How to pronounce the letter "LH" in Adigabze

Adigabze is not only difficult because of its grammar and vocabulary, the main problem for beginners is always the pronounciation of letters. The Circassian language features a variety of unique letters which may be tricky for our tongues.

One of those letters and certainly the most difficult to pronounce is the letter 
"LH"  (as in Adige Lhepk =Adige nation or people).
We might be the only nation to use this unique sound, that being said beginners will face hard times with it, only being able to either make their L's sound heavier or spit all over their chat partners faces.

There are few things to help yourself with the pronounciation in general; try listening to as much Circassian music as possible, getting your ears used to it and eventually hum along. Another great way to learn the spelling is listening to native Adigabze speakers. 


I tried spelling the "LH" sound numerous times and finally figured out a way to master it: 

1. Press the tip of your tongue against your upper teeth, the side of the tongue against your right or left cheek

2. Now you should feel like there is a gap; press air through it without making a sound! Remember: LH is not a vowel! 


If you manage to do produce the sound, immediately try saying "Adige lhepk" and repeat these two words until you're really sure that you got it. 

Let me know how it worked out for you =)

Wothej!

Begin with a prayer

„ O mankind! We created you from a single pair of a male and a female,

and made you into nations and tribes,

that ye may know each other not that ye may despise each other.

Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you.

And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).“

                                                                              (49. Al Hujurat: 13)

Adigabze

„ Yey ts1ifxer! Shipkxemc1e te shükxixedghexuc1igh shö zi xure bzirem.

Yic1iy shütsh1ig, lhepkh lhepkhew, lhekue lhakue,

shüzeresh1enim paye sh1üdedew xebze- bzipxhec1e.

Shipkhemc1e shüanax lhap1er Tham dejc1e,  anahew Ash sh1ölhic1irer aric1e.

Shipkhemc1e Thar ari zish1aperer zec1e, ashighuezaper zec1eme.“

Kabardeyibze

„Yey ts1ixuxe! Pejirashiy, de fikhixedghesh1ic1ash fe zi xhure bzim.

Fitsh1ash yic1iy lhpekh lhepkiw lhekue lhakue,

fizerish1enim papsh1e f1ishew xabze bzipxhec1e.

Pejirashiy, fanex lhap1er tham dejc1e, Abi nex f1elic1ir arac1e.

Pejirashiy, Tharash zish1aper zedic1e, yashiguezaper zedic1eme.“ 

FAHRI HUVAJ- LEARN ADIGABZE

Wumafe sh1u dear people, 

it has been quite some time since I received one of the most meaningful and prolific presents in my life, the book about learning Adigabze by the honorable Fahri Huvaj. 

Having said that I couldn't give it my full attention due to exams and stress at University. Now that I'm finally in my holidays I will start translating it.

Since I am a beginner myself and didn't master our beautiful but oh so difficult language yet, I hope this will be an asset to all the eager patriots out there trying to learn their mother tongue. 

Finally, I want to thank Mithaq Hachatsouk from Amman who sent me this masterpiece. 

Bu blogu türkiyedeki takip eden arkadaslar icin:

Fahri Huvaj beyin kitapi online versiyon olarak duruyor bende, isteyen lütfen bu adrese mail atsin: 

                                    tsashem@cerkesya.org

A personal story about the Circassian language from Aibek Napso

Today I had the honour to get an article for my blog from Aibek Napso. 
For those who dont know Aibek, he has been working a long time for the Circassian heritage center in Kfar Kama, widely known as the "Circassian museum" throughout the diaspora. 
Aibek among other things reached his popularity with the interviews he made, his most famous interviewees include Aslan Tlebzu and Bibars Natho. 

The best aspect of this allrounder Adige which is most likely to be neglected is his ability to teach the Circassian language in a most perfect manner. 
So today we had another nice conversation which I decided to write down and publish on my blog, simply because this little story may make a big difference some day. Enjoy the read! 

Dear friends,

This is Aibek’s corner and as the first article from me on this blog I would like to start off by telling a personal story.

It happened when I was young, around the age of 18, the age in which we thought that we are men.

At this age you are full of self-confidence and somehow it’s also the age in which you show interest in meeting girls, trying to impress them somehow, showing them “I am the man”.

As a young Circassian man who lives in a foreign country I witnessed many friends going out to clubs, pubs, restaurants to meet girls. That was when I noticed that we are different, that I cannot do such things.

I am Adiga!

