The urup idiom: formation, structure, features in the homeland and in the turkish diaspora

A distinct linguistic variety developed in the Circassian aul of Urupsky (Шъхьащэфыжь) under the influence of various historical processes. The aul was founded during the Caucasian War and became a place of settlement for Circassians from different communities. The name “Urupsky” was officially established by a decision of the assistant head of the Urup District of Kuban Oblast in April 1867. At the same time, some documents and maps refer to the aul as Uarp, the Adyghe name for the Urup River. Traditionally, however, the settlement was-and continues to be-popularly known as “Шъхьащэфыжь.” Abzakh, Temirgoy, Shapsug, and Kabardian Circassians settled there. The local idiom developed by incorporating the dialects of the Circassians living in the aul, primarily those of the Temirgoy and Abzakh, who constituted the majority of its inhabitants. The article draws on field interviews conducted between 2021 and 2024 with respondents from the auls of Uspensky District (Krasnodar Krai, Russia) and Ankara Province (Türkiye). Despite pressure from the state and the effects of globalization, the Circassians of Ankara Province have preserved the linguistic features of their ancestors. The distinctive idiom of the Circassians from the aul of Urupsky can still be traced in the speech of present-day residents of İkizce (Ankara Province, Türkiye). The study documented a number of words characteristic of the local speech. It should be noted that the phonological system, grammatical structure, and vocabulary of the Urup idiom largely correspond to those of Standard Adyghe. In the diaspora, the idiom acquired features common to the Circassians of Türkiye while retaining its own distinctive characteristics.

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