Editing Abaza language

{{Short description|Northwest Caucasian language}}{{Expand language|topic=|langcode=fr|otherarticle=Abaza (langue)|date=February 2025}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Abaza
| nativename       = {{lang|abq|абаза бызшва}} {{tlit|abq|abaza byzshwa}}
| states           = [[North Caucasus]]
| region           = [[Karachay-Cherkessia]]
| ethnicity        = [[Abazins]]
| speakers         = 49,800
| date             = 2010–2014
| ref              = e19
| familycolor      = Caucasian
| fam1             = [[Northwest Caucasian languages|Northwest Caucasian]]
| fam2             = [[Abazgi languages|Abazgi]]
| nation           = {{flag|Russia}}<ul><li>{{flag|Karachay-Cherkessia}}</li></ul>
| iso3             = abq
| glotto           = abaz1241
| glottorefname    = Abaza
| notice           = IPA
| script           = [[Cyrillic]], [[Latin]]
| map              = Lang Status 60-DE.svg
| mapcaption       = {{center|{{small|Abaza is classified as Definitely Endangered by the [[UNESCO]] ''[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.wal.unesco.org/countries/russian-federation/languages/abaza |title=Abaza in Russian Federation 
|work=UNESCO WAL |access-date=22 June 2024}}</ref>}}}}
| dia1             = Ashkherewa
| dia2             = T'ap'anta
}}
'''Abaza''' ({{lang|abq|абаза бызшва}}, {{lang|abq-Latn|abaza byzshwa}}; {{langx|ady|абазэбзэ}}) is a [[Northwest Caucasian languages|Northwest Caucasian language]] spoken by [[Abazins]] in [[Russia]]. The language has gone through several different orthographies based primarily on Latin and Cyrillic letters. Its consonant-to-vowel ratio is remarkably high; making it quite similar to many other languages from the same parent chain. The language evolved in popularity{{clarify|reason=What is this referring to? Was there a lot of change in the language at the time or was it standardized at this time? What kind of "popularity"?|date=July 2019}} in the mid to late 1800s, but has become an endangered language.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The Structure and System in the Abaza Verbal Complex|journal=Transactions of the Philological Society|volume=55|pages=127–176|doi=10.1111/j.1467-968X.1956.tb00566.x|year = 1956|last1 = Allen|first1 = W. S.}}</ref>

Abaza is spoken by approximately 35,000 people in Russia, where it is written in a [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic alphabet]], as well as another 10,000 in [[Turkey]], where the [[Latin script]] is used.
It consists of two dialects, the Ashkherewa dialect and the T'ap'anta dialect, which is the literary standard. The language also consists of five subdialects known as Psyzh-Krasnovostok, Abazakt, Apsua, Kubin-Elburgan and Kuvin.<ref name="red book">{{Cite web|url=https://www.eki.ee/books/redbook/abazians.shtml|title=The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire|website=www.eki.ee|access-date=2017-02-10}}</ref>

Abaza, like its relatives in the family of [[Northwest Caucasian languages]], is a highly [[agglutinative language]]. For example, the verb in the English sentence "He couldn't make them give it back to her" contains four arguments (a term used in [[Valency (linguistics)|valency grammar]]): ''he'', ''them'', ''it'', ''to her''. Abaza marks arguments morphologically, and incorporates all four arguments as [[Pronoun|pronominal]] [[prefix]]es on the verb.<ref>Dixon, R.M.W. (2000). "A Typology of Causatives: Form, Syntax, and Meaning". In Dixon, R.M.W. & Aikhenvald, Alexendra Y. ''Changing Valency: Case Studies in Transitivity''. Cambridge University Press. p 57</ref>

It has a large consonantal inventory (63 phonemes) coupled with a minimal vowel inventory (two vowels). It is very closely related to [[Abkhaz language|Abkhaz]],<ref name=EB>{{cite encyclopedia |editor-first=Dale H. |editor-last=Hoiberg |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |title=Abkhaz |edition=15th |year=2010 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. |volume=I: A-ak Bayes |location=Chicago, Illinois |isbn=978-1-59339-837-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newencyclopaedia2009ency/page/33 33] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/newencyclopaedia2009ency/page/33 }}</ref> but it preserves a few phonemes which Abkhaz lacks, such as a [[voiced pharyngeal fricative]]. Work on Abaza has been carried out by W. S. Allen, Brian O'Herin, and [[John Colarusso]].

