West Circassian

Adyghe
West Circassian
Адыгабзэ (Кӏахыбзэ)
Native to	Russia (incl. Circassia: Adygea, Krasnodar region), Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Israel, Macedonia
Region	North Caucasus
Ethnicity	Circassians, Cherkesogai
Native speakers	590,000 (2010–2014)
Language family	Northwest Caucasian Circassian Adyghe
Writing system	Cyrillic Latin Arabic
Official status
Official language in	Adygea (Russia)
Language codes
ISO 639-2
ISO 639-3
Glottolog	adyg1241
Distribution of the Adyghe language in Adygea, Russia (2002).
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Adyghe (/ˈædᵻɡeɪ/ or /ˌɑːdᵻˈɡeɪ/; Adyghe: Адыгабзэ, adyghabze IPA: [aːdəɣabza]), also known as West Circassian (КӀахыбзэ), is one of the two official languages of the Republic of Adygea in the Russian Federation, the other being Russian. It is spoken by various tribes of the Adyghe people: Abzekh,Adamey, Bzhedug;Hatuqwai, Temirgoy, Mamkhegh; Natekuay, Shapsug;Zhaney, Yegerikuay, each with its own dialect. The language is referred to by its speakers as Adygebze or Adəgăbză, and alternatively spelled in English as Adygean, Adygeyan or Adygei. The literary language is based on the Temirgoy dialect.