The Geographical and Social Stratification of Judeo-Georgian

Bibliographic Data

ID17823951
AuthorsTamari Lomtadze (0000-0002-8471-278X, Tbilisi State University, corresponding author), Lali Guledani (0009-0004-5772-9406, Ilia State University)
Year2024
Volume12
Issue2
Pages125-146
Publication date2024-10-22
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Jewish Languages (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2213-4387 • E-ISSN: 2213-4638
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/22134638-bja10053
OpenAlexW4403739777
LanguageEN
References cited11

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

Archaeology · Geography · Georgian · Immigration · Linguistics · Sociolinguistics · Sociology · Gender Studies · History · Linguistics and Cultural Studies · Linguistics and language evolution · Linguistics, Language Diversity, and Identity

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