Kartvelian languages
Introduction The '''Kartvelian languages''' ( ; ; also known as '''South Caucasian, ''' '''Kartvelic, '''and '''Iberian languages''') are a language family indigenous to the South Caucasus and spoken primarily in Georgia. There are approximately 5.2 million Kartvelian speakers worldwide, with large groups in Russia, Iran, the United States, the European Union, Israel, and northeastern Turkey. The Kartvelian family has no known relation to any other language family, making it one of the world's primary language families.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, dated to . Georgian scripts are used to write all Kartvelian languages.
Social and cultural status Georgian is the official language of Georgia (spoken by 90% of the population) and the main language for literary and business use in Georgia. 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 derived from the Greek script, but this is not certain.Mingrelian has been written with the Georgian alphabet since 1864, especially in the period from 1930 to 1938, when the Mingrelians enjoyed some cultural autonomy, and after 1989.The Laz language was written mainly between 1927 and 1937, and now again in Turkey using the Latin alphabet. Laz, however, is disappearing as its speakers are integrating into mainstream Turkish society.
Classification 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. ** '''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%. 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.===Genealogical tree===The connection between these languages was first reported in linguistic literature by Johann Anton Güldenstädt in his 1773 classification of the languages of the Caucasus, and later proven by G. Rosen, Marie-Félicité Brosset, Franz Bopp and others during the 1840s. Zan is the branch that contains the Mingrelian and Laz languages.On the basis of glottochronological analysis, Georgi Klimov dates the split of the Proto-Kartvelian into Svan and Proto-Georgian-Zan (Proto-Karto-Zan) to the 19th century BC, and the further division into Georgian and Zan to the 8th century BC, although with the reservation that such dating is very preliminary and substantial further study is required.===Higher-level connections===No relationship with other languages, including Northwest Caucasian and/or Northeast Caucasian, has been demonstrated so far. There have been numerous attempts to link Kartvelian languages to other language families, such as the proposed Dené–Caucasian languages family, but these are viewed as spurious by nearly all historical linguists. Certain grammatical similarities with Basque, especially in the case system, have often been pointed out. However, the hypothesis of a relationship, which also tends to link the Caucasian languages with other non-Indo-European and non-Semitic languages of the Near East of ancient times, is generally considered to lack conclusive evidence. Any similarities to other linguistic phyla may be due to areal influences. Heavy borrowing in both directions (i.e. from North Caucasian to Kartvelian and vice versa) has been observed; therefore, it is likely that certain grammatical features have been influenced as well.
