Imerkhevians ( ka, იმერხეველები), are an ethnographic subgroup of

Georgians The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, G ...

who speak Imerkhevian dialect (''imerkheuli'') of

Georgian language Georgian (, , ) is the most widely-spoken Kartvelian language, and serves as the literary language or lingua franca for speakers of related languages. It is the official language of Georgia and the native or primary language of 87.6% of its p ...

, which shares many common features with the neighboring Adjarian. Tuite, Kevin (1998)
''Kartvelian morphosyntax: number agreement and morphosyntactic oritntation in the South Caucasian languages''
p. 178. Lincom Europa. Imerkhevians are indigenous population of Artvin Province, historical region in northeastern part of Turkey. The Imerkhevians are

Sunni Muslims Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

, closely integrated with the

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

society. Almost all are bilingual in Georgian and

. Reflecting some internal differentiation persisting in Turkey's Georgian community, the Imerkhevians claim a different origin from the Georgians in the Borçka area, who have adopted an inclusive Adjar identity. The first who brought the local culture to a scholarly attention was Nicholas Marr, who, while on an expedition in Shavsheti in 1910, collected folk literature and ethnographic information from several villages along the

Imerkhevi Imerkhevi (, ) is a valley in the north of the Şavşat district in the Artvin Province of Turkey, along the border with Georgia (country), Georgia. There are 15 villages in this area, inhabited by ethnic Georgians, who speak a local Georgian dial ...

river.

Geographical distribution

The majority of the Imerkhevians today live in an area they call

, the name of the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Imerkhevian. The population of Imerkhevi is largely composed of ethnic Georgians, who inhabit 14 hamlets around Meydancık, formerly known as Diobani. These settlements have both official Turkish and unofficial Georgian names.

References

{{Ethnic groups in Turkey Ethnic groups in Turkey Peoples of the Caucasus People from Georgia (country) by ethnic or national origin

Geographical distribution

See also

References