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Glite Dictionary
🌍 Related to Georgia 🗣️ A Georgian language 👤 A Georgian person 🌐 Language family
Kartvelian

Kartvelian

1 9.9
About the group of languages people speak in Georgia, like Georgian and Svan
  • adjective
: kartveliano
  • Many linguists are interested in the origins of the Kartvelian language family.

Examples

  • The Kartvelian languages are unique to the Caucasus region.

  • She is studying the structure of Kartvelian grammar for her thesis.

  • The Kartvelian languages have a rich history.

  • She studies Kartvelian linguistics at the university.

  • The Kartvelian languages are essential for understanding the culture and history of Georgia.

  • She studies the Kartvelian language family, which includes Georgian, Mingrelian, Laz, and Svan.

  • Linguists often explore the relationships within the Kartvelian languages to trace their origins.

Surface Forms

Kartvelian positive

Morphology

Kartvelian = Kartvel (semi-transparent) = kartvel + ian

The suffix '-ian' transparently marks relation to a people/place (language or person), but the root 'Kartvel' is a rare, foreign ethnonym unfamiliar to most learners.

Etymology

Kartvelian comes from the Georgian word Kartveli, which means 'a person from Kartli', a central region in the country Georgians call Sakartvelo ('Georgia'). So Kartvelian is used to describe things related to those people or their languages.