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Laz
Lazuri, ლაზური
Spoken in: Turkey, Georgia, Germany
Total speakers: 220,000
Language family: South Caucasian
 Laz 
Writing system: Latin alphabet, Georgian alphabet
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: –
ISO 639-3: lzz
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. List of language familiesA language family is a group of Languages related by descent from a common ancestor called the Proto-language of that family The South Caucasian languages (also known as Ibero-Caucasian or Kartvelian) are spoken primarily in Georgia, with smaller groups of speakers in Turkey A writing system is a type of Symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in Language. The Georgian alphabet (ქართული დამწერლობა is the writing system currently used to write the Georgian language and other South Caucasian ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family ISO 639-2 is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages ISO 639 -3 (ISO 639-32007 is an international standard for Language codes The standard describes three‐letter codes for identifying languages In Computing, Unicode is an Industry standard allowing Computers to consistently represent and manipulate text expressed in most of the world's

The Laz language (ლაზური ნენა, lazuri nena; Georgian: ლაზური, lazuri, or ჭანური, chanuri) is spoken by the Laz people on the Southeast shore of the Black Sea. Georgian (ka ქართული ენა kartuli ena) is the Official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus. The Laz ( Lazi (ლაზი or Lazepe (ლაზეფე in Laz, Lazlar in Turkish, Lazi (ლაზი or The Black Sea is an inland Sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolian peninsula ( Turkey It is estimated that there are between 50,000 and 500,000 native speakers of Laz in Turkey, in a strip of land extending from Melyat to the Georgian border (officially called Lazistan until 1925), and about 30,000 in Georgia. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Lazistan ( Lazona - ლაზონა in Laz, ლაზეთი - lazeti or ჭანეთი - č’aneti in Georgian) was the Year 1925 ( MCMXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between

Contents

Linguistic classification

Laz is one of the four South Caucasian languages. The South Caucasian languages (also known as Ibero-Caucasian or Kartvelian) are spoken primarily in Georgia, with smaller groups of speakers in Turkey Along with Mingrelian, it forms the Zan branch of this language family. Mingrelian, or Megrelian (მარგალურ ნინა margalur nina; მეგრული ენა megruli ena) is a Language The two tongues are very closely related, to the extent that they were officially considered to be dialects of a single language called Zan in the Soviet era (a view that is still held in Georgia today). A soviet (сове́т, "council" originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. In general, however, Laz and Mingrelian are classed as separate tongues, due both to the long-standing separation of their communities of speakers (500 years) and to a lack of mutual intelligibility. Mingrelian, or Megrelian (მარგალურ ნინა margalur nina; მეგრული ენა megruli ena) is a Language Some linguists refer to Mingrelian and Laz as regional variants of a single Zan language. The Zan language, or Zanuri, is a conventional term used by some linguists to describe the unity of Mingrelian and Laz, which are the closest

Dialects

Laz has five major dialects:

The last two are often treated as a single Atinan dialect. Speakers of different Laz dialects have trouble understanding each other, and often prefer to communicate in the local official language.

Laz Dialects

Pazar Ardeşen-Çamlıhemşin Arhavi-Fındıklı Hopa-Batum
malimben- მალიბენ maoropen-მაოროფენ p’orom-პორომ p’qorop-პყოროფ
galimben- გალიბენ gaoropen-გაოროფენ orom-ორომ qorop-ყოროფ
alimben-ალიბენ aropen-აოროფენ oroms-ორომს qorops- ყოროფს
malimberan-მალიბერან maoropenan- მაოროფენან p’oromt- პორომთ p’qorot-პყოროფთ
galimberan-გალიბერან gaoropenan-გაოროფენან oromt-ორომთ qoropt-ყოროფთ
alimberan-ალიბერან aoropenan-აოროფენან oroman-ორომან qoropan-ყოროფან

Geographical distribution

The ancient kingdom of Colchis was located in the same region the Laz speakers are found in today, and its inhabitants probably spoke an ancestral version of the language. In ancient Geography, Colchis or Kolchis ( Georgian and Laz: კოლხეთი k'olxeti; Greek:, Kolchís Colchis was the setting for the famous Greek legend of Jason and the Argonauts. Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance

