ `шʰ`	ʃʰ `шʰ`		ʃ `ш`		ʃ `ш`	ɕ `щ`
ʂʰ `шʰъ`	ʃʰ `шʰ`		ʃ `ш`		ʂ `шъ`	ɕ `щ`
Proto- Circassian	Western Circassian				Eastern Circassian
Proto- Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedug	Chemguy	Abzakh	Besleney	Kabardian
ɮ `л`	ɮ `л`				ɮ `л`
ɬ `лъ`	ɬ `лъ`				ɬ `лъ`
ɬʼ `лӏ`	ɬʼ `лӏ`				ɬʼ `лӏ`
ɣ `г`	ɣ `г`				ɣ `г`
x `х`	x `х`				x `х`
xʷ `ху`	f `ф`				xʷ `ху`
ʁ `гъ`	ʁ `гъ`				ʁ `гъ`
ʁʷ `гъу`	ʁʷ `гъу`				ʁʷ `гъу`
χ `хъ`	χ `хъ`				χ `хъ`
χʷ `хъу`	χʷ `хъу`				χʷ `хъу`
ħ `хь`	ħ `хь`				ħ `хь`
m `м`	m `м`				m `м`
n `н`	n `н`				n `н`
r `р`	r `р`				r `р`
w `у`	w `у`				w `у`
j `й`	j `й`				j `й`
ʔ `ӏ`	ʔ `ӏ`				ʔ `ӏ`
ʔʷ `ӏу`	ʔʷ `ӏу`				ʔʷ `ӏу`

Specific Shifts

Aspirated, plain and tense consonants

In Proto-Circassian each voiceless obstruent could appear in up to three manners: an aspirated (lax) variant, a plain variant, and a tense (geminate) variant.

The aspirated series survived in the Shapsug and Bzhedug dialects, while it became plain in the other dialects (Abzakh, Chemgui, Kabardian).^[5]

The tense series survived in the western dialects (Shapsug, Hatuqay, Bzhedug), merged into plain voiceless consonants in Chemgui (Temirgoy), and became voiced in the eastern dialects (Besleney and Kabardian). In linguistics literature the tense consonants are often written with a colon (e.g. tː) to denote gemination/tenseness, and in some Cyrillic orthographies with double letters (e.g. пп, тт, цц) or a colon (e.g. п:, т:, ц:).^[5]

In the tables below, dialects are grouped under West Circassian (Shapsug, Bzhedugh & Hatuqay, Chemgui, Abzakh) and East Circassian (Besleney where attested, and Kabardian). Bzhedugh and Hatuqay share a single column. The subsections group each consonant's aspirated and tense reflexes together.

Bilabial p

Aspirated: pʰ ⟨пʰ⟩ → p ⟨п⟩^[5]

Tense: pː ⟨п: / пп⟩ → b ⟨б⟩^[5]

Word	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian				Kabardian
Word	Proto-Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedugh & Hatuqay	Chemgui	Abzakh	Kabardian
Shift: pʰ → p
noise	пʰэ [pʰa]	пʰэ [pʰa]	пʰэ [pʰa]	пэ [pa]	пэ [pa]	пэ [pa]
sharp	пʰапсӏэ [pʰaːpsʼa]	пʰапсӏэ [pʰaːpsʼa]	пʰапцӏэ [paːpt͡sʼa]	папцӏэ [paːpt͡sʼa]	папцӏэ [paːpt͡sʼa]	папцӏэ [paːpt͡sʼa]
arrogant	пʰагэ [pʰaːɣa]	пʰагэ [pʰaːɣa]	пʰагэ [pʰaːɣa]	пагэ [paːɣa]	пагэ [paːɣa]	пагэ [paːɣa]
nose	пʰэ [pʰa]	пʰэ [pʰa]	пʰэ [pʰa]	пэ [pa]	пэ [pa]	пэ [pa]
hedgehog	пʰыжьэ [pʰəźa]	пʰыжьэ [pʰəźa]	пʰыжьэ [pʰəźa]	пыжьэ [pəźa]	пыжьэ [pəźa]	пэжь [paź]
pleasure	гӏуапʰэ [ɡʷapʰa]	гӏуапʰэ [ɡʷapʰa]	гӏуапэ [ɡʷapa]	гӏуапэ [ɡʷapa]	гӏуапэ [ɡʷapa]	гӏуапэ [ɡʷapa]

Word	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian				Kabardian
Word	Proto-Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedugh & Hatuqay	Chemgui	Abzakh	Kabardian
Shift: pː → b
thorn (bush)	п:анэ [pːaːna]	п:анэ [pːaːna]	п:анэ [pːaːna]	панэ [paːna]	панэ [paːna]	банэ [baːna]
strong, solid	п:ытэ [pːətă]	п:ытэ [pːətă]	п:ытэ [pːətă]	пытэ [pətă]	пытэ [pətă]	быдэ [bədă]
steam	п:ахэ [pːaxă]	п:ахэ [pːaxă]	п:ахэ [pːaxă]	пахэ [paxă]	пахэ [paxă]	бахэ [baxă]

Dental t

Aspirated: tʰ ⟨тʰ⟩ → t ⟨т⟩^[6]

Tense: tː ⟨т: / тт⟩ → d ⟨д⟩^[6]

Word	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian				Kabardian
Word	Proto-Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedugh & Hatuqay	Chemgui	Abzakh	Kabardian
Shift: tʰ → t
respect	пхъатʰэ [pχaːtʰa]	пхъатʰэ [pχaːtʰa]	пхъатʰэ [pχaːtʰa]	пхъатэ [pχaːta]	пхъатэ [pχaːta]	—
to give	етʰын [jatʰən]	етʰын [jatʰən]	етʰын [jatʰən]	етын [jatən]	етын [jatən]	етын [jatən]
to take	штʰэн [ʃtʰan]	штʰэн [ʃtʰan]	штʰэн [ʃtʰan]	штэн [ʃtan]	штэн [ʃtan]	щтэн [ɕtan]
on	тʰет [tʰajt]	тʰет [tʰajt]	тʰет [tʰajt]	тет [tajt]	тет [tajt]	тет [tat]
smooth	цӏашъутʰэ [t͡sʼaːʂʷtʰa]	цӏашъутʰэ [t͡sʼaːʂʷtʰa]	цӏашъутʰэ [t͡sʼaːʂʷtʰa]	цӏашъутэ [t͡sʼaːʃʷta]	цӏашъутэ [t͡sʼaːʃʷta]	цӏафтэ [t͡sʼaːfta]
to be afraid	щтʰэн [ɕtʰan]	щтʰэн [ɕtʰan]	щтʰэн [ɕtʰan]	щтэн [ɕtan]	щтэн [ɕtan]	щтэн [ɕtan]
pillow	шъхьантʰэ [ʂħaːntʰa]	шъхьантʰэ [ʂħaːntʰa]	шъхьатʰэ [ʂħaːtʰa]	шъхьантэ [ʂħaːnta]	шъхьантэ [ʂħaːnta]	щхьантэ [ɕħaːnta]
basket	матʰэ [maːtʰa]	матʰэ [maːtʰa]	матʰэ [maːtʰa]	матэ [maːta]	матэ [maːta]	матэ [maːta]

Word	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian				Kabardian
Word	Proto-Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedugh & Hatuqay	Chemgui	Abzakh	Kabardian
Shift: tː → d
we	т:э [tːa]	т:э [tːa]	т:э [tːa]	тэ [ta]	тэ [ta]	дэ [da]
leader	тхьэмат:э [tħamaːtːa]	тхьэмат:э [tħamaːtːa]	тхьэмат:э [tħamaːtːa]	тхьэматэ [tħamaːta]	тхьэматэ [tħamaːta]	тхьэмадэ [tħamaːda]
sun	т:ыгъэ [tːəɣa]	т:ыгъэ [tːəɣa]	т:ыгъэ [tːəɣa]	тыгъэ [təɣa]	тыгъэ [təɣa]	дыгъэ [dəɣa]
wing	т:амэ [tːaːma]	т:амэ [tːaːma]	т:амэ [tːaːma]	тамэ [taːma]	тамэ [taːma]	дамэ [daːma]

Front affricate t͡s

Aspirated: t͡sʰ ⟨цʰ⟩ → t͡s ⟨ц⟩^[7]

Tense: t͡sː ⟨ц: / цц⟩ → d͡z ⟨дз⟩^[7]

Word	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian				Kabardian
Word	Proto-Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedugh & Hatuqay	Chemgui	Abzakh	Kabardian
Shift: t͡sʰ → t͡s
wool	цʰы [t͡sʰə]	цʰы [t͡sʰə]	цʰы [t͡sʰə]	цʰы [t͡sʰə]	цы [t͡sə]	цы [t͡sə]
eyelash	нэбзыцʰ [nabzət͡sʰ]	нэбзыцʰ [nabzət͡sʰ]	нэбзыцʰ [nabzət͡sʰ]	нэбзыц [nabzət͡s]	нэбзыц [nabzət͡s]	—

Word	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian				East Circassian
Word	Proto-Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedugh & Hatuqay	Chemgui	Abzakh	Besleney	Kabardian
Shift: t͡sː → d͡z
fish	пц:эжъые [pt͡sːaʐəja]	пц:эжъые [pt͡sːaʐəja]	пц:эжъые [pt͡sːaʐəja]	пцэжъые [pt͡saʐəja]	пцэжъые [pt͡saʐəja]	бдзэжъей [bd͡zaʐej]	бдзэжьей [bd͡zaʑej]
mouse	ц:ыгъо [t͡sːəʁʷa]	ц:ыгъо [t͡sːəʁʷa]	ц:ыгъо [t͡sːəʁʷa]	цыгъо [t͡səʁʷa]	цыгъо [t͡səʁʷa]	дзыгъуэ [d͡zəʁʷa]	дзыгъуэ [d͡zəʁʷa]

Middle affricate t͡ɕʷ (labialized)

Aspirated: t͡ɕʷʰ ⟨чʰу⟩ → t͡ɕʷ ⟨чу⟩^[8]

Tense: t͡ɕːʷ ⟨цу: / цуцу⟩ → v ⟨в⟩^[8]

Word	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian				Kabardian
Word	Proto-Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedugh & Hatuqay	Chemgui	Abzakh	Kabardian
Shift: t͡ɕʷʰ → t͡ʃʷ
jungle	чъʰуны [t͡ɕʷʰənə]	чъʰуны [t͡ɕʷʰənə]	чъʰуны [t͡ɕʷʰənə]	цуны [t͡ʃʷənə]	цуны [t͡ʃʷənə]	фын [fən]

Word	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian				Kabardian
Word	Proto-Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedugh & Hatuqay	Chemgui	Abzakh	Kabardian
haystack	хьанжъо [ħanʒʷa]	хьанжъо [ħanʒʷa]	хьанжъ [ħanʒʷ]	хьанжъо [ħanʒʷa]	хьанжъо [ħanʒʷa]	хьэвэ [ħavə]

Palatal affricate kʲ → t͡ʃ

Aspirated: kʲʰ ⟨кʰь⟩ → t͡ʃ ⟨ч⟩^[9]

Tense: kːʲ ⟨кь: / кькь⟩ → ɡʲ ⟨гь⟩ / d͡ʒ ⟨дж⟩^[9]

Word	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian				Kabardian
Word	Proto-Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedugh & Hatuqay	Chemgui	Abzakh	Kabardian
Shift: kʲʰ → t͡ʃ / t͡ʃʰ
spleen	кьʰэ [kʲʰa]	кьʰэ [kʲʰa]	чʰэ [t͡ʃʰa]	чэ [t͡ʃa]	чэ [t͡ʃa]	чэ [t͡ʃa]
brushwood	кьʰы [kʲʰə]	кьʰы [kʲʰə]	чʰы [t͡ʃʰə]	чы [t͡ʃə]	чы [t͡ʃə]	чы [t͡ʃə]
to cough	пскьʰэн [pskʲʰan]	пскьʰэн [pskʲʰan]	псчʰэн [pst͡ʃʰan]	псчэн [pst͡ʃan]	псчэн [pst͡ʃan]	псчэн [pst͡ʃan]

Word	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian				East Circassian
Word	Proto-Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedugh & Hatuqay	Chemgui	Abzakh	Besleney	Kabardian
Shift: kːʲ → ɡʲ / d͡ʒ
glass	апкь: [aːpkːʲ]	апкь: [aːpkːʲ]	апч: [aːpt͡ʃː]	апч [aːpt͡ʃ]	апч [aːpt͡ʃ]	абгь [ʔaːbɡʲ]	абдж [ʔaːbd͡ʒ]
chicken	кь:эт [kːʲat]	кь:эт [kːʲat]	ч:эты [t͡ʃːatə]	чэты [t͡ʃatə]	чэты [t͡ʃatə]	гьэд [ɡʲad]	джэд [d͡ʒad]

Labialized velar kʷ

Aspirated: kʷʰ ⟨кʰу⟩ → kʷ ⟨ку⟩^[10]

Tense: kːʷ ⟨ку: / куку⟩ → ɡʷ ⟨гу⟩^[10]

Word	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian				Kabardian
Word	Proto-Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedugh & Hatuqay	Chemgui	Abzakh	Kabardian
Shift: kʷʰ → kʷ
thigh	кʰо [kʷʰa]	кʰо [kʷʰa]	кʰо [kʷʰa]	ко [kʷa]	ко [kʷa]	куэ [kʷa]
middle	кʰу [kʷʰə]	кʰу [kʷʰə]	кʰу [kʷʰə]	ку [kʷə]	ку [kʷə]	ку [kʷə]

Word	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian				East Circassian
Word	Proto-Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedugh & Hatuqay	Chemgui	Abzakh	Besleney	Kabardian
Shift: kːʷ → ɡʷ
short	кӏьак:о [kʲʼaːkːʷa]	кӏьак:о [kʲʼaːkːʷa]	кӏак:о [t͡ʃʼaːkːʷa]	кӏако [t͡ʃʼaːkʷa]	кӏако [t͡ʃʼaːkʷa]	кӏьагуэ [kʲʼaːɡʷa]	кӏагуэ [t͡ʃʼaːɡʷa]
wheat	к:оц [kːʷat͡s]	к:оцы [kːʷat͡sə]	к:оцы [kːʷat͡sə]	коцы [kʷat͡sə]	коцы [kʷat͡sə]	гуэдз [ɡʷad͡z]	гуэдз [ɡʷad͡z]

Uvular q

Aspirated: qʰ ⟨кʰъ⟩ → q ⟨къ⟩ (Kabardian q͡χ)^[11]

Tense: qː ⟨къ: / къкъ⟩ → q ⟨къ⟩ (Adyghe); qʼ ⟨кӏъ⟩ (Kabardian)^[11]

Word	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian				Kabardian
Word	Proto-Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedugh & Hatuqay	Chemgui	Abzakh	Kabardian
Shift: qʰ → q / q͡χ
grave	кʰъэ [qʰa]	кʰъэ [qʰa]	кʰъэ [qʰa]	къэ [qa]	къэ [qa]	кхъэ [q͡χa]

Word	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian				Kabardian
Word	Proto-Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedugh & Hatuqay	Chemgui	Abzakh	Kabardian
Shift: qː → q / qʼ
clean	къ:абзэ [qːaːbza]	къ:абзэ [qːaːbza]	къабзэ [qaːbza]	къабзэ [qaːbza]	къабзэ [qaːbza]	къабзэ [qʼaːbza]

Labialized uvular qʷ

Aspirated: qʷʰ ⟨кʰъу⟩ → qʷ ⟨къу⟩ (Kabardian q͡χʷ)^[12]

Tense: qːʷ ⟨къу: / къукъу⟩ → qʷ ⟨къу⟩ (Adyghe); qʼʷ ⟨кӏъу⟩ (Kabardian)^[12]

Word	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian				Kabardian
Word	Proto-Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedugh & Hatuqay	Chemgui	Abzakh	Kabardian
Shift: qʷʰ → qʷ / q͡χʷ
pig	кʰъо [qʰʷa]	кʰъо [qʰʷa]	кʰъо [qʰʷa]	къо [qʷa]	къо [qʷa]	кхъуэ [q͡χʷa]
cheese	кʰъуае [qʰʷaːja]	кʰъуае [qʰʷaːja]	кʰъуае [qʰʷaːja]	къуае [qʷaːja]	къуае [qʷaːja]	кхъуей [q͡χʷaj]
ship	кʰъохь [qʰʷaħ]	кʰъохь [qʰʷaħ]	кʰъохь [qʰʷaħ]	къухьэ [qʷəħa]	къухьэ [qʷəħa]	кхъухь [q͡χʷəħ]
to fart	къэкʰъун [qaqʰʷəʃʷən]	къэкʰъун [qaqʰʷəʃʷən]	къэкʰъун [qaqʰʷəʃʷən]	къэкъушъун [qaqʷəʃʷən]	къэкъушъун [qaqʷəʃʷən]	къэцыфын [qat͡səfən]
peer	кʰъужъы [qʰʷəʐə]	кʰъужъы [qʰʷəʐə]	кʰъужъы [qʰʷəʐə]	къужъы [qʷəʐə]	къужъы [qʷəʐə]	кхъужьы [q͡χʷəʑə]
pear	къожьы [qʰʷəźə]	къожьы [qʰʷəźə]	къожьы [qʰʷəźə]	къожьы [qʷəźə]	къожьы [qʷəźə]	къожь [qʷəź]

Word	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian				Kabardian
Word	Proto-Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedugh & Hatuqay	Chemgui	Abzakh	Kabardian
Shift: qːʷ → qʷ / qʼʷ
son	къ:о [qːʷa]	къ:о [qːʷa]	къо [qʷa]	къо [qʷa]	къо [qʷa]	къо [qʷa]
mountain	къ:ушъхьэ [qːʷəʃħa]	къ:ушъхьэ [qːʷəʃħa]	къушъхьэ [qʷəʃħa]	къушъхьэ [qʷəʃħa]	къушъхьэ [qʷəʃħa]	къушхьэ [qʷəʃħa]

Postalveolar fricative ʃ

Aspirated: ʃʰ ⟨шʰ⟩ → ʃ ⟨ш⟩ / ɕ ⟨щ⟩^[13]

Retroflex variant: ʂʰ ⟨шʰъ⟩ → ʂ ⟨шъ⟩^[13]

Word	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian				Kabardian
Word	Proto-Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedugh & Hatuqay	Chemgui	Abzakh	Kabardian
Shift: ʃʰ → ʃ / ɕ
brother	чʰы [t͡ʃʰə]	шʰы [ʃʰə]	шʰы [ʃʰə]	шы [ʃə]	шы [ʃə]	къуэш [qʷaʃ]
lame	лъашʰэ [ɬaːʃʰa]	лъашʰэ [ɬaːʃʰa]	лъашʰэ [ɬaːʃʰa]	лъащэ [ɬaːɕa]	лъащэ [ɬaːɕa]	лъашэ [ɬaːʃa]
milk	шʰэ [ʃʰa]	шʰэ [ʃʰa]	шʰэ [ʃʰa]	щэ [ɕa]	щэ [ɕa]	шэ [ʃa]
salt	шʰыгъу [ʃʰəʁʷ]	шʰыгъу [ʃʰəʁʷ]	шʰыгъу [ʃʰəʁʷ]	щыгъу [ɕəʁʷ]	щыгъу [ɕəʁʷ]	шыгъу [ʃəʁʷ]
cloud	пшʰэ [pʃʰa]	пшʰэ [pʃʰa]	пшʰэ [pʃʰa]	пщэ [pɕa]	пщэ [pɕa]	пшэ [pʃa]
pus	шʰыны [ʃʰənə]	шʰыны [ʃʰənə]	шʰыны [ʃʰənə]	щыны [ɕənə]	щыны [ɕənə]	шын [ʃən]
accordion	пщынэ [pɕəna]	пшʰынэ [pʃʰəna]	пщынэ [pɕəna]	пщынэ [pɕəna]	пщынэ [pɕəna]	пщынэ [pɕəna]
fat	пшʰэры [pʃʰarə]	пшʰэры [pʃʰarə]	пшʰэры [pʃʰarə]	пщэры [pɕarə]	пщэры [pɕarə]	пшэр [pʃar]
wax	щэфы [ɕafə]	иэфы [ʃʰafə]	щэфы [ɕafə]	щэфы [ɕafə]	щэфы [ɕafə]	щэху [ɕaxʷə]
horse	шʰы [ʃʰə]	шʰы [ʃʰə]	шʰы [ʃʰə]	шы [ʃə]	шы [ʃə]	шы [ʃə]
sand	пшʰахъо [pʃʰaːχʷa]	пшʰахъо [pʃʰaːχʷa]	пшʰахъо [pʃʰaːχʷa]	пшахъо [pʃaːχʷa]	пшахъо [pʃaːχʷa]	пшахъуэ [pʃaːχʷa]
story	пшʰысэ [pʃʰəsa]	пшʰысэ [pʃʰəsa]	пшʰысэ [pʃʰəsa]	пшысэ [pʃəsa]	пшысэ [pʃəsa]	пшысэ [pʃəsa]

Postalveolar fricative ʃ (additional lax–tense reflexes)

The book records further lax and tense back-sibilant reflexes, including a glottalized member.^[14]

Word	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian				East Circassian
Word	Proto-Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedugh & Hatuqay	Chemgui	Abzakh	Besleney	Kabardian
mountain top, surface	шʰагъо [ʃʰaɣʷa]	шʰагъо [ʃʰaɣʷa]	шагъо [ʃaɣʷa]	шагъо [ʃaɣʷa]	шагъо [ʃaɣʷa]	щагъуэ [ɕaɣʷa]
measure, size	шʰапхъэ [ʃʰaːpχa]	шʰапхъэ [ʃʰaːpχa]	шапхъ [ʃaːpχ]	шапхъ [ʃaːpχ]	шапхъ [ʃaːpχ]	щапхъэ [ɕaːpχa]
to collect	шʰапӏэ [ʃʰapʰa]	шʰапӏэ [ʃʰapʰa]	—	—	—	щапӏэ [ɕapʼa]
internal fat	шъэ [ʃa]	шъэ [ʃa]	шъэ [ʃa]	шъэ [ʃa]	шъэ [ʃa]	щэ [ɕa]
to measure (space)	шъы [ʃə]	шъы [ʃə]	шъы [ʃə]	шъы [ʃə]	шъы [ʃə]	щы [ɕə]
hunter; to hunt	шъакӏо [ʃakʷʼa]	шъакӏо [ʃakʷʼa]	шъакӏо [ʃakʷʼa]	шъакӏо [ʃakʷʼa]	шъакӏо [ʃakʷʼa]	щакӏуэ [ɕakʷʼa]
axe	ӏуашъэ [waːʃʼa]	ӏуашъэ [waːʃʼa]	ӏуашъэ [waʃʼa]	ӏуашъэ [waʃʼa]	ӏуашъэ [waʃʼa]	ӏуэщ [waɕ]
to shear (sheep)	шъэ [ʃʼa]	шъэ [ʃʼa]	шъэ [ʃʼa]	шъэ [ʃʼa]	шъэ [ʃʼa]	щэ [ɕa]
three	шъэ [ʃʼa]	шъэ [ʃʼa]	шъэ [ʃʼa]	шъэ [ʃʼa]	шъэ [ʃʼa]	щы [ɕə]
princess	гуашъэ [ɡʷaːʃʼa]	гуашъэ [ɡʷaːʃʼa]	гуашъэ [ɡʷaːʃʼa]	гуашъэ [ɡʷaːʃʼa]	гуашъэ [ɡʷaːʃʼa]	гуащэ [ɡʷaːɕa]
prince	пшъэ [pʃʼa]	пшъэ [pʃʼa]	пшъэ [pʃʼa]	пшъэ [pʃʼa]	пшъэ [pʃʼa]	пщэ [pɕa]

Back affricates t͡ʃ / t͡ʂ (tense)

Tense palato-alveolar: t͡ʃː ⟨ч: / чч⟩ → d͡ʒ ⟨дж⟩ / ʒ ⟨ж⟩^[15]

Tense retroflex: t͡ʂː ⟨чъ: / чъчъ⟩ → d͡ʐ ⟨джъ⟩ / ʒ ⟨ж⟩^[15]

Word	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian				East Circassian
Word	Proto-Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedugh & Hatuqay	Chemgui	Abzakh	Besleney	Kabardian
Shift: t͡ʃː → d͡ʒ / ʒ
night	ч:эщ [t͡ʃːaɕ]	ч:эщы [t͡ʃːaɕə]	ч:эщы [t͡ʃːaɕə]	чэщы [t͡ʃaɕə]	чэщы [t͡ʃaɕə]	джэщ [d͡ʒaɕ]	жэщ [ʒaɕ]
village	ч:ылэ [t͡ʃːəɮa]	ч:ылэ [t͡ʃːəɮa]	ч:ылэ [t͡ʃːəɮa]	чылэ [t͡ʃəɮa]	чылэ [t͡ʃəɮa]	джылэ [d͡ʒəɮa]	жылэ [ʒəɮa]
cow	ч:эм [t͡ʃːam]	ч:эмы [t͡ʃːamə]	ч:эмы [t͡ʃːamə]	чэмы [t͡ʃamə]	чэмы [t͡ʃamə]	джэм [d͡ʒam]	жэм [ʒam]
Shift: t͡ʂː → d͡ʐ / ʒ
tree	чъ:ыг [t͡ʂːəɣ]	чъ:ыгы [t͡ʂːəɣə]	чъ:ыгы [t͡ʂːəɣə]	чъыгы [t͡ʂəɣə]	чъыгы [t͡ʂəɣə]	джъыг [d͡ʐəɣ]	жыг [ʒəɣ]

Back affricates t͡ʃ (lax and plain, full dialect reflexes)

The lax (aspirated) and plain back affricates show distinct outcomes across all dialects, including Besleney.^[16]

Word	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian				East Circassian
Word	Proto-Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedugh & Hatuqay	Chemgui	Abzakh	Besleney	Kabardian
Lax t͡ʃʰ
horse	шʰы [ʃʰə]	чʰы [t͡ʃʰə]	шʰы [ʃʰə]	шы [ʃə]	шы [ʃə]	чы [t͡ʃə]	шы [ʃə]
rough, tough	пхъашʰэ [pχaːʃʰa]	пхъачʰэ [pχaːt͡ʃʰa]	пхъашʰэ [pχaːʃʰa]	пхъашэ [pχaːʃa]	пхъашэ [pχaːʃa]	—	пхъашэ [pχaːʃa]

Front affricate t͡s (additional lax–tense reflexes)

The book records further front-affricate examples, including tense reflexes that surface as d͡z in Kabardian.^[7]

Word	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian				Kabardian
Word	Proto-Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedugh & Hatuqay	Chemgui	Abzakh	Kabardian
hair, wool	цʰы [t͡sʰə]	цʰы [t͡sʰə]	цʰы [t͡sʰə]	цы [t͡sə]	цы [t͡sə]	цы [t͡sə]
(wooden) spade	хьанцʰэ [ħant͡sʰa]	хьанцʰэ [ħant͡sʰa]	хьанцʰэ [ħant͡sʰa]	хьанц [ħant͡s]	хьанц [ħant͡s]	хьанцэ [ħant͡sa]
tooth	цэ [t͡sa]	цэ [t͡sa]	цэ [t͡sa]	цэ [t͡sa]	цэ [t͡sa]	дзэ [d͡za]
mouse	цыгъэ [t͡səɣʷa]	цыгъэ [t͡səɣʷa]	цыгъэ [t͡səɣʷa]	цыгъэ [t͡saɣʷa]	цыгъэ [t͡saɣʷa]	дзыгъуэ [d͡zəɣʷa]

Back spirant ʒ (voiced)

Voiced back spirant: ʒ → Adyghe and Besleney ʒ : Kabardian ʑ ⟨жь⟩.^[17]

Word	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian				East Circassian
Word	Proto-Circassian	Shapsug	Bzhedugh & Hatuqay	Chemgui	Abzakh	Besleney	Kabardian
mouth	жэ [ʒa]	жэ [ʒa]	жэ [ʒa]	жэ [ʒa]	жэ [ʒa]	жэ [ʒa]	жьэ [ʑa]
sledge	жэ [ʒa]	жэ [ʒa]	жэ [ʒa]	жэ [ʒa]	жэ [ʒa]	ӏажэ [ʔaːʒa]	ӏажьэ [ʔaːʑa]
flea	бжэжэ [bʒaʒa]	бжэжэ [bʒaʒa]	бжэжэ [bʒaʒa]	бжэжэ [bʒaʒa]	бжэжэ [bʒaʒa]	—	бжьэжьэ [bʑaʑa]
wind	жьы [ʒə]	жьы [ʒə]	жьы [ʒə]	жьы [ʒə]	жьы [ʒə]	—	жьы [ʑə]
bee	бжьы [bʒə]	бжьы [bʒə]	бжьы [bʒə]	бжьы [bʒə]	бжьы [bʒə]	бжьы [bʒə]	бжьы [bʑə]
weasel	уэжьы [waʒə]	уэжьы [waʒə]	уэжьы [waʒə]	уэжьы [waʒə]	уэжьы [waʒə]	уэжьы [waʒə]	уэжьы [waʑə]

The Two Major Shifts

The consonant system of the modern Circassian dialects looks the way it does because of two sound changes that swept through the language at different times. To understand them, it helps to start with the ancestor language, Proto-Circassian, and see what it had that the modern dialects have since reshaped.

