The Functioning of the Abkhazian Language among the Descendants of Abkhaz Muhajirs in Turkey and Georgia

Abstract

The Abkhazians currently residing primarily in Turkey and in Georgia (particularly in Adjara), are descendants of Abkhaz muhajirs who were forcibly displaced by the Russian Empire in the nineteenth century.
The impact of forced deportation of peoples on language functioning is one of the most challenging and complex issues in sociolinguistics. During deportation, communities are compelled to undergo radical transformations of their social, cultural, and linguistic environments. Under such conditions, children and subsequent generations frequently fail to acquire the ancestral language. Communication within the family shifts toward the host language, thereby interrupting the natural transmission of language across generations. This process is further intensified by the decline in the prestige of the Abkhaz language, which ceases to be perceived as an instrument of social or economic advancement, leading to its replacement by dominant and more prestigious languages. As a result, not only does the functional scope of the language narrow, but the preservation of ethnic identity is also threatened, since language is one of its central components.
Today, the Abkhazian language faces significant challenges both in Abkhazia and among muhajir descendant communities, particularly in the Republic of Turkey. The issues of language functioning are related to political, social, and demographic factors, which determine its prospects for linguistic preservation or assimilation.
The functioning of the Abkhazian language is confronted with considerable threats in Georgia (especially in Adjara) and Turkey arising from various socio-political and linguistic factors. Processes of language assimilation under the influence of Georgian, Turkish and Russian hinder the natural development of the Abkhazian language. Within the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, ongoing Russification; in Georgian-controlled territories (notably Batumi and its surrounding region), the predominance of Georgian; and in the Republic of Turkey, systematic Turkification processes collectively weaken the functional vitality of the Abkhazian language.
The Abkhazian language is included on UNESCO’s list of endangered languages.