Language Families
Kartvelian
kart-VEE-lee-en (/kɑːrtˈviːliən/)
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A family of about 5 million speakers indigenous to the South Caucasus, chiefly western Georgia and northeast Anatolia, comprising four languages: Georgian, spoken by roughly 4 million; Mingrelian; Laz; and Svan. Proto-Kartvelian has been reconstructed, and a 2023 Bayesian phylogenetic study dated the split between Svan and the Karto-Zan branch (Georgian, Mingrelian and Laz) to roughly 7,600 years ago, in the early Copper Age. Proposed wider relationships, including the Nostratic hypothesis and suggested links to Basque or to the unrelated Northwest and Northeast Caucasian families, lack conclusive support and Nostratic itself has fallen out of favor.
Facts
RegionSouth Caucasus, chiefly western Georgia and northeast Anatolia. 1 Speaker CountApproximately 5 million, of whom about 4 million speak Georgian. Proto-Language StatusProto-Kartvelian is reconstructed; a 2023 Bayesian phylogenetic study dated the Svan/Karto-Zan split to roughly 7,600 years ago, in the early Copper Age. 1 No wider relationship to any other language family, including the Nostratic hypothesis or proposed links to Basque or the Northwest/Northeast Caucasian families, has been demonstrated. Cross-Tradition Connections
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