Phonetics and phonology ===Regular correspondences===+''Vowels'' Proto-Kartv. Geo. Zan Svan *ა (*a)  a  o  a  *ე (*e)  e  a  e  *ი (*i)  i  i  i  *ო (*o)  o  o  o  *უ (*u)  u  u  u +''Consonants'' Proto-Kartv. Geo. Zan SvanVoicedstops *ბ (*b) b  b  b  *დ (*d)  d  d  d  *გ (*g)  g  g  g / ǯ  / Voicedaffricates *ძ (*ʒ)  ʒ  ʒ  ʒ / z   /  *ძ₁ (*ʒ₁)  ǯ  ǯ / ž  /  *ჯ (*ǯ)  ǯ  ǯg / ʒg  /  ǯg / sg  / Voicedfricatives *ზ (*z)  z  z  z  *ზ₁ (*z₁)  ž  ž  *ღ (*ɣ)  ɣ  ɣ  ɣ  *უ̂ (*w)  v  v  w Ejectivestops *პ (*ṗ)  ṗ  ṗ  ṗ  *ტ (*ṭ)  ṭ  ṭ  ṭ  *კ (*ḳ)  ḳ  ḳ  ḳ / č'  /  *ყ (*qʼ)  qʼ  qʼ / ʔ / ḳ  /  /  qʼEjectiveaffr. *წ (*ċ)  ċ  ċ  ċ  *წ₁ (*ċ₁)  čʼ  čʼ *ტʼ (*ɬʼ)  h  *ჭ (*čʼ)  čʼ  čʼḳ / ċḳ  /  čʼḳ / šḳ   /  Voicelessstopsand affr. *ფ (*p)  p  p  p  *თ (*t)  t  t  t  *ც  (*c)  c  c  c  *ც₁ (*c₁)  č  č  *ჩ (*č)  č  čk  čk / šg  /  *ქ (*k)  k  k  k / č  /  *ჴ (*q)  x  x  q  Voicelessfricatives *ხ (*x)  x  *შ (*š)  š  šk / sk  /  šg / sg  /  *ს (*s)  s  s  s  *ს₁ (*s₁)  š  š  *ლʿ (*lʿ)  ∅ l Liquids *ლ (*l)  l  l  *რ (*r)  r  r  r  Nasals *მ (*m)  m  m  m  *ნ (*n)  n  n  n
Grammar ===Noun classification===The Kartvelian languages have grammatical gender based on animacy, classifying objects as ''intelligent'' ("who"-class) and ''unintelligent'' ("what"-class) beings.+ ''Noun classification scheme''''Concrete''''Abstract''''Animate''''Inanimate''''Human and "human-like" beings (e.g. God, deities, angels)''''Animals''''Inanimate physical entities''''Abstract objects'''''Intelligent''''''Unintelligent''' "who"-class "what"-class===Declension===+''Grammatical case markers'' Case Singular Plural Mingrelian Laz Georgian Svan Mingrelian Laz Georgian SvanNominative  -''i''  -''i/-e''  -''i'' -''i''  -''ep-i''  -''ep-e''  -''eb-i'' -''är''Ergative  -''k''  -''k''  -''ma''  -''d''  -''ep-k''  -''epe-k''  -''eb-ma''  -''är-d''Dative  -''s''  -''s''  -''s''  -''s''  -''ep-s''  -''epe-s''  -''eb-s''  -''är-s''Genitive  -''iš''  -''iš''  -''is''  -''iš''  -''ep-iš''  -''epe-š(i)''  -''eb-is''  -''are-š''Lative  -''iša''  -''iša''      -''ep-iša''  -''epe-ša''    Ablative  -''iše''  -''iše''      -''ep-iše''  -''epe-še(n)''    Instrumental  -''it''  -''ite''  -''it''  -''šw''   -''ep-it''  -''epe-te(n)''  -''eb-it''  -''är-šw''Adverbial  -''o(t)/-t''  -''ot''  -''ad/-d''  -''d''  -''ep-o(t)''    -''eb-ad''  -''är-d''Finalis  -''išo(t)''    -''isad''  -''išd''  -''ep-išo(t)''    -''eb-isad''  -''är-išd''Vocative      -''o (/-v)''        -''eb-o''  + ''Example adjective declension'''''Stem: ''ǯveš-'' (Min. ), ''mǯveš-'' (Laz), ''ʒvel-'' (Geo. ), ''ǯwinel-'' (Svan) – ''"old"''''' Case Singular Plural Mingrelian Laz Georgian Svan Mingrelian Laz Georgian SvanNominative  ''ǯveš-'''i'''''  ''mǯveš-'''i'''''  ''ʒvel-'''i''''' ''ǯwinel''   ''ǯveš-'''ep-i'''''  ''mǯveš-'''ep-e'''''  ''ʒvel-'''eb-i''''' ''ǯwinel-är''Ergative  ''ǯveš-'''k'''''  ''mǯveš-i-'''k'''''  ''ʒvel-'''ma'''''  ''ǯwinel-'''d'''''  ''ǯveš-'''ep-k'''''  ''mǯveš-'''epe-k'''''  ''ʒvel-'''eb-ma'''''  ''ǯwinel-'''är-d'''''Dative  ''ǯveš-'''s'''''  ''mǯveš-i-'''s'''''  ''ʒvel-'''s'''''  ''ǯwinel-'''s'''''  ''ǯveš-'''ep-s'''''  ''mǯveš-i-'''epe-s'''''  ''ʒvel-'''eb-s'''''  ''ǯwinel-'''är-s'''''Genitive  ''ǯveš-'''iš'''''  ''mǯveš-'''iš'''''  ''ʒvel-'''is'''''  ''ǯwinl-'''iš'''''  ''ǯveš-'''ep-iš'''''  ''mǯveš-'''epe-š'''''  ''ʒvel-'''eb-is'''''  ''ǯwinel-'''är-iš'''''Lative  ''ǯveš-'''iša'''''  ''mǯveš-'''iša'''''     ''ǯveš-'''ep-iša'''''  ''mǯveš-'''epe-ša'''''   Ablative  ''ǯveš-'''iše'''''  ''mǯveš-'''iše'''''      ''ǯveš-'''ep-iše'''''  ''mǯveš-'''epe-še'''''    Instrumental  ''ǯveš-'''it'''''  ''mǯveš-'''ite'''''  ''ʒvel-'''it'''''  ''ǯwinel-'''šw'''''  ''ǯveš-'''ep-it'''''  ''mǯveš-'''epe-te'''''  ''ʒvel-'''eb-it'''''  ''ǯwinel-'''är-šw'''''Adverbial  ''ǯveš-'''o'''''  ''mǯveš-'''ot'''''  ''ʒvel-'''ad'''''  ''ǯwinel-'''d'''''  ''ǯveš-'''ep-o'''''    ''ʒvel-'''eb-ad'''''  ''ǯwinel-'''är-d'''''Finalis  ''ǯveš-'''išo'''''    ''ʒvel-'''isad'''''  ''ǯwinel-'''išd'''''  ''ǯveš-'''ep-išo'''''    ''ʒvel-'''eb-isad'''''  ''ǯwinel-'''är-išd'''''Vocative      ''ʒvel-'''o'''''         ''ʒvel-'''eb-o'''''  ===Verb===Kartvelian verbs can indicate one, two, or three grammatical persons. A performer of an action is called the subject and affected persons are objects (direct or indirect). The person may be singular or plural. According to the number of persons, the verbs are classified as unipersonal, bipersonal or tripersonal. *Unipersonal verbs have only a subject and so are always intransitive. *Bipersonal verbs have a subject and one object, which can be ''direct'' or ''indirect''. The verb is:**transitive when the object is ''direct'';**intransitive if the object is ''indirect''. *Tripersonal verbs have one subject and both ''direct'' and ''indirect'' objects and are ditransitive.+Verb personality table Unipersonal Bipersonal Tripersonal ''intransitive'' ''transitive'' ''intransitive'' ''ditransitive'' Subject + + + + Direct object + + Indirect object + +''Subjects'' and ''objects'' are indicated with special affixes.+ ''Personal markers'' '''Subject set''' Singular Plural Old Geo. Mod. Geo. Ming./Laz Svan Old Geo. Mod. Geo. Ming./Laz SvanS1 ''v-'' ''v-'' ''v-'' ''xw-'' ''v-...-t'' ''v-...-t'' ''v-...-t'' ''xw-...-(š)d'' (excl. )''l-...-(š)d'' (incl. )S2 ''x/h-'' ''∅,(h/s)-'' ''∅'' ''x-/∅'' ''x/h-...-t'' ''∅,(h/s)-...-t'' ''∅-...-t'' ''x/∅-...-(š)d''S3 ''-s,-a/o,-n,-ed'' ''-s,-a/o'' ''-s,-u,-n'' ''(l)-...-s/(a)'' ''-an,-en,-es,-ed'' ''-en,-an,-es'' ''-an,-es'' ''(l)-...-x'' '''Object set'''O1 ''m-'' ''m-'' ''m-'' ''m-'' ''m-'' (excl. )''gv-'' (incl.) ''gv-'' ''m-...-t,-an,-es'' ''n-'' (excl. )''gw-'' (incl. )O2 ''g-'' ''g-'' ''g-'' ''ǯ-'' ''g-'' ''g-...-t'' ''g-...-t,-an,-es'' ''ǯ-...-x''O3 ''x/h,∅-'' ''∅,s/h/∅-'' ''∅'' ''∅,x-'' ''x/h,∅-'' ''∅,s/h/∅-...-t'' ''∅-...-t,-an,-es'' ''∅,x-...-x''By means of special markers Kartvelian verbs can indicate four kinds of action intentionality ("version"):*subjective—shows that the action is intended for oneself,*objective—the action is intended for another person,*objective-passive—the action is intended for another person and at the same time indicating the passiveness of subject,*neutral—neutral with respect to intention.+ ''Version markers'' '''Version''' '''Mingrelian''' '''Laz''' '''Georgian''' '''Svan''' ''Subjective'' ''-i-'' ''-i-'' ''-i-'' ''-i-'' ''Objective'' ''-u-'' ''-u-'' ''-u-'' ''-o-'' ''Objective-passive'' ''-a-'' ''-a-'' ''-e-'' ''-e-'' ''Neutral'' ''-o-/-a-'' ''-o-'' ''-a-'' ''-a-''===Case patterns===Subject, direct object and indirect object are coded by the three core-cases, namely ergative, nominative and dative. Although the term "ergative" is traditional, strictly speaking no Kartvelian language features ergative alignment. Rather, they display a mixture of nominative-accusative and active alignment, depending on two factors:*the class to which the verb belongs, based on its morphological and syntactic properties (class 1 including all transitive verbs, while intransitive verbs are divided between class 2 and 3);*the series to which the tense/aspect/mood form (traditionally known as screeve) belongs.Georgian and Svan have accusative alignment in the Present series (often termed Series I) and active alignment in the Aorist series (Series II).