Ubykh was a polysynthetic language with a high degree of agglutination that had an ergative-absolutive alignment.
Ubykh nouns do not mark plurality and the only case that displays plurality is the relational suffix -/nɜ/. Otherwise plurality is shown either by suppletive verb roots (e.g. /ɐkʷɨn blɜs/ 'he is in the car' vs. /ɐkʷɨn blɜʒʷɜ/ 'they are in the car') or by verb suffixes: /ɐkʲʼɜn/ ('he goes'), /ɐkʲʼɐn/ ('they go').
The definite article is /ɐ/ (e.g. /ɐtɨt/ 'the man'). There is no indefinite article directly equivalent to the English a or an, but /zɜ/-(root)-/ɡʷɜrɜ/ (literally 'one'-(root)-'certain') translates French un : e.g. /zɜnɜjnʃʷɡʷɜrɜ/ ('a certain young man').
There are two core cases and four non-core cases in Ubykh. The core cases are: relational, absolutive; the non-core cases are: adverbial, locative, instrumental, and instrumental-comitative.
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| relational | -/n/ | -/nɜ/ |
| absolutive | -/Ø/ | |
| adverbial | -/n(ɨ)/ | |
| locative | -/ʁɜ/ | |
| instrumental | -/ɜwn(ɨ)/ | |
| instrumental-comitative | -/ɐlɜ/ | |
This case displays ergative, genitive, and dative functions. It is marked with -/n/ in the singular and -/nɨ/ in the plural and is the only case that has a distinction in plurality.
/sɨtʷ
/sɨ-tʷ
1stPOSS-father.ABS
amɨzɨn
a-mɨzɨ-n
the-child-ERG
jɨbjɜqʼɜ/
Ø-jɨ-bjɜ-qʼɜ/
(s)he saw
"My father saw the child."
Marked with the bare root; this indicates the subject of an intransitive sentence and the direct object of a transitive sentence (e.g. /tɨt/ 'a man').
/sɨtʷ
/sɨ-tʷ
1stPOSS-father.ABS
ɐkʲʼɜqʼɜ/
ɐ-kʲʼɜ-qʼɜ/
(s)he went
"My father went."
This is marked with -/n(ɨ)/ and has the primary function of marking essive and translative functions of nouns.
Marked in -/ʁɜ/, which is the equivalent of English in, on or at.
Marked with -/ɜwn(ɨ)/ and was also treated as a case in Dumézil (1975). This is similar to "by means of" in English.
Marked with -/ɐlɜ/ and broadly means "with".
There is also a pair of suffixes that have been noted to be synthetic datives but are not cases in their own right: -/lɐq/ ('to[wards]') and -/ʁɐfɜ/ ('for') e.g. /ɜχʲɨlɐq ɐstʷɜdɜw/ 'I will send it to the prince'.
In Ubykh, adjectives do not decline in any way and are suffixed to the noun that they modify: /tʃɨbʒɨjɜ/ ('pepper') with /pɬɨ/ ('red') becomes /tʃɨbʒɨjɜpɬɨ/ ('red pepper').
Free pronouns in all North-West Caucasian languages lack an ergative-absolutive distinction.[1]
| 1st Person | 2nd Person | 3rd Person | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | Jocular | ||||
| Singular | Standard | /s(ɨ)ʁʷɜ/ | /(w(ɨ))ʁʷɜ/ | /χɜʁʷɜ/ | /ɐʁʷɜ/ |
| Ali Bilaş | /(s)χɜ/ | ||||
| Plural | Standard | /ʃɨʁʷɜɬɜ/ | /ɕʷɨʁʷɜɬɜ/ | /ɐʁʷɜɬɜ/ | |
| Tevfik Esenç | /ʃɜɬɜ/ | /ɕʷɜɬɜ/ | |||
| Osman Güngür | /ʃɨʁʷɜ/ | /ɕʷɨʁʷɜ/ | |||
The "standard" pronouns are displayed along with variations that particular speakers used due to rapid speech. All speakers condemned Tevfik Esenç's usage of /ʃɜɬɜ/ and he even accepted the correction but all recordings of Tevfik contain /ʃɜɬɜ/ regardless.
| 1st Person | 2nd Person | 3rd Person | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | Jocular | |||
| Singular | /sɨ/- | /wɨ/- | /χɜ/- | /ʁɜ/- |
| Plural | /ʃɨ/- | /ɕʷɨ/- | /ɐʁɜ/- | |
Possessed nouns have their plurality marked with the affix /-ɜw-/.
