FOR SOME LEXICAL ITEMS IN SOUTHERN DIALECTS

Abstract

A study of the speech of local inhabitants and Descendants of the Muhajirs from the Chorokhi Valley has shown that the Chorokhi Basin constitutes a unified cultural region. The Georgian dialects spoken in this area are collectively referred to as Southern Georgian speech, comprising the Adjarian, Shavsheti, Klarjeti, and Tao dialects.

Research on the Adjarian, Shavsheti, Klarjeti, and Tao dialects allows us to identify certain features that are common to southern speech.

The vocabulary of the southern Georgian sub-dialects is diverse and rich in many ways. In this paper, we will present lexical units characteristic of the southern dialects, some of which are also attested in other Georgian dialects - either with the same or with a different meaning - as well as In the Works of Old Georgian literary language. Therefore, the study will be valuable for exploring the relationship between the Georgian literary language and the southern dialects.

The following lexical items characteristic of South Georgian dialects are discussed in this paper: gak'eteba (to recover, improve, become more beautiful); gharch'i (boy, young man); ts've (very); gadalabijeba (to take a large step); nachari (bad); ch'och'e (muddy, swampy place); mercholeba (to be displeased); imposerti (especially)…

The analysis of the meanings of these and other lexical items shows that they generally share the same meanings across all South Georgian sub-dialects, although some variations are observed.

Compared to other Georgian sub-dialect groups, the South Georgian sub-dialects are most closely related to the Samtskhe-Javakheti and Meskhetian dialects. Some of the discussed lexical items have parallels in the Javakhetian sub-dialect. Several of these words are also attested in Old Georgian literary monuments, such as: “Rusudaniani“ and “Kilila and Damana“… providing valuable material for studying the relationship between South Georgian dialects and the Georgian literary language.

The results of this study support the hypothesis that the South Georgian dialects (Adjarian, Shavsheti, Klarjeti, and Tao) evolved from a common ancestral South Georgian speech. These dialects are characterized by shared phonetic and grammatical changes and numerous common lexical features, indicating a common linguistic origin.

Keywords: Southern dialects; Adjarian; Shavsheti; Klarjeti; Tao; vocabulary; Georgian literary language.