Kartvelian languages

Some people speak special ways to talk.

These ways come from a land called Georgia. They are part of a family of languages. They are not like any other languages in the world.

One way to talk is called Georgian. It is the most common one. It has its own special alphabet. People use it for books and for work.

Other ways to talk include Svan, Mingrelian, and Laz. Some of these are spoken in mountains. Others are spoken near the sea.

These ways of talking are very old. It is fun to learn about them.

The Kartvelian languages are a family of ways to talk. They come from the South Caucasus region. They are mostly spoken in the country of Georgia. These languages are very special. They are not related to any other language families in the world.

Georgian is the most famous language in this family. It is the official language of Georgia. About 90% of people there use it. It has its own unique alphabet. People use Georgian for books and for business. The oldest written Georgian text is from the 5th century AD.

There are other languages in this family too. Svan is spoken in high mountains. Mingrelian is spoken in western parts of Georgia. Laz is spoken near the Black Sea. These languages are all closely related. Some scientists think they split apart a long time ago. One study says they may have split 7,600 years ago. The family also includes Judaeo-Georgian. This is a special dialect used by Jewish people. All these languages use Georgian scripts to be written.

The Kartvelian languages are a unique family of ways to speak. They belong to the South Caucasus region. Most people who speak them live in Georgia. These languages are very special to experts. They do not belong to any other known language family. This makes them one of the world's primary language families.

Georgian is the most widely spoken language in this group. It is also the only literary language in the family. This means it is used for writing books and formal business. About 90% of the people in Georgia use it. Georgian uses a very distinctive and original alphabet. The oldest surviving literary text in this script is from the 5th century AD.

There are four main languages in the Kartvelian family. Svan is spoken by about 35,000 to 40,000 people in the mountains. Mingrelian has about 500,000 speakers in western Georgia. Laz is spoken by about 22,000 people near the Black Sea. There is also Judaeo-Georgian, which is a dialect used by Jewish people. These languages are all closely related to one another.

Scientists have studied how these languages changed over time. Johann Anton Güldenstädt first reported their connection in 1773. Later, researchers like Franz Bopp helped prove it in the 1840s. One theory says the languages split in the 19th century BC. However, a 2023 study suggests an even older split. This study points to the Early Copper Age, about 7,600 years ago.

These languages have interesting ways of working. They use special markers to show who is doing an action. They also group things into two classes. One class is for intelligent beings, like humans or gods. The other class is for unintelligent things, like objects. This is called a noun classification system. Even though they are different, they all use Georgian scripts to be written.

The Kartvelian languages are a unique group of closely related tongues. They are indigenous to the South Caucasus region. Most speakers live in the country of Georgia. Linguists call them a primary language family. This is because they have no known relationship to any other language family in the world.

Georgian is the most prominent member of this family. It is the official language of Georgia. About 90% of the Georgian population uses it. It is also the only literary language in the group. This means it is used for formal writing and business. Georgian uses a distinctive and original alphabet. The oldest surviving literary text in this script dates to the 5th century AD. The earliest known Kartvelian inscription is an Old Georgian text from a monastery near Bethlehem.

The Kartvelian family consists of four main languages. The first is Georgian, which has about 4 million native speakers. There are also Georgian-speaking communities in Russia, Turkey, Iran, Israel, and EU countries. The second is Mingrelian, which had about 500,000 speakers in 1989. It is mainly spoken in the western regions of Samegrelo and Abkhazia. The third is Svan, spoken by 35,000 to 40,000 people in the mountainous Svaneti region. The fourth is Laz, with 22,000 speakers in northeast Turkey and 2,000 in Georgia.

Researchers have long studied how these languages are connected. Johann Anton Güldenstädt first reported these connections in 1773. Later, scholars like Franz Bopp helped prove the relationship in the 1840s. Scientists use glottochronology to estimate when these languages split apart. One estimate suggests the split happened in the 19th century BC. However, a 2023 study used Bayesian linguistic phylogenetics to suggest an even older date. This study points to the Early Copper Age, roughly 7,600 years ago.

The grammar of Kartvelian languages is quite complex. They use a noun classification system based on animacy. This means they group objects into two categories. The "who"-class is for intelligent or animate beings. This includes humans, animals, and deities like gods or angels. The "what"-class is for inanimate or unintelligent entities. This includes physical objects and abstract concepts.

Verbs in these languages also follow specific rules. They can indicate one, two, or three grammatical persons. A verb with one person is called unipersonal. It only has a subject and is always intransitive. A bipersonal verb has a subject and one object. If the object is direct, the verb is transitive. If the object is indirect, the verb is intransitive. Tripersonal verbs are ditransitive because they have a subject and both direct and indirect objects.

Speakers also use special markers to show "version." This describes the intentionality of an action. There are four kinds of version. Subjective version shows an action is intended for oneself. Objective version shows an action is intended for another person. Objective-passive shows the action is for another person and indicates the subject is passive. Finally, the neutral version shows no specific intention.

While they are unique, these languages interact with others. Some scholars have tried to link them to the proposed Nostratic family. Others have noted grammatical similarities with Basque, specifically in the case system. However, most experts believe these similarities come from areal influences. This means the languages may have influenced each other through contact. Heavy borrowing between Kartvelian and North Caucasian languages has been observed.