/ʃɜwtʃɨ/
/ʃ(ɨ)-ɜw-tʃɨ/
1pPOSS-PL-horse
Our horses
The Ubykh verb template is quite complex with 26 slots for the verb.
Oblique 1 markers are limited to marking the agreement of a noun before a relational preverb and Oblique 2 markers are used for not only marking agreement with local and directional preverbs but also the simple oblique, or dative, arguments.[1]
| Absolutive | Oblique (1 and 2) | Ergative | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Person | sg. | /s(ɨ)/- | /s(ɨ)/- ~ /z/ | /s(ɨ)/- ~ /z/ |
| pl. | /ʃ(ɨ)/- | /ʃ(ɨ)/- ~ /ʒ/- | /ʃ(ɨ)/- ~ /ʒ/- | |
| Second Person | sg. | /wɨ/- | /w(ɨ)/- | /w(ɨ)/- |
| pl. | /ɕʷ(ɨ)/- | /ɕʷ(ɨ)/- ~ /ʑʷ(ɨ)/- | /ɕʷ(ɨ)/- ~ /ʑʷ(ɨ)/- | |
| sg. (joc., arc.) | /χɜ/- | /χɜ/- | /χɜ/- | |
| Third Person | sg. | /ɐ/-, /jɨ/-, /ɨ/-, /Ø/- | /Ø/- | n(ɨ)/- /Ø/- |
| pl. | /ɐ/-, /jɨ/-, /Ø/- | /ɐ/- | /ɐ/-, /nɐ/- |
The second-person /χɜ/- is an archaic pronoun used to indicate that the person being referred to is a female, or heckling the speaker in some way. It became extinct before the death of the language due to all of the last speakers being male.
The third person agreement markers have a fair amount of variation due to the rules it must follow.
| Marker | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| /ɐ/- | No other third person object is present in the sentence. | /ɐ-qʼɜ-qʼɜ/ "(s)he said" – /ɐ-z-bjɜ-n/ "I see it" |
| /jɨ/- | Appears when the following marker is also third person singular. | /jɨ-Ø-jɜ-qʼɜ/ "X hits Y" |
| /ɨ/- | This is a rare allophone of /jɨ/- and usually appears when the marker carries stress. | /ɨ́-Ø-tʷʼɜ-qʼɜ/ "X digs Y" |
| /Ø/- | This appears when the following marker is third person plural. | /Ø-ɐ́-ʃ-tʷʼɨ-n/ "we give X to them" |
The plural markers exist in the same rules as the singular rules with the exception that singular /ɐ/- can be deleted but plural /ɐ/- cannot.
Dynamic Ubykh verbs are split up in two groups: Group I which contain the simple tenses and Group II which contain derived counterpart tenses. Only the Karaclar dialect uses the progressive tense and the plural is unknown.
The singular-plural distinction is used when the subject, the ergative, is singular or plural.
Square brackets indicate elided vowels; parenthesis indicate optional parts of the stem; and the colon indicates the boundary of a morpheme.[1]
| Group I | ||
|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |
| Simple Past | -/qʼɜ/ | -/qʼɜ-n(ɜ)/ |
| Mirative Past | -/jtʼ/ | -/jɬ(ɜ)/ |
| Present | -/n/ | -/ɐ-n/ |
| Future I | -/ɜw/ | -/n[ɜ]-ɜw/ |
| Future II | -/ɜw:t/ | -/n[ɜ]-ɜw:t/ |
| (Progressive) | -/ɜwɨ:n/ | ? |
| Group II | ||
| Pluperfect | -/qʼɜ:jtʼ/ | -/qʼɜ:jɬ(ɜ)/ ~ -/qʼɜ:nɜ:jtʼ/ |
| Imperfect | -/nɜ:jtʼ/ | -/ɐ-nɜ:jɬ(ɜ)/ |
| Conditional I | -/ɜwɨ:jtʼ/ | -/n[ɜ]-ɜwɨ:jɬ(ɜ)/ |
| Conditional II | -/ɜw:tʷ:qʼɜ/ | -/(n[ɜ]-)ɜw:tʷ:qʼɜ(-n)/ |
The verbs in the simple past tense are conjugated with -/qʼɜ/ in the singular and -/qʼɜ-n(ɜ)/ in the plural.
