The Kartvelian languages (/kɑːrtˈvɛliən, -ˈviːl-/ kart-VEL-ee-ən, -VEEL-; Georgian: ქართველური
ენები, romanized: kartveluri enebi), also known as South Caucasian or Kartvelic languages,[1] are a
language family indigenous to the South Caucasus and spoken primarily in Georgia. There are
approximately 5 million Georgian language speakers worldwide, with large groups in Russia, Iran, the
United States, the European Union, Israel,[2] and Turkey.[3] The Kartvelian family has no known relation to
any other language family, making it one of the world's primary language families.[4]
The most widely spoken of these languages is Georgian. The earliest literary source in any Kartvelian
language is the Old Georgian Bir el Qutt inscriptions, written in ancient Georgian Asomtavruli script at the
once-existing Georgian monastery near Bethlehem,[5] dated to c. 430 AD.[6] Georgian scripts are used to
write all Kartvelian languages.[citation needed]
Status
Georgian is the official language of Georgia (spoken by 90% of the population) and serves as its main
language for literary and business use. It is written with an original and distinctive alphabet, and the oldest
surviving literary text dates from the 5th century AD. The old Georgian script seems to have been distinct
from every other language,[7] but shows possible influence from the Greek alphabet or Semitic writing
systems.[8]
Mingrelian has been written with the Georgian alphabet since 1864, especially in the period from 1930 to
1938, when the Mingrelians had some cultural autonomy, and after 1989.[citation needed]
The Laz language was written mainly between 1927 and 1937, and then in Turkey using the Latin
alphabet. Laz is endangered as its speakers are shifting to Turkish.
Classification
Part of a series on
Georgians
ქართველები
The
Kartvelian
people
Nation
Georgia
Ancient Kartvelian people
Colchians
Iberians
Subgroups
Adjarians
Dvals
Imeretians
Gurians
Tushetians
Kakhetians
Ingiloy
Lechkhumians
Mingrelians
Meskhetians
Mtiuletians
Mokheves
Svans
Rachians
Pshavians
Kartlians
Khevsurians
Javakhians
Culture
Music
Media
Sport
Calligraphy
Cinema
Cuisine
Dances
Chokha
Calendar
Architecture
Mythology
Georgian swimming
Languages
Writing system
Dialects
Grammar
Sign language
Religion
Georgian Orthodox Church
Christianity
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Symbols
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History of Georgia
v
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The Kartvelian language family consists of four closely related languages:
Svan (ლუშნუ ნინ, lušnu nin), with approximately 35,000–40,000 native speakers in Georgia, mainly
in the northwestern mountainous region of Svaneti and the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia
Georgian-Zan (also called Karto-Zan)
Georgian (ქართული ენა, kartuli ena) with approximately 4 million native speakers, mainly
in Georgia. There are Georgian-speaking communities in Russia, Turkey, Iran, Israel,
and EU countries, but the current number and distribution of them are unknown.
Judaeo-Georgian (ყივრული ენა, kivruli ena) with some 85,000 speakers, is the only
Kartvelian Jewish dialect, its status being the subject of debate among scholars.[9]
Zan (also called Colchian)
Mingrelian (მარგალური ნინა, margaluri nina), with some 500,000 native speakers in 1989,
mainly in the western regions of Georgia, namely Samegrelo and Abkhazia (at present
in Gali district only). The number of Mingrelian speakers in Abkhazia was very strongly
affected by the war with Georgia in the 1990s which resulted in the expulsion and flight of
the ethnic Georgian population, the majority of which were Mingrelians. Nevertheless,
Georgians in Abkhazia (mostly Mingrelians) make up 18% of the population, in Gali district
98.2%.[10] The Mingrelians displaced from Abkhazia are scattered elsewhere in the Georgian
government territory, with dense clusters in Tbilisi and Zugdidi.
Laz (ლაზური ნენა, lazuri nena), with 22,000 native speakers in 1980, mostly in the Black
Sea littoral area of northeast Turkey, and with some 2,000 in Adjara, Georgia.[citation needed]