== History ==
Different forms of cultural assimilation contributed to its fall in use in areas of Russia, and over time its overall endangerment. The language can be broken into five different dialects and has several unique grammatical approaches to languages. The Abaza language was at its peak usage in the mid to late 19th century.

Abaza speakers along the Greater and Lesser Laba, Urup, and Greater and Lesser Zelenchuk rivers are from a wave of migrants in the 17th to 18th centuries who represent the Abaza speakers of today. The end of the Great Caucasian War in 1864 provided Russia with power and control of the local regions and contributed to the decrease in the popularity of pre-existing local languages prior to the war.

The Abaza language was not a written language until the Latin alphabet was adopted in 1932–1933 to write it. The Cyrillic script was later utilized to write the language in 1938. A small amount of books, pamphlets, and a newspaper were published in the Abaza language afterwards.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Akiner|first=Shirin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gd-3AAAAQBAJ|title=Islamic Peoples Of The Soviet Union|publisher=Routledge|year=1986|isbn=978-1-136-14274-1|pages=238–239|language=en}}</ref>

== Geographic distribution ==
The Abaza language is spoken in Russia and Turkey. Although it is endangered, it is still spoken in several regions in Russia. These include Kara-Pago, Kubina, Psyzh, El'burgan, Inzhich-Chukun, Koi-dan, Abaza-Khabl', Malo-Abazinka, Tapanta, Krasnovostochni, Novokuvinski, Starokuvinski, Abazakt and Ap-sua.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/10125/RS|title=Abaza in Russia}}</ref>

== Phonology ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Consonant phonemes of Abaza<ref name="caucpref">[http://starling.rinet.ru/Texts/caucpref.pdf Starostin, Sergei A.; Nikolayev, Sergei L. (1994). A North Caucasian Etymological Dictionary: Preface, pp. 194-196]</ref><ref name="TITUS">[http://titus.fkidg1.uni-frankfurt.de/didact/caucasus/nwkklaut.htm Consonant Systems of the North-West Caucasian Languages (TITUS DIDACTICA)]</ref>
|- 
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | 
! rowspan="2" | [[labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="2" | [[alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! colspan="3" | [[postalveolar consonant|Postalveolar]]
! colspan="3" | [[velar consonant|Velar]]
! colspan="3" | [[uvular consonant|Uvular]]
! colspan="2" | [[pharyngeal consonant|Pharyngeal]]
! rowspan="2" | [[glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|- class=small
! <small>plain</small>
! [[Sibilant|<small>sib.</small>]]
! <small>plain</small>
! [[Palatalization (phonetics)|<small>pal.</small>]]
! [[Labialization|<small>lab.</small>]]
! <small>plain</small>
! [[Palatalization (phonetics)|<small>pal.</small>]]
! [[Labialization|<small>lab.</small>]]
! <small>plain</small>
! [[Palatalization (phonetics)|<small>pal.</small>]]
! [[Labialization|<small>lab.</small>]]
! <small>plain</small>
! [[Labialization|<small>lab.</small>]]
|- 
! colspan=2 | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPAlink|m}}
| {{IPAlink|n}}
|
| 
|
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|- 
! rowspan="3" | [[Plosive consonant|Plosive]]/<br>[[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
! <small>[[voiceless]]</small>
| {{IPAlink|p}}
| {{IPAlink|t}}
|{{IPAlink|t͡s}}
|{{IPAlink|t̠͡ʃ}}
| {{IPAlink|t͡ɕ}}
|  {{IPAlink|t̠͡ʃʷ}}
| {{IPAlink|k}}
| {{IPAlink|kʲ}}
| {{IPAlink|kʷ}}
| {{IPAlink|q}}
| 
| {{IPAlink|qʷ}}
|
|
| {{IPAlink|ʔ}}
|-
!<small>[[ejective consonant|ejective]]</small>
|{{IPAlink|pʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|tʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|t͡sʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|t̠͡ʃʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|t͡ɕʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|t̠͡ʃʷʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|kʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|kʲʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|kʷʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|qʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|qʲʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|qʷʼ}}
|
|
|
|- 
! <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
| {{IPAlink|b}}
| {{IPAlink|d}}
|{{IPAlink|d͡z}}
|{{IPAlink|d̠͡ʒ}}
| {{IPAlink|d͡ʑ}}
| {{IPAlink|d̠͡ʒʷ}}
| {{IPAlink|ɡ}}
| {{IPAlink|ɡʲ}}
| {{IPAlink|ɡʷ}}
|
|
|
|
|
|
|- 
! rowspan="3" | [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
! <small>[[voiceless]]</small>
| {{IPAlink|f}}
| {{IPAlink|ɬ}}
| {{IPAlink|s}}
| {{IPAlink|ʃ}}
| {{IPAlink|ɕ}}
| {{IPAlink|ʃʷ}}
| {{IPAlink|x}}
| {{IPAlink|xʲ}}
| {{IPAlink|xʷ}}
|
|
|
| {{IPAlink|ħ}}
| {{IPAlink|ħʷ}}
|
|- 
! <small>[[ejective consonant|ejective]]</small>
| {{IPAlink|fʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|ɬʼ}}
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|- 
! <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
| {{IPAlink|v}}
| {{IPAlink|ɮ}}
| {{IPAlink|z}}
| {{IPAlink|ʒ}}
| {{IPAlink|ʑ}}
| {{IPAlink|ʒʷ}}
| {{IPAlink|ɣ}}
| {{IPAlink|ɣʲ}}
| {{IPAlink|ɣʷ}}
|
|
|
| rowspan="2" |{{IPAlink|ʕ}}
| rowspan="2" |{{IPAlink|ʕʷ}}
|
|- 
! colspan="2" | [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
|
|{{IPAlink|l}}
|
|
|
|
|
| {{IPAlink|j}}
| {{IPAlink|w}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
| {{IPAlink|r}}
|
|
|
| 
| 
| 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|}