Examples:
| Plurality | Person | Ubykh | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | First-person | /s(ɨ)-fɨ-qʼɜ/ | I ate |
| Second-person | /wɨ-fɨ-qʼɜ/ | you ate | |
| Third-person | /ɐ-fɨ-qʼɜ/ | (s)he ate | |
| Plural | First-person | /ʃ(ɨ)-fɨ-qʼɜ-n(ɜ)/ | we ate |
| Second-person | /ɕʷ(ɨ)-fɨ-qʼɜ-n(ɜ)/ | you (all) ate | |
| Third-person | /ɐ-fɨ-qʼɜ-n(ɜ)/ | they ate |
The verbs in the mirative past tense are conjugated with -/jtʼ/ in the singular and -/jɬ(ɜ)/ in the plural.
Examples:
| Plurality | Person | Ubykh | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | First-person | /s(ɨ)-fɨ-jtʼ/ | I ate apparently |
| Second-person | /wɨ-fɨ-jtʼ/ | you ate apparently | |
| Third-person | /ɐ-fɨ-jtʼ/ | (s)he ate apparently | |
| Plural | First-person | /ʃ(ɨ)-fɨ-jɬ(ɜ)/ | we ate apparently |
| Second-person | /ɕʷ(ɨ)-fɨ-jɬ(ɜ)/ | you (all) ate apparently | |
| Third-person | /ɐ-fɨ-jɬ(ɜ)/ | they ate apparently |
The verbs in the present tense are conjugated with -/n/ in the singular and -/ɐ-n/ in the plural.
Examples:
| Plurality | Person | Ubykh | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | First-person | /s(ɨ)-fɨ-n/ | I eat |
| Second-person | /wɨ-fɨ-n/ | you eat | |
| Third-person | /ɐ-fɨ-n/ | (s)he eats | |
| Plural | First-person | /ʃ(ɨ)-f-ɐ-n/ | we eat |
| Second-person | /ɕʷ(ɨ)-f-ɐ-n/ | you (all) eat | |
| Third-person | /ɐ-f-ɐ-n/ | they eat |
The verbs in the present tense are conjugated with -/ɜw/ in the singular and -/n[ɜ]-ɜw/ in the plural. It conveys a sense of certainty, immediacy, obligation, or intentionality.
Examples:
| Plurality | Person | Ubykh | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | First-person | /s(ɨ)-f-ɜw/ | I certainly will eat |
| Second-person | /wɨ-f-ɜw/ | you certainly will eat | |
| Third-person | /ɐ-f-ɜw/ | (s)he certainly will eat | |
| Plural | First-person | /ʃ(ɨ)-fɨ-n[ɜ]-ɜw/ | we certainly will eat |
| Second-person | /ɕʷ(ɨ)-fɨ-n[ɜ]-ɜw/ | you (all) certainly will eat | |
| Third-person | /ɐ-fɨ-n[ɜ]-ɜw/ | they certainly will eat |
The verbs in the present tense are conjugated with -/ɜw:t/ in the singular and -/n[ɜ]-ɜw:t/ in the plural. It conveys a generic sense of the future as well as an exhortative sense such as: /ʃɨ-kʲʼɜ-n[ɜ]-ɜw/ (let's go!).
