All examples from Dumézil 1968. See external link below for audio.

/faaχʲa tʼqʷʼa.kʷabʒa kʲʼaʁə.n a.za.χʲa.ʃə.na.n a.mʁʲa.n gʲə.kʲa.qʼa.n./
once two.man friend.ADV they.each-other.BEN.become.PL.ADV the.road.OBL on.enter(PL).past.PL
Once, two men set out together on the road.

/a.f.awtə.nə mʁʲawəf a.χʷad(a).awtə.n a.kʲa.na.n, a.za.n fatɕʼ.aala ɕʷəbˁ(a).aala χʷada.qʼa,/
they.eat.FUT.ADV provisions they.buy.FUT.ADV they.enter(PL).PL.ADV the.one.ERG cheese.and bread.and buy.PAST
They went to buy some provisions for the journey; the one bought cheese and bread,

/ajdə.χə.n.gʲə ɕʷəbˁ(a).aala ps(a).aala χʷada.n a.j.nə.w.qʼa./
other.of.ERG.and bread.and fish.and buy.ADV it.hither.he.bring.past
and the other bought bread and fish.

/a.mʁʲa.n gʲə.kʲa.na.gʲə,/
the.road.OBL on.enter(PL).PL.GER
While they were on the road,

/wa.fatɕʼ.də.χʷada.qʼajtʼ.ə ʁa.kʲʼaʁ.ʁaafa "ɕʷəʁʷaɬa psa jada ɕʷ.f.aa.n;"/
that.cheese.REL.buy.PLUP.GER his.friend.towards you-all fish much you-all.eat.PL.PRES
the one who had bought the cheese asked the other, "You people eat a lot of fish;"

/"saaba wana.n.gʲaafə psa ɕʷ.f.aa.nə.j?" qʼa.n ʁ(a).aa.dzʁa.qʼa./
why that.OBL.as-much-as fish you-all.eat.PL.PRES.QU say.ADV him.to.ask.past
"why do you eat fish as much as that?"

/"psa wə.fə.ba wə.tɕʼa jada ʃ.awt,"/
fish you.eat.if your.knowledge much become.FUT
"If you eat fish, you get smarter,"

/"wana.ʁaafa ʃəʁʷaɬa psa jada ʃ.fə.n," qʼa.qʼa./
that.for we fish much we.eat.PRES say.PAST
"so we eat a lot of fish," he answered.

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See also

• Caucasian languages

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References

• Colarusso, J. 1994 Proto-Northwest Caucasian, or, How to Crack a Very Hard Nut. Journal of Indo-European Studies 22: 1-17.
• Dumézil, G. 1961 Etudes oubykhs. Librairie A. Maisonneuve: Paris.
• Dumézil, G. 1965 Documents anatoliens sur les langues et les traditions du Caucase, III: Nouvelles études oubykhs. Librairie A. Maisonneuve: Paris.
• Dumézil, G. 1968 Eating fish makes you clever. Annotated recording available via [1].
• Dumézil, G. 1975 Le verbe oubykh: études descriptives et comparatives. Imprimerie Nationale: Paris.
• Hewitt, B. G. 2005 North-West Caucasian. Lingua 115: 91-145.
• Mészáros, J. von. 1930 Die Päkhy-Sprache. University of Chicago Press: Chicago.
• Vogt, H. 1963 Dictionnaire de la langue oubykh. Universitetsforlaget: Oslo.

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External links

• Two proposals for a practical orthography for Ubykh
• YouTube: Tevfik Esenç narrating the story of the two travellers and the fish in Ubykh
• A number of narrations by Tevfik Esenç, WAV format

v • d • e Northwest Caucasian languages Abaza | Abkhaz | Adyghe | Kabardian | Ubykh

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