The vowels {{IPA|[o, a, u]}} may have a {{IPAslink|j}} in front of it. The vowels {{IPAblink|e}} and {{IPAblink|i}} are allophones of {{IPAslink|a}} and {{IPAslink|ə}} (respectively) before palatalized consonants, while the vowels {{IPAblink|o}} and {{IPAblink|u}} are allophones of {{IPAslink|a}} and {{IPAslink|ə}} (respectively) before labialized consonants. The vowels {{IPAblink|e}}, {{IPAblink|o}}, {{IPAblink|i}}, and {{IPAblink|u}} can also occur as variants of the sequences /{{IPA|aj}}/, /{{IPA|aw}}/, /{{IPA|əj}}/ and /{{IPA|əw}}/.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! !! [[Front vowel|Front]] !! [[Central vowel|Central]] !! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| ({{IPAlink|i}}) || || ({{IPAlink|u}})
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| ({{IPAlink|e}}) || {{IPAlink|ə}} || ({{IPAlink|o}})
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
| ||{{IPAlink|a}} ||
|}

== Orthography ==

=== Arabic script ===
Around the late 19th to early 20th centuries, there were attempts to write Abaza with the Arabic script, but none of these attempts took hold.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Клычев |first=Р. Н. |title=Kavkazskie âzyki |last2=Чкадуа |first2=Л. П. |date=2001 |publisher=Academia |isbn=978-5-87444-079-4 |editor-last=Institut âzykoznaniâ |series=Âzyki mira |location=Moskva |chapter=Абазинский язык}}</ref>

