Taoan Dialect of Georgian Language and Linguistic Space of Collective Memory in the Chorokhi Basin

Abstract

In one of the provinces of historical South Georgia, on the modern Turkish territory, in Tao, intensive assimilation and large-scale migration processes resulted in a decrease of the Georgian-speaking space to a minimum and in the 21st century only a few Georgian speaking villages remained. The aim of the work “Taoan Dialect of Georgian Language and linguistic space of collective memory in the Chorokhi Basin” is to study the linguistic panorama in the narratives of the locals, based on the ethnological and dialectical materials gathered by the authors in the Parkklistskali valley expeditions. Besides this, the results of the research also reflect the structure of the Georgian settlements and some of the self-awareness issues that are presented in collective memory of the local population.Georgian villages are in the basin (Parkhlistskali) of the left tributary of the middle wing of the river Chorokhi. The authors point to the specifics of Khevay, Kobay and Balkhi Georgians: it is not argued that one dialect is spoken within the mentioned villages, but at the same time the local population distinguishes certain peculiarities of the inhabitants of some small gorges. In this regard, the work is of significant novelty, especially if one of its foundations is completely new material gathered in the fields of expeditions in the villages and districts of the study area, which are introduced into scientific circulation for the first time.