When investigating the phonemic structure of the language, the study of distributive patterns of its phonemes is utterly important.

The Abkhaz literary language has 62 phonemes, including 56 consonants and 6 vowels. While characterizing the phonemes in her monograph Historical-Comparative Analysis of Abkhaz and Abaza Languages, K. Lomtatidze refers to the vowels and their respective positions. In a similar manner, she discusses some of the consonants [Lomtatidze, 1976:24-61, 139-190]. However, she has not explored the very issue from a statistical perspective.

In our article Verbal Root with CVC structure in the Abkhaz and Abaza Languages, we have covered the issue of phoneme distribution, including fricatives, which led to the following findings: in the anlaut position of the CVC structure, there have been following occurrences: every one of

ზ (z), ს (s), ჟ¾ (ž¾) and ჶ (f) – in one respective root,  

 (ω˚),  (),  (),  () - in two respective roots,

ღ (ɣ)  - in three roots, and

 () - in five roots [Poniava, 2014:154-155].

Our study was based on data from dictionaries; only verbal roots have been selected for analysis; hence, the materials have been limited. Therefore, at this point, we are aiming at covering the entire language system and conducting the corpus research.

The contemporary linguistics actively employs the corpus research in order to explore various issues. Such a study pertaining to the issues of Abkhaz phonetics and phonology has not been carried out so far. We have decided to examine the distribution of phonemes based on the Abkhaz National Corpus the development of which started within the framework of the project „Palag“ in 2015. It comprises over ten million units of which 7 596 355 are word forms.

        Given the fact that it would be impossible to perfectly describe the distribution of all phonemes by positions in one particular article, we have decided to examine the distribution of fricative phonemes in the anlaut, inlaut and auslaut positions, based on the Abkhaz National Corpus[1].

The following fricatives (spirants) occur in the Abkhaz literary language:

labio-dental: ვ (v) ჶ (f)

alveolar hissing sibilant: ზ (z) ს (s)              

alveolar hushing sibilant: ჟ (ž) შ (š)                        

velarized alveolar hushing sibilant: ჟ¾ (ž¾) შ¾ (š¾)[2]

labialized alveolar hushing sibilant:  ()  ()                                   

velar: ღ (ɣ) ხ (x)                             

palatalized velar:  ()  ()

labialized velar:  ()  ()             

laryngal: ჰ (h),  (),  (ω˚) [3]                               

Abzhywa and Bzyp are identified among the Abkhaz dialects where the following fricatives are attested: ჶ (f),  (),  (),  (),  (),  (),  (), however, the Abkhaz National Corpus is based on the Abkhaz literary language, therefore, it does not incorporate dialect data, hence, our study cannot reflect the distribution of the Abzhywa and Bzyp specific fricatives. We will only discuss the issue of fricative distribution typical to the literary language. Since it is a corpus research, the relevant examples represent the forms attested in the corpus as opposed to the dictionary forms. Two or three examples will be proposed for every phoneme. When referring to the borrowed material, the pathway of transmission of the borrowed word will be dealt with.

According to the Abkhaz National Corpus, the following set of five consonants have the highest frequency of distribution among fricatives in the anlaut position: ს (s) (სარა (sara) ”I“, სტოლ (sṭol) “table“ < Rus. стол „id“), ზ (z) (is represented in the following words: ზნჷ (zn) ”once”, ზეჷ (ze) “everyone“; occurs also as an affix: ზბეჲტ (zbejṭ) „I saw” and in some loan words as well: ზაან (zaan) ”Law“ < Rus. закон „id.“), ჰ (h) (ჰარა (hara) “we“, ჰალალ (halal) ”kind“ < Turk. helal ”id.“),  () (არა (ara) ”saying”, ჷნთქარა (ntkara) “states”) and შ¾ (š¾) (შ¾ჷსა (š¾sa) „year“, შ¾აა (š¾aa) „white“).

