Abkhazo-Adyghian
Language Information
The Abkhaz-Adyghe group represents a family of closely related tongues natively spoken in Russia (specifically the North Caucasus republics of Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, and Karachay-Cherkessia), Georgia (primarily within the disputed region of Abkhazia), and Turkey. Due to historical mass migrations, significant diaspora communities also speak these languages in Jordan, Syria, Israel, Iraq, and various Western nations.
The 19th-Century Diaspora: Until 1864, speakers of these languages compactly occupied the entire northeastern shore of the Black Sea and the northwestern flank of the Caucasus Mountains. Following the conclusion of the Caucasian War and the Russian Empire's conquest of the region, hundreds of thousands of indigenous people (referred to as Muhajirs) were forcibly expelled or migrated into the Ottoman Empire. Because of this historical displacement, more speakers of Northwest Caucasian languages live in diaspora communities (especially Turkey) than in their native Caucasian homelands today.
The 19th-Century Diaspora: Until 1864, speakers of these languages compactly occupied the entire northeastern shore of the Black Sea and the northwestern flank of the Caucasus Mountains. Following the conclusion of the Caucasian War and the Russian Empire's conquest of the region, hundreds of thousands of indigenous people (referred to as Muhajirs) were forcibly expelled or migrated into the Ottoman Empire. Because of this historical displacement, more speakers of Northwest Caucasian languages live in diaspora communities (especially Turkey) than in their native Caucasian homelands today.
- Language Family
- Northwest Caucasian