- "Language determines the way its speakers think and judge things. The way they view the world. Their mentality. The philosophy of life. Thus, to preserve the language is to preserve the soul."
- —Anonymous Adygh
Example text for Adygh Language.
Adygh Language or Adyghabze is the native language of Adygh and second official language of Adyghan Prime. Its sound complexity and word construct are unlike any language throughout the Imperium, very difficult to pronounce and a real challenge to master, or even to learn. As if one gets familiar with the sounds of it, it appears obvious that the language has adopted them directly from the nature itself, with the mastery of the sounds of Adygh Language, it is incredibly easy to mimic the voices of nature; the flow of water, sound of leaves in the wind, the voices that the birds make.
History
According to the linguistic researches, Adygh Language appeared approximately 19.000 years before the beginning of the Age of Terra, making it 40.000 years old in lifespan but 60.000 years old in history, due to the hibernation of the Adygh during their voyage to Adyghan Prime, which took 20.000 years. In comparison with the other languages throughout the Imperium, it is possible to say that the Gothic languages are distant descendants of the ancient Adygh Language. And even though this information is not officialized by the Imperium itself, it is being thought so on Adyghan Prime.
Starting from the beginning of M3, Khase has put strict regulations on the use of Adygh Language to preserve it and make it survive among the other Terran superpowers' languages. It was a dying language at that time, with no more than a million speakers. Upon the colonisation of Adyghan Prime, the efforts of its preservation did not cease but changed course. Language is something that constantly evolves, thus rather than preserving the language from getting assimilated, they focused on preserving it from simplification and keeping its core pure.
In M31, when the Imperial assimilation began, many Gothic words entered the daily life language of the Adygh. Thus the efforts of preservation from assimilation began once again, continuing to this day. Though the daily life use of Imperial Gothic is limited with urban areas, rurals don't speak it in their daily lives unless it is needed, insistently speaking their own language.
Alphabet
The Adygh alphabet, developed by Ruslan I. Dawur and his son I.Y. Dawur in the beginning of M3.
Adygh alphabet is consisted of 79 sounds (letters), making it an another challenge to memorise the letters for an outsider learner. It was developed at the beginning of M3, by Ruslan I. Dawur and his son I.Y. Dawur. Throughout M1 and M2, the original first found Adygh alphabet was lost, and the Adygh used Cyrillic letters to write and read throughout the second half of M2. To truly resurrect the Adygh Language, him and his son developed this alphabet, inspired by ancient Adygh runic writings and house emblems, and the result was promising. Though it took decades for the Adygh to completely adopt the newfound alphabet, use of Cyrillic letters was seemingly far easier and its importance was not understood immediately. But by the end of the first century of M3, its use completely began in all fields of life and business.
Dialects
There are 27 recorded dialects of Adygh Language, 13 of them are lost during the wars against the Xeno invaders and Chaos worshippers. The official dialect of Adyghan Prime is the Beslheney. The dialects are being viewed in five regional categories.
Central Dialects
- Ch'emguy
- Abdzakh
- Yedzherkoe
- Central Mamhegh
- Central Beslheney (No speakers left)
- Central Shapsugh
- Central Abazey (No speakers left)
Northern Dialects
- Bzhedugh
- Mukhosh (No speakers left)
- Zhane (No speakers left)
- Hatykuay
- Mamhegh (No speakers left)
- Northern Shapsugh (No speakers left)
- Northern Ch'emguy
- Northern Natykhodzhe (No speakers left)
- Northern Yedzherkoe (No speakers left)
Southern Dialects
- Ubykh (No speakers left)
- Hakutch (No speakers left)
- Abazey
- Southern Shapsugh (No speakers left)
Western Dialects
- Shapsugh
- Natykhodzhe
- Western Abdzakh (No speakers left)
- Western Ubykh
Eastern Dialects
- Kabardey
- Besleney
- Eastern Abazey (No speakers left)