+ Georgian and Svan  Subject  Direct object  Indirect object Class 1  Class 3  Class 2 Series I Nominative  Dative Series II Ergative  Nominative  DativeLaz has extended the case marking of Series II to Series I, thus featuring active alignment regardless of tense.+ Laz  Subject  Direct object  Indirect object Class 1  Class 3  Class 2 Series I Ergative  Nominative  Dative Series II Ergative  Nominative  DativeMingrelian, on the other hand, has extended the use of the ergative to all intransitive verbs, becoming fully accusative in all series, although with different case marking.+ Mingrelian  Subject  Direct object  Indirect object Class 1  Class 3  Class 2 Series I Nominative  Dative Series II Ergative  Nominative  Dative
Examples from inherited lexicon +''Cardinal Numbers'' Proto-Kartv.formKarto-ZanSvanProto-formGeorgianMingrelianLaz 1.one, 2.other '''*s₁xwa''' '''*s₁xwa''' '''sxva'''''(other)'' '''šxva'''''(other)'' '''čkva / škva''' / ''(other, one more)'' e-'''šxu'''''(one)'' one ''n/a'' '''*erti''' '''erti''' '''arti''' '''ar''' ''n/a'' two '''*yori''' '''*yori''' '''ori''' '''žiri / žəri''' /  '''žur / ǯur'''  /  '''yori''' three '''*sami''' '''*sami''' '''sami''' '''sumi''' '''sum''' '''semi''' four '''*otxo''' '''*otxo''' '''otxi''' '''otxi''' '''otxo''' w-'''oštxw''' five '''*xuti''' '''*xuti''' '''xuti''' '''xuti''' '''xut''' wo-'''xušd''' six '''*eks₁wi''' '''*eks₁wi''' '''ekvsi''' '''amšvi''' '''aši''' '''usgwa''' seven '''*šwidi''' '''*šwidi''' '''švidi''' '''škviti''' '''škvit''' i-'''šgwid''' eight '''*arwa''' '''*arwa''' '''rva''' '''ruo / bruo''' /  '''ovro / orvo''' /  '''ara''' nine '''*ts₁xara''' '''*ts₁xara''' '''tsxra''' '''čxoro''' '''čxoro''' '''čxara''' ten '''*a(s₁)ti''' '''*ati''' '''ati''' '''viti''' '''vit''' '''ešd''' twenty ''n/a'' '''*ots₁i''' '''otsi''' '''etsi''' '''etsi''' ''n/a'' hundred '''*as₁i''' '''*as₁i''' '''asi''' '''oši''' '''oši''' '''aš'''-ir+''Pronouns'' ''Personal Pronouns''  '''Proto-Kartv. ''''''Georgian''''''Mingrelian''''''Laz''''''Svan''' I '''*me''' '''me''' '''ma''' '''ma(n)''' '''mi''' You (sg.) '''*sen''' '''šen''' '''si''' '''si(n)''' '''si''' That '''*e'''- '''e'''-sa '''e'''-na '''(h)e'''-ya '''e'''-ǯa We '''*čwen''' '''čven''' '''čki(n) / čkə(n)''' /  '''čkin / čku / šku ''' /  / '''näy''' You (pl.) '''*stkwen''' '''tkven''' '''tkva(n)''' '''tkvan''' '''sgäy''' ''Possessive Pronouns''  '''Proto-Kartv. ''''''Georgian''''''Mingrelian''''''Laz''''''Svan''' My '''*č(w)e-''mi''''' '''če-''mi''''' '''čki-''mi''''' '''čki-''mi / ški-mi''''' /  '''''mi''-šgu''' Your (sg.) '''*š(w)eni''' '''šeni''' '''skani''' '''skani''' i-'''sgu''' His/her/its '''*m-is₁''' '''m-is'''-i '''mu-š'''-i '''(h)e-mu-š'''-i '''m-ič'''-a Our '''*čweni''' '''čveni''' '''čkini / čkəni''' /  '''čkini / čkuni / škuni''' /  /  gu-'''šgwey''' ''(excl. )''ni-'''šgwey''' ''(incl.)'' Your (pl.) '''*stkweni''' '''tkveni''' '''tkvani''' '''tkvani''' i-'''sgwey'''
See also * Proto-Kartvelian language
Citations
General references * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
External links *  Lazuri Nena – The Language of the Laz by Silvia Kutscher. *  Kartvelian Languages Department of the Arnold Chikobava Institute of Linguistics, Georgian Academy of Sciences*  Arthur Holmer, The Iberian-Caucasian Connection in a Typological Perspective*  The rise and fall and revival of the Ibero-Caucasian hypothesis by Kevin Tuite (Université de Montréal).