Kabardian (/kəˈbɑːrdiən/; Kabardian: адыгэбзэ or къэбэрдей адыгэбзэ or къэбэрдейбзэ  qabardejbza ; Adyghe: адыгэбзэ or къэбэртай адыгабзэ or къэбэртайбзэ), also known as Kabardino-Cherkess (къэбэрдей-черкесыбзэ) or East Circassian, is a Northwest Caucasian language, closely related to the Adyghe language. It is spoken mainly in parts of the North Caucasus republics of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia (Eastern Circassia), and in Turkey, Jordan and Syria (the extensive post-war diaspora). It has 47 or 48 consonant phonemes of which 22 or 23 are fricatives, depending upon whether one counts [h] as phonemic, but this is contrasted with just three phonemic vowels. It is one of very few languages to possess a clear phonemic distinction between ejective affricates and ejective fricatives.