Proto-Circassian had a rich set of stops and affricates. (An affricate is a single sound that begins like a stop and releases like a fricative — think of the "ch" in English church or the "j" in judge.) Crucially, Proto-Circassian distinguished three groups of sounds that would later become tangled together:

Postalveolar affricates (made with the tongue just behind the ridge behind the teeth):

d͡ʒ ⟨дж⟩
t͡ʃ ⟨ч⟩
t͡ʃʼ ⟨чӏ⟩

Retroflex affricates (made with the tongue curled further back):

t͡ʂ ⟨чъ⟩
t͡ʂʼ ⟨чӏъ⟩

Palatalized velars (k- and g-type sounds pronounced with the tongue raised toward the hard palate, giving them a "soft", y-coloured quality):

ɡʲ ⟨гь⟩
kʲ ⟨кь⟩
kʲʼ ⟨кӏь⟩

The key thing to notice is that the palatalized velars (гь, кь, кӏь) were originally completely separate from the affricates (дж, ч, чӏ). They sounded different and behaved differently. The two sound changes described below are what eventually caused some dialects to merge these two groups, which is why the modern picture can look confusing at first.

The two phases are: Spirantization (Phase 1), in which old affricates turned into fricatives, and Velar Palatalization (Phase 2), in which the palatalized velars turned into affricates. They did not happen everywhere, and they did not happen in the same dialects — which is exactly why comparing dialects lets us reconstruct the original system.

Phase 1: Spirantization (Affricate → Fricative)

Spirantization simply means "turning into a fricative" (a spirant is just another word for a fricative — a hissing sound like sh, or zh, where air flows continuously instead of being briefly stopped). In Phase 1, the original Proto-Circassian postalveolar and retroflex affricates lost their initial "stop" portion and became plain fricatives.^[18]^[19]^[20]

In other words, a sound like d͡ʒ (the "j" in judge) simply dropped its stop beginning and was left as ʒ (the "s" in measure). The same thing happened to the whole series.

Affected Dialects: Abzakh, Modern Standard Kabardian, and archaic Kabardian dialects.
Unaffected Dialects: Shapsug, Bzhedug, Chemguy, and Besleney. (These dialects kept the original affricates intact, which is why they are so valuable for reconstructing the older system.)

The individual shifts were:

d͡ʒ ⟨дж⟩ → ʒ ⟨ж⟩
t͡ʃ ⟨ч⟩ → ʃ ⟨ш⟩ / ʒ ⟨ж⟩
t͡ʃʼ ⟨чӏ⟩ → ɕʼ ⟨щӏ⟩
t͡ʂ ⟨чъ⟩ → ʂ ⟨шъ⟩ / ʒ ⟨ж⟩
t͡ʂʼ ⟨чӏъ⟩ → ɕʼ ⟨щӏ⟩

Notice that the plain affricates could end up as either ʃ/ʂ or ʒ depending on the dialect (compare Abzakh, which favours the voiceless ш/шъ, with Kabardian, which often voices these to ж). The ejective affricates (чӏ, чӏъ — the ones with a "popping", glottalic release marked by ӏ) both collapsed into the single ejective fricative ɕʼ ⟨щӏ⟩.

There is also one dialect-specific quirk worth noting. In Abzakh, the ejective t͡ʃʼ ⟨чӏ⟩ frequently did not become a fricative at all, but instead weakened all the way to a palatalized glottal stop ʔʲ ⟨ӏь⟩ — essentially a catch in the throat rather than a hiss.

A few worked examples make the pattern concrete:

Proto-Circassian чӏэкӏьын "to come out from under" → щӏэкӏьын in Proto-Kabardian, but ӏекӏьын in Proto-Abzakh (showing the чӏ → ӏь weakening).
Proto-Circassian чӏэгъуэжьын "to regret" → щӏэгъуэжын in Kabardian, ӏегъуэжьын in Abzakh.
Proto-Circassian пачӏэ "mustache" → пащӏэ in both Kabardian and Abzakh.
Proto-Circassian чӏалэ "boy; young man" → щӏалэ in Kabardian, but ӏелэ in Abzakh.
Proto-Circassian чӏымахуэ "winter" → щӏымахуэ in Kabardian, щӏымафэ in Abzakh.
Proto-Circassian чӏэ "new" → щӏэ in both Kabardian and Abzakh.

There is one important catch that sets up Phase 2. In the dialects affected by Phase 1 only (some archaic Kabardian dialects) or by both phases (Standard Kabardian and Abzakh), the change applied to the original affricates but left the original palatalized velars untouched — for the time being. So at this stage, words built on the old velar кӏь were still pronounced with kʲʼ: кӏьапсэ "rope", кӏьэрахъуэ "gun", and кӏьэ "tail" all still had a genuine k-sound. They had not yet been pulled into the affricate series. That only happened later, in Phase 2.

The following table demonstrates the Phase 1 shift (affricate → fricative), grouped by individual sound change. It shows how Abzakh and Standard Kabardian innovated, while Bzhedug, Chemguy, and Besleney stayed conservative for these particular consonants.

Word	Proto Circassian	Bzhedug Chemguy (No Phase 1)	Besleney (No Phase 1)	Abzakh (Phase 1 affected)	Standard Kabardian (Phase 1 affected)
Shift: d͡ʒ ⟨дж⟩ → ʒ ⟨ж⟩
fox	баджэ [baːd͡ʒa]	баджэ [baːd͡ʒa]	баджэ [baːd͡ʒa]	бажэ [baːʒa]	бажэ [baːʒa]
flour	хьаджыгъэ	хьаджыгъэ	хьажыгъэ	хьэжыгъэ	хьэжыгъэ
village	къуаджэ [qʷaːd͡ʒa]	къуаджэ [qʷaːd͡ʒa]	къуаджэ [qʷaːd͡ʒa]	къуажэ [qʷaːʒa]	къуажэ [qʷaːʒa]
Shift: t͡ʃ ⟨ч⟩ → ʃ ⟨ш⟩ / ʒ ⟨ж⟩
village	чылэ [t͡ʃəɮa]	чылэ [t͡ʃəɮa]	джылэ [d͡ʒəɮa]	шылэ [ʃəɮa]	жылэ [ʒəɮa]
night	чэщ [t͡ʃaɕ]	чэщы [t͡ʃaɕə]	джэщ [d͡ʒaɕ]	шэщы [ʃaɕə]	жэщ [ʒaɕ]
cow	чэм [t͡ʃam]	чэмы [t͡ʃamə]	джэм [d͡ʒam]	шэмы [ʃamə]	жэм [ʒam]
Shift: t͡ʃʼ ⟨чӏ⟩ → ɕʼ ⟨щӏ⟩ (Abzakh ш)
new	чӏэ [t͡ʃʼa]	чӏэ [t͡ʃʼa]	чӏэ [t͡ʃʼa]	шӏэ [ʃʼa]	щӏэ [ɕʼa]
winter	чӏымахо [t͡ʃʼəmaːxʷa]	чӏымафэ [t͡ʃʼəmaːfa]	чӏымахуэ [t͡ʃʼəmaːxʷa]	шӏымафэ [ʃʼəmaːfa]	щӏымахуэ [ɕʼəmaːxʷa]
young-man	чӏалэ [t͡ʃʼaːɮa]	чӏалэ [t͡ʃʼaːɮa]	чӏалэ [t͡ʃʼaːɮa]	ӏелэ [ʔʲaːɮa]	щӏалэ [ɕʼaːɮa]
Shift: t͡ʂ ⟨чъ⟩ → ʂ ⟨шъ⟩ / ʒ ⟨ж⟩
to sleep	чъыен [t͡ʂəjan]	чъыен [t͡ʂəjan]	джъеин [d͡ʐajən]	шъыен [ʂəjan]	жеин [ʒajən]
tree	чъыг [t͡ʂəɣ]	чъыгы [t͡ʂəɣə]	джъыг [d͡ʐəɣ]	шъыгы [ʂəɣə]	жыг [ʒəɣ]
to run	чъэн [t͡ʂan]	чъэн [t͡ʂan]	джъэн [d͡ʐan]	шъэн [tʂan]	жэн [ʒan]
Shift: t͡ʂʼ ⟨чӏъ⟩ → ɕʼ ⟨щӏ⟩ (Abzakh шӏ)
area	чӏыпӏэ [t͡ʂʼəpʼa]	чӏыпӏэ [t͡ʂʼəpʼa]	чӏыпӏэ [t͡ʂʼəpʼa]	шӏыпӏэ [ʃʼəpʼa]	щӏыпӏэ [ɕʼəpʼa]
iron	гъучӏы [ʁʷət͡ʂʼə]	гъучӏы [ʁʷət͡ʂʼə]	гъучӏы [ʁʷət͡ʂʼə]	гъушӏы [ʃʼəpʼa]	гъущӏы [ɕʼəpʼa]

Phase 2: Velar Palatalization

Phase 2 came later, and in a sense it is the mirror image of Phase 1. Where Phase 1 turned affricates into fricatives, Phase 2 turned the leftover palatalized velars into affricates. The technical name is velar palatalization (or affrication of velars): the "soft" k- and g-sounds (гь, кь, кӏь) shifted their place of articulation forward and became palato-alveolar affricates — дж [d͡ʒ], ч [t͡ʃ], and чӏ [t͡ʃʼ] respectively.^[21]^[22]^[23]^[24]^[25]^[26]

This is the change that finally merges the two groups in the dialects that underwent both phases. Once the old affricates had vacated their "slots" by becoming fricatives (Phase 1), the velars moved in and filled those slots by becoming the new affricates (Phase 2). The result is that a modern Standard Kabardian чӏ is not the original чӏ at all — the original one became щӏ in Phase 1 — but rather a brand-new чӏ created out of the old кӏь.

Affected Dialects: Abzakh, Bzhedug, Chemguy, and Modern Standard Kabardian.
Unaffected Dialects: Shapsug, Besleney, and archaic Kabardian dialects. (In these, the soft velars кь, гь, кӏь survive to this day.)

The individual shifts were^[9]^[25]^[26]:

ɡʲ ⟨гь⟩ → d͡ʒ ⟨дж⟩
kʲ ⟨кь⟩ → t͡ʃ ⟨ч⟩
kʲʼ ⟨кӏь⟩ → t͡ʃʼ ⟨чӏ⟩

This is why words that were still pronounced with a velar at the end of Phase 1 are now pronounced as affricates in these dialects. The words чӏапсэ "rope", чӏэрахъуэ "gun", and чӏэ "tail" — which had genuine кӏь kʲʼ a moment ago — are now said with t͡ʃʼ.

Word	Proto Circassian	Shapsug (No Phase 2)	Bzhedug Chemguy Abzakh (Phase 2 affected)	Besleney (No Phase 2)	Kabardian (Phase 2 affected)
Shift: kʲ → t͡ʃ
to cough	пскʰьэн [pskʲʰan]	пскʰьэн [pskʲʰan]	псчэн [pst͡ʃan]	пскьэн [pskʲan]	псчэн [pst͡ʃan]
throat	кьый [kʲəj]	кьый [kʲəj]	чый [t͡ʃəj]	кьий [kʲəj]	чий [t͡ʃəj]
spleen	кьэ [kʲa]	кьэ [kʲa]	чэ [t͡ʃa]	кьэ [kʲa]	чэ [t͡ʃa]
glass	апкь [aːpkʲ]	апкь [aːpkʲ]	апч [aːpt͡ʃ]	абгь [ʔaːbɡʲ]	абдж [ʔaːbd͡ʒ]
chicken	кьэт [kʲat]	кьэт [kʲat]	чэты [t͡ʃatə]	гьэд [ɡʲad]	джэд [d͡ʒad]
Shift: ɡʲ → d͡ʒ
game	гьэгу [ɡʲaɡʷ]	гьэгу [ɡʲaɡʷ]	джэгу [d͡ʒaɡʷ]	гьэгу [ɡʲaɡʷ]	джэгу [d͡ʒaɡʷ]
shirt	гьанэ [ɡʲaːna]	гьанэ [ɡʲaːna]	джанэ [d͡ʒaːna]	гьанэ [ɡʲaːna]	джанэ [d͡ʒaːna]
to study	егьэн [jaɡʲan]	егьэн [jaɡʲan]	еджэн [jad͡ʒan]	егьэн [jaɡʲan]	еджэн [jad͡ʒan]
sick	сымагьэ [səmaːɡʲa]	сымагьэ [səmaːɡʲa]	сымаджэ [səmaːd͡ʒa]	сымагьэ [səmaːɡʲa]	сымаджэ [səmaːd͡ʒa]
evil	бзагьэ [bzaːɡʲa]	бзагьэ [bzaːɡʲa]	бзаджэ [bzaːd͡ʒa]	бзагьэ [bzaːɡʲa]	бзаджэ [bzaːd͡ʒa]
bitter	дыгь [dəɡʲ]	дыгьы [dəɡʲə]	дыджы [dəd͡ʒə]	дыгь [dəɡʲ]	дыдж [dəd͡ʒ]
Shift: kʲʼ → t͡ʃʼ
short	кӏьако [kʲʼaːkʷa]	кӏьако [kʲʼaːkʷa]	чӏако [t͡ʃʼaːkʷa]	кӏьагуэ [kʲʼaːɡʷa]	чӏагуэ [t͡ʃʼaːɡʷa]
rope	кӏьапсэ [kʲʼaːpsa]	кӏьапсэ [kʲʼaːpsa]	чӏапсэ [t͡ʃʼaːpsa]	кӏьапсэ [kʲʼaːpsa]	чӏапсэ [t͡ʃʼaːpsa]
egg	кӏьэнкӏьэ [kʲʼankʲʼa]	кӏьакӏьэ [kʲʼaːkʲʼa]	чӏэнчӏэ [t͡ʃʼant͡ʃʼa]	гьэдыкӏэ [ɡʲadəkʲʼa]	джэдыкӏэ [d͡ʒadət͡ʃʼa]
gun	кӏьэрахъуэ [kʲʼaraːχʷa]	кӏьэрахъуэ [kʲʼaraːχʷa]	чӏэрахъо [t͡ʃʼaraːχʷa]	кӏьэрахъуэ [kʲʼaraːχʷa]	кӏэрахъуэ [t͡ʃʼaraːχʷa]
key	ӏункӏьыбзэ [ʔʷənkʲʼəbza]	ӏункӏьыбзэ [ʔʷənkʲʼəbza]	ӏунчӏыбзэ [ʔʷənt͡ʃʼəbza]	ӏункӏьыбзэ [ʔʷənkʲʼəbza]	ӏунчӏыбз [ʔʷənt͡ʃʼəbz]
ceiling	кӏьашъо [kʲʼaːʃʷa]	кӏьашъо [kʲʼaːʃʷa]	чӏашъо [t͡ʃʼaːʃʷa]	кӏьафэ [kʲʼaːfa]	чӏафэ [t͡ʃʼaːfa]
beard	жьа кӏьэ [ʑaːkʲʼa]	жьа кӏьэ [ʑaːkʲʼa]	жачӏэ [ʒaːt͡ʃʼa]	жьакӏьэ [ʑaːkʲʼa]	жьачӏэ [ʑaːt͡ʃʼa]
tail	кӏьэ [kʲʼa]	кӏьэ [kʲʼa]	чӏэ [t͡ʃʼa]	кӏьэ [kʲʼa]	чӏэ [t͡ʃʼa]
to kill	укӏьын [wkʲʼən]	укӏьын [wkʲʼən]	учӏын [wt͡ʃʼən]	укӏьын [wkʲʼən]	учӏын [wt͡ʃʼən]
nit	цӏакӏьэ	сӏакӏьэ	цӏакӏьэ	цӏакӏьэ	цӏачӏэ
smithy	к1ыыщ	к1ыыщ	ч1ыыщ	к1ыыщ	ч1ыыщ

Summary of Dialectal Evolution

Because the two phases were independent, each dialect can be classified simply by asking two yes/no questions: did it undergo Phase 1, and did it undergo Phase 2? The four possible answers give four neat groups:

Shapsug & Besleney — neither phase. These are the most conservative dialects. They preserve both the original affricates and the original palatalized velars as separate sounds, which is precisely why linguists lean on them to reconstruct Proto-Circassian.
Bzhedug & Chemguy — Phase 2 only. They kept the original affricates but shifted their velars into affricates. Because the old affricates were still present, the new ones from the velars simply merged in with them.
Some Kabardian dialects (e.g. Uzunyayla) — Phase 1 only. They turned the original affricates into fricatives, but their soft velars never advanced, so words like кӏьэ "tail" still keep their kʲʼ.
Abzakh & Modern Standard Kabardian — both phases. First the original affricates spirantized (Phase 1), and then the velars moved in to become the new affricates (Phase 2). This two-step "chain shift" is why a modern чӏ in these dialects descends from an old velar кӏь, not from the old affricate чӏ (which is now щӏ).

The cleanest way to see all of this is to follow two words side by side: one built on an original affricate (so it only ever reacts to Phase 1) and one built on an original palatalized velar (so it only ever reacts to Phase 2). The table below does exactly that.

Word	Proto Circassian	Shapsug (No Phases)	Besleney (No Phases)	Bzhedug Chemguy (Phase 2 Only)	Some Kabardian dialects (Phase 1 Only)	Abzakh (Both Phases)	Standard Kabardian (Both Phases)
tail	кӏьэ [kʲʼa]	кӏьэ [kʲʼa]	кӏьэ [kʲʼa]	чӏэ [t͡ʃʼa]	кӏьэ [kʲʼa]	чӏэ [t͡ʃʼa]	чӏэ [t͡ʃʼa]
new	чӏэ [t͡ʃʼa]	чӏэ [t͡ʃʼa]	кӏьэ [t͡ʃʼa]	чӏэ [t͡ʃʼa]	щӏэ [ʃʼa]	щӏэ [ʃʼa]	щӏэ [ʃʼa]
winter	чӏымахуэ [t͡ʃʼəmaːxʷa]	чӏымафэ [t͡ʃʼəmaːfa]	чӏымахуэ [t͡ʃʼəmaːxʷa]	чӏымафэ [t͡ʃʼəmaːfa]	щӏымахуэ [ʃʼəmaːxʷa]	щӏымафэ [ʃʼəmaːfa]	щӏымахуэ [ʃʼəmaːxʷa]
mustache	пачӏэ [paːt͡ʃʼa]	пачӏэ [paːt͡ʃʼa]	пачӏэ [paːt͡ʃʼa]	пачӏэ [paːt͡ʃʼa]	пащӏэ [paːʃʼa]	пащӏэ [paːʃʼa]	пащӏэ [paːʃʼa]

Introduction of Labiodental Fricatives

Proto-Circassian lacked the labiodental fricatives: the voiceless labiodental fricative [f] and the voiced labiodental fricative [v]. These sounds developed independently in the Western (Adyghe) and Eastern (Kabardian) dialects from completely different phonological sources.

In summary:

Western Dialects derived [f] from the velar [xʷ].^[27]
Eastern Dialects derived [f] and [v] from labialized sibilants (t͡ɕʷ, ɕʷ, ʑʷ).^[27]

Western Shift (Velar to Labiodental)

In Western Circassian dialects (such as Abzakh, Bzhedug, Chemguy, and Shapsug), the Proto-Circassian labialized voiceless velar fricative [xʷ] ⟨ху⟩ shifted to the voiceless labiodental fricative [f] ⟨ф⟩.^[27]

In Eastern dialects (Kabardian and Besleney), this consonant remained a velar [xʷ].

xʷ ⟨ху⟩ → f ⟨ф⟩

Western Shift: xʷ → f
Word	Proto Circassian	Western (Shifted)	Eastern (Retained)
human	цӏыху [t͡sʼəxʷ]	цӏыф [t͡sʼəf]	цӏыху [t͡sʼəxʷ]
white	хужь [xʷəʑ]	фыжьы [fəʑə]	хужь [xʷəʑ]
hot	хуабэ [xʷaːba]	фабэ [faːba]	хуабэ [xʷaːba]
day	махо [maːxʷa]	мафэ [maːfa]	махуэ [maːxʷa]

Eastern Shift (Sibilant to Labiodental)

In Eastern Circassian dialects, a series of Proto-Circassian labialized postalveolar consonants (t͡ɕʷ, ʑʷ, ɕʷ, ɕʷʼ) shifted to become labiodental consonants.

In Western dialects, these consonants retained their original sibilant nature (pronounced as t͡ɕʷ, ʑʷ, ɕʷ, ɕʷʼ).

The specific shifts in Eastern dialects were^[28]:

t͡ɕʷʰ ⟨цу⟩ → f ⟨ф⟩
t͡ɕʷ ⟨цу⟩ → v ⟨в⟩
ʑʷ ⟨жъу⟩ → v ⟨в⟩
ɕʷ ⟨шъу⟩ → f ⟨ф⟩
ɕʷʼ ⟨шӏу⟩ → fʼ ⟨фӏ⟩

Eastern Shift: Sibilants → Labiodentals
Word	Proto Circassian	Western (Retained)	Eastern (Shifted)
Shift: t͡ɕʷ → v
ox	цу [t͡ɕʷə]	цу [t͡ɕʷə]	вы [və]
shoe	цуакъэ [t͡ɕʷaːqa]	цуакъэ [t͡ɕʷaːqa]	вакъэ [vaːqa]
Shift: ʑʷ → v
star	жъуагъо [ʑʷaːʁʷa]	жъуагъо [ʑʷaːʁʷa]	вагъуэ [vaːʁʷa]
stone	мыжъо [məʑʷa]	мыжъо [məʑʷa]	мывэ [məva]
narrow	зэжъу [zaʑʷə]	зэжъу [zaʑʷə]	зэвы [zavə]
Shift: ɕʷ → f
you (pl.)	шъо [ɕʷa]	шъо [ɕʷa]	фэ [fa]
honey	шъоу [ɕʷaw]	шъоу [ɕʷaw]	фо [faw]
wife	шъуз [ɕʷəz]	шъуз [ɕʷəz]	фыз [fəz]
Shift: ɕʷʼ → fʼ
black	шӏуцӏэ [ɕʷʼət͡sʼa]	шӏуцӏэ [ɕʷʼət͡sʼa]	фӏыцӏэ [fʼət͡sʼa]
fire	машӏо [maːɕʷʼa]	машӏо [maːɕʷʼa]	мафӏэ [maːfʼa]
dirty	шӏои [ɕʷʼajə]	шӏои [ɕʷʼajə]	фӏей [fʼaj]

An interesting consequence of these opposing phonological shifts is the divergence of the words for "light" and "blind".

Proto-Circassian possessed two distinct words:

Light: naxʷ ⟨нэху⟩ (containing the velar xʷ)
Blind: naɕʷ ⟨нэшъу⟩ (containing the sibilant ɕʷ)

Due to the different sources of the labiodental [f] in the dialects, these words shifted in opposite directions:

In Western (Adyghe): The velar xʷ became f. Therefore, "light" became ⟨нэф⟩. The sibilant ɕʷ was retained, so "blind" remained ⟨нэшъу⟩.
In Eastern (Kabardian): The sibilant ɕʷ became f. Therefore, "blind" became ⟨нэф⟩. The velar xʷ was retained, so "light" remained ⟨нэху⟩.

As a result, the word ⟨нэф⟩ is a "false friend" between the dialects: it means light in Adyghe, but blind in Kabardian.

Evolution of "Light" and "Blind"
Meaning	Proto-Circassian	Western (Adyghe)		Eastern (Kabardian)
Meaning	Proto-Circassian	Shift	Result	Shift	Result
Light	нэху [naxʷ]	xʷ → f	нэф [naf]	(Retained)	нэху [naxʷ]
Blind	нэшъу [naɕʷ]	(Retained)	нэшъу [naɕʷ]	ɕʷ → f	нэф [naf]

Morphological Impact: Benefactive vs. Malefactive Prefixes

The phonological shifts also affected grammatical prefixes, creating distinct forms for the Benefactive and Malefactive prefixes in the modern dialects.

In Proto-Circassian, these prefixes were distinct:

Benefactive ("for"): xʷa ⟨хуэ⟩ — containing the velar xʷ.
Malefactive ("to the detriment of"): ɕʷʼa ⟨шӏуэ⟩ — containing the ejective sibilant ɕʷʼ.

