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A Georgian Language Island in Iran: Fereydani Georgian

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Lia Bakuradze ,
Marina Beridze  and
Zakharia Pourtskhvanidze
Lia Bakuradze
Affiliation:
Chikobava Institute of Linguistics, Ivane Javakhishvili State University Tbilisi, Georgia
Marina Beridze
Affiliation:
Chikobava Institute of Linguistics, Ivane Javakhishvili State University Tbilisi, Georgia
Zakharia Pourtskhvanidze
Affiliation:
Goethe University Frankfurt in Germany
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Abstract

This article describes a dialectal variant of the Georgian language in Iran, Fereydani Georgian, which has survived in Iran for about 400 years. Various relevant aspects of the history and research on Fereydani Georgian are analysed. The choice of topics and sources focuses on previously unknown or, for the English-speaking reader, inaccessible authors. Since 2009, a large part of the linguistic data has been collected in several field studies in Fereydan. They serve as sources and show a revealing perspective on the origin, preservation and existence of the Georgian language island of Fereydani in Iran.

Keywords

Language IslandGeorgian LanguageFereydani GeorgianDialectology
Type
Georgian language islands in Fereydanshahr in Isfahan
Information
Iranian Studies , Volume 53 , Issue 3-4: Commemorating Ehsan Yarshater Endangered Iranian Languages: Language Contact and Language Islands in Iran , August 2020 , pp. 489 - 550
Copyright
Copyright © Association For Iranian Studies, Inc 2020

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Footnotes

The data in this study results from many years of field research in Fereydan and would not have been possible without the help of the people of Fereydan. The deepest gratitude of the authors goes to Ali-Hosein Davitashvili, Mukhtar Aslani (Darchiashvili), Sadiqe Aslani, Abolqasem Ahmadi, Ali-Reza Rahimi, Hosein Qalani, Heidar Aslani, Asadula Onikashvili, Reza Mikelani and many other helpers and language assistants.

This work was supported by the Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation (SRNSF) [grant number 217438].

References

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