From a morphological perspective, adjectives in the Circassian languages (Adyghe and Kabardian) share many characteristics with nouns. A key feature of Circassian grammar is phrase-final affixation: when an adjective modifies a noun, the noun itself usually remains in its bare stem form. The grammatical markers for number (plurality) and case (role in the sentence) attach to the end of the entire noun phrase—which usually means they attach to the adjective.Рогава & Керашева (1966), pp. 112–115.

Adjectives are categorized into two main types: Qualitative adjectives: Describe qualities (e.g., "good", "white", "tall"). These usually follow the noun. Relative (Material) adjectives: Describe material or relation (e.g., "wood", "iron"). These usually precede the noun and do not change form.Matasović (2010), pp. 25–27.

The two literary Circassian languages, Adyghe (West Circassian) and Kabardian (East Circassian), behave almost identically with respect to adjectives; the differences are mostly in the specific lexical and phonological shapes of the words and a handful of suffixes. Where the two languages share an example or explanation, they are presented side by side below.

Phrase-Final Affixation Unlike in languages like Spanish or Russian where both the noun and adjective agree (change form), in Circassian only the last word in the phrase takes the suffix.Arkadiev et al. (2009), pp. 45–48.

Example 1: Qualitative Adjective (Follows Noun) Here, the noun is "girl" ( in Adyghe, in Kabardian) and the adjective is (beautiful), which is shared by both languages.

Number Language Phrase Breakdown Gloss Translation Singular Adyghe пшъэшъэ дахэ-р girl beautiful-ABS "The beautiful girl" Kabardian пщащэ дахэ-р girl beautiful-ABS "The beautiful girl" Plural Adyghe пшъэшъэ дахэ-хэ-р girl beautiful-PL-ABS "The beautiful girls" Kabardian пщащэ дахэ-хэ-р girl beautiful-PL-ABS "The beautiful girls"

Example 2: Suffixal Adjective (Augmentative) Some adjectives function as suffixes themselves, like "large/big" ( in Adyghe, in Kabardian). The case and number markers still attach to the very end.

Number Language Phrase Breakdown Gloss Translation Singular Adyghe унэ-шхо house-large "A large house" Kabardian унэ-шхуэ-р house-large-ABS "The large house" Plural Adyghe унэ-шхо-хэ-р house-large-PL-ABS "The large houses" Kabardian унэ-шхуэ-хэ-р house-large-PL-ABS "The large houses"

Declension When an adjective is used substantively (as a noun, e.g., "the white one"), it takes the standard noun case markers directly.Урыс (2001), pp. 89–90.

Example: "White" ( in Adyghe, in Kabardian)

Case Adyghe Kabardian Singular Plural Singular Plural Absolutive р хэр р хэр Oblique / Ergative м хэм м хэм Instrumental (м)кӀэ хэ(м)кӀэ (м)кӀэ хэ(м)кӀэ Adverbial эу хэу у ху

Adjective Position Examples

Type Language Phrase Breakdown Gloss Translation Qualitative(Follows Noun) Adyghe кӀэлэ дэгъу-р boy good-ABS "The good boy" Kabardian щӀалэ дэгъу-р boy good-ABS "The good boy" Adyghe унэ лъагэ-м house high-ERG "The high house (Erg/Obl)" Kabardian унэ лъагэ-м house high-ERG "The high house (Erg/Obl)" Relative(Precedes Noun) Adyghe гъучӀ пӀэкӀор-ыр iron bed-ABS "The iron bed" Kabardian гъущӀ пӀэкӀор-ыр iron bed-ABS "The iron bed" Adyghe пхъэ уатэ-мкӀэ wood hammer-INS "Using the wooden hammer" Kabardian пхъэ уадэ-мкӀэ wood hammer-INS "Using the wooden hammer"

Usage in SentencesMatasović (2010), pp. 28–30.

Language Sentence Gloss Function Translation Adyghe I today girl beautiful saw A O VERB "I saw a beautiful girl today." Kabardian I today girl beautiful saw A O VERB "I saw a beautiful girl today." Adyghe We road straight-OBL walked-on S IO VERB "We were walking on the straight road." Kabardian We road straight-OBL walked-on S IO VERB "We were walking on the straight road." Adyghe Boy strong-ABS goes S VERB "The strong boy is going." Kabardian Boy strong-ABS goes S VERB "The strong boy is going."

Comparison Adjectives have comparative and superlative forms used to express degrees of quality.Рогава & Керашева (1966), pp. 120–122.

Comparative Degree Formed using the auxiliary word "more" ( in Adyghe, in Kabardian).

