Circassian, also known as Cherkess, is a subdivision of the Northwest Caucasian language family, spoken by the Circassian people. There are two main variants of the Circassian language, defined by their literary standards, Adyghe and Kabardian. The languages are highly mutually intelligible with one another, but differ to a degree where they would be considered clear-cut dialects. The earliest extant written records of the Circassian language are in the Arabic script, recorded by the Turkish traveller Evliya Çelebi in the 17th century, although the Greek and Georgian alphabets were adapted for them in ancient and medieval times.