ubyh

Ubykh is a Northwest Caucasian language that was formerly spoken in the northwestern Caucasus Mountains, specifically in the region of modern-day Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is now extinct, with the last native speaker, Tevfik Esenç, dying in 1992. Ubykh is known for its exceptionally large phoneme inventory, particularly its consonant system, which has been estimated to contain between 77 and 85 consonants, depending on the analysis. This rich consonantism is a hallmark of the Ubykh language.

The grammar of Ubykh is complex, featuring an ergative-absolutive alignment and a system of noun classes. The language also possesses a sophisticated verb morphology, incorporating prefixes and suffixes to indicate tense, aspect, mood, and other grammatical categories. Historically, Ubykh was an unwritten language, with its grammar and vocabulary primarily documented through the work of linguists in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Due to its extinction, Ubykh is of great interest to linguists studying language evolution, phonetics, and endangered languages. While no longer spoken natively, ongoing efforts are made to preserve and study the available linguistic data.