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Is Mingrelian a language?
Mingrelian language, also called Megrelian, unwritten Kartvelian (South Caucasian) language spoken along the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia. Its speakers call it margaluri nina; in Georgian, it is called megruli ena.
How hard is Georgian language?
According to the Language Difficulty Ranking scale, which is maintained by the US State Department and applies to native English speakers, Georgian is a category 4 language (out of 5). Language Difficulty Ranking Plus, it’s noted as an “exceptionally difficult” level 4.
How old is Mingrelian language?
The oldest surviving texts in Mingrelian date from the 19th century, and are mainly items of ethnographical literature. The earliest linguistic studies of Mingrelian include a phonetic analysis by Aleksandre Tsagareli (1880), and grammars by Ioseb Kipshidze (1914) and Shalva Beridze (1920).
How many people speak Mingrelian in Georgia?
No reliable figure exists for the number of native speakers of Mingrelian, but it is estimated to be between 300,000 and 500,000. Most speakers live in the Samegrelo (Mingrelia) region of Georgia, which comprises the Odishi Hills and the Kolkheti Lowlands, from the Black Sea coast to the Svan Mountains and the Tskhenistskali River.
Is Mingrelian an official language?
Mingrelian is generally written with the Georgian alphabet, but has no written standard or official status. Almost all speakers are bilingual; they use Mingrelian mainly for familiar and informal conversation, and Georgian (or, for expatriate speakers, the local official language) for other purposes.
What is the meaning of Mingrelia?
Mingrelian or Megrelian (მარგალური ნინა margaluri nina) is a Kartvelian language spoken in Western Georgia (regions of Samegrelo and Abkhazia), primarily by the Mingrelians. The language was also called Iverian (Georgian iveriuli ena) in the early 20th century.
Where do the Mingrelian people live?
Most speakers live in the Samegrelo (Mingrelia) region of Georgia, which comprises the Odishi Hills and the Kolkheti Lowlands, from the Black Sea coast to the Svan Mountains and the Tskhenistskali River. Smaller enclaves existed in Abkhazia, but the ongoing civil unrest there has displaced many Mingrelian speakers to other regions of Georgia.