=== Latin script (1932–1938) ===
[[File:Abaza latin alphabet.jpg|thumb|Abaza Latin alphabet]]
In 1932, the first widely used Abaza alphabet was created using the Latin script. It was used until 1938.<ref name="сердюченко">{{cite book |author=Г. П. Сердюченко |url=http://apsnyteka.org/file/serdyuchenko_g_abazinsky_alfavit_i_orfografia_1938.pdf |title=Абазинский алфавит и орфография на русской графической основе |date=1938 |publisher=Чернациздательство |location=Ежово-Черкесск |pages=26}}<!-- auto-translated from Russian by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
| style="width:5em;" |A a<br />{{IPA|[a]}}
| style="width:5em;" |B ʙ<br />{{IPA|/b/}}
| style="width:5em;" |C c<br />{{IPA|/t͡s/}}
| style="width:5em;" |Ç ç<br />{{IPA|/t͡sʼ/}}
| style="width:5em;" |D d<br />{{IPA|/d/}}
| style="width:5em;" |E e<br />{{IPA|[e]}}
| style="width:5em;" |F f<br />{{IPA|/f/}}
| style="width:5em;" |ꟻ [[File:Latin_small_letter_reflected_F.svg|11x11px]]<br />{{IPA|/ʃʷ/}}
|-
| style="width:5em;" |G g<br />{{IPA|/ɡ/}}
| style="width:5em;" |Ɡ [[File:Latin small letter script G with ascender.svg|16x16px]]<br />{{IPA|/d͡ʒ/}}
| style="width:5em;" |[[File:Latin_capital_letter_rounded_H_with_left_hook.svg|10x10px]] [[File:Latin_small_letter_H_with_left_hook.svg|9x9px]]<br />{{IPA|/ʔ/}}
| style="width:5em;" |H ɦ<br />{{IPA|/ħ/}}
| style="width:5em;" |Ɥ ɥ<br />{{IPA|/t͡ɕ/}}
| style="width:5em;" |[[File:Latin_capital_letter_turned_wide_H_with_stroke.svg|10x10px]] [[File:Latin_small_letter_turned_H_with_stroke.svg|11x11px]]<br />{{IPA|/t͡ɕʼ/}}
| style="width:5em;" |I i<br />{{IPA|[i]}}
| style="width:5em;" |J j<br />{{IPA|/ʒʷ/}}
|-
| style="width:5em;" |K k<br />{{IPA|/k/}}
| style="width:5em;" |Ⱪ ⱪ<br />{{IPA|/kʼ/}}
| style="width:5em;" |L l<br />{{IPA|/l/}}
| style="width:5em;" |L̦ l̦<br />{{IPA|/ɬ/}}
| style="width:5em;" |M m<br />{{IPA|/m/}}
| style="width:5em;" |N n<br />{{IPA|/n/}}
| style="width:5em;" |O o<br />{{IPA|[o]}}
| style="width:5em;" |P p<br />{{IPA|/p/}}
|-
| style="width:5em;" |[[File:Latin capital letter ejective P.svg|9px]] [[File:Latin small letter ejective P.svg|7px]]<br />{{IPA|/pʼ/}}
| style="width:5em;" |Q q<br />{{IPA|/qʼ/}}
| style="width:5em;" |Ꝗ ꝗ<br />{{IPA|/d͡ʒ/}}
| style="width:5em;" |Ƣ ƣ<br />{{IPA|/ɣ/}}
| style="width:5em;" |R r<br />{{IPA|/r/}}
| style="width:5em;" |S s<br />{{IPA|/s/}}
| style="width:5em;" |Ş ş<br />{{IPA|/ʃ/}}
|[[File:Latin_capital_letter_caucasian_long_S.svg|10x10px]] [[File:Cyrillic_small_letter_long_Es.svg|10x10px]]<br />{{IPA|/ɕ/}}
|-
| style="width:5em;" |T t<br />{{IPA|/t/}}
| style="width:5em;" |Ț ț<br />{{IPA|/tʼ/}}
| style="width:5em;" |U u<br />{{IPA|/w/, [u]}}
| style="width:5em;" |V v<br />{{IPA|/v/}}
| style="width:5em;" |X x<br />{{IPA|/x/}}
| style="width:5em;" |[[File:Latin_capital_letter_X_with_two_high_hooks.svg|10x10px]] [[File:Latin_small_letter_X_with_two_high_hooks.svg|7x7px]]<br />{{IPA|/q/}}
| style="width:5em;" |X[[File:Latin_capital_letter_rounded_H_with_left_hook.svg|13x13px]] x[[File:Latin_small_letter_H_with_left_hook.svg|11x11px]] <br />{{IPA|/x/}}
| style="width:5em;" |[[File:Latin capital letter enlarged small Y.svg|13x13px]] y<br />{{IPA|/ʕ/}}
|-
| style="width:5em;" |Z z<br />{{IPA|/z/}}
| style="width:5em;" |Z̧ z̧<br />{{IPA|/d͡ʒʷ/}}
| style="width:5em;" |Ƶ ƶ<br />{{IPA|/ʒ/}}
| style="width:5em;" |Ʒ ʒ<br />{{IPA|/d͡z/}}
| style="width:5em;" |[[File:Latin_capital_letter_reversed_Ghe.svg|11x11px]] [[File:Latin_small_letter_reversed_Ghe_with_long_leg.svg|12x12px]]<br />{{IPA|/ʑ/}}
| style="width:5em;" |[[File:Latin_capital_letter_reversed_Ghe_with_stroke.svg|10x10px]] [[File:Latin_small_letter_reversed_Ghe_with_stroke.svg|11x11px]]<br />/tɕʼʷ/
| style="width:5em;" |[[File:Latin_capital_letter_reversed_Ghe_with_low_left_hook.svg|10x10px]] [[File:Latin_small_letter_reversed_Ghe_with_low_left_hook.svg|10x10px]]<br />/tɕʷ/
| style="width:5em;" |[[File:Latin_capital_letter_abkhasian_Che.svg|12x12px]] [[File:Latin_small_letter_abkhasian_Che.svg|10x10px]]<br />{{IPA|/t͡ʃ/}}
|-
| style="width:5em;" |[[File:Latin_capital_letter_abkhasian_Che_with_descender.svg|12x12px]] [[File:Latin_small_letter_abkhasian_Che_with_descender.svg|8x8px]]<br />{{IPA|/t͡ʃʼ/}}
| style="width:5em;" |Ь ь<br />{{IPA|[ə]}}
| style="width:5em;" |I ı<br />{{IPA|/ʲ/}}
|
|
|
|
|
|}

