Orthography
Kabardian was written with an Arabic alphabet until 1924, and a Latin alphabet from 1924 to 1936. It now uses a Cyrillic alphabet, like many other languages spoken in Russian territory (see Russification).
| Cyrillic | IPA | Latin | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| А а | ᴀ | |||
| Б б | ʙ | |||
| В в | w | |||
| Г г | ɡ | |||
| Гу гу | ɡv | |||
| Гъ гъ | г | |||
| Гъу гъу | гv | |||
| Д д | d | |||
| Дж дж | ǥ (ɡ̠) | Some fonts might show a two-loop g for this Latin letter; this should be a barred script g (ɡ) | ||
| Дз дз | з or ᴣ | |||
| Е е | e | |||
| (Ё ё) | — | |||
| Ж ж | J | |||
| Жь жь | Ԏ | This Latin letter does not appear in Unicode, so a similar Cyrillic letter has been used here. It should resemble a J, with a turned lower half. | ||
| З з | z | |||
| И и | i | |||
| Й й | y | |||
| К к | k | |||
| Ку ку | kv | |||
| Къ къ | q | |||
| Къу къу | qv | |||
| КӀ кӀ | ⱪ or қ or ʀ | The ks and the r may not represent the same sound | ||
| КӀу кӀу | ⱪv or қv or ʀv | |||
| Кхъ кхъ | ? | |||
| Кхъу кхъу | ? | |||
| Л л | l | |||
| Лъ лъ | L | This Latin letter does not appear in Unicode. It resembles an l with an uptick to the right. | ||
| ЛӀ лӀ | ᶅ | The downtick should be straight. | ||
| М м | m | |||
| Н н | n | |||
| О о | o | |||
| П п | p | |||
| ПӀ пӀ | ƍ | This Latin letter does not appear in Unicode, so a similar-looking letter has been used. It should be a p with a left-curl to the tail like a j: a reversed . | ||
| Р р | r | |||
| С с | s | |||
| Т т | t | |||
| ТӀ тӀ | ƀ | May be a t with the tail curled up into a bowl, rather than a barred b | ||
| У у | u | |||
| Ф ф | f | |||
| ФӀ фӀ | ʇ | This Latin letter does not appear in Unicode, so a similar form has been used here. It should be reversed f rather than a turned t. | ||
| Х х | x | |||
| Ху ху | xv | |||
| Хъ хъ | ɤ or х | This Latin letter does not appear in Unicode, so a similar letter has been used here. It should resemble an X with curled horns on the upper ends, without a connecting bar at the base. The second variant looks like a script Cyrillic х (curls on all four legs), but upright. | ||
| Хъу хъу | ɤv or хv | As above. | ||
| Хь хь | ɦ | |||
| Ц ц | c | |||
| ЦӀ цӀ | ç | Other accounts have a straight downtick, like a small ↅ | ||
| Ч ч | ҟ | |||
| Ш ш | ħ | |||
| Щ щ | ʃ | |||
| ЩӀ щӀ | ? | |||
| (Ъ ъ) | ″ | — | ||
| Ы ы | ə | |||
| (Ь ь) | ′ | — | ||
| Э э | e | |||
| (Ю ю) | yu | |||
| Я я | ya | |||
| Ӏ | h | |||
| Ӏу | hv |
| Cyrillic | IPA |
|---|---|
| Гъу гъу | |
| Гъо гъо | |
| Ку ку | |
| Ко ко | |
| Къу къу | |
| Къо къо | |
| КӀу кӀу | |
| КӀо кӀо | |
| Кхъу кхъу | |
| Кхъо кхъо | |
| Ӏу |
Read more about this topic: Kabardian Language