Due to the shifts:

In Western (Adyghe): The Benefactive xʷa became fa ⟨фэ⟩, while the Malefactive ɕʷʼa was retained as ⟨шӏуэ⟩.
In Eastern (Kabardian): The Benefactive xʷa was retained as ⟨хуэ⟩, while the Malefactive ɕʷʼa shifted to fʼa ⟨фӏэ⟩.

Comparison of Prefixes
Function	Proto Circassian	Western (Adyghe)	Eastern (Kabardian)
Benefactive (for someone's sake)	хуэ- [xʷa-]	фэ- [fa-]	хуэ- [xʷa-]
Malefactive (to someone's detriment)	шӏуэ- [ɕʷʼa-]	шӏуэ- [ɕʷʼa-]	фӏэ- [fʼa-]

Examples of verbs utilizing these prefixes:

Meaning	Proto Circassian	Western (Adyghe)	Eastern (Kabardian)
to go for someone's sake	хуэкӏуэн [xʷakʷʼan]	фэкӏон [fakʷʼan]	хуэкӏуэн [xʷakʷʼan]
to lose (lit. to go from someone)	шӏуэкӏуэн [ɕʷʼakʷʼan]	шӏуэкӏон [ɕʷʼakʷʼan]	фӏэкӏуэн [fʼakʷʼan]
to take for someone's sake	хуэхьын [xʷaħən]	фэхьын [faħən]	хуэхьын [xʷaħən]
to take away from (forcefully)	шӏуэхьын [ɕʷʼaħən]	шӏуэхьын [ɕʷʼaħən]	фӏэхьын [fʼaħən]

Glottalized uvular qʼ

The Common Circassian glottalized uvular *qʼ became a plain glottal stop ʔ in most Circassian dialects, while it was preserved as qʼ in the Hakutsw (Hakuchey) subdialect of Shapsug.^[29]

Word	Proto-Circassian	Bzhedugh / Temirgoy / Abzakh / Kabardian	Hakutsw Shapsug
Shift: qʼ → ʔ
hand, arm	ӏэ [ʔa]	ӏэ [ʔa]	къӏэ [qʼa]
haystack	ӏатӏэ [ʔaːtʰa]	ӏатӏэ [ʔaːta]	къӏатӏэ [qʼaːta]
Shift: qʼʷ → ʔʷ
clever	ӏушэ [ʔʷaśa]	ӏушэ [ʔʷaś]	къӏушэ [qʷʼaśa]
nail	ӏунэ [ʔʷəna]	ӏунэ [ʔʷəna]	къӏунэ [qʷʼəna]
to turn, wind	ӏантӏэ [ʔʷaːnta]	ӏантӏэ [ʔʷaːnta]	къӏантӏэ [qʷʼaːnta]

Grammar

Dynamic prefix *wa-

In Proto-Circassian, the dynamic prefix is reconstructed as *wa- (уэ-).^[30] This verbal morpheme spans across several grammatical categories, strictly indicating that a verb is operating in the positive, dynamic, present tense. As the languages diverged, this prefix underwent distinct phonological shifts:

Dialectal Shifts of the Dynamic Prefix
Branch	Shift	Phrase	Morphology	Translation
West Circassian (Adyghe)	-э- ([-a-])	сэ сэкӀо	сэ с-э-кӀо	I go
East Circassian (Kabardian)	-о- ([-o-])	сэ сокӀуэ	сэ с-о-кӀуэ	I go

In some specific verb roots, the East Circassian (Kabardian) branch preserves the ancestral *wa- (уэ-) more transparently than West Circassian. For instance, in the dynamic verb for "standing/spending time," Kabardian retains the form щ-уэ-ты-р, whereas West Circassian fully reduces the prefix to щ-э-ты.^[30]

The historical reduction of the ancestral *wa- (уэ-) to the modern -э- in West Circassian is clearly visible in the conjugation of monovalent intransitive verbs without prefixes (such as "to go"). Through a process of vowel dropping and assimilation, the original forms simplified:^[30]

1st Person Singular: сэ-кӀо (I go) < *с-уэ-кӀо < *сы-уэ-кӀо
2nd Person Singular: о-кӀо / уэ-кӀо (You go) < *у-уэ-кӀо < *уы-уэ-кӀо
1st Person Plural: тэ-кӀо (We go) < *т-уэ-кӀо < *ты-уэ-кӀо
2nd Person Plural: шъо-кӀо / шъу-э-кӀо (You all go) < *шъу-уэ-кӀо < *шъуы-уэ-кӀо

The presence of the dynamic prefix is highly restricted. It is completely dropped from the verb complex under the following grammatical conditions:

Non-Present Tenses: It is omitted in the past and future tenses, allowing personal pronouns to attach directly to the verb root or relational prefixes. For example, while the dynamic prefix is active in the present tense, it is entirely absent in past forms such as сы-кIуагъ (I went), у-кIуагъ (You went), кIуагъэ (He went), and с-тхыгъэ (I wrote that).^[31]

Branch	Tense	Phrase	Morphology	Translation
West	Present	сэ сэкӀо	сэ с-э-кӀо	I go
West	Past	сэ скӀуагъ	сэ с-кӀу-агъ	I went
East	Present	сэ сокӀуэ	сэ с-о-кӀуэ	I go
East	Past	сэ скӀуащ	сэ с-кӀу-ащ	I went

Negative Polarity: It is dropped in negative forms across all tenses, including the present tense.

Branch	Polarity	Phrase	Morphology	Translation
West	Positive	сэ сэкӀо	сэ с-э-кӀо	I go
West	Negative	сэ скӀорэп	сэ с-кӀо-рэп	I do not go
East	Positive	сэ сокӀуэ	сэ с-о-кӀуэ	I go
East	Negative	сэ сыкӀуэркъым	сэ сы-кӀуэ-ркъым	I do not go

Conditionals and Conjunctions: The addition of suffixes such as -мэ (if), -ми (even if), or adverbial suffixes like -у (while) strips the verb of its dynamic prefix.

Branch	Form	Phrase	Morphology	Translation
West	Standard	сэ сэкӀо	сэ с-э-кӀо	I go
West	Conditional	сыкӀомэ	сы-кӀо-мэ	If I go
East	Standard	сэ сокӀуэ	сэ с-о-кӀуэ	I go
East	Conditional	сыкӀуэмэ	сы-кӀуэ-мэ	If I go

The мэ- (ma-) Mutation

The morphological placement of the dynamic prefix typically falls between the personal pronoun prefixes and the verb root. However, a significant structural mutation occurs in monovalent intransitive verbs when conjugated for the third person (he/she/it/they).

Because the third-person absolutive index in Circassian is a null prefix (∅-), the dynamic prefix is forced into the absolute word-initial position. Since Circassian phonotactics do not permit the dynamic vowels (-э- or -о-) to stand alone at the beginning of a word without a preceding consonant, the prefix mutates into мэ- (ma-) in both the West and East branches (e.g., ∅-э-кӀо mutates to макӀо).^[30]

This mutation is exclusively a feature of the positive present tense, as the dynamic prefix drops out entirely under other conditions. When the dynamic prefix is omitted, the мэ- mutation naturally disappears alongside it, leaving the root exposed:

Non-Present Tenses:

Branch	Tense	Phrase	Morphology	Translation
West	Present	ар макӀо	ар ∅-мэ-кӀо	He goes
West	Past	ар кӀуагъ	ар ∅-кӀу-агъ	He went
East	Present	ар макӀуэ	ар ∅-мэ-кӀуэ	He goes
East	Past	ар кӀуащ	ар ∅-кӀу-ащ	He went

Negative Polarity:

Branch	Polarity	Phrase	Morphology	Translation
West	Positive	ар макӀо	ар ∅-мэ-кӀо	He goes
West	Negative	ар кӀорэп	ар ∅-кӀо-рэп	He does not go
East	Positive	ар макӀуэ	ар ∅-мэ-кӀуэ	He goes
East	Negative	ар кӀуэркъым	ар ∅-кӀуэ-ркъым	He does not go

Conditionals and Conjunctions:

Branch	Form	Phrase	Morphology	Translation
West	Standard	макӀо	∅-мэ-кӀо	He goes
West	Conditional	кӀомэ	∅-кӀо-мэ	If he goes
East	Standard	макӀуэ	∅-мэ-кӀуэ	He goes
East	Conditional	кӀуэмэ	∅-кӀуэ-мэ	If he goes

Intransitive Verbs with Spatial Prefixes

When a monovalent intransitive verb includes a spatial or directional prefix (such as къ- meaning "hither" or щ- indicating location), the dynamic prefix is sandwiched between this spatial prefix and the verb root. In these environments across all grammatical persons, the ancestral *wa- consistently reduces to -э- in modern West Circassian:^[31]

Evolution of the Dynamic Prefix with Spatial Prefixes
Verb Complex	Pre-Modern Form	Ancestral Form	Translation
сы-къ-э-кӀо	*сы-къ-уэ-кӀо	*сы-къэ-уэ-кӀо	I am coming here
у-къ-э-кӀо	*у-къ-уэ-кӀо	*у-къэ-уэ-кӀо	You are coming here
къ-э-кӀо	*къ-уэ-кӀо	*къэ-уэ-кӀо	He/she/it is coming here
сы-щ-э-уцу	*сы-щ-уэ-уцу	*сы-щы-уэ-уцу	I stop there
у-щ-э-уцу	*у-щ-уэ-уцу	*у-щы-уэ-уцу	You stop there
щ-э-уцу	*щ-уэ-уцу	*щы-уэ-уцу	He/she/it stops there

Bivalent Intransitive Verbs

Bivalent intransitive verbs take an absolutive subject and an oblique indirect object. Because the dynamic prefix sits between the personal pronouns and the verb root in these cases, it is no longer in the word-initial position. Consequently, it never mutates into мэ- (ma-). Instead, it acts as a phonetic glue that often "swallows" or blends with adjacent vowels.

In Proto-Circassian, the underlying dynamic prefix *wa- (уэ-) clustered with the preceding indirect object pronouns. The ancestral combinations for "I look at him", "I look at you", and "I look at y'all" were reconstructed with the prefix sequence absolutive + oblique + dynamic prefix + root. These Proto-Circassian clusters effectively functioned as:

I look at him: *сы-й-уэ-плъ
I look at you: *сы-у-уэ-плъ
I look at y'all: *сы-шъу-уэ-плъ

As the branches diverged, these sequences evolved based on their respective dynamic prefix shifts. In West Circassian, the *wa- simplified to -э-, while in East Circassian, the *w+a contraction resulted in the rounded -о- (creating the intermediate/Eastern forms сы-й-о-плъ, сы-у-о-плъ, and сы-шъу-о-плъ).

Evolution of Bivalent Intransitive Prefixes (Present Tense)
Proto-Circassian	Branch	Phrase	Morphology	Translation
*сы-й-уэ-плъ	West	сэ сеплъы	сэ сы-й-э-плъы	I look at him/it
*сы-й-уэ-плъ	East	сэ соплъ	сэ сы-й-о-плъ	I look at him/it
*сы-у-уэ-плъ	West	сэ уэ суэплъы	сэ уэ с-у-э-плъы	I look at you
*сы-у-уэ-плъ	East	сэ уэ соплъ	сэ уэ сы-у-о-плъ	I look at you
*сы-шъу-уэ-плъ	West	сэ шъуэ сшъуэплъы	сэ шъуэ с-шъу-э-плъы	I look at y'all
*сы-шъу-уэ-плъ	East	сэ фэ сывоплъ	сэ фэ сы-в-о-плъ	I look at y'all

Distinguishing the Tense Marker from the Pronoun

Because the dynamic prefix drops out in the past tense, it is crucial not to mistake phonetic pronoun contractions for the present tense dynamic marker.

For example, look closely at the East Circassian (Kabardian) past tense for "I looked at you" (сыноплъащ). The "о" here is not the dynamic prefix. The present tense dynamic prefix was dropped. Instead, the "о" in the past tense is the phonetic contraction of the 2nd person singular pronoun уэ blending with the preceding relational prefix (сы-ны-уэ-плъ-ащ).

If we compare the 2nd person singular past tense with the plural form, we can clearly see that the plural form lacks the "о", confirming it was just a pronoun contraction and not a tense marker:

Distinguishing Pronouns from Tense Markers (East Circassian)
Tense	Phrase	Morphology	Translation	Presence of Dynamic Prefix
Present	сэ уэ сыноплъ	сэ уэ сы-ны-у-о-плъ	I look at you	Yes (о = dynamic prefix)
Past	сэ уэ сыноплъащ	сэ уэ сы-ны-уэ-плъ-ащ	I looked at you	No (о sound = pronoun уэ)
Present	сэ фэ сынывоплъ	сэ фэ сы-ны-в-о-плъ	I look at y'all	Yes (о = dynamic prefix)
Past	сэ фэ сынывэплъащ	сэ фэ сы-ны-вэ-плъ-ащ	I looked at y'all	No (Dynamic prefix is absent)

Transitive Dynamic Verbs

The dynamic prefix is equally present in transitive dynamic verbs operating in the present tense. Just as with intransitive verbs, the ancestral *wa- (уэ-) sits between the personal prefixes and the verb root, undergoing reduction and blending with adjacent sounds:^[31]

1st Person Singular: с-э-тхы (I write that) < *с-уэ-тхы
2nd Person Singular: о-тхы / у-э-тхы (You write that) < *у-уэ-тхы
3rd Person Singular: е-тхы / й-э-тхы (He/she writes that) < *й-уэ-тхы < *йы-уэ-тхы

Function in Static and Dynamic Counterparts

In Circassian grammar, verbs are fundamentally divided into static verbs (expressing a fixed state of being) and dynamic verbs (expressing an action or transition). The dynamic prefix is the central morphological tool used to derive dynamic counterparts from static roots, nouns, and adjectives.^[30]

Deriving from Nouns and Adjectives

The dynamic prefix can be attached to words expressing the quality of an object (adjectives) or a profession (nouns) to create active dynamic verbs. When conjugated in the third-person present tense, these take the мэ- mutation:

From Nouns: The noun пхъашIэ (carpenter) forms the static phrase ар пхъашIэ (he is a carpenter). Adding the dynamic prefix creates ар мэпхъашIэ (he works/acts as a carpenter).^[30]
From Adjectives: The adjective бзаджэ (evil) forms the static phrase ар бзаджэ (he is evil). Adding the dynamic prefix creates ар мэбзаджэ (he is becoming evil).^[30]

Terminal Vowel Retention

The presence of the dynamic prefix also affects the phonetic structure of the verb's ending. Static verbs in the first and second-person present tense typically drop their terminal vowels (э and ы). In contrast, dynamic verbs bearing the dynamic prefix retain these final vowels.

Static: сэ сы-щыт (I stand - conveying a state of being)
Dynamic: сэ сы-щэты (I am standing / I spend time standing - conveying an action)^[32]

Transitive Static Verbs

While most transitive verbs in Circassian are inherently dynamic, the verb Iыгъын (to hold) is a unique bivalent transitive static verb. In its standard present-tense form (с-Iыгъ, "I hold"), it lacks the dynamic prefix because it expresses a state. However, it can take the dynamic prefix to form a dynamic variant, с-э-Iыгъы (derived from *с-уэ-Iыгъы), which instead conveys a habitual or ongoing action ("I hold it generally/often").^[31]

Dynamic present suffix *-r

Proto-Circassian featured a dynamic present tense suffix *-r.^[33] It is crucial to note that this suffix attached exclusively to dynamic verbs (actions or events). Stative verbs (expressing continuous states, such as "to stand") did not take this suffix in Proto-Circassian, and therefore lack any reflex of *-р in their modern paradigms.^[34] In the modern normal positive present tense, this suffix has been completely elided in the word-final position in the West Circassian (Adyghe) branch. However, the historical *-r surfaces in both branches under specific morphological conditions where it is protected by a subsequent suffix, preserved in fossilized forms, or kept as an optional marker in East Circassian.^[35]

In both West and East Circassian, the -r appears in the negative present form, preceding the negation suffix:

West: ар кӀорэп, сэ скӀорэп^[36]
East: ар кӀуэркъым, сэ скӀуэркъым^[34]

In West Circassian, the suffix is retained in participles, when conjunctions are added, and in certain lexicalized relicts:^[36]

Present participles: кӀорэр (the one who goes, absolutive case), кӀорэм (oblique case), кӀорэмкӀэ (instrumental case)
Coordination suffix (-i / "and"): кӀори (goes and...)
Lexical relicts: The suffix has fossilized in certain derived words, such as the noun and adjective стыр ("burn" or "spicy"), which derives from the verb стын ("to burn").

In East Circassian (Kabardian), the suffix is preserved in imperfect forms, interrogatives, participles, lexical relicts, adverbial constructions, and optionally in the positive present tense:^[35]

Optional present tense: Unlike Adyghe, modern Kabardian allows the suffix to optionally surface in standard dynamic verbs in the present tense: сэ сокӀуэ / сокӀуэр ("I go"), ар макӀуэ / макӀуэр ("he goes").^[37]
Imperfect: сэ сефэрт (I used to drink), сэ скӀуэрт (I used to go)
Interrogative: ар кӀуэрэ пӀэрэ? (does he go?)
Adverbial form: ар кӀуэурэ (going / as he goes)
Present participles: The suffix is consistently retained in infinite participle forms: макӀуэр ("the one who goes", absolutive case), сызэрэкӀуэр ("how I go").^[38]
Lexical relicts: Fossilized in certain substantivized participles (nouns and adjectives), such as пшътыр ("hot/hotness"), гъуыр ("dry"), and плъыр ("guard/watchman").^[39]

The following table demonstrates the reconstructed Proto-Circassian present tense paradigm using the verb "to go" alongside its modern descendants, illustrating the loss of the word-final *-r:^[33]

Present Tense Evolution ("to go")
Person	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian (Adyghe)	East Circassian (Kabardian)
1st sg.	сэ с-уэ-кӀуэ-р	сэ сэкӀо	сэ сокӀуэ
2nd sg.	уэ у-уэ-кӀуэ-р	о окӀо	уэ уокӀуэ
3rd sg.	ар ма-кӀуэ-р	ар макӀо	ар макӀуэ
1st pl.	тэ т-уэ-кӀуэ-р	тэ тэкӀо	дэ докӀуэ
2nd pl.	шъуэ шъу-уэ-кӀуэ-р	шъо шъокӀо	фэ фокӀуэ
3rd pl.	ахэр ма-кӀуэ-хэ-р	ахэр макӀох	ахэр макӀуэ

Negative prefix *mə-

In Proto-Circassian, verbal negation was primarily marked by the prefix *mə- (мы-). While this prefix survives in both the modern West Circassian (Adyghe) and East Circassian (Kabardian) branches, both languages have innovated by developing additional, distinct negative suffixes for standard indicative verb forms. West Circassian developed the suffix -ep (-эп), while East Circassian developed -q'əm (-къым).

The evolution of Circassian negation created a strict grammatical division between finite (declarative) and non-finite or dependent verbs. The modern negative suffixes entirely took over the standard indicative forms in declarative sentences across the present, past, and future tenses. However, the historical Proto-Circassian prefix *mə- (мы-) is strictly preserved in both modern branches under specific grammatical conditions where the new suffixes cannot be used. Namely, the original prefix remains mandatory in non-finite forms (such as participles and verbal nouns), dependent clauses (such as conditionals and concessives), and non-declarative moods (such as imperatives/prohibitives).^[40]^[41]^[42]^[43]

The following table illustrates the divergence toward suffixal negation across standard indicative tenses using the verb "to go" in the third-person singular (ar, "he/she/it"):

Evolution of Negative Indicative Forms ("he does not go")
Tense	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian (Adyghe)	East Circassian (Kabardian)
Present	ар мыкӀуэр	ар кӀорэп	ар кӀуэркъым
Past	ар мыкӀуагъэ	ар кӀуагъэп	ар кӀуакъым
Future	ар мыкӀуэн(у)	ар кӀощтэп	ар кӀуэнукъым

As noted, despite this shift in standard declarative sentences, the historical prefix *mə- is retained in the following constructions:

Conditionals: Negation within a conditional clause retains the prefix.
- Positive: кӀомэ (if he goes)
- Negative: мыкӀомэ (if he does not go)
Concessives: Similarly, verbs taking the concessive suffix (-i, "even if") use the prefix.
- Positive: кӀоми (even if he goes)
- Negative: мыкӀоми (even if he does not go)
Imperatives: Negative commands (prohibitives) utilize the prefix alongside the second-person index.
- Positive: КӀо! (Go!)
- Negative: УмыкӀу! (Do not go!)
Participles and Verbal Nouns: Infinite verbal forms maintain prefixal negation.
- Negative participle: мыкӀорэр (the one who does not go)

Past Tense in Proto-Circassian

In Proto-Circassian, the past tense was historically marked by the suffix *-гъэ (-ğă).^[36] Following the split of the proto-language, this suffix evolved differently across the modern Circassian branches. In West Circassian (Adyghe), the original Proto-Circassian suffix is strictly preserved. In East Circassian (Kabardian), however, the suffix underwent a phonetic shift, merging with the preceding vowel to form the long vowel -а.^[44]

Linguists N. F. Jakovlev and D. A. Ashkhamaf theorized that this past tense suffix did not originally emerge as a grammatical marker. Through etymological reconstruction, they traced the suffix *-гъэ back to independent primary noun roots related to time—specifically гъэ (meaning "year" or "summer") and гъуэ (meaning "time", "season", or "period"). Over time, these nominal roots grammaticalized, losing their independent lexical meanings to become the standard tense suffix for past actions across the Circassian language family.^[45]

The following table illustrates the divergence of the past tense suffix between the modern branches:

Evolution of the Past Tense Suffix
Verb	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian (Adyghe)	East Circassian (Kabardian)
to go (кӀуэн)	*кӀуагъэ	кӀуагъэ	кӀуа
to write (тхын)	*тхыгъэ	тхыгъэ	тха
to read (еджэн)	*еджагъэ	еджагъэ	еджа

Future Tense in Proto-Circassian

The reconstruction of the future tense in Proto-Circassian (Common Circassian) presents a complex case due to significant divergence between the modern branches. Linguists identify the historical Proto-Circassian future tense as being marked by the suffix *-н (-n). This historical verbal base is highly conservative, phonetically coinciding with—and serving as the direct origin of—the Circassian infinitive (неопределенная форма глагола).^[46]

However, the affixes expressing the standard declarative future tense differ drastically between modern West Circassian (Adyghe) and East Circassian (Kabardian), to the point that they cannot be explained by simple phonetic derivation from a single proto-form. West Circassian innovated by developing the suffix -щт (historically -шьт), while East Circassian retained and adapted the historical *-н alongside the declarative suffix -щ (resulting in -нущ for Future I and -нщ for Future II).^[47]

It is important to note that the щ in the West Circassian future suffix -щт is etymologically unrelated to the East Circassian suffix -щ. In Kabardian, the -щ is a later morphological innovation appended to the end of verbs to mark affirmative declarative statements. In contrast, the Adyghe щ is an inherent part of the future tense marker itself. In some West Circassian dialects, this suffix is simplified to merely -т (e.g., кӀот), most likely dropping the fricative щ to ease pronunciation.

Despite the divergence in the primary future tense, the historical *-н suffix strictly survives in both branches' secondary future or obligative moods (Future II). Modern Adyghe uses -н for its Future II tense (meaning "must" or "will possibly"). Kabardian utilizes the suffix -нщ (from -н + affirmative -щ) for its Future II tense, while adapting it into the extended suffix -нущ for its primary Future I tense.^[48]

The following table demonstrates the divergence in future tense marking using the verb "to go" (кӀуэн) in the third-person singular (ar, "he/she/it"):

Evolution of Future Tense Forms
Tense	Proto-Circassian	West Circassian (Adyghe)	East Circassian (Kabardian)
Future I (Definite)	*ар кӀуэн(у)	ар кӀощт (dial. ар кӀот)	ар кӀуэнущ
Future II (Possible/Obligative)	*ар кӀуэн	ар кӀон	ар кӀуэнщ

A notable piece of evidence for the antiquity of the future tense suffix *-н is its fossilization into everyday vocabulary. Because this tense denoted an action that will happen or is intended to happen, it was historically used to form substantivized verbs (nouns). Several primary Circassian nouns trace their origins directly back to this future tense base:^[49]

шхын ("food" or "meal"): literally "that which will be eaten" (from the root шхы-, to eat).
тыны ("gift"): literally "that which will be given" (from the root ты-, to give).
щыгъын ("clothing"): literally "that which will be worn" (from the root щыгъы-, to wear).

Fossilized Noun Classes

While modern Circassian languages do not have a productive system of grammatical gender or noun classes, Proto-Circassian originally possessed grammatical class markers that distinguished between humans and inanimate objects. According to the comparative-historical research of linguist G. V. Rogava, ancient Circassian noun stems were built using specific class prefixes and determinative suffixes.^[50] Over centuries of language development, these class markers either fell off entirely or fused into the roots, becoming a "dead" (fossilized) morphological inventory.^[51]

A surviving relic of this Proto-Circassian grammatical class system is found in the interrogative pronouns, which strictly contrast the "human" class from the "thing" (inanimate) class. The initial с- / шъ- in the inanimate forms is a fossilized Proto-Circassian prefix specifically marking the "class of things":

Human Class: хэт (who?), хэти (anyone / everyone)
Inanimate Class: сыт / шъыд (what?), сыди / шъыди (anything / everything)

This fossilized inanimate prefix с- is also visible in other interrogative variations, such as the East Circassian (Kabardian) слIо (what?), formed by combining the prefix с- with the interrogative root -лIо. Furthermore, the colloquial variant лIо serves as a prime example of the gradual decay of this obsolete class system. Because the grammatical distinction between humans and things is no longer productive in modern Circassian, the fossilized с- prefix eroded over time in rapid speech, leaving the bare root лIо to function as an independent interrogative pronoun. While all these forms inquire about inanimate objects or concepts, лIо and слIо often carry a more conversational or rhetorical nuance compared to the standard, neutral сыт.

Labile Verbs

Proto-Circassian featured a distinct class of labile verbs—verbs that were completely neutral regarding transitivity. The exact same verbal root could be used in an ergative construction (as a transitive verb) and an absolutive construction (as an intransitive verb) without any morphological changes to the root. Older Circassian grammars (such as those by Z. Kerasheva and N. Gishev) hypothesized that all transitive verbs in Proto-Circassian were originally labile, but modern linguists like M. Kumakhov and K. Vamling argue against this, proving that many core transitives (like s'’ə-n, "to do", or hə-n, "to carry") were always strictly stable.^[52]^[53]

Kumakhov and Vamling positively identify a specific set of verbs that were truly labile in Proto-Circassian. These include roots like *z˚e / *ve ("to plough"), *le ("to paint/dye"), *c’ele ("to spread"), and *p’ət’ə ("to press"). This labile nature allowed the exact same root to function in two entirely different syntactic frameworks:

Transitive (Ergative construction): ЛIы-м щIыгу-р е-жъо (The man is ploughing the field). Here, the verb takes a direct object ("field" in the absolutive case) and the subject is marked with the ergative case (-м).
Intransitive (Absolutive construction): ЛIы-р ма-жъо (The man is ploughing / engaged in ploughing). Here, no direct object is permitted, and the subject is marked with the absolutive case (-р).

