Proto-Northwest Caucasian (sometimes abbreviated PNWC), also ''Proto-Adyghe-Abazgi'' or Proto-Adyghe-Abkhaz, is the reconstructed common ancestor of the
Northwest Caucasian languages.
Phonology
Consonants
# In
Circassian and
Abkhaz, gʷǝ is heart and in
Ubykh it's gʲǝ.
The most noticeable changes are:
*The
uvular consonants
Uvulars are consonants articulated with the back of the tongue against or near the uvula, that is, further back in the mouth than velar consonants. Uvulars may be stops, fricatives, nasals, trills, or approximants, though the IPA does not prov ...
(/χ/ /ʁ/ /χʷ/ /ʁʷ/) become
pharyngeal consonants
A pharyngeal consonant is a consonant that is articulated primarily in the pharynx. Some phoneticians distinguish upper pharyngeal consonants, or "high" pharyngeals, pronounced by retracting the root of the tongue in the mid to upper pharynx, ...
(/ħ/ /ʕ/ /ħʷ/ /ʕʷ/) in the
Proto-Abazgi language.
Grammar
Numbers
Words
See also
*
Proto-Circassian language
Proto-Circassian (or Proto-Adyghe–Kabardian) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Adyghean and Kabardian languages.
Phonology
Consonants
The consonant system is reconstructed with a four-way phonation contrast in stops and affricat ...
*
Proto-Abazgi language
References
{{Reflist
*STAROSTIN, Sergei A.; NIKOLAYEV, Sergei L. (1994). A North Caucasian Etymological Dictionary
Preface
External links
Abkhaz-Adyghe etymology
Northwest Caucasian
Northwest Caucasian languages