The Laz language (lazuri, ლაზური or lazuri nena, ლაზური ნენა in Laz; ლაზური, lazuri, or ჭანური, chanuri, in Georgian) is spoken by the Laz people on the Southeast shore of the Black Sea. It is estimated that there are between 50,000 and 500,000 native speakers of Laz in Turkey^{[citation needed]}, in a strip of land extending from Melyat to the Georgian border (officially called Lazistan until 1925), and about 30,000 in Georgia^{[citation needed]}. Current distribution of Human Language Families A language family is a group of related languages said to have descended from a common proto-language. ... It has been suggested that Kartvel be merged into this article or section. ... Writing systems of the world today. ... The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today. ... The fifth century example of the Asomtavruli script from Bolnisi Sioni Church The Georgian alphabet is the script currently used to write the Georgian language and other Kartvelian languages (such as Mingrelian), and occasionally other languages of the Caucasus (such as Ossetic in the 1940s). ... 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 is an international standard for language codes. ... Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... Unicode is an industry standard allowing computers to consistently represent and manipulate text expressed in any of the worlds writing systems. ... The Laz (Lazi (ლაზი) or Lazepe (ლაზეფე) in Laz, Lazlar in Turkish, Lazi (ლაზი) or Chani (ჭანი) in Georgian) are an ethnic group who live primarily on the Black Sea coastal regions of Turkey and Georgia. ... For other uses, see Black Sea (disambiguation). ... Lazistan (Lazona - ლაზონა in Laz, ლაზეთი - Lazeti or ჭანეთი - Chaneti in Georgian) was the Ottoman administrative name for the sanjak (under vilayet of Trabzon) comprising the Laz or Lazuri-speaking population on the southeastern shore of the Black Sea. ... Year 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Linguistic classification

Laz is one of the four South Caucasian languages, closely related to Megrelian and somewhat less closely to Georgian. The Laz and Megrelian communities were separated by politics and religion around 500 years ago, however, the languages are still mutually intelligible. The Laz-Megrelian branch apparently split from Georgian in the 1st millennium BC. Some linguists refer to Mingrelian and Laz as regional variants of a single Zan language. It has been suggested that Kartvel be merged into this article or section. ... Megrelian or Mingrelian (მარგალური ნინა, Margaluri nina, in Megrelian; მეგრული ენა, Megruli ena, in Georgian) is a language spoken in northwest Georgia. ... The 1st millennium BC encompasses the Iron Age and sees the rise of successive empires. ... The Zan language or Zanuri is a conventional term used by some linguists to describe the unity of Mingrelian and Laz, which are the only two mutually intelligible South Caucasian or Kartvelian languages sometimes considered as the two distinct dialects of Zan. ...

Dialects

Laz has five major dialects:

• Hopan, spoken in Hopa and Ajaria;
• Vitse-Arkabian, spoken in Arhavi and Fındıklı;
• Chkhalan, spoken in Düzköy (Çxala) village in Borçka;
• Atinan, spoken in Pazar (former Atina);
• Ardeshenian, spoken in Ardeşen.

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. Hopa is a district of Artvin Province of Turkey. ... Official language Georgian Capital Batumi ISO code GE.AJ Head of the Government Levan Varshalomidze Area  - Total  - % water 2,900 km² n/a Population  - Total (1989)  - Density 392,432 135. ... Arhavi is a district of Artvin Province of Turkey. ... Fındıklı is a district of Rize Province of Turkey. ... Borçka is a district of Artvin Province of Turkey. ... Pazar is a district of Rize Province, Turkey. ... ArdeÅŸen (Laz: ArtaÅŸen) is a town and a district of Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey, 48km along the coast road from the city of Rize. ...

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. Colchis was the setting for the famous Greek legend of Jason and the Argonauts. In ancient geography, Colchis (sometimes spelled also as Kolchis) (Greek: Κολχίς, kŏl´kĬs; Georgian: კოლხეთი, Kolkheti) was a nearly triangular district in Caucasus. ... The bust of Zeus found at Otricoli (Sala Rotonda, Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican) 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 of their own cult and ritual practices. ... Jason and the Argonauts may refer to: the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts Jason and the Argonauts (film), a 1963 film with animation by Ray Harryhausen Jason and the Argonauts (TV movie), a TV movie made in 2000 This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated...

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 (Artaşen) and Fındıklı (Viče) districts of Rize, and in the Arhavi (Arkabi), Hopa (Xopa) and Borçka districts of Artvin. 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. 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. Pazar is a district of Rize Province, Turkey. ... ArdeÅŸen (Laz: ArtaÅŸen) is a town and a district of Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey, 48km along the coast road from the city of Rize. ... Fındıklı is a district of Rize Province of Turkey. ... Rize is the capital of Rize Province, in north-east Turkey, on the Black Sea coast. ... Arhavi is a district of Artvin Province of Turkey. ... Hopa is a district of Artvin Province of Turkey. ... Borçka is a district of Artvin Province of Turkey. ... Artvin is a city in north-eastern Turkey. ... Anatolia and Europe Anatolia (Turkish: from Greek: Ανατολία - Anatolia) is a peninsula of Western Asia which forms the greater part of the Asian portion of Turkey, as opposed to the European portion (Thrace, or traditionally Rumelia). ... Akçakoca is a town in Düzce Province, Turkey. ... shows the Location of the Province Düzce Düzce is a province in northwestern Turkey. ... Sapanca is a district of Sakarya Province of Turkey. ... Sakarya is a province of Turkey and is located in the Marmara region. ... Karamürsel is a town located in northwestern Turkey, in the province of Kocaeli. ... Gölcük is a district of Kocaeli Province of Turkey. ... Izmit (also known as Ismid and Kocaeli) is a city in the northwestern part of Anatolia, Turkey. ... shows the Location of the Province Bartin Bartin is a small province in northern Turkey on the Black Sea, surrounding the city of Bartin. ... Yalova is a province in northwestern Turkey, along the Sea of Marmora. ... It has been suggested that Romanian War of Independence be merged into this article or section. ... Istanbul (Turkish: , Greek: , historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see other names) is Turkeys most populous city, and its cultural and financial center. ... Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the countrys second largest city after Ä°stanbul. ... Official language Georgian Capital Batumi ISO code GE.AJ Head of the Government Levan Varshalomidze Area  - Total  - % water 2,900 km² n/a Population  - Total (1989)  - Density 392,432 135. ... Sarpi (ge: სარფი, tr: Sarp) is a small border village on the coast of the Black Sea, on the border between Turkey and Georgia. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ...