Vowel Gradation (Ablaut) for Transitivity

According to linguists N. F. Jakovlev and D. A. Ashkhamaf, the strict syntactic division between transitive and intransitive verbs did not exist in the earliest stages of the language. Originally, there was a single, undifferentiated syntactic construction. As the language evolved a need to separate "productive" (transitive/object-affecting) actions from "unproductive" (intransitive) actions, Proto-Circassian developed a system of vowel gradation (Ablaut) at the end of the verbal roots to mark this grammatically.^[54]^[55]

After the split of the proto-language, many previously labile verbs were forced into "stable" forms using this vowel alternation. The fundamental rule dictated that the base ending in the vowel «ы» (ə) came to designate a transitive action, while the exact same base ending in the vowel «э» (ă) designated a general, intransitive action. This resulted in modern Circassian verb pairs such as:

тхы-н (to write something, transitive) vs. тхэ-н (to write generally, intransitive)
ды-н (to sew something, transitive) vs. дэ-н (to sew generally, intransitive)
шхы-н (to eat something, transitive) vs. шхэ-н (to eat generally, intransitive)

The "Amorphous" Noun

Before the development of the modern Circassian case system (which uses -m for the ergative and -r for the absolutive), Proto-Circassian went through an "amorphous" stage where nouns lacked formal case affixes entirely. In this ancient period, a bare, uninflected noun was used for all grammatical roles (subject, direct object, indirect object).^[56]^[57]

As the formal case suffixes (-m and -r) developed later to mark specific syntactic roles and definiteness, the ancient uninflected noun did not disappear. This ancient "amorphous" Proto-Circassian noun survives today as the indefinite form of the noun. Modern Circassian still drops all case endings when a noun is used in a generic, non-specific, or indefinite sense, which is a direct syntactic relic of the proto-language's pre-case era:

Amorphous / Indefinite Subject: ЛIы мажэ (A man runs) — the noun лIы (man) takes no case marker.
Definite Subject: ЛIы-р мажэ (The man runs) — the noun takes the absolutive definite marker -р.
Amorphous / Indefinite Object: Фыз къуажэ кIуащ (A woman went to a village) — the destination къуажэ (village) is completely unmarked.
Definite Object: Фызы-р къуажэ-м кIуащ (The woman went to the village) — the destination takes the ergative/oblique definite marker -м.

Numbers

English	Proto-Circassian		Ubykh		Western Circassian		Kabardian
English	IPA	Cyrillic	IPA	Cyrillic	IPA	Cyrillic	IPA	Cyrillic
One	zə	зы	za	зэ	zə	зы	zə	зы
Two	tʷʼə	тӏу	tʼqʷʼa	ткъӏуа	tʷʼə	тӏу	tʷʼə	тӏу
Three	ɕə	щы	ʂa	шъа	ɕə	щы	ɕə	щы
Four	pɬʼə	плӏы	pʼɬʼə	плӏы	pɬʼə	плӏы	pɬʼə	плӏы
Five	txʷə	тху	ɕxə	щхы	tfə	тфы	txʷə	тху
Six	xə	хы	fə	фы	xə	хы	xə	хы
Seven	bɮə	блы	blə	бльы	bɮə	блы	bɮə	блы
Eight	jə	и	ʁʷa	гъуа	jə	и	jə	и
Nine	bʁʷə	бгъу	bʁʲə	бгъьу	bʁʷə	бгъу	bʁʷə	бгъу
Ten	pʃʼə	пшӏы	ʑʷə	жъуы	pʃʼə	пшӏы	pɕʼə	пщӏы

Verb Conjugation

Monovalent Intransitive Verbs conjugation (Proto-Circassian)

A monovalent intransitive verb has just one argument — an absolutive subject — so it carries a single personal prefix. The table conjugates the reconstructed Proto-Circassian verb плъэн /pɬan/ "to look" and lines it up with its modern reflexes.

How the arguments are marked

This verb type has only one role — the absolutive subject (there is no ergative and no oblique) — marked by a single personal prefix at the front of the verb: 1sg сы-/с-, 2sg у-, 1pl ты-/т-, 2pl шъу-; the 3rd person takes no prefix at all.

The one thing worth watching here recurs in every later paradigm: the present dynamic marker. In the present it surfaces as -о- (written for underlying -уэ-) and Proto adds a final -р — so "I look" is subject + dynamic + root, с-о-плъэ-р; in the past the dynamic disappears (сы-плъ-агъ "I looked"). Because the 3rd person has no personal prefix for the dynamic to lean on, its present instead takes the dedicated marker мэ- at the front (мэ-плъэ-р "he looks").

Verb-slot order (left → right): ABS (subject) · DYN · Root · Tense

Conjugation of monovalent intransitive **плъэн** (to look) — present and past tense
config ABS	Tense	Proto Plain form	Proto Cislocative	Archaic & Dialectal Western Circassian Plain form	Archaic Eastern Circassian Plain form	Modern Eastern Circassian Plain form	English
Subject: 1st Person Singular (Сэ / Сэ / Сэ — I look/looked...)
Сэ	Pres.	с-о-плъэ-р	сы-къэ-о-плъэ-р	Сэплъэ	Соплъэ	Соплъэ	I look
Сэ	Pst.	сы-плъ-агъ	сы-къэ-плъ-агъ	Сыплъагъ	Сыплъащ	Сыплъащ	I looked
Subject: 2nd Person Singular (Уэ / О / Уэ — You look/looked...)
Уэ	Pres.	у-о-плъэ-р	у-къэ-о-плъэ-р	Оплъэ	Уоплъэ	Уоплъэ	You look
Уэ	Pst.	у-плъ-агъ	у-къэ-плъ-агъ	Уплъагъ	Уплъащ	Уплъащ	You looked
Subject: 3rd Person Singular (Ар / Ар / Ар — He looks/looked...)
Ар	Pres.	мэ-плъэ-р	къэ-о-плъэ-р	Мэплъэ	Маплъэ	Маплъэ	He looks
Ар	Pst.	плъ-агъэ	къэ-плъ-агъэ	Плъагъ	Плъащ	Плъащ	He looked
Subject: 1st Person Plural (Тэ / Тэ / Дэ — We look/looked...)
Тэ	Pres.	т-о-плъэ-р	ты-къэ-о-плъэ-р	Тэплъэ	Доплъэ	Доплъэ	We look
Тэ	Pst.	ты-плъ-агъ	ты-къэ-плъ-агъ	Тыплъагъ	Дыплъащ	Дыплъащ	We looked
Subject: 2nd Person Plural (Шъуэ / Шъо / Фэ — Y'all look/looked...)
Шъуэ	Pres.	шъу-о-плъэ-р	шъу-къэ-о-плъэ-р	Шъоплъэ	Фоплъэ	Фоплъэ	Y'all look
Шъуэ	Pst.	шъу-плъ-агъ	шъу-къэ-плъ-агъ	Шъуплъагъ	Фыплъащ	Фыплъащ	Y'all looked
Subject: 3rd Person Plural (Ахэр / Ахэр / Ахэр — They look/looked...)
Ахэр	Pres.	мэ-плъэ-хэ-р	къэ-о-плъэ-хэ-р	Мэплъэх	Маплъэхэ	Маплъэ	They look
Ахэр	Pst.	плъ-агъэ-х	къэ-плъ-агъэ-х	Плъагъэх	Плъахэщ	Плъащ	They looked

Bivalent Intransitive Verbs conjugation (Proto-Circassian)

A bivalent intransitive verb takes two arguments — an absolutive subject and an oblique object — but stays intransitive (the subject is absolutive, not ergative). The example is the reconstructed Proto-Circassian verb еплъын /japɬən/ "to look at".

How the arguments are marked

The absolutive subject is the front prefix, exactly as in the monovalent verb: 1sg сы-, 2sg у-, 1pl ты-, 2pl шъу-, 3rd person Ø.
The oblique object comes next, between the subject and the dynamic prefix: 1sg сэ-, 2sg уэ-, 3sg е-, 3pl я-. There is no ergative.

So "I look at you" = subject сы- + oblique object уэ- + dynamic + root плъы = сы-уэ-о-плъы-р. Because Proto has no vowel fusion, the object vowel and the dynamic prefix both surface.

A few specifics

Direct vs. inverse. The single most important thing to read off this table is when a plain form is even available. In West and East a plain (non-cislocative) form exists only in direct configurations — where the subject outranks the object on the ranking 1 > 2 > 3. In the inverse configurations (a lower-ranked subject acting on a higher-ranked object) the cislocative/directional prefix becomes obligatory, so those cells show the cislocative / directional form instead.^[58] Proto had no such restriction: its plain column is filled everywhere, and the inverse plain form is simply the Proto cislocative minus къы-.

Third-person oblique object marking (Adyghe vs Kabardian)

Adyghe (West) and Kabardian (East) mark a third-person oblique object differently, and this is exactly why the present-tense Western forms in the table below keep a prefix where the Eastern ones show nothing.^[59]

Table 4.3. Markers of the third-person indirect (oblique) object
	Adyghe (oblique object)		Kabardian (oblique object)
	Present	Other tenses	Present	Other tenses
3SG	je (е)	je (е)	ø (—)	je (е)
3PL	ja (я)	je (е)	ø (—)	je (е)

In Kabardian the third-person oblique object has no overt marker in the present tense — an innovation with a phonetic cause: the prefixes je- (е) and ja- (я) were assimilated and lost in front of the dynamic prefix o- (уэ-). In the other (non-present) tenses, which have no dynamic prefix, the oblique object is marked by je- (е) in both singular and plural. Number-distinguishing forms such as d-je-w-a-s' (д-е-у-а-щ) "we hit him" versus d-ja-w-a-s' (д-я-у-а-щ) "we hit them" are in principle possible in Kabardian but are uncommon; Modern Kabardian normally shows the number with a free pronoun instead, so "we hit them" is дэ абыхэм деуащ ("we – them – hit"), where абыхэм "them" carries the distinction that the verb деуащ no longer marks. As a result Kabardian has syncretic present forms that no longer separate 3sg from 3pl in either the subject or the object, so a single form can mean "he looked at him / he looked at them / they looked at him / they looked at them".

Adyghe, by contrast, keeps the older number distinction in the third person: je-pɬ-ə (е-плъы) "he looked at him" versus ja-pɬ-ə (я-плъы) "he looked at them", and it adds the later plural suffix -x (-х): je-pɬ-ə-x (е-плъы-х) "they looked at him", ja-pɬ-ə-x (я-плъы-х) "they looked at them". This retention is tied directly to the absence of the dynamic prefix o- (уэ-) in the Adyghe present.

Verb-slot order (left → right): ABS (subject) · OBL (object) · DYN · Root

Conjugation of bivalent intransitive **еплъын** (to look at) — present and past tense
config ABS-OBL	Tense	Proto Plain form	Proto Cislocative	Archaic & Dialectal Western Circassian Plain form	Archaic Eastern Circassian Plain form	Modern Eastern Circassian Plain form	English
Subject: 1st Person Singular (Сэ — I look/looked...)
Сэ Уэ	Pres.	сы-уэ-о-плъы-р	сы-къы-уэ-о-плъы-р	Сыоплъы	Сыноплъ	Сыноплъ	I look at you
Сэ Уэ	Pst.	сы-уэ-плъы-гъ	сы-къы-уэ-плъы-гъ	Сыоплъыгъ	Сыноплъащ	Сыноплъащ	I looked at you
Сэ Ам	Pres.	сы-е-о-плъы-р	сы-къы-е-о-плъы-р	Сеплъы	Соплъ	Соплъ	I look at him
Сэ Ам	Pst.	сы-е-плъы-гъ	сы-къы-е-плъы-гъ	Сеплъыгъ	Сеплъащ	Сеплъащ	I looked at him
Сэ Шъуэ	Pres.	сы-шъуэ-о-плъы-р	сы-къы-шъуэ-о-плъы-р	Сышъоплъы	Сынывоплъ	Сынывоплъ	I look at y'all
Сэ Шъуэ	Pst.	сы-шъуэ-плъы-гъ	сы-къы-шъуэ-плъы-гъ	Сышъоплъыгъ	Сынывэплъащ	Сынывэплъащ	I looked at y'all
Сэ Ахэм	Pres.	сы-я-о-плъы-р	сы-къы-я-о-плъы-р	Саплъы	Соплъ	Соплъ	I look at them
Сэ Ахэм	Pst.	сы-я-плъы-гъ	сы-къы-я-плъы-гъ	Саплъыгъ	Сеплъащ	Сеплъащ	I looked at them
Subject: 2nd Person Singular (Уэ — You look/looked...)
Уэ Сэ	Pres.	у-сэ-о-плъы-р	у-къы-сэ-о-плъы-р	Укъысэплъы	Укъызоплъ	Укъызоплъ	You look at me
Уэ Сэ	Pst.	у-сэ-плъы-гъ	у-къы-сэ-плъы-гъ	Укъысэплъыгъ	Укъызэплъащ	Укъызэплъащ	You looked at me
Уэ Ам	Pres.	у-е-о-плъы-р	у-къы-е-о-плъы-р	Уеплъы	Уоплъ	Уоплъ	You look at him
Уэ Ам	Pst.	у-е-плъы-гъ	у-къы-е-плъы-гъ	Уеплъыгъ	Уеплъащ	Уеплъащ	You looked at him
Уэ Тэ	Pres.	у-тэ-о-плъы-р	у-къы-тэ-о-плъы-р	Укъытэплъы	Укъыдоплъ	Укъыдоплъ	You look at us
Уэ Тэ	Pst.	у-тэ-плъы-гъ	у-къы-тэ-плъы-гъ	Укъытэплъыгъ	Укъыдэплъащ	Укъыдэплъащ	You looked at us
Уэ Ахэм	Pres.	у-я-о-плъы-р	у-къы-я-о-плъы-р	Уаплъы	Уоплъ	Уоплъ	You look at them
Уэ Ахэм	Pst.	у-я-плъы-гъ	у-къы-я-плъы-гъ	Уаплъыгъ	Уеплъащ	Уеплъащ	You looked at them
Subject: 3rd Person Singular (Ар — He looks/looked...)
Ар Сэ	Pres.	сэ-о-плъы-р	къы-сэ-о-плъы-р	Къысэплъы	Къызоплъ	Къызоплъ	He looks at me
Ар Сэ	Pst.	сэ-плъы-гъ	къы-сэ-плъы-гъ	Къысэплъыгъ	Къызэплъащ	Къызэплъащ	He looked at me
Ар Уэ	Pres.	уэ-о-плъы-р	къы-уэ-о-плъы-р	Къыоплъы	Къоплъ	Къоплъ	He looks at you
Ар Уэ	Pst.	уэ-плъы-гъ	къы-уэ-плъы-гъ	Къыоплъыгъ	Къоплъащ	Къоплъащ	He looked at you
Ар Ам	Pres.	е-о-плъы-р	къы-е-о-плъы-р	Еплъы	Йоплъ	Йоплъ	He looks at him
Ар Ам	Pst.	е-плъы-гъ	къы-е-плъы-гъ	Еплъыгъ	Еплъащ	Еплъащ	He looked at him
Ар Тэ	Pres.	тэ-о-плъы-р	къы-тэ-о-плъы-р	Къытэплъы	Къыдоплъ	Къыдоплъ	He looks at us
Ар Тэ	Pst.	тэ-плъы-гъ	къы-тэ-плъы-гъ	Къытэплъыгъ	Къыдэплъащ	Къыдэплъащ	He looked at us
Ар Шъуэ	Pres.	шъуэ-о-плъы-р	къы-шъуэ-о-плъы-р	Къышъоплъы	Къывоплъ	Къывоплъ	He looks at y'all
Ар Шъуэ	Pst.	шъуэ-плъы-гъ	къы-шъуэ-плъы-гъ	Къышъоплъыгъ	Къывэплъащ	Къывэплъащ	He looked at y'all
Ар Ахэм	Pres.	я-о-плъы-р	къы-я-о-плъы-р	Аплъы	Йоплъ	Йоплъ	He looks at them
Ар Ахэм	Pst.	я-плъы-гъ	къы-я-плъы-гъ	Аплъыгъ	Еплъащ	Еплъащ	He looked at them
Subject: 1st Person Plural (Тэ — We look/looked...)
Тэ Уэ	Pres.	ты-уэ-о-плъы-р	ты-къы-уэ-о-плъы-р	Тыоплъы	Дыноплъ	Дыноплъ	We look at you
Тэ Уэ	Pst.	ты-уэ-плъы-гъ	ты-къы-уэ-плъы-гъ	Тыоплъыгъ	Дыноплъащ	Дыноплъащ	We looked at you
Тэ Ам	Pres.	ты-е-о-плъы-р	ты-къы-е-о-плъы-р	Теплъы	Доплъ	Доплъ	We look at him
Тэ Ам	Pst.	ты-е-плъы-гъ	ты-къы-е-плъы-гъ	Теплъыгъ	Деплъащ	Деплъащ	We looked at him
Тэ Шъуэ	Pres.	ты-шъуэ-о-плъы-р	ты-къы-шъуэ-о-плъы-р	Тышъоплъы	Дынывоплъ	Дынывоплъ	We look at y'all
Тэ Шъуэ	Pst.	ты-шъуэ-плъы-гъ	ты-къы-шъуэ-плъы-гъ	Тышъоплъыгъ	Дынывэплъащ	Дынывэплъащ	We looked at y'all
Тэ Ахэм	Pres.	ты-я-о-плъы-р	ты-къы-я-о-плъы-р	Таплъы	Доплъ	Доплъ	We look at them
Тэ Ахэм	Pst.	ты-я-плъы-гъ	ты-къы-я-плъы-гъ	Таплъыгъ	Деплъащ	Деплъащ	We looked at them
Subject: 2nd Person Plural (Шъуэ — Y'all look/looked...)
Шъуэ Сэ	Pres.	шъу-сэ-о-плъы-р	шъу-къы-сэ-о-плъы-р	Шъукъысэплъы	Фыкъызоплъ	Фыкъызоплъ	Y'all look at me
Шъуэ Сэ	Pst.	шъу-сэ-плъы-гъ	шъу-къы-сэ-плъы-гъ	Шъукъысэплъыгъ	Фыкъызэплъащ	Фыкъызэплъащ	Y'all looked at me
Шъуэ Ам	Pres.	шъу-е-о-плъы-р	шъу-къы-е-о-плъы-р	Шъуеплъы	Фоплъ	Фоплъ	Y'all look at him
Шъуэ Ам	Pst.	шъу-е-плъы-гъ	шъу-къы-е-плъы-гъ	Шъуеплъыгъ	Феплъащ	Феплъащ	Y'all looked at him
Шъуэ Тэ	Pres.	шъу-тэ-о-плъы-р	шъу-къы-тэ-о-плъы-р	Шъукъытэплъы	Фыкъыдоплъ	Фыкъыдоплъ	Y'all look at us
Шъуэ Тэ	Pst.	шъу-тэ-плъы-гъ	шъу-къы-тэ-плъы-гъ	Шъукъытэплъыгъ	Фыкъыдэплъащ	Фыкъыдэплъащ	Y'all looked at us
Шъуэ Ахэм	Pres.	шъу-я-о-плъы-р	шъу-къы-я-о-плъы-р	Шъуаплъы	Фоплъ	Фоплъ	Y'all look at them
Шъуэ Ахэм	Pst.	шъу-я-плъы-гъ	шъу-къы-я-плъы-гъ	Шъуаплъыгъ	Феплъащ	Феплъащ	Y'all looked at them
Subject: 3rd Person Plural (Ахэр — They look/looked...)
Ахэр Сэ	Pres.	сэ-о-плъы-хэ-р	къы-сэ-о-плъы-хэ-р	Къысэплъых	Къызоплъхэ	Къызоплъ	They look at me
Ахэр Сэ	Pst.	сэ-плъы-гъэ-х	къы-сэ-плъы-гъэ-х	Къысэплъыгъэх	Къызэплъахэщ	Къызэплъащ	They looked at me
Ахэр Уэ	Pres.	уэ-о-плъы-хэ-р	къы-уэ-о-плъы-хэ-р	Къыоплъых	Къоплъхэ	Къоплъ	They look at you
Ахэр Уэ	Pst.	уэ-плъы-гъэ-х	къы-уэ-плъы-гъэ-х	Къыоплъыгъэх	Къоплъахэщ	Къоплъащ	They looked at you
Ахэр Ам	Pres.	е-о-плъы-хэ-р	къы-е-о-плъы-хэ-р	Еплъых	Йоплъхэ Къоплъхэ	Йоплъ	They look at him
Ахэр Ам	Pst.	е-плъы-гъэ-х	къы-е-плъы-гъэ-х	Еплъыгъэх	Еплъахэщ Къеплъахэщ	Еплъащ	They looked at him
Ахэр Тэ	Pres.	тэ-о-плъы-хэ-р	къы-тэ-о-плъы-хэ-р	Къытэплъых	Къыдоплъхэ	Къыдоплъ	They look at us
Ахэр Тэ	Pst.	тэ-плъы-гъэ-х	къы-тэ-плъы-гъэ-х	Къытэплъыгъэх	Къыдэплъахэщ	Къыдэплъащ	They looked at us
Ахэр Шъуэ	Pres.	шъуэ-о-плъы-хэ-р	къы-шъуэ-о-плъы-хэ-р	Къышъоплъых	Къывоплъхэ	Къывоплъ	They look at y'all
Ахэр Шъуэ	Pst.	шъуэ-плъы-гъэ-х	къы-шъуэ-плъы-гъэ-х	Къышъоплъыгъэх	Къывэплъахэщ	Къывэплъащ	They looked at y'all
Ахэр Ахэм	Pres.	я-о-плъы-хэ-р	къы-я-о-плъы-хэ-р	Аплъых	Йоплъхэ Къоплъхэ	Йоплъ	They look at them
Ахэр Ахэм	Pst.	я-плъы-гъэ-х	къы-я-плъы-гъэ-х	Аплъыгъэх	Еплъахэщ Къеплъахэщ	Еплъащ	They looked at them

Bivalent Intransitive Reflexive Verbs conjugation (Proto-Circassian)

When the subject and the oblique object refer to the same participant, the verb takes a reflexive form. The rule is the general one for Circassian reflexives: the slot for the co-referential argument is filled by a reflexive prefix instead of a person prefix, and the verb adds a refactive ("back-to-self") suffix — while the subject agreement, the dynamic, and the tense endings all stay exactly as in the plain verb. Here it is the oblique (object) slot that is reflexivised; contrast the transitive reflexive, where the front absolutive slot is the one affected. Proto and West use the reflexive зэ- and the suffix -жьы; East uses з- (present) / зэ- (past) and the suffix -ыж. In Proto the dynamic уэ- again surfaces in full after the reflexive prefix (e.g. сы-зэ-уэ-плъы-жьы). The cislocative къы- is optional in every reflexive cell, and the plural -х appears only for the 3rd person plural subject.

Verb-slot order (left → right): ABS (subject) · OBL (reflexive зэ-) · DYN · Root · refactive -жьы

Reflexive forms of bivalent intransitive **еплъын** (to look at oneself) — present and past tense
config ABS-OBL	Tense	Proto Plain form	Proto Cislocative	Archaic & Dialectal Western Circassian Plain form	Archaic Eastern Circassian Plain form	Modern Eastern Circassian Plain form	English
Сэ сэ	Pres.	сы-зэ-о-плъы-жьы-р	сы-къы-зэ-о-плъы-жьы-р	Сызэплъыжьы	Сызоплъыж	Сызоплъыж	I look at myself
Сэ сэ	Pst.	сы-зэ-плъы-жьы-гъ	сы-къы-зэ-плъы-жьы-гъ	Сызэплъыжьыгъ	Сызэплъыжащ	Сызэплъыжащ	I looked at myself
Уэ уэ	Pres.	у-зэ-о-плъы-жьы-р	у-къы-зэ-о-плъы-жьы-р	Узэплъыжьы	Узоплъыж	Узоплъыж	You look at yourself
Уэ уэ	Pst.	у-зэ-плъы-жьы-гъ	у-къы-зэ-плъы-жьы-гъ	Узэплъыжьыгъ	Узэплъыжащ	Узэплъыжащ	You looked at yourself
Ар езым	Pres.	зэ-о-плъы-жьы-р	къы-зэ-о-плъы-жьы-р	Зэплъыжьы	Зоплъыж	Зоплъыж	He looks at himself
Ар езым	Pst.	зэ-плъы-жьы-гъ	къы-зэ-плъы-жьы-гъ	Зэплъыжьыгъ	Зэплъыжащ	Зэплъыжащ	He looked at himself
Тэ тэ	Pres.	ты-зэ-о-плъы-жьы-р	ты-къы-зэ-о-плъы-жьы-р	Тызэплъыжьы	Дызоплъыж	Дызоплъыж	We look at ourselves
Тэ тэ	Pst.	ты-зэ-плъы-жьы-гъ	ты-къы-зэ-плъы-жьы-гъ	Тызэплъыжьыгъ	Дызэплъыжащ	Дызэплъыжащ	We looked at ourselves
Шъуэ шъуэ	Pres.	шъу-зэ-о-плъы-жьы-р	шъу-къы-зэ-о-плъы-жьы-р	Шъузэплъыжьы	Фызоплъыж	Фызоплъыж	Y'all look at yourselves
Шъуэ шъуэ	Pst.	шъу-зэ-плъы-жьы-гъ	шъу-къы-зэ-плъы-жьы-гъ	Шъузэплъыжьыгъ	Фызэплъыжащ	Фызэплъыжащ	Y'all looked at yourselves
Ахэр езыхэм	Pres.	зэ-о-плъы-жьы-хэ-р	къы-зэ-о-плъы-жьы-хэ-р	Зэплъыжьых	Зоплъыжхэ Къызоплъыжхэ	Зоплъыж	They look at themselves
Ахэр езыхэм	Pst.	зэ-плъы-жьы-гъэ-х	къы-зэ-плъы-жьы-гъэ-х	Зэплъыжьыгъэх	Зэплъыжахэщ Къызэплъыжахэщ	Зэплъыжащ	They looked at themselves

Bivalent Transitive Verb conjugation (Proto-Circassian)

A bivalent transitive verb has an ergative subject (the agent) and an absolutive object (the patient); there is no oblique. The example is the reconstructed Proto-Circassian verb лъэгъун /ɬaʁʷən/ "to see". Two things make this paradigm easier to read than the intransitive bivalent: every person combination has a plain form (there are no "inverse" gaps), and the prefix that changes shape with tense is the ergative agent — most visibly the 2sg (уэ- present / п- past) and 3sg (е- present / и- past).

How the arguments are marked

The slot order is Object (Abs) – (Cislocative къэ-) – Subject (Erg) – Dynamic – Root – Tense.

