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!

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

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

Chapter 6. /6. Bölüm: Agree and refuse/ Rica etmek, redetmek

Chapter 6

                                                           A G R E E    AND   R E F U S E

                                                        R A Z I   O L M A, R E D D E T M E

                                                                Y É Z E Ğ I N, F E M I D E N

TO AGREE AND REFUSE	YÉZEĞIN, FEMIDEN	RAZI OLMA, REDDETME
Okay / Alright / Thats fine	Xhun	Olur
No/ Impossible/ No way	Xhunep	Olmaz
Good	Değu	İyi
Yes	Arı	Evet
No	Hauw, Hau' (hau‘ -> the „u“ is cut off half through, you start to pronounce the u, but dont finish it)	Hayır
Thats the situation	Arı zereşıtır	Öyle durum(u)
I agree / I give my consent.	Déseğaşte / sıkhézeğı	Katılıyorum / Razı oluyorum
I agree with you	Khıbdéseğaşte (khıjüdéseğaşte = to a group)	Sana katılıyorum (size katılıyorum)
With pleasure	Siguapeuw	Memnuniyetle
Im fine with this.	Mışç'e sıkhézeğı	Bundan (dolayı) razıyım
Great idea!	Gupşıse ş'ağu!	Harika fikir!
Interesting idea!	Gupşıse ğeş'eğon!	İlginç fikir!
I find this relieving/ relaxing.	Mır serç'e tınçığu	Bu bence rahatlatıcı
Thats  how it is.	Arıştın	Öyledir (sanırım )
You are right.	Wuzaf (şüzaf) / Wuterez (şüterez)	Haklısın (haklısınız)
You are right.	Wuterez (şüterez)	Doğrusun (doğrusunuz)
Correct /True	Terez	Doğru.
Its true indeed.	Terez ded	Doğrudur
Thats not right / Not true/ Wrong	Terezep, Terez dedep	Doğru değil
Wrong	Pxenc	Yanlış.
True, Correct	Şşıpkhe	Gerçek
Thats not the truth.	Şşıpkhep, Şşıpkhe dedep	Gerçek değil
Thats a lie.	Pts'ı	Yalan
No, thank you.	Hauw, thawuéğepseuw	Hayır, teşekkür ederim
No, unfortunately I cannot do that.	Hauw, guxeç' nah mış'emi sfeş'eştep	Hayır, maalesef yapamam
I agree with you ( literally: I think the same way as you)	Seri woş féde ségupşıse	Bende senin gibi düşünüyorum
I totally agree with you on this subject.	Mı ofımç'e t'ek'u khıbdézğaşterep (Mı ofımç'e t'ek'u khıjüdézğaşterep = to a group)	Bu konuda sana tamamen katılmıyorum
We totally disagree with you on this subject (said from a group to a group)	Mı ofımç'e t'ek'u khıjüdédğaşterep	Bu konuda size tamamen katılmıyoruz
We have different ideas on this matter.	Mı ofımç‘e worıre tıguzetéferep	Bu konuda seninle aynı fikirde değilim
No, thats not the case/ situation.	Hauw, arep zereşitır	Hayır, öyle değil durum(u)
Quite the opposite!	Zepırığezağeuw!	Tam tersi (aksi)!
I dont accept/agree.	Se zderep	Ben kabul etmiyorum
I am willing.	Sırıraz (tırıraz)	Razıyım (razıyız)
We are willing.	Sıkhézeğı (tıkhézeğı)	Razıyım (razıyız)
I am not willing ( we are not willing)	Sırırazep (tırırazep)	Razı değilim (değiliz)
Im not willing	Sıkhézeğırep (tıkhézeğırep)	Razı değilim (değiliz)
Youre making a mistake.	Wuxewukho (şüxewukho)	Hata yapıyorsun (yapıyorsunuz)
Im sorry, but I have work/stuff to do.	Khısfeğeğu, auw ofxer si'ex	Özür dilerım, ama işlerim var(lar)
I dont have the possibility.	Amal si'ep	İmkanım yok
Dont worry.	Wumıgumeç' (şümıgumeç'), Wumıgu'a (şümıgu'a)	Tasalanma (tasalanmayın)
Dont get yourself in trouble.	Zémığez	Zora (sıkıntıya) girme (girmeyin)
Dont put me in a uncomfortable position/ Don’t get me in trouble.	Sémığez	Zora (sıkıntıya) sokma (beni)
Dont get me in trouble.	Séşümığez (to a group)	Zora (sıkıntıya) sokmayın (beni)

Chapter 5/ 5. Bölüm: Asking for permission, Rica etmek

Chapter  5

                                               A S K I N G   F O R   F A V O R S

                                                         R I C A   E T M E K

                                                            Ç' E L H E' U N

ASKING FOR A FAVOR/  PERMISSION	Ç'ELHE'UN	RİCA
May I come in?	Sıkhihaneuw xhuşta?	Girebilir miyim?
Could you help me?	Wukhızde'apı'aşüna (şükhızde'apı'aşüna= to a group)	Bana yardım edebilir misin (misiniz)?
Would you give me… please?	…-r khıseptına (khıseşütına), haşxum?	Bana ... verir misin (misiniz) lütfen?
Please wait for me.	Mouw, khısajjeba (şükhısajjeba)	Beni bekle (bekleyiniz) lütfen
Can I smoke here?	Tutın wuşéşö xhuşta?	Sigara içilebilir mi?
I would like to invite you to the theatre.	Téatrem wukhézğebleğeneuw sıfay	Tiyatroya seni davet etmeyi istiyorum
I want to invite you to the restaurant.	Şxap‘em wukhézğebleğeneuw sıfay	Lokantaya seni davet etmeyi istiyorum
With pleasure.	Siguapeuw / Sigope dedeuw	Memnuniyetle
Thank you for inviting, but I will be working that time.	Sızerébğeblağerem payé thawuéğepseuw, auw a wuaxhtem ofxer si'eştıx	Beni davet ettiğinden dolayı için sağol, ama o vakitlerde işlerim olacak
Where (When) will we meet?	Tıde (sıdiğua) tızerel‘eğuşta?	Nerede (ne zaman) görüşeceğiz?
Is this time working good for you?	Mı wuaxhter khıwok'ua (khışök'ua)?	Bu vakit sizin için uygun mu?
Could I sleep over at your place tonight?	Zıgoreç'e şüadejı nıçepe sibğel‘ın pl‘eç'ına?	Bu gece sizde kalmam mümküm mü?
Thats fine, if you dont mind staying at our house, youre very welcome.	Sl‘eç'ışt, tiwune(tiuwne) şül‘ın şü'ome şüfit, şükhéblağex	Mümkün (benim için), (bizim) evimizde yatarsınız diyorsanız sizin elinizde, buyrun
Please come in (please sit).	Mouw, yiheba (şüiheba) (khet'ısba (şükhet'ısba))	Gir (girin) (otur (oturun)), lütfen