The following set of five consonants have the second highest frequency of distribution in the anlaut position:  () (არა (ara) ”you“, ნაპჷ (na) “your hand“), ხ (x) (ხადა (xada) ”leader“, ხჷ (x) ”head”),  (ω˚) (ბა (ω˚ba) ”two (non-human class)“, ნჷ (ω˚n) ”house”), შ (š) (შაპჷ (ša) “foot“, შთა (šta) “trace“) and  () (ბა (ba) “five, non-human class)“, ჷჭჷ () “child“).     

The third set of five fricatives in the initial position is as follows:   (აბა (aba) ”ten (non-human class)“, ლარ (lar) “people“),  () (ჷძ (ʒ) “name“, აა (aa) ”pain“),  () (ა (a) ”strong“), ჶ (f) (also attested specifically in the Abkhaz lexical units (ჶბა (fba) ”six“), but is especially frequent in borrowings: ჶორუმ (forum) ”forum” < Rus. форум ”id.“) and ვ (v) (the frequent use of v in the Abkhaz corpus stemmes from the borrowed lexical units (ვიზიტ (viziṭ) ”visit“ < Rus. визит ”id.“ and, for the greater part, from the fact that the corpus comprises the words used in the Russian dialogues of literary characters of the Abkhaz literature: всех ”everyone“. ვბა (vba) “fault / guilty“, ვაწჷს (vas) “rib“, etc. are represented from specifically Abkhaz vocabulary).

            The least frequently attested set of four fricatives in the anlaut position is as follows: ღ (ɣ) (ღბა (ɣba) ”ship“, ღრა (ɣra) (“fault”), ჟ¾ (ž¾) (ჟ¾ჷ (ž¾) “adolescent”, for the most part in loan words: ჟ¾ურნალ (ž¾urnal) “journal”), ჟ (ž) (ჟა (ža) “hare”, ჟჷ (ž) “meat”) and  () (ჷჩ (č) “thief”).  

Different forms of the same words occur throughout the corpus because the prefix ა- (a-) sometimes expressing generality and other times – definiteness, is either attested in the word or is missing: the dictionary form ა-შხა (a-šxa) “mountain” is attested as both შხა (šxa) and აშხა (ašxa). The fricative in the first and second forms occur in the anlaut and inlaut positions, respectively.  

ხ (x) is the most frequent phoneme in the inlaut position: დჷნხონ (dnxon) “lived”, აშხა (ašxa) “mountain”.

The ზ (z) phoneme has shifted to the second position in inlaut. For the most part, it occurs in the words of Abkhaz vocabulary: ამზა (amza) “moon”; rarely occurs in the borrowed lexical units: აზინ (azin) ”the right“ < Turk. izin „id“.

After ზ (z), the ს (s) fricative is the most frequent one in the inlaut position: აფსნჷ (Apsn)  “Abkhazia”, აფსჷძ (apsʒ) “fish”, and is attested in proper nouns as well:  ნესტორ (Nesṭor) “Nestor”.

შ¾ (š¾) is in the fourth position, in terms of the distribution in inlaut: ლაშ¾ა (laš¾a) “light”, აფშ¾ძარა (apšʒara) “beauty”; also occurs in loan words that include the very phoneme: აშ¾კოლ (ašḳol) ”school” < Rus. школа ”id.“.

            In inlaut, the fifth position is assigned to  , being specifically represented in the Abkhaz vocabulary: ანჷა (ana) ”celebration“, აფჷს (aps) “woman, wife”.

The second mostly spread set of five fricatives in the inlaut position is as follows:   (ჲაა (jaa) “today”, ათა (ata)“cold”, საა (saa)“face” < Geo. სახე (saxe) ”id.“),  (ω˚) (in Abkhaz words: ამა (amω˚a) “road / way”, ააჷ (awaω˚) “a human being”), შ (š) (საშა (saša) “my brother”, rarely in loan words as well: ადაშმა (adašma) “floor” < Turk.  dšeme ”id.“),  () (აფმა (apma) “host”, ფსჷალა (Psala) “in Abkhaz”) and ჰ h (ეჲჰა (ejha) “more”, აცჰა (acha) “honey”, is frequent in loan words: აბაჰჩა (abahča) “garden” < Turk. bahče ”id.“, აჰათჷრ (ahatәr)  “respect” < Turk. hatәr ”id.“). 