Examples:
| Plurality | Person | Ubykh | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | First-person | /s(ɨ)-f-ɜw:t/ | I will eat |
| Second-person | /wɨ-f-ɜw:t/ | you will eat | |
| Third-person | /ɐ-f-ɜw:t/ | (s)he will eat | |
| Plural | First-person | /ʃ(ɨ)-fɨ-n[ɜ]-ɜw:t/ | we will eat |
| Second-person | /ɕʷ(ɨ)-fɨ-n[ɜ]-ɜw:t/ | you (all) will eat | |
| Third-person | /ɐ-fɨ-n[ɜ]-ɜw:t/ | they will eat |
The verbs in the present tense are conjugated with -/ɜw/ in the singular and -/n[ɜ]-ɜw/ in the plural. It conveys [TODO]
Examples:
| Plurality | Person | Ubykh | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | First-person | /s(ɨ)-fɨ-qʼɜ:jtʼ/ | I had eaten |
| Second-person | /wɨ-fɨ-qʼɜ:jtʼ/ | you had eaten | |
| Third-person | /ɐ-fɨ-qʼɜ:jtʼ/ | (s)he had eaten | |
| Plural | First-person | /ʃ(ɨ)-fɨ-qʼɜ:jɬ(ɜ)/ | we had eaten |
| Second-person | /ɕʷ(ɨ)-fɨ-qʼɜ:jɬ(ɜ)/ | you (all) had eaten | |
| Third-person | /ɐ-fɨ-qʼɜ:jɬ(ɜ)/ | they had eaten |
The verbs in the imperfect tense are conjugated with -/nɜ:jtʼ/ in the singular and either -/ɐ-nɜ:jɬ(ɜ)/ in the plural. It conveys a sense of
Examples:
| Plurality | Person | Ubykh | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | First-person | /s(ɨ)-fɨ-nɜ:jtʼ/ | I was eating, I used to eat |
| Second-person | /wɨ-fɨ-nɜ:jtʼ/ | you were eating, you used to eat | |
| Third-person | /ɐ-fɨ-nɜ:jtʼ/ | (s)he was eating, (s)he used to eat | |
| Plural | First-person | /ʃ(ɨ)-f-ɐ-nɜ:jɬ(ɜ)/ | we were eating, we used to eat |
| Second-person | /ɕʷ(ɨ)-f-ɐ-nɜ:jɬ(ɜ)/ | you (all) were eating, you (all) used to eat | |
| Third-person | /ɐ-f-ɐ-nɜ:jɬ(ɜ)/ | they were eating, they used to eat |
The verbs in the present tense are conjugated with -/ɜwɨ:jtʼ/ in the singular and -/n[ɜ]-ɜwɨ:jɬ(ɜ)/ in the plural. It conveys a sense of uncertainty but also a kind of future-in-the-past if the situation had been reversed.
Examples:
| Plurality | Person | Ubykh | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | First-person | /s(ɨ)-fɨ-ɜwɨ:jtʼ/ | I would have eaten |
| Second-person | /wɨ-fɨ-n[ɜ]-ɜwɨ:jtʼ/ | you would have eaten | |
| Third-person | /ɐ-fɨ-n[ɜ]-ɜwɨ:jtʼ/ | (s)he would have eaten | |
| Plural | First-person | /ʃ(ɨ)-fɨ-n[ɜ]-ɜwɨ:jɬ(ɜ)/ | we would have eaten |
| Second-person | /ɕʷ(ɨ)-fɨ-n[ɜ]-ɜwɨ:jɬ(ɜ)/ | you (all) would have eaten | |
| Third-person | /ɐ-fɨ-n[ɜ]-ɜwɨ:jɬ(ɜ)/ | they would have eaten |
The verbs in the present tense are conjugated with -/ɜw:tʷ:qʼɜ/ in the singular and -/(n[ɜ]-)ɜw:tʷ:qʼɜ(-n)/ in the plural. It conveys a sense of certainty and intention but also a kind of future-in-the-past if the situation had been reversed.
