Ibero-Caucasian languages
Encyclopedia
The term Ibero-Caucasian (or Iberian-Caucasian) was proposed by Georgian
linguist Arnold Chikobava
for the union of the three language families that are specific to the Caucasus area, namely
The Northeast family is assumed to include the Nakh languages
(Batsbi
, Chechen
, and Ingush
), which were formerly classified as a separate North-central Caucasian family.
The Ibero-Caucasian group would also include three extinct languages: Hattic
, which has been connected by some linguists to the Northwest (Circassian) family, and Hurrian
and Urartian
, which have been connected to the Northeast (Nakh–Dagestanian) family. See the articles on the two families for more discussion.
for details.
On the other hand, there are no known affinities between South Caucasian and the northern languages, which are two unrelated phyla even in Greenberg's deep classification of the world's languages. "Ibero-Caucasian" therefore remains at best a convenient geographical designation, not a linguistic phylum.
— a kingdom centered in Eastern Georgia
which lasted from the 4th century BC to the 5th century AD, and is not related to the Iberian Peninsula
.
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
linguist Arnold Chikobava
Arnold Chikobava
Arnold Stepanovich Chikobava was a Georgian linguist and philologist best known as for his contributions to the Caucasian studies as well as one of the most active critics of Nicholas Marr's controversial monogenetic "Japhetic" theory of language.Chikobava was born in the small village...
for the union of the three language families that are specific to the Caucasus area, namely
- Kartvelian languages
- Northwest CaucasianNorthwest Caucasian languagesThe Northwest Caucasian languages, also called Abkhazo-Adyghean, or sometimes Pontic as opposed to Caspian for the Northeast Caucasian languages, are a group of languages spoken in the Caucasus region, chiefly in Russia , the disputed territory of Abkhazia, and Turkey, with smaller communities...
, also called Abkhaz/Adygh or Circassian; - Northeast CaucasianNortheast Caucasian languagesThe Northeast Caucasian languages constitute a language family spoken in the Russian republics of Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, northern Azerbaijan, and in northeastern Georgia, as well as in diaspora populations in Russia, Turkey, and the Middle East...
, now called (Nakh–)Dagestanian.
The Northeast family is assumed to include the Nakh languages
Nakh languages
The Nakh languages are a small family of languages spoken chiefly by the Nakh peoples, in Russia , in Georgia, and in the Chechen diaspora ....
(Batsbi
Bats language
Bats is the language of the Bats people, a Caucasian minority group, and is part of the Nakh family of Caucasian languages. It had 2,500 to 3,000 speakers in 1975....
, Chechen
Chechen language
The Chechen language is spoken by more than 1.5 million people, mostly in Chechnya and by Chechen people elsewhere. It is a member of the Northeast Caucasian languages.-Classification:...
, and Ingush
Ingush language
Ingush is a language spoken by about 413,000 people , known as the Ingush, across a region covering Ingushetia, Chechnya, Kazakhstan and Russia. In Ingush, the language is called ГІалгІай Ğalğaj .-Classification:...
), which were formerly classified as a separate North-central Caucasian family.
The Ibero-Caucasian group would also include three extinct languages: Hattic
Hattic language
Hattic was a language spoken by the Hattians in Asia Minor between the 3rd and the 2nd millennia BC. Scholars call this language 'Hattic' to distinguish it from the Hittite language--the Indo-European language of the Hittite Empire....
, which has been connected by some linguists to the Northwest (Circassian) family, and Hurrian
Hurrian language
Hurrian is a conventional name for the language of the Hurrians , a people who entered northern Mesopotamia around 2300 BC and had mostly vanished by 1000 BC. Hurrian was the language of the Mitanni kingdom in northern Mesopotamia, and was likely spoken at least initially in Hurrian settlements in...
and Urartian
Urartian language
Urartian, Vannic, and Chaldean are conventional names for the language spoken by the inhabitants of the ancient kingdom of Urartu that was located in the region of Lake Van, with its capital near the site of the modern town of Van, in the Armenian Highland, modern-day Eastern Anatolia region of...
, which have been connected to the Northeast (Nakh–Dagestanian) family. See the articles on the two families for more discussion.
Family status
The affinities between the three families above are still disputed. A connection between the Northeast and Northwest phyla is seen as likely by many linguists; see the article on the North Caucasian languagesNorth Caucasian languages
North Caucasian languages is a blanket term for two language phyla spoken chiefly in the north Caucasus and Turkey: the Northwest Caucasian family and the Northeast Caucasian family North Caucasian languages (sometimes called simply Caucasic as opposed to Kartvelian, and to avoid confusion with...
for details.
On the other hand, there are no known affinities between South Caucasian and the northern languages, which are two unrelated phyla even in Greenberg's deep classification of the world's languages. "Ibero-Caucasian" therefore remains at best a convenient geographical designation, not a linguistic phylum.
Family name
The "Iberian" in the family name refers to Caucasian IberiaCaucasian Iberia
Iberia , also known as Iveria , was a name given by the ancient Greeks and Romans to the ancient Georgian kingdom of Kartli , corresponding roughly to the eastern and southern parts of the present day Georgia...
— a kingdom centered in Eastern Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
which lasted from the 4th century BC to the 5th century AD, and is not related to the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
.
Main research centers
- Tsu Institute of caucasiology
- Chikobava Institute of Linguistics of the Georgian Academy of SciencesGeorgian Academy of SciencesThe Georgian National Academy of Sciences is a main learned society of the Georgia. It was named Georgian SSR Academy of Sciences until November 1990...
(TbilisiTbilisiTbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
). - Department of Caucasiology at the University of Jena (GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
). - Faculty of Philology at the Tbilisi State UniversityTbilisi State UniversityIvane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University , better known as Tbilisi State University , is a university established on 8 February 1918 in Tbilisi, Georgia. TSU is the oldest university in the whole Caucasus region...
(Tbilisi).
Main publications
- The Yearbook of the Iberian-Caucasian Linguistics (Tbilisi).
- Revue de Kartvelologie et Caucasologie (ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
).