Overview

Georgia is a part of the Caucasus region, located at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north and east by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. Georgia covers a territory of 69,700 square kilometres (26,911 sq mi), and its approximate population is about 3.716 million. Georgia is a motherland of Iberian or Kartvelian languages: Georgian, Svan, Megrelian and Laz, a language family native to the South Caucasus. This diverse collection is devoted to a wide range of linguistic works, such as descriptive studies of the Kartvelian languages and Georgian sign language, along with some theoretical contributions, dialectology, lexicography, psycholinguistics and computational linguistics, as well as history, ethnography, religion and educational issues. These articles are not only the best studies of Kartvelology but also clearly show its contribution to world science.

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9781648896545

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Reviews

"The Caucasian Republic of Georgia is a veritable paradise for linguists and folklorists. Unfortunately, few know this. Fortunately, Makharoblidze (Ilia State University) created the key to this paradise: the twelve articles in her ""Issues in Kartvelian Studies"" guide us through this tantalizing paradise. The book starts with a comprehensive article on the history of Georgian dialects-some outside Georgia-and another about their interrelations and relations with non-Georgian languages, incorporating recent findings and theories. Several articles discuss the Georgian literary language: its ergative case system still poses questions, as do its morphosyntactic predictability and its expressions of space, location, negation and its relative pronouns, all of which are the subject of perceptive articles. An article about Georgian Sign Language, which replaced a Russian Sign Language unsuitable for non-Russians, interestingly includes facial expressions. We also find a helpful overview of Georgian dictionaries, beginning in the 11th century! We then learn about the creation of the Georgian national language, its problems beginning in Tsarist times through the Soviet period and now continuing in dealings with minorities. Finally, there is a fascinating and wide interview with a 'tav-khevisberi' (chief priest) about what could be described as the Georgian Paganism of the northeastern highlands, followed by a detailed article on the influence of the Georgian Church. Prof. Dr. Bert Beynen Temple University The volume offers original and fascinating investigations into a broad spectrum of topics in Kartvelian Studies. Contributions by renowned scholars in the field of Kartvelology explore historical and dialectal as well as synchronic perspectives on Kartvelian languages, including Georgian, Mingrelian and Laz. Georgian sign language is studied in one chapter. The book is of interest to readers also outside the field of Kartvelology. Specialists in typological and digital linguistics, psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics will discover contributions in their areas of specialization. In addition to Kartvelian linguistics, the volume embraces religious topics, such as traditional religious practices in the Georgian highlands and the role of the Georgian Orthodox Church in state and nation building, from earliest times and to the present day. This empirically rich volume with explorative and well-argued analyses is stimulating reading for those who want to gain further understanding of linguistic, historical and religious perspectives on this complex region. Karina Vamling Professor of Caucasus Studies Malmö University, Sweden"

The Caucasian Republic of Georgia is a veritable paradise for linguists and folklorists. Unfortunately, few know this. Fortunately, Makharoblidze (Ilia State University) created the key to this paradise: the twelve articles in her Issues in Kartvelian Studies guide us through this tantalizing paradise. The book starts with a comprehensive article on the history of Georgian dialects-some outside Georgia-and another about their interrelations and relations with non-Georgian languages, incorporating recent findings and theories. Several articles discuss the Georgian literary language: its ergative case system still poses questions, as do its morphosyntactic predictability and its expressions of space, location, negation and its relative pronouns, all of which are the subject of perceptive articles. An article about Georgian Sign Language, which replaced a Russian Sign Language unsuitable for non-Russians, interestingly includes facial expressions. We also find a helpful overview of Georgian dictionaries, beginning in the 11th century! We then learn about the creation of the Georgian national language, its problems beginning in Tsarist times through the Soviet period and now continuing in dealings with minorities. Finally, there is a fascinating and wide interview with a 'tav-khevisberi' (chief priest) about what could be described as the Georgian Paganism of the northeastern highlands, followed by a detailed article on the influence of the Georgian Church. Prof. Dr. Bert Beynen Temple University The volume offers original and fascinating investigations into a broad spectrum of topics in Kartvelian Studies. Contributions by renowned scholars in the field of Kartvelology explore historical and dialectal as well as synchronic perspectives on Kartvelian languages, including Georgian, Mingrelian and Laz. Georgian sign language is studied in one chapter. The book is of interest to readers also outside the field of Kartvelology. Specialists in typological and digital linguistics, psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics will discover contributions in their areas of specialization. In addition to Kartvelian linguistics, the volume embraces religious topics, such as traditional religious practices in the Georgian highlands and the role of the Georgian Orthodox Church in state and nation building, from earliest times and to the present day. This empirically rich volume with explorative and well-argued analyses is stimulating reading for those who want to gain further understanding of linguistic, historical and religious perspectives on this complex region. Karina Vamling Professor of Caucasus Studies Malmoe University, Sweden

Author Information

Dr. Tamar Makharoblidze is a full-time Professor at the School of Arts and Sciences at Ilia State University in Tbilisi, Georgia. Dr. Makharoblidze has introduced a few new theories in typological linguistics, general linguistics and cognitive linguistics. She has written 30 monographs and textbooks and about 200 scientific publications. Apart from academic writing, Dr. Makharoblidze has produced screenplays and stage plays and participated in more than 200 television programs, radio programs and documentary films. In 2017, she was awarded the Best Scientist in Kartvelian Studies by the Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation.

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