Examples:
| Plurality | Person | Ubykh | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | First-person | /s(ɨ)-fɨ-ɜw:tʷ:qʼɜ/ | I was going to eat |
| Second-person | /wɨ-fɨ-ɜw:tʷ:qʼɜ/ | you were going to eat | |
| Third-person | /ɐ-fɨ-ɜw:tʷ:qʼɜ/ | (s)he was going to eat | |
| Plural | First-person | /ʃ(ɨ)-fɨ-(n[ɜ]-)ɜw:tʷ:qʼɜ(-n)/ | we were going to eat |
| Second-person | /ɕʷ(ɨ)-fɨ-(n[ɜ]-)ɜw:tʷ:qʼɜ(-n)/ | you (all) were going to eat | |
| Third-person | /ɐ-fɨ-(n[ɜ]-)ɜw:tʷ:qʼɜ(-n)/ | they were going to eat |
In all dialects and speakers, only two static tenses exist: present and past.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | -/Ø/ | -/n(ɜ)/ |
| Past | -/jtʼ/ | -/jɬ(ɜ)/ |
There are five basic aspects that exist besides the aspects that exist within the Ubykh tense system. They are: habitual, iterative, exhaustive, excessive, and potential.
A few meanings covered in English by adverbs or auxiliary verbs are given in Ubykh by verb suffixes.
A speaker may combine one of these aspects with another to convey more complex aspects in conjunction with the tenses.[1]
| Aspect | Suffix | Example with /fɨ/ ('to eat') | Example with /dʑʷɜ/ ('to drink') | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ubykh | English | Ubykh | English | ||
| habitual | -/gʲɜ/ | /ɐsfɨɡʲɜn/ | I eat it all the time | /ɐzdʑʷɜɡʲɜn/ | I drink it all the time |
| iterative | -/ɐj(ɨ)/ | /ɐsfɐjɨn/ | I eat it again | /ɐzdʑʷɐjɨn/ | I drink it again |
| exhaustive | -/lɜ/ | /ɐsfɨlɜn/ | I am eating it all up | /ɐzdʑʷɜlɜn/ | I am drinking it all up |
| excessive | -/tɕʷɜ/ | /ɐsfɨtɕʷɜn/ | I eat it too much | /ɐzdʑʷɜtɕʷɜn/ | I drink it too much |
| potential | -/fɜ/ | /ɐsfɨfɜn/ | I can eat it | /ɐzdʑʷɜfɜn/ | I can drink it |
| simple | habitual | iterative | exhaustive | excessive | potential | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | First-person | /s(ɨ)-fɨ-n/ | /s(ɨ)-fɨ-gʲɜ-n/ | /s(ɨ)-f-ɐj(ɨ)-n/ | /s(ɨ)-fɨ-lɜ-n/ | /s(ɨ)-fɨ-tɕʷɜ-n/ | /s(ɨ)-fɨ-fɜ-n/ |
| Second-person | /wɨ-fɨ-n/ | /wɨ-fɨ-gʲɜ-n/ | /wɨ-f-ɐj(ɨ)-n/ | /wɨ-fɨ-lɜ-n/ | /wɨ-fɨ-tɕʷɜ-n/ | /wɨ-fɨ-fɜ-n/ | |
| Third-person | /ɐ-fɨ-n/ | /ɐ-fɨ-gʲɜ-n/ | /ɐ-f-ɐj(ɨ)-n/ | /ɐ-fɨ-lɜ-n/ | /ɐ-fɨ-tɕʷɜ-n/ | /ɐ-fɨ-fɜ-n/ | |
| Plural | First-person | /ʃ(ɨ)-f-ɐ-n/ | /ʃ(ɨ)-f-gʲ[ɜ]-ɐ-n/ | /ʃ(ɨ)-f-ɐj(ɨ)-ɐ-n/ | /ʃ(ɨ)-fɨ-l[ɜ]-ɐ-n/ | /ʃ(ɨ)-fɨ-tɕʷ[ɜ]-ɐ-n/ | /ʃ(ɨ)-fɨ-f[ɜ]-ɐ-n/ |
| Second-person | /ɕʷ(ɨ)-f-ɐ-n/ | /ɕʷ(ɨ)-fɨ-gʲ[ɜ]-ɐ-n/ | /ɕʷ(ɨ)-f-ɐj(ɨ)-ɐ-n/ | /ɕʷ(ɨ)-fɨ-l[ɜ]-ɐ-n/ | /ɕʷ(ɨ)-fɨ-tɕʷ[ɜ]-ɐ-n/ | /ɕʷ(ɨ)-fɨ-f[ɜ]-ɐ-n/ | |
| Third-person | /ɐ-f-ɐ-n/ | /ɐ-fɨ-gʲ[ɜ]-ɐ-n/ | /ɐ-f-ɐj(ɨ)-ɐ-n/ | /ɐ-fɨ-l[ɜ]-ɐ-n/ | /ɐ-fɨ-tɕʷ[ɜ]-ɐ-n/ | /ɐ-fɨ-f[ɜ]-ɐ-n/ | |
There are eleven distinct moods in Ubykh: indicative; direct, polite, and emphatic imperative; potential and frustrative optative; irrealis and realis conditional; binary and complex interrogative.[1]
There is no marker for the indicative mood.