=== Cyrillic script (1938–present) ===
Since 1938, Abaza has been written with the version of the Cyrillic alphabet shown below.<ref name="eki">[https://eki.ee/knab/lat/kblabq.pdf Abaza (Place Names Database, Institute of the Estonian Language)]</ref><ref name="omniglot">[http://omniglot.com/writing/abaza.htm Abaza alphabet, pronunciation and language (Omniglot)]</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
| style="width:5em;" | [[A (Cyrillic)|А а]] <br/> {{IPA|[a]}}
| style="width:5em;" | [[Be (Cyrillic)|Б б]] <br/> {{IPA|/b/}}
| style="width:5em;" | [[Ve (Cyrillic)|В в]] <br/> {{IPA|/v/}}
| style="width:5em;" | [[Ge (Cyrillic)|Г г]] <br/> {{IPA|/ɡ/}}
| style="width:5em;" | [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Г|Гв гв]] <br/> {{IPA|/ɡʷ/}}
| style="width:5em;" | [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Г|Гъ гъ]] <br/> {{IPA|/ɣ/}}
| style="width:5em;" | [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Г|Гъв гъв]] <br/> {{IPA|/ɣʷ/}}
| style="width:5em;" | [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Г|Гъь гъь]] <br/> {{IPA|/ɣʲ/}}
|-
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Г|Гь гь]] <br/> {{IPA|/ɡʲ/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Г|Гӏ гӏ]] <br/> {{IPA|/ʕ/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Г|Гӏв гӏв]] <br/> {{IPA|/ʕʷ/}}
| [[De (Cyrillic)|Д д]] <br/> {{IPA|/d/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Д|Дж дж]] <br/> {{IPA|/d͡ʒ/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Д|Джв джв]] <br/> {{IPA|/d͡ʒʷ/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Д|Джь джь]] <br/> {{IPA|/d͡ʑ/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Д|Дз дз]] <br/> {{IPA|/d͡z/}}
|-
| [[Ye (Cyrillic)|Е е]] <br/> {{IPA|[e]}}
| [[Yo (Cyrillic)|Ё ё]] <br/> {{IPA|[jo]}}
| [[Zhe (Cyrillic)|Ж ж]] <br/> {{IPA|/ʒ/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Ж|Жв жв]] <br/> {{IPA|/ʒʷ/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Ж|Жь жь]] <br/> {{IPA|/ʑ/}}
| [[Ze (Cyrillic)|З з]] <br/> {{IPA|/z/}}
| [[I (Cyrillic)|И и]]<br/>{{IPA|[i]}}
| [[Short I|Й й]] <br/> {{IPA|/j/}}
|-
| [[Ka (Cyrillic)|К к]]<br/>{{IPA|/k/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#К|Кв кв]] <br/> {{IPA|/kʷ/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#К|Къ къ]] <br/> {{IPA|/qʼ/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#К|Къв къв]] <br/> {{IPA|/qʷʼ/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#К|Къь къь]] <br/> {{IPA|/qʲʼ/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#К|Кь кь]] <br/> {{IPA|/kʲ/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#К|Кӏ кӏ]] <br/> {{IPA|/kʼ/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#К|Кӏв кӏв]] <br/> {{IPA|/kʷʼ/}}
