Adjaran (Ach'aruli / აჭარული) is one of the
Georgian dialectsGeorgian is a South Caucasian, or Kartvelian, language spoken by about 4.1 million people primarily in Georgia, but also in Russia, Turkey, Iran, and Azerbaijan. It is a highly standardized language, with the first attempts to establish literary and linguistic norms dating back to the 5th century AD...
. It is primarily spoken within the borders of the
autonomous republicAn autonomous republic is a type of administrative division similar to a province. A significant number of autonomous republics can be found within the successor states of the Soviet Union, but the majority are located within Russia. Many of these republics were established during the Soviet...
of
AdjaraAdjara , officially the Autonomous Republic of Adjara , is an autonomous republic of Georgia. Adjara is also spelt Ajara or Adzhara, and is also known as Ajaria/Adjaria/Adzharia, or as Achara...
,
GeorgiaGeorgia Georgia Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the east by Azerbaijan...
, also in two villages of the adjacent region of
GuriaGuria is a region in Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 143,357 and Ozurgeti is a regional capital.- Geography :...
, and the ethnic Georgian-inhabited areas of
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
.
The Adjaran dialect is derived from the Kolchain, Meskhet-Klarjetian and surrounding Gurian dialects. The
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
introduced a
TurkishTurkish is spoken as a first language by over 63 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Cyprus, with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and other...
influence.
The Adjaran
dialectThe term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by scholars of language. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other...
has several sub-dialects, and is spoken with different accents in different locations.
Adjaran (Ach'aruli / აჭარული) is one of the
Georgian dialectsGeorgian is a South Caucasian, or Kartvelian, language spoken by about 4.1 million people primarily in Georgia, but also in Russia, Turkey, Iran, and Azerbaijan. It is a highly standardized language, with the first attempts to establish literary and linguistic norms dating back to the 5th century AD...
. It is primarily spoken within the borders of the
autonomous republicAn autonomous republic is a type of administrative division similar to a province. A significant number of autonomous republics can be found within the successor states of the Soviet Union, but the majority are located within Russia. Many of these republics were established during the Soviet...
of
AdjaraAdjara , officially the Autonomous Republic of Adjara , is an autonomous republic of Georgia. Adjara is also spelt Ajara or Adzhara, and is also known as Ajaria/Adjaria/Adzharia, or as Achara...
,
GeorgiaGeorgia Georgia Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the east by Azerbaijan...
, also in two villages of the adjacent region of
GuriaGuria is a region in Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 143,357 and Ozurgeti is a regional capital.- Geography :...
, and the ethnic Georgian-inhabited areas of
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
.
Origin and Turkish influence
The Adjaran dialect is derived from the Kolchain, Meskhet-Klarjetian and surrounding Gurian dialects. The
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
introduced a
TurkishTurkish is spoken as a first language by over 63 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Cyprus, with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and other...
influence.
Sub-Dialects and Accents
The Adjaran
dialectThe term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by scholars of language. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other...
has several sub-dialects, and is spoken with different accents in different locations. Upper Adjaran and Lower Adjaran are the most common sub-dialects. In addition, a separate Kobuletian dialect is sometimes distinguished as well. The Upper Adjaran sub-dialect is found in Khulo and Shuakhev, and the Lower Adjaran sub-dialect is found in the
KedaKeda is a small town in Ajaria, an autonomous republic in the southwestern Georgia, 42 km southeast to the regional capital Batumi. Keda Raion also comprises 60 villages adjoining to the town. Its area is 452 km²...
,
KhelvachauriKhelvachauri is a small town in Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia, 8 km southeast to the regional capital Batumi. The towns of Khelvachauri and Makhinjauri, and adjoining 75 villages form Khelvachauri District bordered by the Black Sea to the west and Turkey to the south. The...
and
KobuletiKobuleti is a town in Georgia's southwestern region of Ajaria. It is situated on the eastern coast of the Black Sea. Kobuleti is a sea resort, visited annually by Georgians and many former Soviet Union residents. From the 17th century into the 19th, Kobuleti was a fiefdom of the Tavdgiridze...
regions.
Adjaran is spoken with Khuloan, Shuakhevian, Kobuletian accents. The Kobuletian accent shows less evidence of
TurkishTurkish is spoken as a first language by over 63 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Cyprus, with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and other...
influence than the other two. Some distinguish between Ghorjomian and Khikhadzirian variants of the Khuloan accent. The Kirnat-Maradid region also has a unique accent.
There are western and eastern varieties of Adjaran. The Upper Adjaran sub-dialect is similar to Samtskhe-Javakhet and resembles
IberianThe Iberian language was the language of a people identified by Greek and Roman sources who lived in the eastern and southeastern regions of the Iberian peninsula. The ancient Iberians can be identified as a rather nebulous local culture between the 7th century BC and the 1st century BC...
. The Lower Adjaran sub-dialect (particularly the Kobuletian-accented version), is similar to western Georgian speech.