In terms of the distribution in the inlaut position, the third set of five fricatives includes:  () (ლჷჭა (la) (“her children”, and is not that rare in loan words: ააამა (awaama) “church” < Megr. ოხვამე (oame) ”id.“),  () (in specifically Abkhaz lexical units: აა (ω˚aa) “twenty”, საა (saa) “my word”), ჟ (ž) (for the most part, is in the Abkhaz vocabulary (შჷბჟონ (šbžon) “in the afternoon”), proper nouns that include ჟ (ž) have been borrowed: ბეჟან (Bežan) “Bezhani”), ვ (v) (for the most part, is in loan words: ასოვეტ (asoveṭ) “council” < Rus. совет ”id.“, ათძჷვარა (atʒvara) “outer wall” seems Abkhaz) and ჶ (f) (რჶეჲტ (rfejṭ) “[they] ate”, აშ¾ოფერ (aš¾ofer) “driver ” < Rus. шофер ”id.“ is generally among the borrowed lexical units).   

The following set of four fricatives has the lowest frequency of distribution in the inlaut position: ღ (ɣ) (occurring in the Abkhaz lexical units (აბღა (abɣa) “back (of human)”, აჷღრა (aɣra)  “hope”) as well as those borrowed from other languages: აძღაბ (aʒɣab) “girl” < Megr. ძღაბი (ʒɣabi) ”id.“), ჟ¾ (ž¾) (აბჟ¾ა (abž¾a) “half”, აჟ¾ანრ (až¾anr) “genre” < Rus. жанр ”id.“, ასჲუჟ¾ეტ (asjuž¾eṭ) “storyline” < Rus. сиужет “id“),  () (არა (ara) „right hand“, ბჷ (b)  “leaf”) and  () (აა (aa) “strong”, არა (ara) “wooden floor”).   

In terms of distribution in the auslaut, the ზ (z) phoneme is at the top: აბზ (abz) “tongue”, კავკაზ (Ḳavḳaz) “Caucasus” < Rus. Кавказ „id“.  

After ზ (z), ს (s) has the highest distribution in the auslaut. For the most part, it is attested in the specifically Abkhaz lexical units (ნას (nas) “afterwards; later / after”, ასას (asas) “guest”), though occurring in loan words as well: ვერს (vers) “verst” < Rus. верс „id.“.

In terms of distribution in the final position in a word, the first set of five fricatives also include   (აშთა (ašta) “afterwards; later / after”, აუსურა (ausura) “to the workplace, in the workplace”, the most frequent are the forms that exhibit postpositions such as -ა -a ”to, towards, in“, შ¾ (š¾) (ამშ¾ (amš¾) “day, weather“, აჯ¾ჷშ¾ (aǯ¾š¾) “garlic”, აკარტოშ¾ (aḳarṭoš¾) “potato” < Rus. картошка ”id.“) and  (ω˚) (აადა (awadaω˚) “difficult”, mostly occurs as a postposition that primarily denotes a profession; the one acting as: აჲთაგა (ajtagaω˚) “translator”).  

The second mostly spread set of five fricatives in the final position in a word includes ხ (x) (აწხ (ax) “night”, აათახ (awatax) “room” < Geo. ოთახი (otaxi) „id“. When this is the case, some Russian words are attested that have been employed in the dialogues from the Abkhaz literature: многих “to many”),  () (აძჷრლა (aʒrla) ”grass-snake (a reptile)“, ახჷ (ax) „window“), შ (š) (ყაფშ (apš) “red”, აჯჷმშ (aǯmš) “onion”, აქალმჷშ (akalmš) “jelly of grape juice boiled with flour” < Geo. ფელამუში (pelamuši) ”id.“),  () (აძბა (aʒba) “story, news“, არა (ara) “cattle; goods”, არჷც (arc) “number, digit” < Geo. რიცხვი (ricxvi) ”id.“) and ჟ (ž) (ააბჟ (aabž) “story, short story”, აშჷჟ (ašž) “morning”).   