The absolutive object is the front prefix: 1sg сы-, 2sg у-, 1pl ты-, 2pl шъу-, 3rd person Ø.
The ergative subject sits just before the dynamic prefix and keeps a present/past alternation: 1sg с-, 2sg уэ- (Pres) / п- (Past) — with a dialectal 2sg variant бэ- shown after a line break — and 3sg е- (Pres) / и- (Past, used by Proto and the archaic/dialectal Western form alike).

So "you see me" = object сы- + ergative уэ- + dynamic + root лъэгъу = сы-уэ-о-лъэгъу-р. Every cell has a plain form (there are no inverse gaps), so the Proto column is filled throughout.

Verb-slot order (left → right): ABS (object) · ERG (subject) · DYN · Root

Conjugation of bivalent transitive **лъэгъун** (to see) — present and past tense
config ERG-ABS	Tense	Proto Plain form	Proto Cislocative	Archaic & Dialectal Western Circassian Plain form	Archaic Eastern Circassian Plain form	Modern Eastern Circassian Plain form	English
Ergative: 1st Person Singular (Сэ — I see/saw...)
Сэ Уэ	Pres.	у-с-о-лъэгъу-р	у-къэ-с-о-лъэгъу-р	Усэлъэгъу	Узолъагъу	Узолъагъу	I see you
Сэ Уэ	Pst.	у-с-лъэгъу-гъ	у-къэ-с-лъэгъу-гъ	Услъэгъугъ	Услъэгъуащ	Услъэгъуащ	I saw you
Сэ Ар	Pres.	с-о-лъэгъу-р	къэ-с-о-лъэгъу-р	Сэлъэгъу	Солъагъу	Солъагъу	I see him
Сэ Ар	Pst.	с-лъэгъу-гъ	къэ-с-лъэгъу-гъ	Слъэгъугъ	Слъэгъуащ	Слъэгъуащ	I saw him
Сэ Шъуэ	Pres.	шъу-с-о-лъэгъу-р	шъу-къэ-с-о-лъэгъу-р	Шъусэлъэгъу	Фызолъагъу	Фызолъагъу	I see y'all
Сэ Шъуэ	Pst.	шъу-с-лъэгъу-гъ	шъу-къэ-с-лъэгъу-гъ	Шъуслъэгъугъ	Фыслъэгъуащ	Фыслъэгъуащ	I saw y'all
Сэ Ахэр	Pres.	с-о-лъэгъу-хэ-р	къэ-с-о-лъэгъу-хэ-р	Сэлъэгъух	Солъагъухэ Къызолъагъухэ	Солъагъу	I see them
Сэ Ахэр	Pst.	с-лъэгъу-гъэ-х	къэ-с-лъэгъу-гъэ-х	Слъэгъугъэх	Слъэгъуахэщ Къыслъэгъуахэщ	Слъэгъуащ	I saw them
Ergative: 2nd Person Singular (Уэ — You see/saw...)
Уэ Сэ	Pres.	сы-уэ-о-лъэгъу-р сы-бэ-о-лъэгъу-р	сы-къэ-уэ-о-лъэгъу-р	Сыолъэгъу Сыбэлъэгъу Сыкъэбэлъэгъу	Сыболъагъу	Сыболъагъу	You see me
Уэ Сэ	Pst.	сы-п-лъэгъу-гъ	сы-къэ-п-лъэгъу-гъ	Сыплъэгъугъ	Сыплъэгъуащ	Сыплъэгъуащ	You saw me
Уэ Ар	Pres.	уэ-о-лъэгъу-р	къэ-уэ-о-лъэгъу-р	Олъэгъу Къэбэлъэгъу	Болъагъу Къуолъагъу	Уолъагъу	You see him
Уэ Ар	Pst.	п-лъэгъу-гъ	къэ-п-лъэгъу-гъ	Улъэгъугъ Плъэгъугъ	Плъэгъуащ Къулъэгъуащ	Улъэгъуащ	You saw him
Уэ Тэ	Pres.	ты-уэ-о-лъэгъу-р ты-бэ-о-лъэгъу-р	ты-къэ-уэ-о-лъэгъу-р	Тыолъэгъу Тыбэлъэгъу Тыкъэбэлъэгъу	Дыболъагъу	Дыболъагъу	You see us
Уэ Тэ	Pst.	ты-п-лъэгъу-гъ	ты-къэ-п-лъэгъу-гъ	Тыплъэгъугъ	Дыплъэгъуащ	Дыплъэгъуащ	You saw us
Уэ Ахэр	Pres.	уэ-о-лъэгъу-хэ-р	къэ-уэ-о-лъэгъу-хэ-р	Олъэгъух Къэбэлъэгъух	Болъагъухэ Уолъагъухэ Къыболъагъухэ Къуолъагъухэ	Уолъагъу	You see them
Уэ Ахэр	Pst.	п-лъэгъу-гъэ-х	къэ-п-лъэгъу-гъэ-х	Улъэгъугъэх Плъэгъугъэх	Плъэгъуахэщ Улъэгъуахэщ Къыплъэгъуахэщ Къулъэгъуахэщ	Улъэгъуащ	You saw them
Ergative: 3rd Person Singular (Ар — He sees/saw...)
Ам Сэ	Pres.	сы-е-о-лъэгъу-р	сы-къэ-е-о-лъэгъу-р	Селъэгъу	Селъагъу	Селъагъу	He sees me
Ам Сэ	Pst.	сы-и-лъэгъу-гъ	сы-къэ-и-лъэгъу-гъ	Силъэгъугъ	Силъэгъуащ	Силъэгъуащ	He saw me
Ам Уэ	Pres.	у-е-о-лъэгъу-р	у-къэ-е-о-лъэгъу-р	Уелъэгъу	Уелъагъу	Уелъагъу	He sees you
Ам Уэ	Pst.	у-и-лъэгъу-гъ	у-къэ-и-лъэгъу-гъ	Уилъэгъугъ	Уилъэгъуащ	Уилъэгъуащ	He saw you
Ам Ар	Pres.	е-о-лъэгъу-р	къэ-е-о-лъэгъу-р	Елъэгъу	Елъагъу	Елъагъу	He sees him
Ам Ар	Pst.	и-лъэгъу-гъ	къэ-и-лъэгъу-гъ	Ылъэгъугъ Илъэгъугъ	Илъэгъуащ	Илъэгъуащ	He saw him
Ам Тэ	Pres.	ты-е-о-лъэгъу-р	ты-къэ-е-о-лъэгъу-р	Телъэгъу	Делъагъу	Делъагъу	He sees us
Ам Тэ	Pst.	ты-и-лъэгъу-гъ	ты-къэ-и-лъэгъу-гъ	Тилъэгъугъ	Дилъэгъуащ	Дилъэгъуащ	He saw us
Ам Шъуэ	Pres.	шъу-е-о-лъэгъу-р	шъу-къэ-е-о-лъэгъу-р	Шъуелъэгъу	Фелъагъу	Фелъагъу	He sees y'all
Ам Шъуэ	Pst.	шъу-и-лъэгъу-гъ	шъу-къэ-и-лъэгъу-гъ	Шъуилъэгъугъ	Филъэгъуащ	Филъэгъуащ	He saw y'all
Ам Ахэр	Pres.	е-о-лъэгъу-хэ-р	къэ-е-о-лъэгъу-хэ-р	Елъэгъух	Елъагъухэ Къелъагъухэ	Елъагъу	He sees them
Ам Ахэр	Pst.	и-лъэгъу-гъэ-х	къэ-и-лъэгъу-гъэ-х	Ылъэгъугъэх Илъэгъугъэх	Илъэгъуахэщ Къилъэгъуахэщ	Илъэгъуащ	He saw them
Ergative: 1st Person Plural (Тэ — We see/saw...)
Тэ Уэ	Pres.	у-т-о-лъэгъу-р	у-къэ-т-о-лъэгъу-р	Утэлъэгъу	Удолъагъу	Удолъагъу	We see you
Тэ Уэ	Pst.	у-т-лъэгъу-гъ	у-къэ-т-лъэгъу-гъ	Утлъэгъугъ	Утлъэгъуащ	Утлъэгъуащ	We saw you
Тэ Ар	Pres.	т-о-лъэгъу-р	къэ-т-о-лъэгъу-р	Тэлъэгъу	Долъагъу	Долъагъу	We see him
Тэ Ар	Pst.	т-лъэгъу-гъ	къэ-т-лъэгъу-гъ	Тлъэгъугъ	Тлъэгъуащ	Тлъэгъуащ	We saw him
Тэ Шъуэ	Pres.	шъу-т-о-лъэгъу-р	шъу-къэ-т-о-лъэгъу-р	Шъутэлъэгъу	Фыдолъагъу	Фыдолъагъу	We see y'all
Тэ Шъуэ	Pst.	шъу-т-лъэгъу-гъ	шъу-къэ-т-лъэгъу-гъ	Шъутлъэгъугъ	Фытлъэгъуащ	Фытлъэгъуащ	We saw y'all
Тэ Ахэр	Pres.	т-о-лъэгъу-хэ-р	къэ-т-о-лъэгъу-хэ-р	Тэлъэгъух	Долъагъухэ Къыдолъагъухэ	Долъагъу	We see them
Тэ Ахэр	Pst.	т-лъэгъу-гъэ-х	къэ-т-лъэгъу-гъэ-х	Тлъэгъугъэх	Тлъэгъуахэщ Къытлъэгъуахэщ	Тлъэгъуащ	We saw them
Ergative: 2nd Person Plural (Шъуэ — Y'all see/saw...)
Шъуэ Сэ	Pres.	сы-шъу-о-лъэгъу-р	сы-къэ-шъу-о-лъэгъу-р	Сышъолъэгъу	Сыволъагъу	Сыволъагъу	Y'all see me
Шъуэ Сэ	Pst.	сы-шъу-лъэгъу-гъ	сы-къэ-шъу-лъэгъу-гъ	Сышъулъэгъугъ	Сыфлъэгъуащ	Сыфлъэгъуащ	Y'all saw me
Шъуэ Ар	Pres.	шъу-о-лъэгъу-р	къэ-шъу-о-лъэгъу-р	Шъолъэгъу	Фолъагъу	Фолъагъу	Y'all see him
Шъуэ Ар	Pst.	шъу-лъэгъу-гъ	къэ-шъу-лъэгъу-гъ	Шъулъэгъугъ	Флъэгъуащ	Флъэгъуащ	Y'all saw him
Шъуэ Тэ	Pres.	ты-шъу-о-лъэгъу-р	ты-къэ-шъу-о-лъэгъу-р	Тышъолъэгъу	Дыволъагъу	Дыволъагъу	Y'all see us
Шъуэ Тэ	Pst.	ты-шъу-лъэгъу-гъ	ты-къэ-шъу-лъэгъу-гъ	Тышъулъэгъугъ	Дыфлъэгъуащ	Дыфлъэгъуащ	Y'all saw us
Шъуэ Ахэр	Pres.	шъу-о-лъэгъу-хэ-р	къэ-шъу-о-лъэгъу-хэ-р	Шъолъэгъух	Фолъагъухэ Къыволъагъухэ	Фолъагъу	Y'all see them
Шъуэ Ахэр	Pst.	шъу-лъэгъу-гъэ-х	къэ-шъу-лъэгъу-гъэ-х	Шъулъэгъугъэх	Флъэгъуахэщ Къыфлъэгъуахэщ	Флъэгъуащ	Y'all saw them
Ergative: 3rd Person Plural (Ахэр — They see/saw...)
Ахэм Сэ	Pres.	сы-я-о-лъэгъу-р	сы-къэ-я-о-лъэгъу-р	Салъэгъу	Салъагъу Сыкъалъагъу	Селъагъу	They see me
Ахэм Сэ	Pst.	сы-я-лъэгъу-гъ	сы-къэ-я-лъэгъу-гъ	Салъэгъугъ	Салъэгъуащ Сыкъалъэгъуащ	Силъэгъуащ	They saw me
Ахэм Уэ	Pres.	у-я-о-лъэгъу-р	у-къэ-я-о-лъэгъу-р	Уалъэгъу	Уалъагъу Укъалъагъу	Уелъагъу	They see you
Ахэм Уэ	Pst.	у-я-лъэгъу-гъ	у-къэ-я-лъэгъу-гъ	Уалъэгъугъ	Уалъэгъуащ Укъалъэгъуащ	Уилъэгъуащ	They saw you
Ахэм Ар	Pres.	я-о-лъэгъу-р	къэ-я-о-лъэгъу-р	Алъэгъу Ялъэгъу	Ялъагъу Къалъагъу	Елъагъу	They see him
Ахэм Ар	Pst.	я-лъэгъу-гъ	къэ-я-лъэгъу-гъ	Алъэгъугъ Ялъэгъугъ	Ялъэгъуащ Къалъэгъуащ	Илъэгъуащ	They saw him
Ахэм Тэ	Pres.	ты-я-о-лъэгъу-р	ты-къэ-я-о-лъэгъу-р	Талъэгъу	Далъагъу Дыкъалъагъу	Делъагъу	They see us
Ахэм Тэ	Pst.	ты-я-лъэгъу-гъ	ты-къэ-я-лъэгъу-гъ	Талъэгъугъ	Далъэгъуащ Дыкъалъэгъуащ	Дилъэгъуащ	They saw us
Ахэм Шъуэ	Pres.	шъу-я-о-лъэгъу-р	шъу-къэ-я-о-лъэгъу-р	Шъуалъэгъу	Фалъагъу Фыкъалъагъу	Фелъагъу	They see y'all
Ахэм Шъуэ	Pst.	шъу-я-лъэгъу-гъ	шъу-къэ-я-лъэгъу-гъ	Шъуалъэгъугъ	Фалъэгъуащ Фыкъалъэгъуащ	Филъэгъуащ	They saw y'all
Ахэм Ахэр	Pres.	я-о-лъэгъу-хэ-р	къэ-я-о-лъэгъу-хэ-р	Алъэгъух Ялъэгъух	Ялъагъухэ Къалъагъухэ	Елъагъу	They see them
Ахэм Ахэр	Pst.	я-лъэгъу-гъэ-х	къэ-я-лъэгъу-гъэ-х	Алъэгъугъэх Ялъэгъугъэх	Ялъэгъуахэщ Къалъэгъуахэщ	Илъэгъуащ	They saw them

Bivalent Transitive Reflexive Verbs conjugation (Proto-Circassian)

When the ergative subject and the absolutive direct object refer to the same participant, the verb takes a reflexive form. This is the mirror image of the intransitive reflexive: there the reflexive sat in the medial oblique slot, whereas here the absolutive (object) slot — the leftmost position — is filled by the reflexive prefix зы-, while the ergative (subject) prefix is retained and keeps its present/past alternation (2sg уэ-/п-, 3sg е-/ы-). Proto and West take the refactive suffix -жьы; East takes -ж. The dynamic уэ- surfaces in full after the subject prefix.

Verb-slot order (left → right): ABS (reflexive зы-) · ERG (subject) · DYN · Root · refactive -жьы

Reflexive forms of bivalent transitive **лъэгъун** (to see oneself) — present and past tense
config ERG-ABS	Tense	Proto Plain form	Proto Cislocative	Archaic & Dialectal Western Circassian Plain form	Archaic Eastern Circassian Plain form	Modern Eastern Circassian Plain form	English
Сэ сэ	Pres.	зы-с-о-лъэгъу-жьы-р	зы-къэ-с-о-лъэгъу-жьы-р	Зысэлъэгъужьы	Зысолъагъуж	Зысолъагъуж	I see myself
Сэ сэ	Pst.	зы-с-лъэгъу-жьы-гъ	зы-къэ-с-лъэгъу-жьы-гъ	Зыслъэгъужьыгъ	Зыслъэгъужащ	Зыслъэгъужащ	I saw myself
Уэ уэ	Pres.	зы-уэ-о-лъэгъу-жьы-р	зы-къэ-уэ-о-лъэгъу-жьы-р	Зыолъэгъужьы	Зыболъагъуж	Зыболъагъуж	You see yourself
Уэ уэ	Pst.	зы-п-лъэгъу-жьы-гъ	зы-къэ-п-лъэгъу-жьы-гъ	Зыплъэгъужьыгъ	Зыплъэгъужащ	Зыплъэгъужащ	You saw yourself
Ам езыр	Pres.	зы-е-о-лъэгъу-жьы-р	зы-къэ-е-о-лъэгъу-жьы-р	Зелъэгъужьы	Зелъагъуж	Зелъагъуж	He sees himself
Ам езыр	Pst.	зы-и-лъэгъу-жьы-гъ	зы-къэ-и-лъэгъу-жьы-гъ	Зилъэгъужьыгъ	Зилъэгъужащ	Зилъэгъужащ	He saw himself
Тэ тэ	Pres.	зы-т-о-лъэгъу-жьы-р	зы-къэ-т-о-лъэгъу-жьы-р	Зытэлъэгъужьы	Зыдолъагъуж	Зыдолъагъуж	We see ourselves
Тэ тэ	Pst.	зы-т-лъэгъу-жьы-гъ	зы-къэ-т-лъэгъу-жьы-гъ	Зытлъэгъужьыгъ	Зытлъэгъужащ	Зытлъэгъужащ	We saw ourselves
Шъуэ шъуэ	Pres.	зы-шъу-о-лъэгъу-жьы-р	зы-къэ-шъу-о-лъэгъу-жьы-р	Зышъолъэгъужьы	Зыволъагъуж	Зыволъагъуж	Y'all see yourselves
Шъуэ шъуэ	Pst.	зы-шъу-лъэгъу-жьы-гъ	зы-къэ-шъу-лъэгъу-жьы-гъ	Зышъулъэгъужьыгъ	Зыфлъэгъужащ	Зыфлъэгъужащ	Y'all saw yourselves
Ахэм езыхэр	Pres.	зы-я-о-лъэгъу-жьы-р	зы-къэ-я-о-лъэгъу-жьы-р	Залъэгъужьы	Залъагъуж	Залъагъуж	They see themselves
Ахэм езыхэр	Pst.	зы-я-лъэгъу-жьы-гъ	зы-къэ-я-лъэгъу-жьы-гъ	Залъэгъужьыгъ	Залъэгъужащ	Залъэгъужащ	They saw themselves

Trivalent Ditransitive Verbs conjugation (Proto-Circassian)

A trivalent (ditransitive) verb has all three roles: an ergative agent (the giver), an absolutive theme (the thing given) and an oblique recipient (the one given to). The example is the Proto-Circassian root ты "to give". The one structural quirk to watch for is a linking -р- that appears between the recipient and the agent — but only when both of them are 3rd person (it then surfaces as ре-/ри-/ра-); with any 1st- or 2nd-person recipient or agent there is no -р-.

How the arguments are marked

The slot order is Theme (Abs) – (Cislocative къы-) – Recipient (Obl) – Agent (Erg) – Dynamic – Root.

The absolutive theme is the front prefix (3rd person Ø).
The oblique recipient comes next: 3sg е-, 3pl я-; with a 3rd-person agent the linking forms are ре- / ри- / ра-.
The ergative agent sits just before the dynamic prefix: 1sg с-, 2sg уэ- / п-, 1pl т-, 2pl шъу-.

So "I give you to him" = theme у- + recipient е- + agent с- + dynamic + root = у-е-с-о-ты-р. The free-phrase column lists the arguments as Ergative – Absolutive – Oblique, using Ам/Ахэм for the 3rd-person ergative & oblique and Ар/Ахэр for the absolutive.

Where West or East have no plain form (a local 1st/2nd-person recipient forces the cislocative), those columns show the cislocative / directional form instead; Proto fills every cell (its plain form is just the Proto Cislocative minus къы-).

Verb-slot order (left → right): ABS (theme) · OBL (recipient) · ERG (agent) · DYN · Root