|-
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#К|Кӏь кӏь]] <br/> {{IPA|/kʲʼ/}}
| [[El (Cyrillic)|Л л]] <br/> {{IPA|/l/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Л|Ль ль]] <br/> {{IPA|/ɮ/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Л|Лӏ лӏ]] <br/> {{IPA|/ɬʼ/}}
| [[Em (Cyrillic)|М м]] <br/> {{IPA|/m/}}
| [[En (Cyrillic)|Н н]] <br/> {{IPA|/n/}}
| [[O (Cyrillic)|О о]] <br/> {{IPA|[o]}}
| [[Pe (Cyrillic)|П п]] <br/> {{IPA|/p/}}
|-
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#П|Пӏ пӏ]] <br/> {{IPA|/pʼ/}}
| [[Er (Cyrillic)|Р р]] <br/> {{IPA|/r/}}
| [[Es (Cyrillic)|С с]] <br/> {{IPA|/s/}}
| [[Te (Cyrillic)|Т т]] <br/> {{IPA|/t/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Т|Тл тл]] <br/> {{IPA|/ɬ/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Т|Тш тш]] <br/> {{IPA|/t͡ʃ/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Т|Тӏ тӏ]] <br/> {{IPA|/tʼ/}}
| [[U (Cyrillic)|У у]]
{{IPA|/w/, [u]}}
|-
| [[Ef (Cyrillic)|Ф ф]] <br/> {{IPA|/f/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Ф|Фӏ фӏ]] <br/> {{IPA|/fʼ/}}
| [[Kha (Cyrillic)|Х х]] <br/> {{IPA|/x/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Х|Хв хв]] <br/> {{IPA|/xʷ/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Х|Хъ хъ]] <br/> {{IPA|/q/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Х|Хъв хъв]] <br/> {{IPA|/qʷ/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Х|Хь хь]] <br/> {{IPA|/xʲ/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Х|Хӏ хӏ]] <br/> {{IPA|/ħ/}}
|-
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Х|Хӏв хӏв]] <br/> {{IPA|/ħʷ/}}
| [[Tse (Cyrillic)|Ц ц]] <br/> {{IPA|/t͡s/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Ц|Цӏ цӏ]] <br/> {{IPA|/t͡sʼ/}}
| [[Che (Cyrillic)|Ч ч]] <br/> {{IPA|/t͡ɕ/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Ч|Чв чв]] <br/> {{IPA|/t͡ʃʷ/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Ч|Чӏ чӏ]] <br/> {{IPA|/t͡ɕʼ/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Ч|Чӏв чӏв]] <br/> {{IPA|/t͡ʃʷʼ/}}
| [[Sha (Cyrillic)|Ш ш]] <br/> {{IPA|/ʃ/}}
|-
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Ш|Шв шв]] <br/> {{IPA|/ʃʷ/}}
| [[List of Cyrillic digraphs and trigraphs#Ш|Шӏ шӏ]] <br/> {{IPA|/t͡ʃʼ/}}
| [[Shcha|Щ щ]] <br/> {{IPA|/ɕ/}}
| [[Hard sign|Ъ ъ]] <br/> {{IPA|/ʔ/}}
| [[Yery|Ы ы]] <br/> {{IPA|[ə]}}
| [[E (Cyrillic)|Э э]] <br/> {{IPA|[e]}}
| [[Yu (Cyrillic)|Ю ю]] <br/> {{IPA|[ju]}}
| [[Ya (Cyrillic)|Я я]] <br/> {{IPA|[ja]}}
|}