Language Sentence Gloss Translation Adyghe He you-than more high "He is higher than you." Kabardian He that-one-than more high "He is higher than that one." Adyghe More big became "He became bigger." Kabardian More big became "He became bigger." Adyghe More brave become must "You must be braver." Kabardian More bravery show must "You must be braver."

Superlative Degree Formed using the auxiliary word "most/more than all" ( in Adyghe; or in Kabardian).

Language Sentence Gloss Translation Adyghe She girls-among most beautiful "She is the most beautiful among the girls." Kabardian She girls-among most beautiful "She is the most beautiful among the girls." Adyghe It all-among most high "It is the highest." Kabardian It all-among most high "It is the highest." Adyghe He everyone-among most strong "He is the strongest." Kabardian He everyone-among most strong "He is the strongest."

Affixes Various suffixes can be added to nouns and adjectives to modify their meaning (diminutives, augmentatives, intensifiers).Урыс (2001), pp. 95–98.

Suffixes for Nouns Meaning Adyghe suffix Adyghe example Kabardian suffix Kabardian example new ~кӀэ (~t͡ʃʼa) (new house) ~щӀэ (~ɕʼa) (new house) old ~жъы (~ʐə) (old house) ~жьы (~ʑə) (old house) large/big ~шхо (~ʃxʷa) (large house) ~шхуэ (~ʃxʷa) (large house) small ~цӀыкӀу (~t͡sʼəkʷʼ) (small house) ~цӀыкӀу (~t͡sʼəkʷʼ) (small house) small/tiny ~жъый (~ʐəj) (tiny house) (no distinct Kabardian suffix; cf. ~цӀыкӀу "small")

Suffixes for Adjectives Meaning Adyghe suffix Adyghe example Kabardian suffix Kabardian example slightly ~Ӏо (~ʔʷa) (slightly bitter) ~Ӏуэ (~ʔʷa) (slightly spicy) too much/excessively ~щэ (~ɕa) (too bitter) ~щэ (~ɕa) (too bitter) very ~дэд (~dad) (very good) ~дэд (~dad) (very good) absolutely/completely ~бз (~bz) (absolutely good) (no standard Kabardian equivalent) truly/really ~шъыпкъ (~ʂəpq) (really good) (no standard Kabardian equivalent) kind of/ish ~ашъу (~aːʃʷ) (kind of good/good-ish) (no standard Kabardian equivalent) quite/pretty ~кӀай (~t͡ʃʼaːj) (quite good) ~кӀей (~t͡ʃʼej) (pretty good) lacking/less ~нчъэ (~nt͡ʂa) (mindless) ~ншэ (~nʃa) (mindless)

Examples Language Sentence Breakdown Translation Adyghe big-slightly "This shirt is slightly big for you." Kabardian big-slightly "This shirt is slightly big for you." Adyghe big-too.much "This shirt is too large." Kabardian big-too.much "This shirt is too large." Adyghe beautiful-very "This painting is very beautiful." Kabardian beautiful-very "This painting is very beautiful."

Opinion (Psychological Predicates) To indicate that a quality is perceived by someone (an opinion or feeling), a prefix is added to the adjective ( (ʃʷʼa~) in Adyghe, (fʼa~) in Kabardian). This transforms the adjective into a verbal construction meaning "X is [ADJ] to Y".Arkadiev et al. (2009), pp. 60–63.

Meaning Adyghe (шӀо~) Kabardian (фӀэ~) Base adjective Derived form Base adjective Derived form pretty → "it is pretty to him/her" tasty → "it is tasty to him/her" red → "it looks red to him/her"

Language Sentence Gloss Translation Adyghe Boys.ERG 3PL-OPINION-pretty-NEG my-shirt "My shirt was not beautiful to the boys." Kabardian Boys.ERG 3PL-OPINION-pretty-NEG my-shirt "My shirt was not beautiful to the boys." Adyghe ... its-cost 2SG-OPINION-expensive-Q "Is this apple expensive to you?" Kabardian ... its-cost 2SG-OPINION-expensive-Q "Is this apple expensive to you?"

Scaliness (Abstract Nouns) The suffix (~ʁa) is appended to adjectives to turn them into abstract nouns representing the measure or quality itself (e.g., "length" from "long").Рогава & Керашева (1966), pp. 125–127.

