Abstract
Abstract This article focuses on the variation found within Judeo-Georgian as it correlates with predetermined geographical and social categories and explores the changes it underwent as spoken by the small Jewish community remaining in Georgia and, later, as a consequence of contacts with other languages, in a new linguistic environment in Israel. The research is based on the theories and methods of variationist sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology. Social and geographical factors were instrumental in shaping linguistic variation in Judeo-Georgian as one of the key identity markers of Georgian Jews. Geographical, social, and religious dimensions of Judeo-Georgian are discussed in relation to linguistic variables. The research builds on Sarah Bunin Benor’s (2008) distinctive linguistic repertoire approach to Jewish languages. The varieties of Judeo-Georgian spoken in Georgia were based on local/regional dialects but differed from them through the use of Hebraisms/Aramaisms, displaced dialectisms, and archaisms. Upper-class Jews largely avoided using Judeo-Georgian, middle-class Jews used it in certain speech situations, and for lower-class Jews, it was the only means of communication. Regional and social peculiarities of Judeo-Georgian, as spoken in different parts of Georgia, as well as the changes caused by immigration, are manifest in the speech varieties spoken by Georgian Jewry in Israel.
Published Version
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