Tevfik Esenç

Tevfik Esenç (* 1904, † October 7, 1992 ) was a native of the Caucasus Circassian and lived in exile in Turkey. He was the last speaker of the Caucasian language Ubychisch.

Esenç lived in the village of Haci Osman in Turkey, where he was mayor until he got a job in Istanbul. There he worked with the French linguist Georges Dumézil to record the dying Ubychisch.

Blessed with a very good memory and an understanding of foreign languages ​​, he worked with Dumézil and the many other linguists, who visited him very well together. At the end of not only a large proportion of the words in the extinct language, but also the mythology and culture of the Ubychen by the scientists was recorded.

In addition, he spoke not only Ubychisch and Turkish fluently, but also the Hakuchi dialect of Adyge.

Esenç died in 1992 at the age of 88 years. The following was engraved on his grave stone: