The Semantics of Certain Verbal Forms in the Klarjetian Dialect

Abstract

The Klarjetian dialect represents one of the historically most deeply rooted and distinctive dialects of the Georgian language, preserving both archaic and innovative linguistic elements to this day. It was historically spoken in the region of Klarjeti, while today it survives primarily among Georgian-speaking communities residing in the border areas of Georgia and Turkey. Klarjeti speech is not an isolated linguistic entity; rather, it is organically integrated into the broader system of Georgian dialects, reflecting both local and general Kartvelian linguistic tendencies.
Scholarly observations suggest that the linguistic situation in the Klarjeti region is divided into two distinct areas: in one part, Georgian speech continues to be heard, while in the other, it has largely been replaced by Turkish. Even though Georgian is no longer actively spoken in this part of Klarjeti, significant cultural and linguistic elements have been preserved, including toponyms, Georgian forms of personal names, fragments of oral tradition, and lexical traces observable in local Turkish dialects.
This study focuses on the formal and semantic features of the verb as one of the most important lexical-grammatical units of the language in the Klarjetian dialect. The analysis addresses such verbal forms as brdzaneba (“to command”) used with the meaning “to offer or serve food,” a semantic value not attested in Standard Georgian but documented both in dialectal usage and in old Georgian literary sources (e.g., puri brdzanet “please take bread”). The verb dajdoma (“to sit down”) is also examined. In the Klarjeti dialect and, more broadly, in southern dialects it conveys the meaning “to live, settle, or enter a household” (e.g., davj̇eqit otkh ts’eli ert sakhshi “We lived in one house for four years”; kali mev̇ida, daj̇da, amis kalida gavkhdeo “woman came, settled, and became his wife / joined a household”).
The research is based on old Georgian written sources and lexicographical works, as well as contemporary corpus data, and oral linguistic materials. The aim of the study is to highlight the distinctive features of Klarjeti dialect as a living and dynamic linguistic variety and to contribute to the advancement of Georgian dialectological studies