There are two forms of the imperative: a formal, more polite imperative and a direct, curt imperative.
The direct imperative is usually the omission of the singular tense marker:
/wɨkʲʼɜ/
/wɨ-kʲʼɜ/
2sABS-go
"Go!" (sg.)
Versus in the plural:
/ɕʷɨkʲʼɜn/
/ɕʷɨ-kʲʼɜ-n/
2pABS-go-PL
"Go!" (pl.)
This is formed by adding a -/ɨ/ suffix to the verb root. This, however, is sometimes omitted.
This is formed by adding -/mɜɕ/ to the end of an imperative verb.
There are two forms of optative present: potential and frustrative optative.
This is formed by adding a -/χ/ suffix to the verb root or /ɐχ/ after a final /ɨ/.
This is formed by adding a -/dɐχ/ or -/dɜχ/.
There are realis and irrealis conditionals.
This is marked with -/dɜ(n)/.
This is marked with -/bɜ/.
Open questions are marked with -/ɕ/ and closed questions are marked with -/j/.
| Singular | Plural | Meaning | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| static | dynamic | static | dynamic | |
| /sɨ/ | /w(ɨ)s/ | /ʒʷɜ/ | /kʲʼɜʒʷɜ/ | to be in a sitting position; to be (of smaller objects) |
| /tʷɨ/ | /w(ɨ)tʷ/ | /xɜ/ | /wɨxɜ/ or /kʲʼɜxɜ/ | to be in a standing position; to be (of larger objects) |
| /ʁɨ/ | /wʁʷɜ/ | /ʁʲɜ/ | to be suspended, to be handing | |
| /ɬɨ/ | /wɨɬ/ | /ɬɜ/ | /kʲʼɜɬɜ/ | to be lying |
Ubykh has a liberal usage of converbs to convey complex sentences.
| Converb | Meaning |
|---|---|
| /ɡʲɨ/ ~ /j(ɨ)/ | Momentary action with the primary verb. |
| /ɕɜ/ | Ongoing or continuing action with the primary verb. |
| /msɜ/ | Similar to /ɕɜ/ but implies that the verb is continuing or prolonged in nature. |
| /ɡʲɨmsɜ/ ~ /j(ɨ)msɜ/ | Instrumental-like connotations such as 'by means of'. |
| /ʃɜ/ | Exclusively used with /ʁʷɜ/ ('to want') to mark that the verb is what is wanted. |
| /n(ɨ)/ ~ /n(ɜʁʷɜdɜ(n)/ | Similar to the absolutive marker and has a sense of "X and then Y". Verbs are usually not marked with a tense when this is used. |
| /mɜ/ | Forms a conditional or slight imperative force. Usually accompanies with Future I and Future II tenses. |
| /tɐlɜ/ | Always accompanies Future I. Extremely rare so its nuance isn't known. |
| /ɐdʷɜn/ | Has a sense of goal and implies that the verb it marks is required but the task was unfulfilled and has been completed. |