I have a different religion, culture, traditions and most importantly a different language.

Its common sense that one of the hard aspects in a relationship is the spoken native language; if you want to communicate you have to speak a language which will be understood by both sides.

That was when I felt like I was struck with a hammer. I said Aibek, the ones who share a native language don’t date or go out with each other.

So I turned to my friends and asked them, guys, how did our ancestors impress the girls?

What would have been their option if they couldn’t speak the language?

Of course, they had something to reply to this.

Aibek, we got the circle of dance at weddings, so you can go ahead and try to impress her with your dance.

That confused me. How can I get to know someone profoundly just by dancing? And what if she is not impressed at all?

So I continued to ask. What will you do after the dance?

Because that is where the good part starts.

After every wedding in the small Circassian villages the girls go somewhere in a closed group and sit and wait for the gentlemen to invite them to sit with them, you know for a conversation in the group.

Four to six guys would sit in the same yard with four or six girls and run the conversation, introduce each other, share funny stories and so on. This way we could find people with whom we “click” and eventually start to go out as a couple.

This is and will be one of the greatest aspects among our traditions, allowing girls and guys to sit together, letting them get to know each other.

So when my friends took me to such a group chat I was happy as a kid of course.

I had the most overwhelming emotions!

Oh my god, they speak my language! They understand me, there is no need to translate anything!

I also noticed that we understood each other so perfectly because we had lot in common. An example for this would be to say something which is related to our Xabza, seeing that everyone understands what I mean and there is no need to explain at all.

So week after week, wedding after wedding me and my friends used to spend all the summer time in the girls’ yards and have fun with them.

But since those happy days the world has changed.

As we are Circassians who live in the Diaspora it is very hard to find each other or talk to each other.

But its not the end of the world.

As the internet progressed in the last 10 years we did progress too, social networks like Facebook, VKontakte, Twitter and others opened a whole new world to us. In fact, it is much easier to find Circassian friends across the world over the internet than it was 10 years ago.

You can find and add them on all the social websites that I mentioned above.

The question now, what are we doing with that?

One of the greatest social tools when it comes to online communication is Skype. We are teaching Adigabze on Skype!

If you went to your parents 10 years ago and told them, “Mom, Dad, I talked with Circassian friends from USA and Jordan” the first thing they would think and say would be “Oh my god, we don’t have the money for calls like that!”

Today that behavior has changed of course.

The idea to gather Circassians from the Diaspora and make a Circassian language class is more than just another ordinary lesson on skype.

First benefit is that Circassians from the Diaspora gather and have the chance to meet and make new friends. The second benefit is that we teach and learn our language, a language that we all can understand and speak with each other.

As I mentioned before, we need a common language to communicate.

This Skype project can lead to more projects, not only concerning language; it can become international and eventually build a strong social network among Circassians.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Circassian dictionairy for Android users/ Android kullananlar icin Adigabze sözlügü

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobiedge.dictionary

Watch "Finding Nemo" in Adigabze

Watch Finding Nemo in Adigabze

Chapter 7/ 7. Bölüm: Sadness and sorrow/ Üzüntü, acima

Chapter 7

                                               S A D N E S S    A N D    S O R R O W         

                                                          Ü Z Ü N T Ü, A C I M A

                                                 G U K H A U W, G U R   F E Ğ U N

SADNESS AND SORROW	GUKHAUW, GUR FEĞUN	ÜZÜNTÜ, ACIMA
Im sad (literally: My heart hurts)	Sıgu yéğu	Kalbim acıyor(ona) / Üzülüyorum
Im sorry/ Im sad about this.	Sıgu yéğuğ	Üzüldüm
Were sorry/ Were sad about this	Tıgu yéğuğ	Üzüldük
I am getting very sad.	Lheşeuw sıgu khéwo	Çok üzülüyorum
Im very sad.	Lheşeuw sıgu khéwuağ	Çok üzüldüm
Im very sorry/sad about this matter.	Mış feşşç'e lheşeuw sıgu khéwo	Bu husustan çok üzülüyorum
You made me loose my hope completely.	Lheşeuw sıgu k'odığ	Ben umudumu tamamen yitirdim
I feel sorry for you.	Sıgu khıpfeğu (khışüfeğu)	Sana (size) acıyorum
Thats why I feel sorry for them.	Auwşteuw zerexhuğem payé lheşeuw sıgu khéwo	Öylece olanlardan için çok üzülüyorum