The term Ibero-Caucasian (or Iberian-Caucasian) was proposed by Georgian linguist Arnold Chikobava for the union of the three language families that are specific to the Caucasus, namely . South Caucasian, also called Kartvelian.; Northwest Caucasian, also called Abkhazo-Adyghean.; Northeast Caucasian, also called Nakho–Dagestanian.; The Ibero-Caucasian phylum would …

Linguists such as Sergei Starostin see the Northeast (Nakh-Dagestanian) and Northwest (Abkhaz–Adyghe) families as related and propose uniting them in a single North Caucasian family, sometimes called Caucasic or simply Caucasian.This theory excludes the South Caucasian languages, thereby proposing two indigenous language families. While these two …