Conjugation of trivalent ты (to give) — present and past tense
config ERG-ABS-OBL	Tense	Proto Plain form	Proto Cislocative	Archaic & Dialectal Western Circassian Plain form	Archaic Eastern Circassian Plain form	Modern Eastern Circassian Plain form	English
Ergative: 1st Person Singular (Сэ — give/gave...)
Сэ Уэ Ам	Pres.	у-е-с-о-ты-р	у-къы-е-с-о-ты-р	Уесэты	Узот	Узот	I give you to him
Сэ Уэ Ам	Pst.	у-е-с-ты-гъ	у-къы-е-с-ты-гъ	Уестыгъ	Уестащ	Уестащ	I gave you to him
Сэ Уэ Ахэм	Pres.	у-я-с-о-ты-р	у-къы-я-с-о-ты-р	Уасэты	Узот	Узот	I give you to them
Сэ Уэ Ахэм	Pst.	у-я-с-ты-гъ	у-къы-я-с-ты-гъ	Уастыгъ	Уестащ	Уестащ	I gave you to them
Сэ Шъуэ Ам	Pres.	шъу-е-с-о-ты-р	шъу-къы-е-с-о-ты-р	Шъуесэты	Фызот	Фызот	I give y'all to him
Сэ Шъуэ Ам	Pst.	шъу-е-с-ты-гъ	шъу-къы-е-с-ты-гъ	Шъуестыгъ	Фестащ	Фестащ	I gave y'all to him
Сэ Шъуэ Ахэм	Pres.	шъу-я-с-о-ты-р	шъу-къы-я-с-о-ты-р	Шъуасэты	Фызот	Фызот	I give y'all to them
Сэ Шъуэ Ахэм	Pst.	шъу-я-с-ты-гъ	шъу-къы-я-с-ты-гъ	Шъуастыгъ	Фестащ	Фестащ	I gave y'all to them
Сэ Ар Уэ	Pres.	уэ-с-о-ты-р	къы-уэ-с-о-ты-р	Къыосэты	Узот	Узот	I give it to you
Сэ Ар Уэ	Pst.	уэ-с-ты-гъ	къы-уэ-с-ты-гъ	Къыостыгъ	Уэстащ	Уэстащ	I gave it to you
Сэ Ар Шъуэ	Pres.	шъуэ-с-о-ты-р	къы-шъуэ-с-о-ты-р	Къышъосэты	Фызот	Фызот	I give it to y'all
Сэ Ар Шъуэ	Pst.	шъуэ-с-ты-гъ	къы-шъуэ-с-ты-гъ	Къышъостыгъ	Фэстащ	Фэстащ	I gave it to y'all
Сэ Ар Ам	Pres.	е-с-о-ты-р	къы-е-с-о-ты-р	Есэты	Изот	Изот	I give it to him
Сэ Ар Ам	Pst.	е-с-ты-гъ	къы-е-с-ты-гъ	Естыгъ	Естащ	Естащ	I gave it to him
Сэ Ар Ахэм	Pres.	я-с-о-ты-р	къы-я-с-о-ты-р	Асэты Ясэты	Язот Къазот	Изот	I give it to them
Сэ Ар Ахэм	Pst.	я-с-ты-гъ	къы-я-с-ты-гъ	Астыгъ Ястыгъ	Ястащ Къастащ	Естащ	I gave it to them
Сэ Ахэр Уэ	Pres.	уэ-с-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-уэ-с-о-ты-хэ-р	Къыосэтых	Узотхэ Укъызотхэ	Узот	I give them to you
Сэ Ахэр Уэ	Pst.	уэ-с-ты-гъэ-х	къы-уэ-с-ты-гъэ-х	Къыостыгъэх	Уэстахэщ Къыуэстахэщ	Уэстащ	I gave them to you
Сэ Ахэр Шъуэ	Pres.	шъуэ-с-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-шъуэ-с-о-ты-хэ-р	Къышъосэтых	Фызотхэ Фыкъызотхэ	Фызот	I give them to y'all
Сэ Ахэр Шъуэ	Pst.	шъуэ-с-ты-гъэ-х	къы-шъуэ-с-ты-гъэ-х	Къышъостыгъэх	Фэстахэщ Къыфэстахэщ	Фэстащ	I gave them to y'all
Сэ Ахэр Ам	Pres.	е-с-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-е-с-о-ты-хэ-р	Есэтых	Изотхэ Къизотхэ	Изот	I give them to him
Сэ Ахэр Ам	Pst.	е-с-ты-гъэ-х	къы-е-с-ты-гъэ-х	Естыгъэх	Естахэщ Къестахэщ	Естащ	I gave them to him
Сэ Ахэр Ахэм	Pres.	я-с-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-я-с-о-ты-хэ-р	Асэтых Ясэтых	Язотхэ Къазотхэ	Изот	I give them to them
Сэ Ахэр Ахэм	Pst.	я-с-ты-гъэ-х	къы-я-с-ты-гъэ-х	Астыгъэх Ястыгъэх	Ястахэщ Къастахэщ	Естащ	I gave them to them
Ergative: 2nd Person Singular (Уэ — give/gave...)
Уэ Сэ Ам	Pres.	сы-е-уэ-о-ты-р	сы-къы-е-уэ-о-ты-р	Сеоты Себэты Сыкъебэты	Сыбот	Сыбот	You give me to him
Уэ Сэ Ам	Pst.	сы-е-п-ты-гъ	сы-къы-е-п-ты-гъ	Септыгъ	Септащ	Септащ	You gave me to him
Уэ Сэ Ахэм	Pres.	сы-я-уэ-о-ты-р	сы-къы-я-уэ-о-ты-р	Саоты Сабэты Сыкъабэты	Сыбот	Сыбот	You give me to them
Уэ Сэ Ахэм	Pst.	сы-я-п-ты-гъ	сы-къы-я-п-ты-гъ	Саптыгъ	Септащ	Септащ	You gave me to them
Уэ Тэ Ам	Pres.	ты-е-уэ-о-ты-р	ты-къы-е-уэ-о-ты-р	Теоты Тебэты Тыкъебэты	Дыбот	Дыбот	You give us to him
Уэ Тэ Ам	Pst.	ты-е-п-ты-гъ	ты-къы-е-п-ты-гъ	Тептыгъ	Дептащ	Дептащ	You gave us to him
Уэ Тэ Ахэм	Pres.	ты-я-уэ-о-ты-р	ты-къы-я-уэ-о-ты-р	Таоты Табэты Тыкъабэты	Дыбот	Дыбот	You give us to them
Уэ Тэ Ахэм	Pst.	ты-я-п-ты-гъ	ты-къы-я-п-ты-гъ	Таптыгъ	Дептащ	Дептащ	You gave us to them
Уэ Ар Сэ	Pres.	с-уэ-о-ты-р	къы-с-уэ-о-ты-р	Къысэоты Къысэбэты	Къызыбот	Къызыбот	You give it to me
Уэ Ар Сэ	Pst.	с-п-ты-гъ	къы-с-п-ты-гъ	Къысэптыгъ	Къызэптащ	Къызэптащ	You gave it to me
Уэ Ар Тэ	Pres.	т-уэ-о-ты-р	къы-т-уэ-о-ты-р	Къытэоты Къытэбэты	Къыдыбот	Къыдыбот	You give it to us
Уэ Ар Тэ	Pst.	т-п-ты-гъ	къы-т-п-ты-гъ	Къытэптыгъ	Къыдэптащ	Къыдэптащ	You gave it to us
Уэ Ар Ам	Pres.	е-уэ-о-ты-р	къы-е-уэ-о-ты-р	Еоты Ебэты Къебэты	Ибот	Ибот	You give it to him
Уэ Ар Ам	Pst.	е-п-ты-гъ	къы-е-п-ты-гъ	Ептыгъ	Ептащ	Ептащ	You gave it to him
Уэ Ар Ахэм	Pres.	я-уэ-о-ты-р	къы-я-уэ-о-ты-р	Аоты Яоты Абэты Ябэты Къабэты	Ябот Къабот	Ибот	You give it to them
Уэ Ар Ахэм	Pst.	я-п-ты-гъ	къы-я-п-ты-гъ	Аптыгъ Яптыгъ	Яптащ Къаптащ	Ептащ	You gave it to them
Уэ Ахэр Сэ	Pres.	с-уэ-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-с-уэ-о-ты-хэ-р	Къысэотых Къысэбэтых	Къызыбот	Къызыбот	You give them to me
Уэ Ахэр Сэ	Pst.	с-п-ты-гъэ-х	къы-с-п-ты-гъэ-х	Къысэптыгъэх	Къызэптахэщ	Къызэптащ	You gave them to me
Уэ Ахэр Тэ	Pres.	т-уэ-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-т-уэ-о-ты-хэ-р	Къытэотых Къытэбэтых	Къыдыбот	Къыдыбот	You give them to us
Уэ Ахэр Тэ	Pst.	т-п-ты-гъэ-х	къы-т-п-ты-гъэ-х	Къытэптыгъэх	Къыдэптахэщ	Къыдэптащ	You gave them to us
Уэ Ахэр Ам	Pres.	е-уэ-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-е-уэ-о-ты-хэ-р	Еотых Ебэтых Къебэтых	Иботхэ Къиботхэ	Ибот	You give them to him
Уэ Ахэр Ам	Pst.	е-п-ты-гъэ-х	къы-е-п-ты-гъэ-х	Ептыгъэх	Ептахэщ Къептахэщ	Ептащ	You gave them to him
Уэ Ахэр Ахэм	Pres.	я-уэ-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-я-уэ-о-ты-хэ-р	Аотых Яотых Абэтых Ябэтых Къабэтых	Яботхэ Къаботхэ	Ибот	You give them to them
Уэ Ахэр Ахэм	Pst.	я-п-ты-гъэ-х	къы-я-п-ты-гъэ-х	Аптыгъэх Яптыгъэх	Яптахэщ Къаптахэщ	Ептащ	You gave them to them
Ergative: 3rd Person Singular (Ам — give/gave...)
Ам Сэ Уэ	Pres.	сы-уэ-е-о-ты-р	сы-къы-уэ-е-о-ты-р	Сыкъыуеты	Сыкъыует	Сыкъыует	He gives me to you
Ам Сэ Уэ	Pst.	сы-уэ-и-ты-гъ	сы-къы-уэ-и-ты-гъ	Сыкъыуитыгъ	Сыкъыуитащ	Сыкъыуитащ	He gave me to you
Ам Сэ Шъуэ	Pres.	сы-шъуэ-е-о-ты-р	сы-къы-шъуэ-е-о-ты-р	Сыкъышъуеты	Сыкъывет	Сыкъывет	He gives me to y'all
Ам Сэ Шъуэ	Pst.	сы-шъуэ-и-ты-гъ	сы-къы-шъуэ-и-ты-гъ	Сыкъышъуитыгъ	Сыкъыфитащ	Сыкъыфитащ	He gave me to y'all
Ам Сэ Ам	Pres.	сы-ре-о-ты-р	сы-къы-ре-о-ты-р	Среты	Срет	Срет	He gives me to him
Ам Сэ Ам	Pst.	сы-ри-ты-гъ	сы-къы-ри-ты-гъ	Сритыгъ	Сыритащ	Сыритащ	He gave me to him
Ам Сэ Ахэм	Pres.	сы-я-ре-о-ты-р	сы-къы-я-ре-о-ты-р	Сареты	Срет	Срет	He gives me to them
Ам Сэ Ахэм	Pst.	сы-я-ри-ты-гъ	сы-къы-я-ри-ты-гъ	Саритыгъ	Сыритащ	Сыритащ	He gave me to them
Ам Тэ Уэ	Pres.	ты-уэ-е-о-ты-р	ты-къы-уэ-е-о-ты-р	Тыкъыуеты	Дыкъыует	Дыкъыует	He gives us to you
Ам Тэ Уэ	Pst.	ты-уэ-и-ты-гъ	ты-къы-уэ-и-ты-гъ	Тыкъыуитыгъ	Дыкъыуитащ	Дыкъыуитащ	He gave us to you
Ам Тэ Шъуэ	Pres.	ты-шъуэ-е-о-ты-р	ты-къы-шъуэ-е-о-ты-р	Тыкъышъуеты	Дыкъывет	Дыкъывет	He gives us to y'all
Ам Тэ Шъуэ	Pst.	ты-шъуэ-и-ты-гъ	ты-къы-шъуэ-и-ты-гъ	Тыкъышъуитыгъ	Дыкъыфитащ	Дыкъыфитащ	He gave us to y'all
Ам Тэ Ам	Pres.	ты-ре-о-ты-р	ты-къы-ре-о-ты-р	Треты	Дрет	Дрет	He gives us to him
Ам Тэ Ам	Pst.	ты-ри-ты-гъ	ты-къы-ри-ты-гъ	Тритыгъ	Дыритащ	Дыритащ	He gave us to him
Ам Тэ Ахэм	Pres.	ты-я-ре-о-ты-р	ты-къы-я-ре-о-ты-р	Тареты	Дрет	Дрет	He gives us to them
Ам Тэ Ахэм	Pst.	ты-я-ри-ты-гъ	ты-къы-я-ри-ты-гъ	Таритыгъ	Дыритащ	Дыритащ	He gave us to them
Ам Уэ Сэ	Pres.	у-с-е-о-ты-р	у-къы-с-е-о-ты-р	Укъысеты	Укъызет	Укъызет	He gives you to me
Ам Уэ Сэ	Pst.	у-с-и-ты-гъ	у-къы-с-и-ты-гъ	Укъыситыгъ	Укъыситащ	Укъыситащ	He gave you to me
Ам Уэ Тэ	Pres.	у-т-е-о-ты-р	у-къы-т-е-о-ты-р	Укъытеты	Укъыдет	Укъыдет	He gives you to us
Ам Уэ Тэ	Pst.	у-т-и-ты-гъ	у-къы-т-и-ты-гъ	Укъытитыгъ	Укъыдитащ	Укъыдитащ	He gave you to us
Ам Уэ Ам	Pres.	у-ре-о-ты-р	у-къы-ре-о-ты-р	Уреты	Урет	Урет	He gives you to him
Ам Уэ Ам	Pst.	у-ри-ты-гъ	у-къы-ри-ты-гъ	Уритыгъ	Уритащ	Уритащ	He gave you to him
Ам Уэ Ахэм	Pres.	у-я-ре-о-ты-р	у-къы-я-ре-о-ты-р	Уареты	Урет	Урет	He gives you to them
Ам Уэ Ахэм	Pst.	у-я-ри-ты-гъ	у-къы-я-ри-ты-гъ	Уаритыгъ	Уритащ	Уритащ	He gave you to them
Ам Шъуэ Сэ	Pres.	шъу-с-е-о-ты-р	шъу-къы-с-е-о-ты-р	Шъукъысеты	Фыкъызет	Фыкъызет	He gives y'all to me
Ам Шъуэ Сэ	Pst.	шъу-с-и-ты-гъ	шъу-къы-с-и-ты-гъ	Шъукъыситыгъ	Фыкъыситащ	Фыкъыситащ	He gave y'all to me
Ам Шъуэ Тэ	Pres.	шъу-т-е-о-ты-р	шъу-къы-т-е-о-ты-р	Шъукъытеты	Фыкъыдет	Фыкъыдет	He gives y'all to us
Ам Шъуэ Тэ	Pst.	шъу-т-и-ты-гъ	шъу-къы-т-и-ты-гъ	Шъукъытитыгъ	Фыкъыдитащ	Фыкъыдитащ	He gave y'all to us
Ам Шъуэ Ам	Pres.	шъу-ре-о-ты-р	шъу-къы-ре-о-ты-р	Шъуреты	Фрет	Фрет	He gives y'all to him
Ам Шъуэ Ам	Pst.	шъу-ри-ты-гъ	шъу-къы-ри-ты-гъ	Шъуритыгъ	Фритащ	Фритащ	He gave y'all to him
Ам Шъуэ Ахэм	Pres.	шъу-я-ре-о-ты-р	шъу-къы-я-ре-о-ты-р	Шъуареты	Фрет	Фрет	He gives y'all to them
Ам Шъуэ Ахэм	Pst.	шъу-я-ри-ты-гъ	шъу-къы-я-ри-ты-гъ	Шъуаритыгъ	Фритащ	Фритащ	He gave y'all to them
Ам Ар Сэ	Pres.	с-е-о-ты-р	къы-с-е-о-ты-р	Къысеты	Къызет	Къызет	He gives it to me
Ам Ар Сэ	Pst.	с-и-ты-гъ	къы-с-и-ты-гъ	Къыситыгъ	Къыситащ	Къыситащ	He gave it to me
Ам Ар Тэ	Pres.	т-е-о-ты-р	къы-т-е-о-ты-р	Къытеты	Къыдет	Къыдет	He gives it to us
Ам Ар Тэ	Pst.	т-и-ты-гъ	къы-т-и-ты-гъ	Къытитыгъ	Къыдитащ	Къыдитащ	He gave it to us
Ам Ар Уэ	Pres.	уэ-е-о-ты-р	къы-уэ-е-о-ты-р	Къыуеты	Къыует	Къыует	He gives it to you
Ам Ар Уэ	Pst.	уэ-и-ты-гъ	къы-уэ-и-ты-гъ	Къыуитыгъ	Къыуитащ	Къыуитащ	He gave it to you
Ам Ар Шъуэ	Pres.	шъуэ-е-о-ты-р	къы-шъуэ-е-о-ты-р	Къышъуеты	Къывет	Къывет	He gives it to y'all
Ам Ар Шъуэ	Pst.	шъуэ-и-ты-гъ	къы-шъуэ-и-ты-гъ	Къышъуитыгъ	Къыфитащ	Къыфитащ	He gave it to y'all
Ам Ар Ам	Pres.	ре-о-ты-р	къы-ре-о-ты-р	Реты	Ирет	Ирет	He gives it to him
Ам Ар Ам	Pst.	ри-ты-гъ	къы-ри-ты-гъ	Ритыгъ	Иритащ	Иритащ	He gave it to him
Ам Ар Ахэм	Pres.	я-ре-о-ты-р	къы-я-ре-о-ты-р	Ареты Яреты	Ярет Къарет	Ирет	He gives it to them
Ам Ар Ахэм	Pst.	я-ри-ты-гъ	къы-я-ри-ты-гъ	Аритыгъ Яритыгъ	Яритащ Къаритащ	Иритащ	He gave it to them
Ам Ахэр Сэ	Pres.	с-е-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-с-е-о-ты-хэ-р	Къысетых	Къызетхэ	Къызет	He gives them to me
Ам Ахэр Сэ	Pst.	с-и-ты-гъэ-х	къы-с-и-ты-гъэ-х	Къыситыгъэх	Къыситахэщ	Къыситащ	He gave them to me
Ам Ахэр Тэ	Pres.	т-е-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-т-е-о-ты-хэ-р	Къытетых	Къыдетхэ	Къыдет	He gives them to us
Ам Ахэр Тэ	Pst.	т-и-ты-гъэ-х	къы-т-и-ты-гъэ-х	Къытитыгъэх	Къыдитахэщ	Къыдитащ	He gave them to us
Ам Ахэр Уэ	Pres.	уэ-е-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-уэ-е-о-ты-хэ-р	Къыуетых	Къыуетхэ	Къыует	He gives them to you
Ам Ахэр Уэ	Pst.	уэ-и-ты-гъэ-х	къы-уэ-и-ты-гъэ-х	Къыуитыгъэх	Къыуитахэщ	Къыуитащ	He gave them to you
Ам Ахэр Шъуэ	Pres.	шъуэ-е-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-шъуэ-е-о-ты-хэ-р	Къышъуетых	Къыветхэ	Къывет	He gives them to y'all
Ам Ахэр Шъуэ	Pst.	шъуэ-и-ты-гъэ-х	къы-шъуэ-и-ты-гъэ-х	Къышъуитыгъэх	Къыфитахэщ	Къыфитащ	He gave them to y'all
Ам Ахэр Ам	Pres.	ре-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-ре-о-ты-хэ-р	Ретых	Иретхэ Къиретхэ	Ирет	He gives them to him
Ам Ахэр Ам	Pst.	ри-ты-гъэ-х	къы-ри-ты-гъэ-х	Ритыгъэх	Иритахэщ Къиритахэщ	Иритащ	He gave them to him
Ам Ахэр Ахэм	Pres.	я-ре-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-я-ре-о-ты-хэ-р	Аретых Яретых	Яретхэ Къаретхэ	Ирет	He gives them to them
Ам Ахэр Ахэм	Pst.	я-ри-ты-гъэ-х	къы-я-ри-ты-гъэ-х	Аритыгъэх Яритыгъэх	Яритахэщ Къаритахэщ	Иритащ	He gave them to them
Ergative: 1st Person Plural (Тэ — give/gave...)
Тэ Уэ Ам	Pres.	у-е-т-о-ты-р	у-къы-е-т-о-ты-р	Уетэты	Удот	Удот	We give you to him
Тэ Уэ Ам	Pst.	у-е-т-ты-гъ	у-къы-е-т-ты-гъ	Уеттыгъ	Уедтащ	Уедтащ	We gave you to him
Тэ Уэ Ахэм	Pres.	у-я-т-о-ты-р	у-къы-я-т-о-ты-р	Уатэты	Удот	Удот	We give you to them
Тэ Уэ Ахэм	Pst.	у-я-т-ты-гъ	у-къы-я-т-ты-гъ	Уаттыгъ	Уедтащ	Уедтащ	We gave you to them
Тэ Шъуэ Ам	Pres.	шъу-е-т-о-ты-р	шъу-къы-е-т-о-ты-р	Шъуетэты	Фыдот	Фыдот	We give y'all to him
Тэ Шъуэ Ам	Pst.	шъу-е-т-ты-гъ	шъу-къы-е-т-ты-гъ	Шъуеттыгъ	Федтащ	Федтащ	We gave y'all to him
Тэ Шъуэ Ахэм	Pres.	шъу-я-т-о-ты-р	шъу-къы-я-т-о-ты-р	Шъуатэты	Фыдот	Фыдот	We give y'all to them
Тэ Шъуэ Ахэм	Pst.	шъу-я-т-ты-гъ	шъу-къы-я-т-ты-гъ	Шъуаттыгъ	Федтащ	Федтащ	We gave y'all to them
Тэ Ар Уэ	Pres.	уэ-т-о-ты-р	къы-уэ-т-о-ты-р	Къыотэты	Удот	Удот	We give it to you
Тэ Ар Уэ	Pst.	уэ-т-ты-гъ	къы-уэ-т-ты-гъ	Къыоттыгъ	Уэдтащ	Уэдтащ	We gave it to you
Тэ Ар Шъуэ	Pres.	шъуэ-т-о-ты-р	къы-шъуэ-т-о-ты-р	Къышъотэты	Фыдот	Фыдот	We give it to y'all
Тэ Ар Шъуэ	Pst.	шъуэ-т-ты-гъ	къы-шъуэ-т-ты-гъ	Къышъоттыгъ	Фэдтащ	Фэдтащ	We gave it to y'all
Тэ Ар Ам	Pres.	е-т-о-ты-р	къы-е-т-о-ты-р	Етэты	Идот	Идот	We give it to him
Тэ Ар Ам	Pst.	е-т-ты-гъ	къы-е-т-ты-гъ	Еттыгъ	Едтащ	Едтащ	We gave it to him
Тэ Ар Ахэм	Pres.	я-т-о-ты-р	къы-я-т-о-ты-р	Атэты Ятэты	Ядот Къадот	Идот	We give it to them
Тэ Ар Ахэм	Pst.	я-т-ты-гъ	къы-я-т-ты-гъ	Аттыгъ Яттыгъ	Ядтащ Къадтащ	Едтащ	We gave it to them
Тэ Ахэр Уэ	Pres.	уэ-т-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-уэ-т-о-ты-хэ-р	Къыотэтых	Удотхэ Укъыдотхэ	Удот	We give them to you
Тэ Ахэр Уэ	Pst.	уэ-т-ты-гъэ-х	къы-уэ-т-ты-гъэ-х	Къыоттыгъэх	Уэдтахэщ Къыуэдтахэщ	Уэдтащ	We gave them to you
Тэ Ахэр Шъуэ	Pres.	шъуэ-т-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-шъуэ-т-о-ты-хэ-р	Къышъотэтых	Фыдотхэ Фыкъыдотхэ	Фыдот	We give them to y'all
Тэ Ахэр Шъуэ	Pst.	шъуэ-т-ты-гъэ-х	къы-шъуэ-т-ты-гъэ-х	Къышъоттыгъэх	Фэдтахэщ Къыфэдтахэщ	Фэдтащ	We gave them to y'all
Тэ Ахэр Ам	Pres.	е-т-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-е-т-о-ты-хэ-р	Етэтых	Идотхэ Къидотхэ	Идот	We give them to him
Тэ Ахэр Ам	Pst.	е-т-ты-гъэ-х	къы-е-т-ты-гъэ-х	Еттыгъэх	Едтахэщ Къедтахэщ	Едтащ	We gave them to him
Тэ Ахэр Ахэм	Pres.	я-т-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-я-т-о-ты-хэ-р	Атэтых Ятэтых	Ядотхэ Къадотхэ	Идот	We give them to them
Тэ Ахэр Ахэм	Pst.	я-т-ты-гъэ-х	къы-я-т-ты-гъэ-х	Аттыгъэх Яттыгъэх	Ядтахэщ Къадтахэщ	Едтащ	We gave them to them
Ergative: 2nd Person Plural (Шъуэ — give/gave...)
Шъуэ Сэ Ам	Pres.	сы-е-шъу-о-ты-р	сы-къы-е-шъу-о-ты-р	Сешъоты	Сывот	Сывот	Y'all give me to him
Шъуэ Сэ Ам	Pst.	сы-е-шъу-ты-гъ	сы-къы-е-шъу-ты-гъ	Сешъутыгъ	Сефтащ	Сефтащ	Y'all gave me to him
Шъуэ Сэ Ахэм	Pres.	сы-я-шъу-о-ты-р	сы-къы-я-шъу-о-ты-р	Сашъоты	Сывот	Сывот	Y'all give me to them
Шъуэ Сэ Ахэм	Pst.	сы-я-шъу-ты-гъ	сы-къы-я-шъу-ты-гъ	Сашъутыгъ	Сефтащ	Сефтащ	Y'all gave me to them
Шъуэ Тэ Ам	Pres.	ты-е-шъу-о-ты-р	ты-къы-е-шъу-о-ты-р	Тешъоты	Дывот	Дывот	Y'all give us to him
Шъуэ Тэ Ам	Pst.	ты-е-шъу-ты-гъ	ты-къы-е-шъу-ты-гъ	Тешъутыгъ	Дефтащ	Дефтащ	Y'all gave us to him
Шъуэ Тэ Ахэм	Pres.	ты-я-шъу-о-ты-р	ты-къы-я-шъу-о-ты-р	Ташъоты	Дывот	Дывот	Y'all give us to them
Шъуэ Тэ Ахэм	Pst.	ты-я-шъу-ты-гъ	ты-къы-я-шъу-ты-гъ	Ташъутыгъ	Дефтащ	Дефтащ	Y'all gave us to them
Шъуэ Ар Сэ	Pres.	с-шъу-о-ты-р	къы-с-шъу-о-ты-р	Къысэшъоты	Къызывот	Къызывот	Y'all give it to me
Шъуэ Ар Сэ	Pst.	с-шъу-ты-гъ	къы-с-шъу-ты-гъ	Къысэшъутыгъ	Къызэфтащ	Къызэфтащ	Y'all gave it to me
Шъуэ Ар Тэ	Pres.	т-шъу-о-ты-р	къы-т-шъу-о-ты-р	Къытэшъоты	Къыдывот	Къыдывот	Y'all give it to us
Шъуэ Ар Тэ	Pst.	т-шъу-ты-гъ	къы-т-шъу-ты-гъ	Къытэшъутыгъ	Къыдэфтащ	Къыдэфтащ	Y'all gave it to us
Шъуэ Ар Ам	Pres.	е-шъу-о-ты-р	къы-е-шъу-о-ты-р	Ешъоты	Ивот	Ивот	Y'all give it to him
Шъуэ Ар Ам	Pst.	е-шъу-ты-гъ	къы-е-шъу-ты-гъ	Ешъутыгъ	Ефтащ	Ефтащ	Y'all gave it to him
Шъуэ Ар Ахэм	Pres.	я-шъу-о-ты-р	къы-я-шъу-о-ты-р	Ашъоты Яшъоты	Явот Къавот	Ивот	Y'all give it to them
Шъуэ Ар Ахэм	Pst.	я-шъу-ты-гъ	къы-я-шъу-ты-гъ	Ашъутыгъ Яшъутыгъ	Яфтащ Къафтащ	Ефтащ	Y'all gave it to them
Шъуэ Ахэр Сэ	Pres.	с-шъу-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-с-шъу-о-ты-хэ-р	Къысэшъотых	Къызывот	Къызывот	Y'all give them to me
Шъуэ Ахэр Сэ	Pst.	с-шъу-ты-гъэ-х	къы-с-шъу-ты-гъэ-х	Къысэшъутыгъэх	Къызэфтахэщ	Къызэфтащ	Y'all gave them to me
Шъуэ Ахэр Тэ	Pres.	т-шъу-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-т-шъу-о-ты-хэ-р	Къытэшъотых	Къыдывот	Къыдывот	Y'all give them to us
Шъуэ Ахэр Тэ	Pst.	т-шъу-ты-гъэ-х	къы-т-шъу-ты-гъэ-х	Къытэшъутыгъэх	Къыдэфтахэщ	Къыдэфтащ	Y'all gave them to us
Шъуэ Ахэр Ам	Pres.	е-шъу-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-е-шъу-о-ты-хэ-р	Ешъотых	Ивотхэ Къивотхэ	Ивот	Y'all give them to him
Шъуэ Ахэр Ам	Pst.	е-шъу-ты-гъэ-х	къы-е-шъу-ты-гъэ-х	Ешъутыгъэх	Ефтахэщ Къефтахэщ	Ефтащ	Y'all gave them to him
Шъуэ Ахэр Ахэм	Pres.	я-шъу-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-я-шъу-о-ты-хэ-р	Ашъотых Яшъотых	Явотхэ Къавотхэ	Ивот	Y'all give them to them
Шъуэ Ахэр Ахэм	Pst.	я-шъу-ты-гъэ-х	къы-я-шъу-ты-гъэ-х	Ашъутыгъэх Яшъутыгъэх	Яфтахэщ Къафтахэщ	Ефтащ	Y'all gave them to them
Ergative: 3rd Person Plural (Ахэм — give/gave...)
Ахэм Сэ Уэ	Pres.	сы-уэ-я-о-ты-р	сы-къы-уэ-я-о-ты-р	Сыкъыуаты	Сыкъыуат	Сыкъыует	They give me to you
Ахэм Сэ Уэ	Pst.	сы-уэ-я-ты-гъ	сы-къы-уэ-я-ты-гъ	Сыкъыуатыгъ	Сыкъыуатащ	Сыкъыуитащ	They gave me to you
Ахэм Сэ Шъуэ	Pres.	сы-шъуэ-я-о-ты-р	сы-къы-шъуэ-я-о-ты-р	Сыкъышъуаты	Сыкъыват	Сыкъывет	They give me to y'all
Ахэм Сэ Шъуэ	Pst.	сы-шъуэ-я-ты-гъ	сы-къы-шъуэ-я-ты-гъ	Сыкъышъуатыгъ	Сыкъыфатащ	Сыкъыфитащ	They gave me to y'all
Ахэм Сэ Ам	Pres.	сы-ра-о-ты-р	сы-къы-ра-о-ты-р	Сраты	Сырат Сыкъырат	Срет	They give me to him
Ахэм Сэ Ам	Pst.	сы-ра-ты-гъ	сы-къы-ра-ты-гъ	Сратыгъ	Сыратащ Сыкъыратащ	Сыритащ	They gave me to him
Ахэм Сэ Ахэм	Pres.	сы-я-ра-о-ты-р	сы-къы-я-ра-о-ты-р	Сараты	Сырат Сыкъырат	Срет	They give me to them
Ахэм Сэ Ахэм	Pst.	сы-я-ра-ты-гъ	сы-къы-я-ра-ты-гъ	Саратыгъ	Сыратащ Сыкъыратащ	Сыритащ	They gave me to them
Ахэм Тэ Уэ	Pres.	ты-уэ-я-о-ты-р	ты-къы-уэ-я-о-ты-р	Тыкъыуаты	Дыкъыуат	Дыкъыует	They give us to you
Ахэм Тэ Уэ	Pst.	ты-уэ-я-ты-гъ	ты-къы-уэ-я-ты-гъ	Тыкъыуатыгъ	Дыкъыуатащ	Дыкъыуитащ	They gave us to you
Ахэм Тэ Шъуэ	Pres.	ты-шъуэ-я-о-ты-р	ты-къы-шъуэ-я-о-ты-р	Тыкъышъуаты	Дыкъыват	Дыкъывет	They give us to y'all
Ахэм Тэ Шъуэ	Pst.	ты-шъуэ-я-ты-гъ	ты-къы-шъуэ-я-ты-гъ	Тыкъышъуатыгъ	Дыкъыфатащ	Дыкъыфитащ	They gave us to y'all
Ахэм Тэ Ам	Pres.	ты-ра-о-ты-р	ты-къы-ра-о-ты-р	Траты	Дырат Дыкъырат	Дрет	They give us to him
Ахэм Тэ Ам	Pst.	ты-ра-ты-гъ	ты-къы-ра-ты-гъ	Тратыгъ	Дыратащ Дыкъыратащ	Дыритащ	They gave us to him
Ахэм Тэ Ахэм	Pres.	ты-я-ра-о-ты-р	ты-къы-я-ра-о-ты-р	Тараты	Дырат Дыкъырат	Дрет	They give us to them
Ахэм Тэ Ахэм	Pst.	ты-я-ра-ты-гъ	ты-къы-я-ра-ты-гъ	Таратыгъ	Дыратащ Дыкъыратащ	Дыритащ	They gave us to them
Ахэм Уэ Сэ	Pres.	у-с-я-о-ты-р	у-къы-с-я-о-ты-р	Укъысаты	Укъызат	Укъызет	They give you to me
Ахэм Уэ Сэ	Pst.	у-с-я-ты-гъ	у-къы-с-я-ты-гъ	Укъысатыгъ	Укъызатащ	Укъыситащ	They gave you to me
Ахэм Уэ Тэ	Pres.	у-т-я-о-ты-р	у-къы-т-я-о-ты-р	Укъытаты	Укъыдат	Укъыдет	They give you to us
Ахэм Уэ Тэ	Pst.	у-т-я-ты-гъ	у-къы-т-я-ты-гъ	Укъытатыгъ	Укъыдатащ	Укъыдитащ	They gave you to us
Ахэм Уэ Ам	Pres.	у-ра-о-ты-р	у-къы-ра-о-ты-р	Ураты	Урат Укъырат	Урет	They give you to him
Ахэм Уэ Ам	Pst.	у-ра-ты-гъ	у-къы-ра-ты-гъ	Уратыгъ	Уратащ Укъыратащ	Уритащ	They gave you to him
Ахэм Уэ Ахэм	Pres.	у-я-ра-о-ты-р	у-къы-я-ра-о-ты-р	Уараты	Урат Укъырат	Урет	They give you to them
Ахэм Уэ Ахэм	Pst.	у-я-ра-ты-гъ	у-къы-я-ра-ты-гъ	Уаратыгъ	Уратащ Укъыратащ	Уритащ	They gave you to them
Ахэм Шъуэ Сэ	Pres.	шъу-с-я-о-ты-р	шъу-къы-с-я-о-ты-р	Шъукъысаты	Фыкъызат	Фыкъызет	They give y'all to me
Ахэм Шъуэ Сэ	Pst.	шъу-с-я-ты-гъ	шъу-къы-с-я-ты-гъ	Шъукъысатыгъ	Фыкъызатащ	Фыкъыситащ	They gave y'all to me
Ахэм Шъуэ Тэ	Pres.	шъу-т-я-о-ты-р	шъу-къы-т-я-о-ты-р	Шъукъытаты	Фыкъыдат	Фыкъыдет	They give y'all to us
Ахэм Шъуэ Тэ	Pst.	шъу-т-я-ты-гъ	шъу-къы-т-я-ты-гъ	Шъукъытатыгъ	Фыкъыдатащ	Фыкъыдитащ	They gave y'all to us
Ахэм Шъуэ Ам	Pres.	шъу-ра-о-ты-р	шъу-къы-ра-о-ты-р	Шъураты	Фырат Фыкъырат	Фрет	They give y'all to him
Ахэм Шъуэ Ам	Pst.	шъу-ра-ты-гъ	шъу-къы-ра-ты-гъ	Шъуратыгъ	Фыратащ Фыкъыратащ	Фритащ	They gave y'all to him
Ахэм Шъуэ Ахэм	Pres.	шъу-я-ра-о-ты-р	шъу-къы-я-ра-о-ты-р	Шъуараты	Фырат Фыкъырат	Фрет	They give y'all to them
Ахэм Шъуэ Ахэм	Pst.	шъу-я-ра-ты-гъ	шъу-къы-я-ра-ты-гъ	Шъуаратыгъ	Фыратащ Фыкъыратащ	Фритащ	They gave y'all to them
Ахэм Ар Сэ	Pres.	с-я-о-ты-р	къы-с-я-о-ты-р	Къысаты	Къызат	Къызет	They give it to me
Ахэм Ар Сэ	Pst.	с-я-ты-гъ	къы-с-я-ты-гъ	Къысатыгъ	Къызатащ	Къыситащ	They gave it to me
Ахэм Ар Тэ	Pres.	т-я-о-ты-р	къы-т-я-о-ты-р	Къытаты	Къыдат	Къыдет	They give it to us
Ахэм Ар Тэ	Pst.	т-я-ты-гъ	къы-т-я-ты-гъ	Къытатыгъ	Къыдатащ	Къыдитащ	They gave it to us
Ахэм Ар Уэ	Pres.	уэ-я-о-ты-р	къы-уэ-я-о-ты-р	Къыуаты	Къыуат	Къыует	They give it to you
Ахэм Ар Уэ	Pst.	уэ-я-ты-гъ	къы-уэ-я-ты-гъ	Къыуатыгъ	Къыуатащ	Къыуитащ	They gave it to you
Ахэм Ар Шъуэ	Pres.	шъуэ-я-о-ты-р	къы-шъуэ-я-о-ты-р	Къышъуаты	Къыват	Къывет	They give it to y'all
Ахэм Ар Шъуэ	Pst.	шъуэ-я-ты-гъ	къы-шъуэ-я-ты-гъ	Къышъуатыгъ	Къыфатащ	Къыфитащ	They gave it to y'all
Ахэм Ар Ам	Pres.	ра-о-ты-р	къы-ра-о-ты-р	Раты	Ират Къират	Ирет	They give it to him
Ахэм Ар Ам	Pst.	ра-ты-гъ	къы-ра-ты-гъ	Ратыгъ	Иратащ Къиратащ	Иритащ	They gave it to him
Ахэм Ар Ахэм	Pres.	я-ра-о-ты-р	къы-я-ра-о-ты-р	Араты Яраты	Ярат Къарат	Ирет	They give it to them
Ахэм Ар Ахэм	Pst.	я-ра-ты-гъ	къы-я-ра-ты-гъ	Аратыгъ Яратыгъ	Яратащ Къаратащ	Иритащ	They gave it to them
Ахэм Ахэр Сэ	Pres.	с-я-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-с-я-о-ты-хэ-р	Къысатых	Къызатхэ	Къызет	They give them to me
Ахэм Ахэр Сэ	Pst.	с-я-ты-гъэ-х	къы-с-я-ты-гъэ-х	Къысатыгъэх	Къызатахэщ	Къыситащ	They gave them to me
Ахэм Ахэр Тэ	Pres.	т-я-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-т-я-о-ты-хэ-р	Къытатых	Къыдатхэ	Къыдет	They give them to us
Ахэм Ахэр Тэ	Pst.	т-я-ты-гъэ-х	къы-т-я-ты-гъэ-х	Къытатыгъэх	Къыдатахэщ	Къыдитащ	They gave them to us
Ахэм Ахэр Уэ	Pres.	уэ-я-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-уэ-я-о-ты-хэ-р	Къыуатых	Къыуатхэ	Къыует	They give them to you
Ахэм Ахэр Уэ	Pst.	уэ-я-ты-гъэ-х	къы-уэ-я-ты-гъэ-х	Къыуатыгъэх	Къыуатахэщ	Къыуитащ	They gave them to you
Ахэм Ахэр Шъуэ	Pres.	шъуэ-я-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-шъуэ-я-о-ты-хэ-р	Къышъуатых	Къыватхэ	Къывет	They give them to y'all
Ахэм Ахэр Шъуэ	Pst.	шъуэ-я-ты-гъэ-х	къы-шъуэ-я-ты-гъэ-х	Къышъуатыгъэх	Къыфатахэщ	Къыфитащ	They gave them to y'all
Ахэм Ахэр Ам	Pres.	ра-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-ра-о-ты-хэ-р	Ратых	Иратхэ Къиратхэ	Ирет	They give them to him
Ахэм Ахэр Ам	Pst.	ра-ты-гъэ-х	къы-ра-ты-гъэ-х	Ратыгъэх	Иратахэщ Къиратахэщ	Иритащ	They gave them to him
Ахэм Ахэр Ахэм	Pres.	я-ра-о-ты-хэ-р	къы-я-ра-о-ты-хэ-р	Аратых Яратых	Яратхэ Къаратхэ	Ирет	They give them to them
Ахэм Ахэр Ахэм	Pst.	я-ра-ты-гъэ-х	къы-я-ра-ты-гъэ-х	Аратыгъэх Яратыгъэх	Яратахэщ Къаратахэщ	Иритащ	They gave them to them