Today most Laz speakers live in Northeast Turkey, in a strip of land along the shore of the Black Sea: in the Pazar (Atina), Ardeşen (Art'aşeni), Çamlıhemşin (Vijadibi) and Fındıklı (Vitze) districts of Rize, and in the Arhavi (Ark'abi), Hopa (Xopa) and Borçka districts of Artvin. Pazar is a town and district of Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey, 37 km east of the city of Rize. Ardeşen ( Laz: Artaşen) is a town and district of Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey, 48km along the coast road Çamlıhemşin is a small town and district of Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. Fındıklı is a town and district of Rize Province on the Black Sea coast of Turkey, east of the city of Rize. Rize ( Greek: Riza, რიზე Ռիզե is the capital of Rize Province, in northeast Turkey, on the Black Sea Arhavi is a town and district of Artvin Province in the mountains above the Black Sea coast in the east of Turkey. Hopa ( Laz: Xopa Georgian: ხოფა Armenian: Հոպա Russian: Хопа also known as Khupati, Khopta, or Borçka is a town and district of Artvin Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey, on the border with Georgia. Artvin is a city in northeastern Turkey on the Çoruh River near the Georgian border There are also communities in northwestern Anatolia (Akçakoca in Düzce, Sapanca in Sakarya, Karamürsel and Gölcük in Kocaeli, Bartın, and Yalova) where many immigrants settled since the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878) and now also in Istanbul and Ankara. Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black Akçakoca is a town and a district of Düzce Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. Düzce is a province in northwestern Turkey. It is on the coastline of the Black Sea and is traversed by the main Highway between İstanbul Sapanca is a town and district of Sakarya Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. Sakarya is a city and province of the same name in Turkey, located on the coast of Black Sea. Karamürsel is a town located in northwestern Turkey, in the province of Kocaeli. Gölcük is a district of Kocaeli Province of Turkey. Located on the coast of Marmara Sea and south of the province Kocaeli is a province of Turkey. Its capital is İzmit, which is sometimes referred to as Kocaeli itself Bartın is a small province in northern Turkey on the Black Sea, surrounding the city of Bartın Yalova Province is a province in northwestern Turkey, on the eastern coast of the Sea of Marmara. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 had its origins in a rise in nationalism in the Balkans as well as in the Russian goal of recovering territorial losses it had suffered Istanbul (historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see the other Names of Istanbul) is the largest city of Turkey Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after İstanbul. Only a few Laz live in Georgia, chiefly in Ajaria (est. 30,000 speakers, about 2000 of them in Sarpi). Laz are also present in Germany where they have migrated from Turkey since the 1960s. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969

Social and cultural status

A Laz book "Mothertongue"
A Laz book "Mothertongue"

Laz has no official status in either Turkey or Georgia, and no written standard. It is presently used only for familiar and casual interaction; for literary, business, and other purposes, Laz speakers use their country's official language (Turkish or Georgian). Turkish ( tr Türkçe IPA) is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages.

Laz is unique among the South Caucasian languages in that most of its speakers live in Turkey rather than Georgia. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches While the differences between the various dialects are minor, their speakers feel that their level of mutual intelligibility is low. Given that there is no common standard form of Laz, speakers of its different dialects use Turkish to communicate with each other.

Between 1930 and 1938, Zan (Laz and Mingrelian) enjoyed cultural autonomy in Georgia and was used as a literary language, but an official standard form of the tongue was never established. Since then, all attempts to create a written tradition in Zan have failed, despite the fact that most intellectuals use it as a literary language.

A Laz newspaper in 1928
A Laz newspaper in 1928

In Turkey, Laz has been a written language since 1984, when an alphabet based on Turkish script with Latin alphabet was created. Since then, this system has been used in most of the handful of publications that have appeared in Laz. Developed specifically for the South Caucasian languages, the Georgian alphabet is better suited to the sounds of Laz, but the fact that most of the tongue's speakers live in Turkey, where the Latin alphabet is used, has rendered the adoption of the former impossible. The Georgian alphabet (ქართული დამწერლობა is the writing system currently used to write the Georgian language and other South Caucasian Nonetheless, 1991 saw the publication of a textbook called Nana-nena ('Mother tongue'), which was aimed at all Laz speakers and used both the Latin and Georgian alphabets. The first Laz-Turkish dictionary was published in 1999.