Social and cultural status

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).

Laz is written in Georgian alphabet in Georgia. The preferred standard in Turkey is the Latin-based Lazoğlu script styled by Fahri Kahraman in 1984 . Laz speakers seem to be decreasing in number because of rapid assimilation into the mainstream Turkish society, and the language is in danger of extinction. The fifth century example of the Asomtavruli script from Bolnisi Sioni Church The Georgian alphabet is the script currently used to write the Georgian language and other Kartvelian languages (such as Mingrelian), and occasionally other languages of the Caucasus (such as Ossetic in the 1940s). ... The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today. ... Year 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar). ...

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). ...

In 2004, Dr. 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 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 2007, these requests have been ignored by authorities. Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Felicity Party (Saadet Partisi) is a Islamist political party in Turkey. ... TRT Headquarters in Ankara TRT, the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (Türkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu), was founded in 1964, it is the national public broadcaster of Turkey. ... 2007 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Language features

Familial 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 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. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... In English, a noun or noun substantive is a lexical category which is defined in terms of how its members combine with other grammatical kinds of expressions. ... An agglutinative language is a language in which the words are formed by joining morphemes together. ... If grammar is seen as studying the relations and architectures of language, such relations and structures would then have supports and anchors, forces and motions, features and property equivalencies, and roles galore just as a building or organixm has. ... In linguistics, declension is a feature of inflected languages: generally, the alteration of a noun to indicate its grammatical role. ...

The Laz verb is inflected with suffixes according to person and number, and also for tense, aspect, mood, and (in some dialects) evidentiality. 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".

• ho (ჰო) — yes
• va (ვა) — no / * var (Arhavi dialect)
• ma (მა) — I
• si (სი) — you (sg.)
• skani (სქანი) — your (sg.)
• çkimi (ჩქიმი) — my
• Gegeacginas. / Xela do k’aobate. (გეგაჯგინას. / ხელა დო კაობათე.) — Hello.
• Kai serepe. (კაი სერეფე.) — Good night.
• Kai moxt’it. (კაი ბოხტით.) — Welcome. / Kai ten ***
• Didi mardi. (დიდი მარდი.) — Thanks.
• Muç’ore? (მუჭორე?) — How are you?
• Kai vore. (კაი ვორე.) — I'm fine. Kai bore (Arhavi dialect)
• Dido xelebas vore. (დიდო ხელაბას ვორე.) — I'm very happy
• Sonuri re? (სონური რე?) — Where are you from?
• T’amt’ra (ტამტრა) — Trabzon, Terbizond
• Londoni (ლონდოი) — London
• Turkona / Turketi (თურკონა / თურკეთა) — Turkey
• Cermanya (ჯერმანჲა) — Germany
• Xorumona (ხორუმონა) — Greece
• biç’i (ბიჭი) — man
• bozo (ბოზო) — girl
• supara (სუპარა) — book
• megabre (მეგაბრე) — friend
• qoropa (ყოროფა) — love
• Mu dulya ikip? (მუ დულჲა იქიფ?) — What is your job? / Mu dulya ikom (Arhavi dialekt)
• Lazuri gişkuni? (ლაზური გიჩქინი?) — Do you know Laz? / Lazuri gickini (Arhavi dialekt)
• Skani coxo muren? (სქანი ჯოხო მურენ?) — What is your name?
• Ma si maoropen. (მა სი მაოროფენ.) — I love you

Trabzon, formerly known as Trebizond (Greek: ), is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. ...

Distinguishing features

Some distinctive features of Laz among its family are:

• Two additional consonants, /f/ and /h/;
• All nouns end with a vowel.
• More extensive verb inflection, using directional prefixes.
• Substantial lexical borrowings from Greek and Turkic languages.

The Turkic languages constitute a language family of some thirty languages, spoken across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are traditionally considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family. ...

References

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

See also

• Georgian language
• Megrelian language
• Svan language
• Languages of the Caucasus

Georgian (, kartuli ena) is the official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus. ... Megrelian or Mingrelian (მარგალური ნინა, Margaluri nina, in Megrelian; მეგრული ენა, Megruli ena, in Georgian) is a language spoken in northwest Georgia. ... The Svan language (ლუშნუ ნინ, lushnu nin in Svan; სვანური ენა, svanuri ena in Georgian) is a language spoken in Northwest Georgia. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

External links

• Lazuri Nena - The Language of the Laz by Silvia Kutscher.
• Lazebura.net - All About Laz and their language.Lazish Cultur and Language Portal (In Turkish/Laz)
• About Laz and their language.Lazish Cultur and Language Portal (In English)
• Laz-Turkish full dictionary in word format
• [1] lazuri.com About Laz people in Turkish
• [2] Samples of Laz Language in English, Dutch and Turkish.