Trivalent Ditransitive Reflexive Verbs conjugation (Proto-Circassian)

In a trivalent verb any non-ergative argument may be co-referential with another, giving four reflexive patterns: (1) theme = agent (absolutive reflexive, зы-); (2) recipient = agent (oblique reflexive, зэ-/зы-/з-); (3) recipient = theme (homophonous with pattern 1); (4) both (stacked зы-зэ-). Proto follows West: reflexive prefixes зы-/зэ-/з-, refactive suffix -жьы (past -жьы-гъэ), and the linking -ре-/-ра- — a morphophonological separator, not an agreement prefix — appears only when both the recipient and the agent are 3rd person (with a 1st/2nd-person recipient there is no second 3rd-person prefix to separate, so no -р- is inserted).^[60] In the present the dynamic -о- surfaces before the root (with the present marker -р), exactly as in the other Proto paradigms; the past has no dynamic vowel. There is no cislocative in the reflexive. (Modern East uses the refactive -ж, the dynamic -о- in the present, and the past -ащ.) Free-phrase order is Ergative – Absolutive – Oblique.

Verb-slot order (left → right): ABS (theme) · OBL (recipient) · ERG (agent) · DYN · Root · refactive -жьы

Reflexive paradigm of trivalent ты "to give" (present and past tense)
config ERG-ABS-OBL	Tense	Proto Plain form	Archaic & Dialectal Western Circassian Plain form	Modern Eastern Circassian Plain form	English
Ergative: 1st Person Singular (Сэ — "I give / gave …")
Pattern 1: I give myself to recipient (absolutive reflexive)
Сэ Сэ Уэ	Pres.	зы-уэ-с-о-ты-жьы-р	Зыосэтыжьы	Зыуэзотыж	I give myself to you
Сэ Сэ Уэ	Pst.	зы-уэ-с-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зыостыжьыгъ	Зыуэстыжащ	I gave myself to you
Сэ Сэ Ам	Pres.	з-е-с-о-ты-жьы-р	Зесэтыжьы	Зызотыж	I give myself to A
Сэ Сэ Ам	Pst.	з-е-с-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зестыжьыгъ	Зестыжащ	I gave myself to A
Сэ Сэ Ахэм	Pres.	з-я-с-о-ты-жьы-р	Засэтыжьы	Зызотыж	I give myself to group-A
Сэ Сэ Ахэм	Pst.	з-я-с-ты-жьы-гъэ	Застыжьыгъ	Зестыжащ	I gave myself to group-A
Pattern 2: I give theme to myself (oblique reflexive, coref with ergative)
Сэ Уэ Сэ	Pres.	у-зэ-с-о-ты-жьы-р	Узэсэтыжьы	Бзызотыж Узызотыж	I give you to myself
Сэ Уэ Сэ	Pst.	у-зэ-с-ты-жьы-гъэ	Узэстыжьыгъ	Бзыстыжащ Узыстыжащ	I gave you to myself
Сэ Ар Сэ	Pres.	Ø-зэ-с-о-ты-жьы-р	Зэсэтыжьы	Зызотыж	I give A to myself
Сэ Ар Сэ	Pst.	Ø-зэ-с-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зэстыжьыгъ	Зыстыжащ	I gave A to myself
Сэ Ахэр Сэ	Pres.	Ø-зэ-с-о-ты-жьы-хэ-р	Зэсэтыжьых	Зызотыж	I give group-A to myself
Сэ Ахэр Сэ	Pst.	Ø-зэ-с-ты-жьы-гъэ-х	Зэстыжьыгъэх	Зыстыжащ	I gave group-A to myself
Pattern 3: I give theme to themeself (oblique reflexive, coref with absolutive)
Сэ Уэ Уэ	Pres.	зы-уэ-с-о-ты-жьы-р (= pattern 1)	Зыосэтыжьы	Зыуэзотыж	I give you to yourself
Сэ Уэ Уэ	Pst.	зы-уэ-с-ты-жьы-гъэ (= pattern 1)	Зыостыжьыгъ	Зыуэстыжащ	I gave you to yourself
Сэ Ар езым	Pres.	з-е-с-о-ты-жьы-р (= pattern 1)	Зесэтыжьы	Зызотыж	I give A to A's self
Сэ Ар езым	Pst.	з-е-с-ты-жьы-гъэ (= pattern 1)	Зестыжьыгъ	Зестыжащ	I gave A to A's self
Сэ Ахэр езыхэм	Pres.	з-я-с-о-ты-жьы-хэ-р	Засэтыжьых	Зызотыж	I give group-A to group-A's selves
Сэ Ахэр езыхэм	Pst.	з-я-с-ты-жьы-гъэ-х	Застыжьыгъэх	Зестыжащ	I gave group-A to group-A's selves
Pattern 4: I give myself to myself (both slots reflexive)
Сэ Сэ Сэ	Pres.	зы-зэ-с-о-ты-жьы-р	Зызэсэтыжьы	Зызызотыж	I give myself to myself
Сэ Сэ Сэ	Pst.	зы-зэ-с-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зызэстыжьыгъ	Зызыстыжащ	I gave myself to myself
Ergative: 2nd Person Singular (О — "you give / gave …")
Pattern 1: You give yourself to recipient (absolutive reflexive)
Уэ Уэ Сэ	Pres.	зы-с-уэ-о-ты-жьы-р	Зысэотыжьы	Зысботыж	You give yourself to me
Уэ Уэ Сэ	Pst.	зы-с-п-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зысэптыжьыгъ	Зысптыжащ	You gave yourself to me
Уэ Уэ Ам	Pres.	з-е-уэ-о-ты-жьы-р	Зеотыжьы	Зыботыж	You give yourself to A
Уэ Уэ Ам	Pst.	з-е-п-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зептыжьыгъ	Зептыжащ	You gave yourself to A
Уэ Уэ Ахэм	Pres.	з-я-уэ-о-ты-жьы-р	Заотыжьы	Зыботыж	You give yourself to group-A
Уэ Уэ Ахэм	Pst.	з-я-п-ты-жьы-гъэ	Заптыжьыгъ	Зептыжащ	You gave yourself to group-A
Pattern 2: You give theme to yourself (oblique reflexive, coref with ergative)
Уэ Сэ Уэ	Pres.	сы-зы-уэ-о-ты-жьы-р	Сызэотыжьы	Ззыботыж	You give me to yourself
Уэ Сэ Уэ	Pst.	сы-зы-п-ты-жьы-гъэ	Сызэптыжьыгъ	Ззыптыжащ	You gave me to yourself
Уэ Ар Уэ	Pres.	Ø-зы-уэ-о-ты-жьы-р	Зэотыжьы	Зыботыж	You give A to yourself
Уэ Ар Уэ	Pst.	Ø-зы-п-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зэптыжьыгъ	Зыптыжащ	You gave A to yourself
Уэ Ахэр Уэ	Pres.	Ø-зы-уэ-о-ты-жьы-хэ-р	Зэотыжьых	Зыботыж	You give group-A to yourself
Уэ Ахэр Уэ	Pst.	Ø-зы-п-ты-жьы-гъэ-х	Зэптыжьыгъэх	Зыптыжащ	You gave group-A to yourself
Pattern 3: You give theme to themeself (oblique reflexive, coref with absolutive)
Уэ Сэ Сэ	Pres.	зы-с-уэ-о-ты-жьы-р (= pattern 1)	Зысэотыжьы	Зысботыж	You give me to myself
Уэ Сэ Сэ	Pst.	зы-с-п-ты-жьы-гъэ (= pattern 1)	Зысэптыжьыгъ	Зысптыжащ	You gave me to myself
Уэ Ар езым	Pres.	з-е-уэ-о-ты-жьы-р (= pattern 1)	Зеотыжьы	Зыботыж	You give A to A's self
Уэ Ар езым	Pst.	з-е-п-ты-жьы-гъэ (= pattern 1)	Зептыжьыгъ	Зептыжащ	You gave A to A's self
Уэ Ахэр езыхэм	Pres.	з-я-уэ-о-ты-жьы-хэ-р	Заотыжьых	Зыботыж	You give group-A to group-A's selves
Уэ Ахэр езыхэм	Pst.	з-я-п-ты-жьы-гъэ-х	Заптыжьыгъэх	Зептыжащ	You gave group-A to group-A's selves
Pattern 4: You give yourself to yourself (both slots reflexive)
Уэ Уэ Уэ	Pres.	зы-зы-уэ-о-ты-жьы-р	Зызэотыжьы	Зызыботыж	You give yourself to yourself
Уэ Уэ Уэ	Pst.	зы-зы-п-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зызэптыжьыгъ	Зызыптыжащ	You gave yourself to yourself
Ergative: 3rd Person Singular (Ащ = A; 3sg recipient е- merges into the linking ergative ре-)
Pattern 1: A gives A's self to recipient (absolutive reflexive)
Ам езыр Сэ	Pres.	зы-с-е-о-ты-жьы-р	Зысетыжьы	Зызотыж	A gives A's self to me
Ам езыр Сэ	Pst.	зы-с-и-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зыситыжьыгъ	Зыситыжащ	A gave A's self to me
Ам езыр Уэ	Pres.	зы-уэ-е-о-ты-жьы-р	Зыуетыжьы	Зыботыж	A gives A's self to you
Ам езыр Уэ	Pst.	зы-уэ-и-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зыуитыжьыгъ	Зептыжащ	A gave A's self to you
Ам езыр Ам	Pres.	зы-ре-о-ты-жьы-р	Зыретыжьы	Зретыж	A gives A's self to B
Ам езыр Ам	Pst.	зы-ри-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зыритыжьыгъ	Зритыжащ	A gave A's self to B
Ам езыр Ахэм	Pres.	з-я-ре-о-ты-жьы-р	Заретыжьы	Зретыж	A gives A's self to group-B
Ам езыр Ахэм	Pst.	з-я-ри-ты-жьы-гъэ	Заритыжьыгъ	Зритыжащ	A gave A's self to group-B
Pattern 2: A gives theme to A's self (oblique reflexive, coref with ergative)
Ам Сэ езым	Pres.	сы-з-ре-о-ты-жьы-р	Сызэретыжьы	Ззэретыж	A gives me to A's self
Ам Сэ езым	Pst.	сы-з-ри-ты-жьы-гъэ	Сызэритыжьыгъ	Ззэритыжащ	A gave me to A's self
Ам Уэ езым	Pres.	у-з-ре-о-ты-жьы-р	Узэретыжьы	Бзэретыж Узэретыж	A gives you to A's self
Ам Уэ езым	Pst.	у-з-ри-ты-жьы-гъэ	Узэритыжьыгъ	Бзэритыжащ Узэритыжащ	A gave you to A's self
Ам Ар езым	Pres.	Ø-з-ре-о-ты-жьы-р	Зэретыжьы	Зэретыж	A gives B to A's self
Ам Ар езым	Pst.	Ø-з-ри-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зэритыжьыгъ	Зэритыжащ	A gave B to A's self
Ам Ахэр езым	Pres.	Ø-з-ре-о-ты-жьы-хэ-р	Зэретыжьых	Зэретыж	A gives group-B to A's self
Ам Ахэр езым	Pst.	Ø-з-ри-ты-жьы-гъэ-х	Зэритыжьыгъэх	Зэритыжащ	A gave group-B to A's self
Pattern 3: A gives theme to themeself (oblique reflexive, coref with absolutive)
Ам Сэ Сэ	Pres.	зы-с-е-о-ты-жьы-р (= pattern 1)	Зысетыжьы	Зызотыж	A gives me to myself
Ам Сэ Сэ	Pst.	зы-с-и-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зыситыжьыгъ	Зыситыжащ	A gave me to myself
Ам Уэ Уэ	Pres.	зы-уэ-е-о-ты-жьы-р (= pattern 1)	Зыуетыжьы	Зыботыж	A gives you to yourself
Ам Уэ Уэ	Pst.	зы-уэ-и-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зыуитыжьыгъ	Зептыжащ	A gave you to yourself
Ам Ар езым	Pres.	зы-ре-о-ты-жьы-р (= pattern 1)	Зыретыжьы	Зретыж	A gives B to B's self
Ам Ар езым	Pst.	зы-ри-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зыритыжьыгъ	Зритыжащ	A gave B to B's self
Ам Ахэр езыхэм	Pres.	з-я-ре-о-ты-жьы-хэ-р	Заретыжьых	Зретыж	A gives group-B to group-B's selves
Ам Ахэр езыхэм	Pst.	з-я-ри-ты-жьы-гъэ-х	Заритыжьыгъэх	Зритыжащ	A gave group-B to group-B's selves
Pattern 4: A gives A's self to A's self (both slots reflexive)
Ам езыр езым	Pres.	зы-з-ре-о-ты-жьы-р	Зызэретыжьы	Зызэретыж	A gives A's self to A's self
Ам езыр езым	Pst.	зы-з-ри-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зызэритыжьыгъ	Зызэритыжащ	A gave A's self to A's self
Ergative: 1st Person Plural (Тэ — "we give / gave …") [reconstructed]
Pattern 1: We give ourselves to recipient (absolutive reflexive)
Тэ Тэ Уэ	Pres.	зы-уэ-т-о-ты-жьы-р	Зыотэтыжьы	Зыуэдотыж	We give ourselves to you
Тэ Тэ Уэ	Pst.	зы-уэ-т-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зыоттыжьыгъ	Зыуэдтыжащ	We gave ourselves to you
Тэ Тэ Ам	Pres.	з-е-т-о-ты-жьы-р	Зетэтыжьы	Зыдотыж	We give ourselves to A
Тэ Тэ Ам	Pst.	з-е-т-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зеттыжьыгъ	Зедтыжащ	We gave ourselves to A
Тэ Тэ Ахэм	Pres.	з-я-т-о-ты-жьы-р	Затэтыжьы	Зыдотыж	We give ourselves to group-A
Тэ Тэ Ахэм	Pst.	з-я-т-ты-жьы-гъэ	Заттыжьыгъ	Зедтыжащ	We gave ourselves to group-A
Pattern 2: We give theme to ourselves (oblique reflexive, coref with ergative)
Тэ Уэ Тэ	Pres.	у-зэ-т-о-ты-жьы-р	Узэтэтыжьы	Бзыдотыж Узыдотыж	We give you to ourselves
Тэ Уэ Тэ	Pst.	у-зэ-т-ты-жьы-гъэ	Узэттыжьыгъ	Бзыдтыжащ Узыдтыжащ	We gave you to ourselves
Тэ Ар Тэ	Pres.	Ø-зэ-т-о-ты-жьы-р	Зэтэтыжьы	Зыдотыж	We give A to ourselves
Тэ Ар Тэ	Pst.	Ø-зэ-т-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зэттыжьыгъ	Зыдтыжащ	We gave A to ourselves
Тэ Ахэр Тэ	Pres.	Ø-зэ-т-о-ты-жьы-хэ-р	Зэтэтыжьых	Зыдотыж	We give group-A to ourselves
Тэ Ахэр Тэ	Pst.	Ø-зэ-т-ты-жьы-гъэ-х	Зэттыжьыгъэх	Зыдтыжащ	We gave group-A to ourselves
Pattern 3: We give theme to themeself (oblique reflexive, coref with absolutive)
Тэ Уэ Уэ	Pres.	зы-уэ-т-о-ты-жьы-р (= pattern 1)	Зыотэтыжьы	Зыуэдотыж	We give you to yourself
Тэ Уэ Уэ	Pst.	зы-уэ-т-ты-жьы-гъэ (= pattern 1)	Зыоттыжьыгъ	Зыуэдтыжащ	We gave you to yourself
Тэ Ар езым	Pres.	з-е-т-о-ты-жьы-р (= pattern 1)	Зетэтыжьы	Зыдотыж	We give A to A's self
Тэ Ар езым	Pst.	з-е-т-ты-жьы-гъэ (= pattern 1)	Зеттыжьыгъ	Зедтыжащ	We gave A to A's self
Тэ Ахэр езыхэм	Pres.	з-я-т-о-ты-жьы-хэ-р	Затэтыжьых	Зыдотыж	We give group-A to group-A's selves
Тэ Ахэр езыхэм	Pst.	з-я-т-ты-жьы-гъэ-х	Заттыжьыгъэх	Зедтыжащ	We gave group-A to group-A's selves
Pattern 4: We give ourselves to ourselves (both slots reflexive)
Тэ Тэ Тэ	Pres.	зы-зэ-т-о-ты-жьы-р	Зызэтэтыжьы	Зызыдотыж	We give ourselves to ourselves
Тэ Тэ Тэ	Pst.	зы-зэ-т-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зызэттыжьыгъ	Зызыдтыжащ	We gave ourselves to ourselves
Ergative: 2nd Person Plural (Шъо — "y'all give / gave …") [reconstructed]
Pattern 1: Y'all give yourselves to recipient (absolutive reflexive)
Шъуэ Шъуэ Сэ	Pres.	зы-с-шъу-о-ты-жьы-р	Зысэшъотыжьы	Зысвотыж	Y'all give yourselves to me
Шъуэ Шъуэ Сэ	Pst.	зы-с-шъу-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зысэшъутыжьыгъ	Зысфтыжащ	Y'all gave yourselves to me
Шъуэ Шъуэ Ам	Pres.	з-е-шъу-о-ты-жьы-р	Зешъотыжьы	Зывотыж	Y'all give yourselves to A
Шъуэ Шъуэ Ам	Pst.	з-е-шъу-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зешъутыжьыгъ	Зефтыжащ	Y'all gave yourselves to A
Шъуэ Шъуэ Ахэм	Pres.	з-я-шъу-о-ты-жьы-р	Зашъотыжьы	Зывотыж	Y'all give yourselves to group-A
Шъуэ Шъуэ Ахэм	Pst.	з-я-шъу-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зашъутыжьыгъ	Зефтыжащ	Y'all gave yourselves to group-A
Pattern 2: Y'all give theme to yourselves (oblique reflexive, coref with ergative)
Шъуэ Сэ Шъуэ	Pres.	сы-зэ-шъу-о-ты-жьы-р	Сызэшъотыжьы	Ззывотыж	Y'all give me to yourselves
Шъуэ Сэ Шъуэ	Pst.	сы-зэ-шъу-ты-жьы-гъэ	Сызэшъутыжьыгъ	Ззыфтыжащ	Y'all gave me to yourselves
Шъуэ Ар Шъуэ	Pres.	Ø-зэ-шъу-о-ты-жьы-р	Зэшъотыжьы	Зывотыж	Y'all give A to yourselves
Шъуэ Ар Шъуэ	Pst.	Ø-зэ-шъу-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зэшъутыжьыгъ	Зыфтыжащ	Y'all gave A to yourselves
Шъуэ Ахэр Шъуэ	Pres.	Ø-зэ-шъу-о-ты-жьы-хэ-р	Зэшъотыжьых	Зывотыж	Y'all give group-A to yourselves
Шъуэ Ахэр Шъуэ	Pst.	Ø-зэ-шъу-ты-жьы-гъэ-х	Зэшъутыжьыгъэх	Зыфтыжащ	Y'all gave group-A to yourselves
Pattern 3: Y'all give theme to themeself (oblique reflexive, coref with absolutive)
Шъуэ Сэ Сэ	Pres.	зы-с-шъу-о-ты-жьы-р (= pattern 1)	Зысэшъотыжьы	Зысвотыж	Y'all give me to myself
Шъуэ Сэ Сэ	Pst.	зы-с-шъу-ты-жьы-гъэ (= pattern 1)	Зысэшъутыжьыгъ	Зысфтыжащ	Y'all gave me to myself
Шъуэ Ар езым	Pres.	з-е-шъу-о-ты-жьы-р (= pattern 1)	Зешъотыжьы	Зывотыж	Y'all give A to A's self
Шъуэ Ар езым	Pst.	з-е-шъу-ты-жьы-гъэ (= pattern 1)	Зешъутыжьыгъ	Зефтыжащ	Y'all gave A to A's self
Шъуэ Ахэр езыхэм	Pres.	з-я-шъу-о-ты-жьы-хэ-р	Зашъотыжьых	Зывотыж	Y'all give group-A to group-A's selves
Шъуэ Ахэр езыхэм	Pst.	з-я-шъу-ты-жьы-гъэ-х	Зашъутыжьыгъэх	Зефтыжащ	Y'all gave group-A to group-A's selves
Pattern 4: Y'all give yourselves to yourselves (both slots reflexive)
Шъуэ Шъуэ Шъуэ	Pres.	зы-зэ-шъу-о-ты-жьы-р	Зызэшъотыжьы	Зызывотыж	Y'all give yourselves to yourselves
Шъуэ Шъуэ Шъуэ	Pst.	зы-зэ-шъу-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зызэшъутыжьыгъ	Зызыфтыжащ	Y'all gave yourselves to yourselves
Ergative: 3rd Person Plural (Ахэм = group-A; 3pl recipient а- does not merge with the linking ergative ра-)
Pattern 1: group-A gives group-A's selves to recipient (absolutive reflexive)
Ахэм езыхэр Сэ	Pres.	зы-с-я-о-ты-жьы-р	Зысатыжьы	Зызотыж	group-A gives group-A's selves to me
Ахэм езыхэр Сэ	Pst.	зы-с-я-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зысатыжьыгъ	Зыситыжащ	group-A gave group-A's selves to me
Ахэм езыхэр Уэ	Pres.	зы-уэ-я-о-ты-жьы-р	Зыуатыжьы	Зыботыж	group-A gives group-A's selves to you
Ахэм езыхэр Уэ	Pst.	зы-уэ-я-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зыуатыжьыгъ	Зептыжащ	group-A gave group-A's selves to you
Ахэм езыхэр Ам	Pres.	зы-ра-о-ты-жьы-р	Зыратыжьы	Зретыж	group-A gives group-A's selves to B
Ахэм езыхэр Ам	Pst.	зы-ра-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зыратыжьыгъ	Зритыжащ	group-A gave group-A's selves to B
Ахэм езыхэр Ахэм	Pres.	з-я-ра-о-ты-жьы-р	Заратыжьы	Зретыж	group-A gives group-A's selves to group-B
Ахэм езыхэр Ахэм	Pst.	з-я-ра-ты-жьы-гъэ	Заратыжьыгъ	Зритыжащ	group-A gave group-A's selves to group-B
Pattern 2: group-A gives theme to group-A's selves (oblique reflexive, coref with ergative)
Ахэм Сэ езыхэм	Pres.	сы-з-ра-о-ты-жьы-р	Сызэратыжьы	Ззэретыж	group-A gives me to group-A's selves
Ахэм Сэ езыхэм	Pst.	сы-з-ра-ты-жьы-гъэ	Сызэратыжьыгъ	Ззэритыжащ	group-A gave me to group-A's selves
Ахэм Уэ езыхэм	Pres.	у-з-ра-о-ты-жьы-р	Узэратыжьы	Бзэретыж Узэретыж	group-A gives you to group-A's selves
Ахэм Уэ езыхэм	Pst.	у-з-ра-ты-жьы-гъэ	Узэратыжьыгъ	Бзэритыжащ Узэритыжащ	group-A gave you to group-A's selves
Ахэм Ар езыхэм	Pres.	Ø-з-ра-о-ты-жьы-р	Зэратыжьы	Зэретыж	group-A gives B to group-A's selves
Ахэм Ар езыхэм	Pst.	Ø-з-ра-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зэратыжьыгъ	Зэритыжащ	group-A gave B to group-A's selves
Ахэм Ахэр езыхэм	Pres.	Ø-з-ра-о-ты-жьы-хэ-р	Зэратыжьых	Зэретыж	group-A gives group-B to group-A's selves
Ахэм Ахэр езыхэм	Pst.	Ø-з-ра-ты-жьы-гъэ-х	Зэратыжьыгъэх	Зэритыжащ	group-A gave group-B to group-A's selves
Pattern 3: group-A gives theme to themeself (oblique reflexive, coref with absolutive)
Ахэм Сэ Сэ	Pres.	зы-с-я-о-ты-жьы-р (= pattern 1)	Зысатыжьы	Зызотыж	group-A gives me to myself
Ахэм Сэ Сэ	Pst.	зы-с-я-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зысатыжьыгъ	Зыситыжащ	group-A gave me to myself
Ахэм Уэ Уэ	Pres.	зы-уэ-я-о-ты-жьы-р (= pattern 1)	Зыуатыжьы	Зыботыж	group-A gives you to yourself
Ахэм Уэ Уэ	Pst.	зы-уэ-я-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зыуатыжьыгъ	Зептыжащ	group-A gave you to yourself
Ахэм Ар езым	Pres.	зы-ра-о-ты-жьы-р (= pattern 1)	Зыратыжьы	Зретыж	group-A gives B to B's self
Ахэм Ар езым	Pst.	зы-ра-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зыратыжьыгъ	Зритыжащ	group-A gave B to B's self
Ахэм Ахэр езыхэм	Pres.	з-я-ра-о-ты-жьы-хэ-р	Заратыжьых	Зретыж	group-A gives group-B to group-B's selves
Ахэм Ахэр езыхэм	Pst.	з-я-ра-ты-жьы-гъэ-х	Заратыжьыгъэх	Зритыжащ	group-A gave group-B to group-B's selves
Pattern 4: group-A gives group-A's selves to group-A's selves (both slots reflexive)
Ахэм езыхэр езыхэм	Pres.	зы-з-ра-о-ты-жьы-р	Зызэратыжьы	Зызэретыж	group-A gives group-A's selves to group-A's selves
Ахэм езыхэр езыхэм	Pst.	зы-з-ра-ты-жьы-гъэ	Зызэратыжьыгъ	Зызэритыжащ	group-A gave group-A's selves to group-A's selves

