Ubyhien

Ubyh is a Northwest Caucasian language formerly spoken by the Ubykh people in the region of Sochi on the Black Sea coast of Russia. It is now considered extinct. The last native speaker, Tevfik Esenç, died in 1992. Ubyh was characterized by a very large consonant inventory, with estimates ranging up to 84 consonants. This complexity was balanced by a small vowel system, often described as having only two or three phonemic vowels.

The language was traditionally spoken in the northern Caucasus and was closely related to Abkhaz and Circassian languages. Ubyh had a rich morphology, utilizing prefixes and suffixes to express grammatical relationships. Its phonology, particularly the extensive use of uvular and pharyngeal consonants, made it phonetically distinct.

Despite its extinction, Ubyh has been extensively documented by linguists, most notably by Georges Dumézil and later by linguists like Wolfgang Schulze. These efforts have preserved valuable data about its grammar, lexicon, and phonetics. The Ubykh people were forcibly deported from their homeland in the 1860s, which led to the dispersal of its speakers and the subsequent decline of the language. Today, there are no known native speakers of Ubyh, though linguistic research continues to study its fascinating structure and history.