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| Judeo-Georgian | |
|---|---|
| Gruzinic, Qivruli | |
| ყივრული | |
| Native to | Georgia,Israel,Russia,Belgium,United States |
Native speakers | 60,000 (2015–2018)[1] |
| Georgian script Aramaic script | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | jge |
| Glottolog | jude1258 |
Judeo-Georgian, knownendonymically asQivruli (Judeo-Georgian:ყივრული ენა) and also known asGruzinic, is the traditionalGeorgian dialect spoken by theGeorgian Jews, the ancientJewish community of theSouth Caucasus nation ofGeorgia.[2]
Georgian-speaking Jews maintain one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world.[3] The most popular theory on the origins of Georgian Jewry is that the first Jews in Georgia arrived 2600 years ago after escapingBabylonian captivity.[2]
Judaeo-Georgian is the onlyKartvelian Jewish dialect. Its status as a distinct language from theGeorgian language is the subject of some debate.
With the exception of a significant number ofHebrew andSuretloanwords, the language is reportedly largely mutually intelligible withGeorgian.
In the beginning of the late 19th century, there were large Jewish communities across Georgia, including Tbilisi,Kutaisi, andTskhinvali in South Ossetia.[3] Small Jewish communities existed across almost every part of Georgia with a synagogue in nearly all villages and cities. The religious leaders of these were referred to asrabini orxaxami, the Georgia term for 'rabbi' and 'wise', respectively.[3]
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 inNew York and undetermined numbers in other communities in theUnited States,Russia,Belgium, andCanada.
Judaeo-Georgian is, like manyJewish languages spoken there, on the decline inIsrael. 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.
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