Phonetic Features of Mozdok and Besleneev Dialects of Kabardino-Circassian Language: Similarities and Differences

This study investigates the Mozdok and Besleneev dialects of the Kabardino-Circassian language. The article presents the findings of a comparative analysis of these dialects, focusing on their similarities and differences in relation to each other and to the literary language. The research draws on the works of prominent Caucasian scholars who have explored this topic. New recordings of speech from speakers of both dialects, collected between 2022 and 2024 in their respective regions, serve as primary data sources. Special attention is given to the consonantal inventory, where consonants absent in the literary language but phonetically similar in the studied dialects are identified. The relevance of this work stems from the pressing need to examine the contemporary state of these variants of the Kabardino-Circassian language through the collection and analysis of new field data. The novelty of the study lies in its re-evaluation of dialectal features of the Kabardino-Circassian language variants for the first time in several decades. It is demonstrated that the examined dialects employ several sounds that are phonetically similar substitutes for literary forms: чI [ch’], чIъ [ch], щIъ [sh] instead of щI [sh’], г (g) instead of дж [dz], жь [zh’] instead of ж [zh], among others. Additionally, each dialect exhibits its own specific properties in the use of consonant sounds.

Kabardino-Circassian language, dialectology, phonetics, consonant sound, Mozdok dialect, Besleneev dialect