Selected Turkish Loanwords in the Georgian Literary Language and in Megrelian

Abstract

The Georgian literary language contains numerous Turkish loanwords, resulting from the centuries-long political, economic, and cultural relations between Georgia and Turkey. Many Turkish words have become established in the speech of those Georgian regions bordering Turkey or historically falling within its sphere of influence—for example, the Adjarian, Gurian, Meskhetian (Samtskhe–Javakhetian), and Imerkhevian dialects.
After the fall of the Byzantine Empire (1453), Georgia and the Ottoman state became neighboring political entities. Turkish influence on Georgia intensified and extended to every sphere of life, including language.
Numerous Turkish socio-economic terms are attested in Georgian documentary sources dating from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. At the same time, many Turkish lexical items spread through oral transmission into Georgian dialects.
The present research investigates Turkish loanwords in the Georgian literary language and in Megrelian. The study revealed that the Georgian literary language has assimilated far more Turkish lexical items than Megrelian. This may be explained by Georgian–Turkish political relations, which were reflected primarily in the literary language and subsequently in its dialects.
In Georgian literary language and Megrelian there are terms denoting units of weight and measure, monetary units, military and work tools, professions, offices, social status, clothing, and other categories. Many Turkish lexical borrowings have become permanently established in Georgian and have undergone full linguistic integration. Without them, the Modern Georgian language would be difficult to imagine.