Proto-Kabardian language

Proto-Kabardian is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Kabardian dialects and the [Besleney Kabardian language|Kabardian dialect|Besleney dialect]. Together with its sister language, Proto-Adyghean, it is descended from Proto-Circassian.

Phonology

Consonants

The consonant system is reconstructed with a four-way phonation contrast in stops and affricates, and a two-way contrast in fricatives.

Evolution of Consonants

Proto-Kabardian possessed a distinct series of stops and affricates. This inventory included palatalized velars and postalveolar affricates.
Postalveolar affricates:
Palatalized velars:
The evolution into Modern Standard Kabardian occurred in two distinct phases. The Besleney dialect was not affected by either Phase 1 or Phase 2, preserving the Proto-Kabardian forms. Some Kabardian dialects were affected by Phase 1 but not Phase 2. Standard Kabardian underwent both shifts.

Phase 1: Spirantization (Affricate to Fricative)

In Phase 1, the original Proto-Kabardian affricate postalveolar consonants underwent spirantization, becoming fricatives in Standard Kabardian. Besleney retained the affricates.
The shifts were:

The following table demonstrates specific examples of this spirantization. Note that Besleney retains the affricates found in Proto-Kabardian.

Meaning	Proto-Kabardian / Besleney	Shift Type	Standard Kabardian
fox		→
village		→
village		→
night		→
cow		→
spear		→
goat		→
to come out from under		→
to regret		→
mustache		→
new		→
winter		→
young-man		→
guest		→
area		→
iron		→
to sleep		→
tree		→
to run		→
to run down		→
he-goat		→
door		→

Phase 2: Velar Palatalization

Later on, after the original affricates had become fricatives in Phase 1, a gap was left in the postalveolar position. In the majority of Kabardian dialects, the historical velar consonants shifted forward to fill this gap. Besleney and some Kabardian dialects did not undergo this shift and retained the velars.
The shifts were:

The following tables demonstrate how Besleney retains the velars, while Standard Kabardian shifts them to affricates.
1. Proto-Kabardian/Besleney → Standard Kabardian
2. Proto-Kabardian/Besleney → Standard Kabardian
'''3. Proto-Kabardian/Besleney → Standard Kabardian '''

Comparison of Phases

The following table shows how words like "new" and "tail" are distinct in dialects. In Besleney, they remain and. In Standard Kabardian, they became and.

Word	Proto Kabardian	Besleney	Other Kabardian dialects	Modern Standard Kabardian
tail	kʲʼa	kʲʼa	kʲʼa	t͡ʃʼa
new	t͡ʃʼa	t͡ʃʼa	ʃʼa	ʃʼa
winter	t͡ʃʼəmaːxʷa	t͡ʃʼəmaːxʷa	ʃʼəmaːxʷa	ʃʼəmaːxʷa
mustache	paːt͡ʃʼa	paːt͡ʃʼa	paːʃʼa	paːʃʼa

Grammar

Disappearance of the Absolutive Third Person Plural

In Circassian, there are two ways to mark the third person plural on the verb, depending on the role of the noun :

Absolutive Plural: Indicated by the suffix x. This marks the plural subject of intransitive verbs or the plural object of transitive verbs.
Ergative Plural: Indicated by the prefix ja- . This marks the plural subject of transitive verbs.
абы ар илъэгъуащ "he saw it"
абы ахэр илъэгъуахэщ "he saw them"
абыхэм ар ялъэгъуащ "they saw it"
абыхэм ахэр ялъэгъуахэщ "they saw them"

In Modern Standard Kabardian, the Absolutive third-person plural suffix has disappeared. As a result, the verb form for a plural absolutive often resembles the singular form, even though the pronoun remains plural.

Disappearance of the Present Tense -r Suffix

In Modern Kabardian, the suffix -r, which typically marks the dynamic present tense in other Circassian dialects, has disappeared in specific contexts:

**Negative Present Tense:** The suffix is dropped before the negative marker -q'əm.
**Imperfect Tense:** The suffix is dropped before the past tense marker -t.

English	Proto-Kabardian	Modern Standard Kabardian
he does not read it	ар еджэркъым	ар еджэкъым
he does not see it	абы илъэгъуэркъым	абы илъэгъуэкъым
he used to smoke	ар ефэрт	ар ефэт
he used to go	ар кӏуэрт	ар кӏуэт