Tevfik Esenç
Tevfik Esenç (* 1904 , † 7. October 1992 ) was an out of the Caucasus originating Circassian and lived in exile in Turkey . He was the last speaker of the Caucasian language Ubykh .
Esenç lived in the village of Hacı Osman in Turkey and was mayor there until he got a job in Istanbul . There he worked with the French linguist Georges Dumézil to record the dying Ubychian.
Blessed with a very good memory and an understanding of foreign languages, he worked very well with Dumézil and the many other linguists who visited him. In the end, not only a large part of the words of this extinct language, but also the mythology and culture of the Ubyches were recorded in writing by the scientists.
In addition, he not only spoke Ubykh and fluent Turkish , but also the almost extinct Hakuchi dialect of Adygean .
Esenç died in 1992 at the age of 88. The following was engraved on his tombstone:
- This is Tevfik Esenç's grave. He was the last person who could speak the language they called Ubykh.
See also
Web links
- Tevfik Esenc (English)
- Tape of the 1986 collaboration with Tevfik Esenç . An English-speaking linguist who was not presented asks a Turkish interpreter in Turkish and Esenç gives the ubychic translation.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Esenç, Tevfik |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | last speaker of the Ubychic language |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1904 |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 7, 1992 |