Besleney dialect

The Besleney dialect (Adyghe: Беслъэнеибзэ, Besłæneibzæ [bejsɬanejəbza]) is one of the East Circassian (Kabardian) dialects. However, because the Besleney tribe lived at the center of Circassia, the Besleney dialect also shares a large number of features with dialects of Western Circassian (Adyghe language).

The Besleney dialect is characterized by its conservatism. Unlike Modern Standard Kabardian, Besleney was not affected by the two major phonological shifts (Phase 1 and Phase 2) that defined the evolution of the Kabardian dialects. Consequently, Besleney preserves the original consonant inventory of Proto-Kabardian.

Besleney did not undergo "Phase 2" (Velar Palatalization). It retains the distinct Proto-Kabardian series of palatalized velars: the voiced stop [ɡʲ] ⟨гь⟩, the voiceless stop [kʲ] ⟨кь⟩, and the ejective [kʲʼ] ⟨кӏь⟩.

In most other dialects, including Standard Kabardian, these consonants shifted forward to become palato-alveolar affricates (d͡ʒ, t͡ʃ, t͡ʃʼ).

• **Besleney [ɡʲ] ⟨гь⟩ (retained) vs Standard Kabardian [d͡ʒ] ⟨дж⟩:**

• **Besleney [kʲ] ⟨кь⟩ (retained) vs Standard Kabardian [t͡ʃ] ⟨ч⟩:**

• **Besleney [kʲʼ] ⟨кӏь⟩ (retained) vs Standard Kabardian [t͡ʃʼ] ⟨чӏ⟩ (written as ⟨кӏ⟩):**

Besleney did not undergo "Phase 1" (Spirantization). It retains the original Proto-Kabardian postalveolar and retroflex affricates: [d͡ʒ] ⟨дж⟩, [t͡ʃ] ⟨ч⟩, [t͡ʃʼ] ⟨чӏ⟩ and [d͡ʐ] ⟨дж⟩.

In Standard Kabardian, these original affricates underwent spirantization, becoming the fricatives [ʒ] ⟨ж⟩, [ʃ] ⟨ш⟩, and [ɕʼ] ⟨щӏ⟩.

The following table demonstrates how Besleney retains the affricates (matching Proto-Kabardian), while Standard Kabardian has shifted them to fricatives.

Because Besleney was affected by neither Phase 1 nor Phase 2, words that are merged or shifted in Standard Kabardian remain distinct in Besleney.

The following table shows how words like "new" (which underwent Phase 1 in Std. Kabardian) and "tail" (which underwent Phase 2 in Std. Kabardian) are distinct in Besleney.

Unlike Modern Kabardian, Baslaney doesn't use the prefix н-. It uses the prefix къ- in all cases.

• Hakuchi Adyghe dialect
• Shapsug Adyghe dialect
• Bzhedug Adyghe Dialect
• Abzakh Adyghe dialect

• UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive - Recording Details for Kabardian Beslenei dialect