Schleicher's fable

Schleicher's fable in Proto-Circassian:

χʷǝ č́ʷara-gjǝ
χʷǝ ja laśʷam mә q́ˤ:an
č́ʷara pǝʎ́an;
mǝ χwanǝta k:ʷǝm q:irǝ,
mǝ čʷǝχʷa čʷam,
mǝ ć̣ǝm pasa mǝš́ʷrǝ.
χʷǝ č́ʷara q̇́ˤan:
"źǝʁʷǝ sā ǵʷǝ,
q:ać̣am ć̣arǝ č́ʷara ḳ́ʷarǝ."
č́ʷara q̇́ˤan: "q:́ˤʷa χʷǝ!
źǝʁʷǝ š́a ǵʷǝ ć̣arǝ,
q:ać̣a, ł́a, č́ʷara laśʷam
ʎ́ʷa ḳ́ač̣ʷǝm čǝ-wǝ,
χʷiara-gjǝ laśʷam mә q́ˤ:a."
nǝ q:́aˤʷasa χʷǝ rǝq:ʷada q:ˤʷan.

References

↑ Kuipers, A. H. (1975). A Dictionary of Proto-Circassian Roots. PdR Press Publications on North Caucasian Languages 1. Lisse: The Peter de Ridder Press. pp. 11ff..
↑ Jakovlev, N. F. (1927). Materialy dlja kabardinskogo slovarja.
↑ Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 109–116. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.
↑ Nikolayev, S. L.; Starostin, S. A. (1994). A North Caucasian Etymological Dictionary. Moscow: Asterisk Publishers. pp. 197–199.
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 ^5.2 ^5.3 Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 117. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 117–118. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.
↑ ^7.0 ^7.1 ^7.2 Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 121. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.
↑ ^8.0 ^8.1 Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 121–122. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.
↑ ^9.0 ^9.1 ^9.2 Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 118–119. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.
↑ ^10.0 ^10.1 Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 118–119. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.
↑ ^11.0 ^11.1 Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 119–120. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.
↑ ^12.0 ^12.1 Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 119–120. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.
↑ ^13.0 ^13.1 Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 126–127. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.
↑ Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 126–127. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.
↑ ^15.0 ^15.1 Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 122–123. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.
↑ Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 122–123. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.
↑ Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 125–126. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.
↑ Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 124–125. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.
↑ Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 124. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.
↑ Kerasheva, Z. I. (1957) (in ru). Maykop: Adyghe Book Publishing House (Адыгейское книжное издательство).
↑ Палатализация (смягчение) и аффрикатизация согласных Script error: The function "in_lang" does not exist.
↑ Переднеязычные мягкие шипящие аффрикаты дж, ч, к1 Script error: The function "in_lang" does not exist.
↑ Консонантная система уляпского говора в сопоставлении с аналогами других диалектов адыгских языков Script error: The function "in_lang" does not exist.
↑ NUP 1996, p. 11.
↑ ^25.0 ^25.1 Kerasheva, Z. I. (1957) (in ru). Особенности шапсугского диалекта адыгейского языка. Maykop: Адыгейское книжное издательство. p. 30.
↑ ^26.0 ^26.1 Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 118. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.
↑ ^27.0 ^27.1 ^27.2 Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 127. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.
↑ Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 125. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.
↑ Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 120. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.
↑ ^30.0 ^30.1 ^30.2 ^30.3 ^30.4 ^30.5 ^30.6 Rogava, G. V.; Kerasheva, Z. I. (1966) (in ru). Грамматика адыгейского языка. Krasnodar, Maykop: Краснодарское книжное издательство. p. 102.
↑ ^31.0 ^31.1 ^31.2 ^31.3 Rogava, G. V.; Kerasheva, Z. I. (1966) (in ru). Грамматика адыгейского языка. Krasnodar, Maykop: Краснодарское книжное издательство. p. 103.
↑ Rogava, G. V.; Kerasheva, Z. I. (1966) (in ru). Грамматика адыгейского языка. Krasnodar, Maykop: Краснодарское книжное издательство. p. 105.
↑ ^33.0 ^33.1 Kumakhov, M. A. (1989). Sravnitel'no-istoricheskaya grammatika adygskikh (cherkesskikh) yazykov [Comparative-historical grammar of the Adyghe (Circassian) languages]. Moscow: Nauka, pp. 218-220.
↑ ^34.0 ^34.1 Matasović, Ranko (2010). A Short Grammar of Kabardian. Zagreb: University of Zagreb. p. 35.
↑ ^35.0 ^35.1 Urys, H. Sh. (2001). Adyghe Grammatike: Fonetike, Morfonemike, Morfologie [Adyghe Grammar: Phonetics, Morphonemics, Morphology]. Nalchik: Elbrus.
↑ ^36.0 ^36.1 ^36.2 Рогава Г. В., Керашева З. И. (1966). Грамматика адыгейского языка [Grammar of the Adyghe language]. Krasnodar: Krasnodarskoe knizhnoe izdatel'stvo. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Rogava1966" defined multiple times with different content
↑ Kumakhov, M., & Vamling, K. Circassian Clause Structure. Malmö University, 2009. — p. 43.
↑ Kumakhov, M., & Vamling, K. Circassian Clause Structure. Malmö University, 2009. — p. 41, 48.
↑ Кумахов М. А. Морфология адыгских языков. Синхронно-диахронная характеристика. Москва—Нальчик, 1964. (From the section on the substantivization of verbal forms).
↑ Аркадьев П. М. и др. Основные сведения об адыгейском языке. Москва, 2009. — p. 58-59.
↑ Kumakhov, M., & Vamling, K. Circassian Clause Structure. Malmö University, 2009. — p. 49.
↑ Рогава Г. В., Керашева З. И. Грамматика адыгейского языка. Краснодар, 1966. — p. 215-222.
↑ Яковлев Н. Ф., Ашхамаф Д. А. Грамматика адыгейского литературного языка. М.-Л., 1941. — p. 173, 239, 314.
↑ Kumakhov, M.; Vamling, K. (2009). Circassian Clause Structure. Malmö University. p. 44.
↑ Yakovlev, N. F.; Ashkhamaf, D. A. (1941) (in ru). Грамматика адыгейского литературного языка. Moscow-Leningrad. as cited in Kumakhov, M. A. (1964) (in ru). Морфология адыгских языков. Moscow-Nalchik. p. 21.
↑ Кумахов М. А. Морфология адыгских языков. Синхронно-диахронная характеристика. Москва—Нальчик, 1964. — p. 74-75.
↑ Кумахов М. А. Морфология адыгских языков. Синхронно-диахронная характеристика. Москва—Нальчик, 1964. — p. 24.
↑ Кумахов М. А. Морфология адыгских языков. Синхронно-диахронная характеристика. Москва—Нальчик, 1964. — p. 75.
↑ Кумахов М. А. Морфология адыгских языков. Синхронно-диахронная характеристика. Москва—Нальчик, 1964. (From the section on the substantivization of verbal forms).
↑ Рогава Г. В. К вопросу о структуре именных основ и категории грамматических классов в адыгских (черкесских) языках. Тбилиси, 1956. (As cited in Этимологический словарь адыгских языков, p. 30).
↑ Яковлев Н. Ф., Ашхамаф Д. А. Грамматика адыгейского литературного языка. М.-Л., 1941.
↑ Kumakhov, M., & Vamling, K. Circassian Clause Structure. Malmö University, 2009. — p. 155-156.
↑ Гишев Н. Т. Глаголы лабильной конструкции в адыгейском языке. Майкоп, 1968. — p. 30.
↑ Яковлев Н. Ф. Грамматика литературного кабардино-черкесского языка. М.-Л., 1948. (From the section discussing the centrifugal and centripetal meanings of vowel alternation).
↑ Яковлев Н. Ф., Ашхамаф Д. А. Грамматика адыгейского литературного языка. М.-Л., 1941.
↑ Яковлев Н. Ф., Ашхамаф Д. А. Грамматика адыгейского литературного языка. М.-Л., 1941. — p. 45.
↑ Kumakhov, M., & Vamling, K. Circassian Clause Structure. Malmö University, 2009. — p. 85-86.
↑ Typology of Morphosyntactic Parameters 2017, Moscow — "Circassian directional markers and the typology of inverse" — Peter M. Arkadiev.
↑ Kumakhov, Mukhadin; Vamling, Karina (2009). Circassian Clause Structure. Caucasus Studies 1. Malmö: Malmö University, Department of International Migration and Ethnic Relations (IMER) / Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Linguistics. ISBN 978-91-7104-083-1, pp. 97–98.
↑ Yakovlev, N., and Ashkhamaf, D. (1941). Грамматика адыгейского литературного языка [Grammar of the Adyghe Literary Language]. Moscow/Leningrad: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, pp. 51–52.

Урыс Хь. Ш. (2000). Адыгэбзэм и тхыдэ: ІыхьитIу зэхэлъу. Налшык: Эльбрус. ISBN 5-7680-1439-X
Nikolayev, Sergei L.; Starostin, Sergei A. (1994). A North Caucasian Etymological Dictionary (Edited by S. A. Starostin). Moscow: Asterisk Publishers. Preface.
Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. Leiden, The Netherlands: Research School CNWS, School of Asian, African, and Amerindian Studies (CNWS Publications, Vol. 48). ISBN 90-73782-73-2.
Kuipers, Aert Hendrik (1975). A Dictionary of Proto-Circassian Roots (PdR Press Publications on North Caucasian Languages 1). Lisse, Netherlands: The Peter de Ridder Press. PDF.

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[1] Kuipers, A. H. (1975). A Dictionary of Proto-Circassian Roots. PdR Press Publications on North Caucasian Languages 1. Lisse: The Peter de Ridder Press. pp. 11ff..

[2] Jakovlev, N. F. (1927). Materialy dlja kabardinskogo slovarja.

[3] Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 109–116. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.

[4] Nikolayev, S. L.; Starostin, S. A. (1994). A North Caucasian Etymological Dictionary. Moscow: Asterisk Publishers. pp. 197–199.

[Chirikba117-5] 5.0 ^5.1 ^5.2 ^5.3 Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 117. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.

[Chirikba117t-6] 6.0 ^6.1 Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 117–118. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.

[Chirikba121c-7] 7.0 ^7.1 ^7.2 Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 121. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.

[Chirikba121z-8] 8.0 ^8.1 Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 121–122. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.

[Chirikba118k-9] 9.0 ^9.1 ^9.2 Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 118–119. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.

[Chirikba118kw-10] 10.0 ^10.1 Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 118–119. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.

[Chirikba119q-11] 11.0 ^11.1 Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 119–120. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.

[Chirikba119qw-12] 12.0 ^12.1 Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 119–120. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.

[Chirikba126sh-13] 13.0 ^13.1 Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 126–127. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.

[Chirikba126shx-14] Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 126–127. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.

[Chirikba122ch-15] 15.0 ^15.1 Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 122–123. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.

[Chirikba122back-16] Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 122–123. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.

[Chirikba125z-17] Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 125–126. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.

[Chirikba124cp-18] Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 124–125. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.

[Chirikba124dz-19] Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 124. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.

[Kerasheva1957-20] Kerasheva, Z. I. (1957) (in ru). Maykop: Adyghe Book Publishing House (Адыгейское книжное издательство).

[21] Палатализация (смягчение) и аффрикатизация согласных Script error: The function "in_lang" does not exist.

[22] Переднеязычные мягкие шипящие аффрикаты дж, ч, к1 Script error: The function "in_lang" does not exist.

[UlyapskySystem-23] Консонантная система уляпского говора в сопоставлении с аналогами других диалектов адыгских языков Script error: The function "in_lang" does not exist.

[FOOTNOTENUP199611-24] NUP 1996, p. 11.

[Kerasheva1957b-25] 25.0 ^25.1 Kerasheva, Z. I. (1957) (in ru). Особенности шапсугского диалекта адыгейского языка. Maykop: Адыгейское книжное издательство. p. 30.

[Chirikba118kp-26] 26.0 ^26.1 Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 118. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.

[Chirikba127x-27] 27.0 ^27.1 ^27.2 Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 127. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.

[Chirikba125sp-28] Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 125. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.

[Chirikba120qp-29] Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996). Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. CNWS Publications. 48. Leiden: Research School CNWS. pp. 120. ISBN 90-73782-73-2.

[Rogava102-30] 30.0 ^30.1 ^30.2 ^30.3 ^30.4 ^30.5 ^30.6 Rogava, G. V.; Kerasheva, Z. I. (1966) (in ru). Грамматика адыгейского языка. Krasnodar, Maykop: Краснодарское книжное издательство. p. 102.

[Rogava103-31] 31.0 ^31.1 ^31.2 ^31.3 Rogava, G. V.; Kerasheva, Z. I. (1966) (in ru). Грамматика адыгейского языка. Krasnodar, Maykop: Краснодарское книжное издательство. p. 103.

[Rogava105-32] Rogava, G. V.; Kerasheva, Z. I. (1966) (in ru). Грамматика адыгейского языка. Krasnodar, Maykop: Краснодарское книжное издательство. p. 105.

[Kumakhov1989-33] 33.0 ^33.1 Kumakhov, M. A. (1989). Sravnitel'no-istoricheskaya grammatika adygskikh (cherkesskikh) yazykov [Comparative-historical grammar of the Adyghe (Circassian) languages]. Moscow: Nauka, pp. 218-220.

[Matasovic2010-34] 34.0 ^34.1 Matasović, Ranko (2010). A Short Grammar of Kabardian. Zagreb: University of Zagreb. p. 35.

[Urys2001-35] 35.0 ^35.1 Urys, H. Sh. (2001). Adyghe Grammatike: Fonetike, Morfonemike, Morfologie [Adyghe Grammar: Phonetics, Morphonemics, Morphology]. Nalchik: Elbrus.

[Rogava1966-36] 36.0 ^36.1 ^36.2 Рогава Г. В., Керашева З. И. (1966). Грамматика адыгейского языка [Grammar of the Adyghe language]. Krasnodar: Krasnodarskoe knizhnoe izdatel'stvo. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Rogava1966" defined multiple times with different content

[37] Kumakhov, M., & Vamling, K. Circassian Clause Structure. Malmö University, 2009. — p. 43.

[38] Kumakhov, M., & Vamling, K. Circassian Clause Structure. Malmö University, 2009. — p. 41, 48.

[39] Кумахов М. А. Морфология адыгских языков. Синхронно-диахронная характеристика. Москва—Нальчик, 1964. (From the section on the substantivization of verbal forms).

[40] Аркадьев П. М. и др. Основные сведения об адыгейском языке. Москва, 2009. — p. 58-59.

[41] Kumakhov, M., & Vamling, K. Circassian Clause Structure. Malmö University, 2009. — p. 49.

[42] Рогава Г. В., Керашева З. И. Грамматика адыгейского языка. Краснодар, 1966. — p. 215-222.

[43] Яковлев Н. Ф., Ашхамаф Д. А. Грамматика адыгейского литературного языка. М.-Л., 1941. — p. 173, 239, 314.

[Kumakhov2009-44] Kumakhov, M.; Vamling, K. (2009). Circassian Clause Structure. Malmö University. p. 44.

[Yakovlev1941-45] Yakovlev, N. F.; Ashkhamaf, D. A. (1941) (in ru). Грамматика адыгейского литературного языка. Moscow-Leningrad. as cited in Kumakhov, M. A. (1964) (in ru). Морфология адыгских языков. Moscow-Nalchik. p. 21.

[46] Кумахов М. А. Морфология адыгских языков. Синхронно-диахронная характеристика. Москва—Нальчик, 1964. — p. 74-75.

[47] Кумахов М. А. Морфология адыгских языков. Синхронно-диахронная характеристика. Москва—Нальчик, 1964. — p. 24.

[48] Кумахов М. А. Морфология адыгских языков. Синхронно-диахронная характеристика. Москва—Нальчик, 1964. — p. 75.

[49] Кумахов М. А. Морфология адыгских языков. Синхронно-диахронная характеристика. Москва—Нальчик, 1964. (From the section on the substantivization of verbal forms).

[50] Рогава Г. В. К вопросу о структуре именных основ и категории грамматических классов в адыгских (черкесских) языках. Тбилиси, 1956. (As cited in Этимологический словарь адыгских языков, p. 30).

[51] Яковлев Н. Ф., Ашхамаф Д. А. Грамматика адыгейского литературного языка. М.-Л., 1941.

[52] Kumakhov, M., & Vamling, K. Circassian Clause Structure. Malmö University, 2009. — p. 155-156.

[53] Гишев Н. Т. Глаголы лабильной конструкции в адыгейском языке. Майкоп, 1968. — p. 30.

[54] Яковлев Н. Ф. Грамматика литературного кабардино-черкесского языка. М.-Л., 1948. (From the section discussing the centrifugal and centripetal meanings of vowel alternation).

[55] Яковлев Н. Ф., Ашхамаф Д. А. Грамматика адыгейского литературного языка. М.-Л., 1941.

[56] Яковлев Н. Ф., Ашхамаф Д. А. Грамматика адыгейского литературного языка. М.-Л., 1941. — p. 45.

[57] Kumakhov, M., & Vamling, K. Circassian Clause Structure. Malmö University, 2009. — p. 85-86.

[58] Typology of Morphosyntactic Parameters 2017, Moscow — "Circassian directional markers and the typology of inverse" — Peter M. Arkadiev.

[kumakhov2009-59] Kumakhov, Mukhadin; Vamling, Karina (2009). Circassian Clause Structure. Caucasus Studies 1. Malmö: Malmö University, Department of International Migration and Ethnic Relations (IMER) / Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Linguistics. ISBN 978-91-7104-083-1, pp. 97–98.

[Yakovlev1941_51-60] Yakovlev, N., and Ashkhamaf, D. (1941). Грамматика адыгейского литературного языка [Grammar of the Adyghe Literary Language]. Moscow/Leningrad: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, pp. 51–52.

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Social:Proto-Circassian language

Phonology

Consonants

Shifts

Specific Shifts

Aspirated, plain and tense consonants

Bilabial p

Dental t

Front affricate t͡s

Middle affricate t͡ɕʷ (labialized)

Palatal affricate kʲ → t͡ʃ

Labialized velar kʷ

Uvular q

Labialized uvular qʷ

Postalveolar fricative ʃ

Postalveolar fricative ʃ (additional lax–tense reflexes)

Back affricates t͡ʃ / t͡ʂ (tense)

Back affricates t͡ʃ (lax and plain, full dialect reflexes)

Front affricate t͡s (additional lax–tense reflexes)

Back spirant ʒ (voiced)

The Two Major Shifts

Phase 1: Spirantization (Affricate → Fricative)

Phase 2: Velar Palatalization

Summary of Dialectal Evolution

Introduction of Labiodental Fricatives

Western Shift (Velar to Labiodental)

Eastern Shift (Sibilant to Labiodental)

Divergence Example: "Light" vs. "Blind"

Morphological Impact: Benefactive vs. Malefactive Prefixes

Glottalized uvular qʼ

Grammar

Dynamic prefix *wa-

The мэ- (ma-) Mutation

Intransitive Verbs with Spatial Prefixes

Bivalent Intransitive Verbs

Distinguishing the Tense Marker from the Pronoun

Transitive Dynamic Verbs

Function in Static and Dynamic Counterparts

Deriving from Nouns and Adjectives

Terminal Vowel Retention

Transitive Static Verbs

Dynamic present suffix *-r

Negative prefix *mə-

Past Tense in Proto-Circassian

Future Tense in Proto-Circassian

Fossilized Noun Classes

Labile Verbs

Vowel Gradation (Ablaut) for Transitivity

The "Amorphous" Noun

Numbers

Verb Conjugation

Monovalent Intransitive Verbs conjugation (Proto-Circassian)

How the arguments are marked

Bivalent Intransitive Verbs conjugation (Proto-Circassian)

How the arguments are marked

A few specifics

Third-person oblique object marking (Adyghe vs Kabardian)

Bivalent Intransitive Reflexive Verbs conjugation (Proto-Circassian)

Bivalent Transitive Verb conjugation (Proto-Circassian)

How the arguments are marked

Bivalent Transitive Reflexive Verbs conjugation (Proto-Circassian)

Trivalent Ditransitive Verbs conjugation (Proto-Circassian)

How the arguments are marked

Trivalent Ditransitive Reflexive Verbs conjugation (Proto-Circassian)

Schleicher's fable

See also

References

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