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The Abkhaz language is spoken in Abkhazia and Turkey, as well as in other Middle Eastern countries (Jordan, Syria, Iraq), in Russia and in the West. It belongs to the Abkhaz-Abazin branch of the Abkhaz-Adyghe family. Related to it are the Abazin, Adyghe, Kabardian-Circassian, and Ubykh (now extinct) languages.

According to one hypothesis, the Abkhaz language belongs to the Sino-Caucasian languages (a hypothetical macrofamily proposed by S. A. Starostin and before him by A. Trombetti). Under this name, several language families and isolated languages of Eurasia and North America are united. The grouping enjoys wide popularity among proponents of deep comparative linguistics. Among linguists actively working on this issue, one can mention J. D. Bengtson, M. Ruhlen and Vitaly Shevoroshkin. It is assumed that the ancestral homeland of the speakers of the Sino-Caucasian language family was the Iranian Zagros, north of the Fertile Crescent.

Sino-Caucasian languages

› Sino-Caucasian macrofamily
› 11000 BC. Sino-Tibetan languages and Na-Dene languages (a language family in North America)
› 11000 BC. North Caucasian-Basque and Yeniseian-Burushaski
› 9000 BC. Yeniseian-Burushaski-Hattian
› 7000 BC. Yeniseian languages (a small language family in Siberia)
› 7000 BC. Burushaski (an isolated language in Pakistan)
› 7000 BC. Hattian language
› 9000 BC. North Caucasian-Basque
› 7000 BC. Basque language (an isolated language on the Iberian Peninsula)
› 7000 BC. North Caucasian
› 4200 BC. Nakh-Dagestanian, Hurro-Urartian languages and Tyrrhenian languages
(Etruscan, Sumerian, Minoan, Pelasgian, Philistine, Kaskian and others)
› 4200 BC. Abkhaz-Adyghe
› 1600 BC. Adyghe-Circassian
› 600 BC. Ubykh
› 1200 AD. Adyghe
› 1200 AD. Circassian
› 1600 BC. Abkhaz-Abazin
› 1200 AD. Abazin
› 1200 AD. Abkhaz until the 1860s
› Abzhuy (Ochamchire district)
› Bzyb (Gudauta district)
› Samurzakan (Agubedia, Reka, Chkhuartal)
› Coastal (Dzhyget, Sadz)
› Mountain (Medoveev, Abadza, Chua, Chuzhi, Chuzhgucha,
Akhchipsou, Aibga)
› Gum (Sukhum district)
› Pskhu (upper reaches of the Bzyb River)
› Tsebelda-Dal (middle and upper reaches of the Kodori River)
› 1200 AD. Modern Abkhaz
› Abzhuy (Ochamchire district)
› Bzyb (Gudauta district)
› Samurzakan (Agubedia, Reka, Chkhuartal)


SOURCES

Cuneiform Languages of Anatolia. Kasyan 2015
Parallel Evolution of Genes and Languages in the Caucasus Region. Balanovsky 2011
Works on Linguistics. Starostin 2007
Hattian language
DNA of Abkhazians and the Western Caucasus
Notes on the Abkhaz language and languages of the Western Caucasus.
Abkhaz-Russian Dictionary. Kaslandzia 2005
Abkhaz-Russian google translator

Until the mid-19th century, the Abkhaz language did not have its own script. The literate population of Abkhazia used Greek (until the 9th century), Georgian (9th–19th centuries) and Turkish (18th century) as literary languages.

Over the course of its existence, the Abkhaz script has changed its graphic basis several times and has been reformed repeatedly. Currently, the Abkhaz script uses the Cyrillic alphabet. Four stages are distinguished in the history of Abkhaz writing:

1. 1862–1926 — script based on Cyrillic.
2. 1926–1938 — script based on Latin.
3. 1938–1954 — script based on the Georgian alphabet.
4. Since 1954 — script based on Cyrillic.

Abkhaz alphabet:

А а [aː]	Б б [b]	В в [v]	Г г [ɡ]	Гь гь [ɡʲ]	Гә гә [ɡʷ]	Ӷ ӷ [ʁ/ɣ]	Ӷь ӷь [ʁʲ/ɣʲ]
Ӷә ӷә [ʁʷ/ɣʷ]	Д д [d]	Дә дә [dʷ]	Е е [ɛ]	Ж ж [ʐ]	Жь жь [ʒ]	Жә жә [ʒʷ]	З з [z]
Ӡ ӡ [d͡z]	Ӡә ӡә [d͡ʑʷ]	И и [j/jɨ/ɨj/i]	К к [kʼ]	Кь кь [kʼʲ]	Кә кә [kʼʷ]	Қ қ [kʰ]	Қь қь [kʲʰ]
Қә қә [kʷʰ]	Ҟ ҟ [qʼ]	Ҟь ҟь [qʼʲ]	Ҟә ҟә [qʼʷ]	Л л [l]	М м [m]	Н н [n]	О о [ɔ]
П п [pʼ]	Ԥ ԥ [pʰ]	Р р [r]	С с [s]	Т т [tʼ]	Тә тә [tʼʷ]	Ҭ ҭ [tʰ]	Ҭә ҭә [tʷʰ]
У у [w/wɨ/ɨw/u]	Ф ф [f]	Х х [x/χ]	Хь хь [xʲ/χʲ]	Хә хә [xʷ/χʷ]	Ҳ ҳ [ħ]	Ҳә ҳә [ħʷ]	Ц ц [t͡s]
Цә цә [t͡ɕʷʰ]	Ҵ ҵ [t͡sʼ]	Ҵә ҵә [t͡ɕʼʷ]	Ч ч [t͡ʃʰ]	Ҷ ҷ [t͡ʃʼ]	Ҽ ҽ [t͡ʂʰ]	Ҿ ҿ [t͡ʂʼ]	Ш ш [ʂʃ]
Шь шь [ʃ]	Шә шә [ʃʷ]	Ы ы [ɨ]	Ҩ ҩ [ɥ/ɥˤ]	Џ џ [d͡ʐ]	Џь џь [d͡ʒ]	ь [ʲ]	ә [ʷ]