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The Kartvelian languages ((グルジア語:ქართველური ენები)) (also known as Iberian〔(Caucasian languages ) Encyclopædia Britannica〕 and formerly〔Bernard Laks, Origin and Evolution of Languages: Approaches, Models, Paradigms, Equinox, 2008, p. 46〕 South Caucasian〔Boeder (2002), p. 3〕) are a language family indigenous to the Caucasus and spoken primarily in Georgia, with large groups of native speakers in Russia, Iran, the United States, the European Union, Israel,〔(Languages of Israel )〕 and northeastern parts of Turkey.〔(Ethnologue entry about the Kartvelian language family )〕 There are approximately 5.2 million speakers of Kartvelian languages worldwide. It is not known to be related to any other language family, making it one of the world's primary language families.〔Dalby (2002), p. 38〕 The first literary source in a Kartvelian language is the Georgian language ''inscription of Bir el Qutt'', written in ancient Georgian ''Asomtavruli'' script at the Georgian monastery near Bethlehem,〔Lang (1966), p. 154〕 which dates back to c. 430 AD.〔Hewitt (1995), p. 4.〕 The Georgian script is the writing system used to write all Kartvelian languages. Lazs of Turkey use also the Latin script. ==Social and cultural status== Georgian is the official language of Georgia (spoken by 90% of the population) and the main language for literary and business use for all Kartvelian speakers in Georgia. It is written with an original and distinctive alphabet, and the oldest surviving literary text dates from the 5th century AD—the only Caucasian language with an ancient literary tradition. The old Georgian script seems to have been derived from Aramaic, with Greek influences.〔 Mingrelian has been written with the Georgian alphabet since 1864, especially in the period from 1930 to 1938, when the Mingrelians enjoyed some cultural autonomy, and after 1989. The Laz language was written chiefly between 1927 and 1937, and now again in Turkey, with the Latin alphabet. Laz, however, is disappearing as its speakers are integrating into mainstream Turkish society. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kartvelian languages」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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