Meaning (adjective → abstract noun) Adyghe Kabardian Base adjective Derived noun Base adjective Derived noun long → length fast → speed hot → heat strong → strength wide/thick → width/thickness beautiful → beauty tasty → tastiness

Language Sentence Gloss Translation Adyghe Wood-OBL its-width 65 cm "The wood's width is 65 centimeters." Kabardian Wood-OBL its-width 65 cm "The wood's width is 65 centimeters." Adyghe Boy-OBL strength lies-in "The boy has strength in him." Kabardian Boy-OBL strength lies-in "The boy has strength in him."

State of the Adjective The suffix (~ʁaːt͡ʃʼa) forms nouns meaning "the state/essence of being X", which is distinct from the measurable scale marked by ~гъэ.Урыс (2001), pp. 100–102.

Meaning (adjective → state noun) Adyghe Kabardian Base adjective Derived noun Base adjective Derived noun long → lengthiness pretty → prettiness strong → strongness good → goodness tasty → tastiness

Language Sentence Gloss Translation Adyghe Old-man-OBL his-goodness-state due-to... "Due to the old man's (inherent) goodness..." Kabardian Old-man-OBL his-goodness-state due-to... "Due to the old man's (inherent) goodness..."

Bibliography Аркадьев, П. М.; Ландер, Ю. А.; Летучий, А. Б.; Сумбатова, Н. Р.; Тестелец, Я. Г. Введение. Основные сведения об адыгейском языке в кн.: "Аспекты полисинтетизма: очерки по грамматике адыгейского языка" под ред.: П. М. Аркадьев, А. Б. Летучий, Н. Р. Сумбатова, Я. Г. Тестелец. Москва: РГГУ, 2009 (Arkadiev, P. M.; Lander, Yu. A.; Letuchiy, A. B.; Sumbatova, N. R.; Testelets, Ya. G. Introduction. Basic information about Adyghe language in "Aspects of polysyntheticity: studies on Adyghe grammar" edited by: P. M. Arkadiev, A. B. Letuchiy, N. R. Sumbatova, Ya. G. Testelets. Moscow, RGGU, 2009) (in Russian) Ranko Matasović, A Short Grammar of East Circassian (Kabardian): . Caucasus Studies 1 CIRCASSIAN Clause Structure Mukhadin Kumakhov & Karina Vamling Кумахов, М. А. Морфология адыгских языков. Синхронно-диахронная характеристика. I. Введение, структура слова, словообразование частей речи. Нальчик: Кабардино-Балкарское книжное издательство, 1964. Аркадьев, П. М.; Летучий, А. Б.; Сумбатова, Н. Р.; Тестелец, Я. Г. (ред.). Аспекты полисинтетизма: очерки по грамматике адыгейского языка. Москва: Российский государственный гуманитарный университет, 2009. Яковлев, Н. Ф. Краткая грамматика кабардино-черкесского языка. Выпуск I. Синтаксис и морфология. Ворошиловск: Орджоникидзевское краевое издательство, 1938. Яковлев, Н. Ф. Грамматика литературного кабардино-черкесского языка. Москва - Ленинград: Издательство Академии наук СССР, 1948. Абдоков, А. И. Фонетические и лексические параллели абхазско-адыгских языков. Нальчик, 1973. Шагиров, А. К. Этимологический словарь адыгских (черкесских) языков. А-Н. Москва: Издательство «Наука», 1977. Урыс, Хь. Щ. Адыгэ грамматикэ. Фонетикэ, морфонемикэ, морфологие. Налшык: «Эльбрус», 2001. Апажев, М. Л. Современный кабардино-черкесский язык. Лексикология, лексикография. Нальчик: «Эльбрус», 2000. Яковлев, Н.; Ашхамаф, Д. Грамматика адыгейского литературного языка. Москва - Ленинград: Издательство Академии наук СССР, 1941. Рогава, Г. В.; Керашева, З. И. Грамматика адыгейского языка. Краснодар - Майкоп: Краснодарское книжное издательство, 1966. Kumakhov, Mukhadin & Vamling, Karina. Circassian Clause Structure (Caucasus Studies 1). Malmö: Malmö University, 2009. Кумахов, Мухадин; Вамлинг, Карина. Дополнительные конструкции в кабардинском языке. Lund: Department of Linguistics, Lund University, 1998. Кумахов, Мухадин; Вамлинг, Карина. Эргативность в черкесских языках / Circassian Clause Structure. Malmö: Malmö University, 2006.

INS:instrumental case

| Adyghe | | ... apple-OBL its-tastiness-state ... | "I enjoy the apple's tastiness." |- | Kabardian | | ... apple-OBL its-tastiness-state ... | "I enjoy the apple's tastiness."

References

Bibliography