In terms of the distribution in the auslaut position, the third set of five fricatives is as follows:  () (primarily, in specifically Abkhaz words (ალჷგა (alga) “old/elderly (man)”), though occurring in the borrowed lexical units as well: აკარპჷ (aḳar) “watermelon” < Turk. karpuz ”id.“), ვ (v) (occurs in one single, specifically Abkhaz onomatopoetic word (აჭ¾ჷვ-სჷვ (a¾v-sv) “a bullet whistle”), while the rest are borrowed: არხივ (arxiv) “archive” < Rus. архив ”id.“), ჰ (h) (most frequently occurs in interjections (ოჰ (oh) “Oh!”) and borrowed lexical units: აკალმაჰ (aḳalmah) “trout” < Geo. კალმახა (ḳalmaxa) ”id.“, ალლაჰ (Allah) “Allah” < Turk. Allah ”id.“),  () (mostly in the Abkhaz words: აჷ (a) “dove”, ახა (axa) “stone”) and ჶ (f) (is attested in the Abkhaz words as well (აჶ (af) “sixteen”), however, for the most part, it occurs in borrowings: მიჶ (mif) “myth” < Rus. миф “id“, ატარიჶ (aṭarif) “tariff, rate” < Rus. тариф ”id.“).      

The following set of four fricatives has the lowest frequency of distribution in the final position in a word: ღ (ɣ) (ააღ (aaɣ) “anger, hatred”, აჷბზჷღ (abzɣ) “loving, affectionate”),  () (არბა (arba) “rooster”, ატა (aṭa)  “egg”), ჟ¾ (ž¾) (also attested in the Abkhaz word (ჭ¾ჷჟ¾-ჭ¾ჷჟ¾ (¾ž¾ -¾ž¾) “creaking”, though mostly occurs in loan words: ატირაჟ¾ (aṭiraž¾) “print-run” < Rus. тираж „id“) and  () is generally attested in borrowings in the final position: აუ  (au) “burden” < Megr. უღუ (uɣu) ”id.“, ისანძ (isanʒ) “his border” < Megr. სანძღუ (sanʒɣu) ”id.“, though it also occurs in the Abkhaz word: ჷრდა (rda) “wooden bed”).    

The table below shows the numbers and percentile distribution of phonemes in various positions across the available word-forms of the corpus: 

Thus, the research that we have carried out on the basis of the Abkhaz National Corpus, revealed that the fricative phonemes have the highest frequency of distribution. Their percentile distribution in inlaut, anlaut, and auslaut, has been reported as 66.49% (the highest), and 13.06 %, and 12.05% (the lowest), respectively.

The research has demonstrated that the same frequency has not been found among fricatives in different positions. For instance, ხ (x) is characterized by the highest frequency of distribution in inlaut, while it is found to be the seventh and sixth most frequent in terms of distribution in the anlaut and auslaut positions, respectively. ზ (z) has the first and second highest frequency of distribution in auslaut and, anlaut-inlaut positions, respectively. The statistical data on distribution of the identified phonemes vary across positions.

The implemented corpus research has also shown that ვ (v), ჶ (f), ჰ (h) and ჟ¾ (ž¾) are mostly attested in loanwords in every position;  (), in auslaut, much like in inlaut, has the lowest frequency of distribution, and occurs mostly in loanwords in the word-final position.  

Other fricatives, being rarely reported in borrowed lexical units, generally occur in the specifically Abkhaz material. Apart from fricatives, the patterns of distribution in Abkhaz must be found for all the phonemes which is important in terms of the comparative study of Abkhaz-Adyghean as well as other Ibero-Caucasian languages that we consider as part of further research.