The only languages in which the Laz receive an education are Turkish (in Turkey) and Georgian (in Georgia). Virtually all the Laz are bilingual in Turkish and Laz or in Georgian and Laz. Even in villages inhabited exclusively by Laz people, it is common to hear conversations in Turkish or Georgian. Georgian (ka ქართული ენა kartuli ena) is the Official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus. Turkish has had a notable influence on the vocabulary of Laz.

Laz speakers themselves basically regard the language as a means of oral communication. A language is a dynamic set of visual auditory or tactile Symbols of Communication and the elements used to manipulate them The families that still speak Laz only do so among adults in informal situations, with Turkish or Georgian being used in all other contexts. This means that the younger generations fail to fully acquire the language and only gain a passive knowledge of it.

In recent times, the Laz folk musician Birol Topaloğlu has achieved a certain degree of international success with his albums Heyamo (1997, the first album ever sung entirely in the Laz language) and Aravani (2000). Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar The Laz rock and roll musician Kazım Koyuncu performed rock and roll arrangements of Laz traditional music from 1995 until his death in 2005. Kâzım Koyuncu ( November 7, 1971 in Hopa, Artvin Province, Turkey – June 25, 2005 in Istanbul

In 2004, Dr. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Mehmet Bekâroğlu, the deputy chairman of Felicity Party sent a notice to the state broadcasting corporation TRT declaring that his mother tongue is Laz and demanding broadcasts in Laz. The Felicity Party ( Saadet Partisi) is a Turkish political party of strongly Islamist views often seen as the main voice of sensitive Muslims in Turkey A state is a political association with effective Sovereignty over a geographic Area and representing a Population. For the band see Broadcast (band Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and/or Video signals which transmit A corporation is a separate legal entity usually used to conduct business The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation also known as TRT, ( Türkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu) was founded in 1964, it is the national The same year, a group of Laz intellectuals issued a petition and held a meeting with TRT officials for the implementation of Laz broadcasts. However, as of 2008, these requests have been ignored by authorities. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common

Linguistic features

Like many languages of the Caucasus, Laz has a rich consonantal system (in fact, the richest among the South Caucasian family) but only five vowels (a,e,i,o,u). The languages of the Caucasus are a large and extremely varied array of languages spoken by more than ten million people in and around the Caucasus Mountains which lie between The nouns are inflected with agglutinative suffixes to indicate grammatical function (4 to 7 cases, depending on the dialect) and number (singular or plural), but not by gender. In Linguistics, agglutination is the morphological process ofadding Affixes to the base of a Word. In Linguistics, grammatical functions or ( grammatical relations) refer to syntactic relationships between Parts of speech such as subject In Grammar, the case of a Noun or Pronoun indicates its Grammatical function in a greater Phrase or Clause; such as the

The Laz verb is inflected with suffixes according to person and number, and also for Grammatical tense, aspect, mood, and (in some dialects) evidentiality. Grammatical tense is a temporal linguistic quality expressing the time at during or over which a state or action denoted by a verb occurs In Linguistics, the grammatical aspect of a Verb defines the temporal flow (or lack thereof in the described event or state Grammatical mood is one of a set of distinctive Verb forms that are used to signal modality. In Linguistics, evidentiality is broadly the indication of the nature of evidence for a given statement that is whether Evidence exists for the statement and/or Up to 50 verbal prefixes are used to indicate spatial orientation/direction. Person and number suffixes provided for the subject as well as for one or two objects involved in the action, e. g. gimpulam = "I hide it from you".

Distinguishing features

Some distinctive features of Laz among its family are:

Vocabulary

References

Kojima, Gôichi (2003) Lazuri grameri Chiviyazıları, Kadıköy, İstanbul, ISBN 975-8663-55-0 (notes in English and Turkish)

See also

External links

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