Judaeo-Georgian
ყივრული/קיברולי Kivruli
Native toGeorgia, Israel, Russia, Belgium, United States
Native speakers
60,000 (2015–2018)[1]
Georgian script
Hebrew script
Language codes
ISO 639-3jge
Glottologjude1258

Judaeo-Georgian (Georgian: ყივრული ენა) (also known as Kivruli and Gruzinic) is the traditional Georgian dialect spoken by the Georgian Jews, the ancient Jewish community of the South Caucasus nation of Georgia.[2]

History

The most popular theory on the origins of Georgian Jewry is that the first jews in Georgia arrived 2600 years ago after escaping Babylonian captivity.[2]

Relationship to other languages

Judaeo-Georgian is the only Kartvelian Jewish dialect. Its status as a distinct language from the Georgian language is the subject of some debate.

With the exception of a significant number of Hebrew loanwords, the language is reportedly largely mutually intelligible with Georgian.

Distribution

Judaeo-Georgian has approximately 85,000 speakers. These include 20,000 speakers in Georgia (1995 est.), and about 59,800 speakers in Israel (2000 est.). The language has approximately 4,000 speakers in New York and undetermined numbers in other communities in the United States, Russia, Belgium, and Canada.

Status

Judaeo-Georgian is, like many Jewish languages spoken there, on the decline in Israel. Its status in Georgia itself is unchanged, except by the rapid decline in the size of the language community, due to emigration beginning in the 1970s, which has seen the departure of some 80% of the community. Authoritative studies of its continued use by other expatriate communities of Georgian Jews have not been conducted.

Sample Text

English Judeo-Georgian Latin Transliteration Georgian Transliteration
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood עוואלה הדהמיהני יבהדאבה תהוויסוּפֿהלי דה תהנהסצוֹרי תהוויסי גֿירסאביתה דה וּפֿלאבאבית. מהת מינישצאבוּלי הכּוות גּוֹנאבה דה סינדיסי דה ארתמהנאתיס מימהרת וּנדה יכּסתאוֹדנאן דזמוֹביס סוּליסקוואתאבית Qvela adamiani ibadeba tavisupali da tanasc̣ori tavisi ɣirsebita da uplebebit. Mat minič̣ebuli akvt goneba da sindisi da ertmanetis mimart unda ikceodnenʒmobis sulisḳvetebit ყველა ადამიანი იბადება თავისუფალი და თანასწორი თავისი ღირსებითა და უფლებებით. მათ მინიჭებული აქვთ გონება და სინდისი და ერთმანეთის მიმართ უნდა იქცეოდნენ ძმობის სულისკვეთებით

References

  1. ↑ Judaeo-Georgian at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. 1 2 "Judeo-Georgian". Jewish Languages. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
Judaeo-Georgian test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator
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