The digraphs Лӏ and Фӏ are dialectal, and are therefore absent from the literary language and the official alphabet.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Сердюченко|first=Г. П.|title=Абазинский алфавит и орфография на русской графической основе|location=Ежово-Черкесск|publisher=Чернациздательство|year=1938|language=ru}}</ref>{{Cite web |title= Abaza (абаза бызшва)|url=https://www.omniglot.com/writing/abaza.htm|website=omniglot}}</ref>

==Media==
{{ill|Sultan Laguchev|ru|Лагучев, Султан Шамелевич}}, a singer-songwriter famous{{cn|date=July 2024}} in Russia, writes and performs songs in the Abaza language, including "Абыгъь гӏважьква" and "БаъапI бара." He has written an additional song in Russian entitled "Мы абазины" ('We are Abazins') about Abazinia.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{lang|ru|Генко А. Н. Абазинский язык. Грамматический очерк наречия Тапанта. Москва-Лениград: АН СССР, 1955.}} {{in lang|ru}}
* {{lang|ru|[[Ketevan Lomtatidze|Ломтатидзе К. В.]] Тапантский диалект абхазского языка (с текстами). Тбилиси: Издательство Академии Наук Грузинской ССР, 1944.}} {{in lang|ru}}
* {{lang|ru|Ломтатидзе К. В. Ашхарский диалект и его место среди других абхазско-абазинских диалектов. С текстами. Тбилиси: Издательство Академии Наук Грузинской ССР, 1954.}} {{in lang|ru}}
* {{lang|ru|[[Мальбахова-Табулова, Нурья Татлустановна|Мальбахова-Табулова Н. Т.]] Грамматика абазинского языка. Фонетика и морфология. Черкесск, 1976.}} {{in lang|ru}}
* {{lang|ru|Чирикба В. А. Абазинский язык. В: Языки Российской Федерации и Соседних Государств. Энциклопедия. В трех томах. Т. 1. A-И. Москва: Наука, 1998, с. 1–8.}} {{in lang|ru}}
* Allen, W.S. Structure and system in the Abaza verbal complex. In: Transactions of the Philological Society (Hertford), Oxford, 1956, p.&nbsp;127-176.
* {{lang|de|Bouda K. Das Abasinische, eine unbekannte abchasische Mundart. In: ZDMG, BD. 94, H. 2 (Neue Folge, Bd. 19), Berlin-Leipzig, 1940, S. 234–250.|italic=no}} {{in lang|de}}
* O’Herin, B. Case and agreement in Abaza. Summer Institute of Linguistics, September 2002.

==External links==
{{Incubator|code = abq}}
* [http://abazinka.ru The first in the world Abaza–Russian and Russian–Abaza online dictionaries]
* [http://starling.rinet.ru/cgi-bin/response.cgi?root=new100&morpho=0&basename=new100\ncc\wcc&limit=-1 Abaza basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database]
* [http://archive.phonetics.ucla.edu/Language/ABQ/abq.html Recordings in Abaza language]
* [[World Atlas of Language Structures]] information on [http://wals.info/languoid/lect/wals_code_abz Abaza]
* [https://abaza.org/en/221 Speak Abaza: past, present and future of the Abaza language] - World Abaza Congress

<br>
{{Northwest Caucasian languages}}
{{Languages of the Caucasus}}
{{Languages of Russia}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abaza Language}}
[[Category:Abaza language| ]]
[[Category:Agglutinative languages]]
[[Category:Definitely endangered languages]]
[[Category:Northwest Caucasian languages]]
[[Category:Indigenous languages of European Russia]]
[[Category:Languages of Turkey]]
[[Category:Karachay-Cherkessia]]
[[Category:Abazins]]
[[Category:Endangered Caucasian languages]]
[[Category:Vertical vowel systems]]
[[Category:Languages written in Cyrillic script]]