The Zan languages, or Zanuri ( ka, ზანური ენები) or Colchidian, are a branch of the

Kartvelian languages The Kartvelian languages ( ; ka, ქართველური ენები, tr; also known as South Caucasian or Kartvelic languages Boeder (2002), p. 3) are a language family indigenous to the South Caucasus and spoken primarily in Geor ...

constituted by the Mingrelian and Laz languages. The grouping is disputed as some Georgian linguists consider the two to form a

dialect continuum A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of Variety (linguistics), language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are Mutual intelligibility, mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulat ...

of one Zan language. This is often challenged on the most commonly applied criteria of

mutual intelligibility In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between different but related language varieties in which speakers of the different varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. Mutual intelli ...

when determining borders between languages, as Mingrelian and Laz are only partially mutually intelligible, though speakers of one language can recognize a sizable amount of vocabulary of the other, primarily due to semantic loans, lexical loans and other areal features resulting from geographical proximity and historical close contact common for dialect continuums. The term ''Zan'' comes from the

Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman world , also Greco-Roman civilization, Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture (spelled Græco-Roman or Graeco-Roman in British English), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and co ...

name of one of the chief Colchian tribes, which is almost identical to the name given to the

Mingrelians The Mingrelians (; ka, მეგრელები, tr) are an indigenous Kartvelian-speaking ethnic subgroup of Georgians that mostly live in the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti (; ka, სამეგრელო, tr) region of Georgia. They also l ...

by the Svans ( ''mə-zän''). Georgian linguist Akaki Shanidze proposed the name "Colchidian" for Zan.

History

According to a glottochronological analysis by G. Klimov, the Zan languages had split from the Common Kartvelian group by about the 8th century BC. Zan was spoken by a continuous community stretching along the Black Sea coast, from modern day

Trabzon Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

into western

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, also existing in modern-day

Giresun Giresun () is a city in the Black Sea Region of northeastern Turkey, about west of the city of Trabzon. It is the seat of Giresun Province and Giresun District.Ordu province Ordu Province () is a province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey, located on the Black Sea coast. Its area is 5,914 km2, and its population is 763,190 (2022). Its adjacent provinces are Samsun to the northwest, Tokat to the southwest, ...

s of Turkey. In the mid-7th century AD, Zan speakers were split by migration of Georgian-speaking peoples from

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

( eastern Georgia), driven by the

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

, who took over the regions of

Imereti Imereti ( Georgian: იმერეთი, ) is a region of Georgia situated in the central-western part of the republic along the middle and upper reaches of the Rioni River. Imereti is the most populous region in Georgia. It consists of 11 mun ...

Guria Guria ( ka, გურია) is a region (''mkhare'') in Georgia (country), Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 104,338 (2023), with Ozurgeti as the regional cap ...

, and

Adjara Adjara ( ka, აჭარა ''Ach’ara'' ) or Achara, officially known as the Autonomous Republic of Adjara ( ka, აჭარის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა ''Ach’aris Avt’onomiuri Resp’ublik’a ...

. Separated by geography, and later by politics and religion, northern and southern Zan eventually diverged into Mingrelian and Laz. Since the differentiation was basically complete by early modern times, it is not customary to speak of a unified Zan language today. Presently, Mingrelian is spoken by the

primarily in northwestern Georgia (

Mingrelia Mingrelia or Samegrelo ( ka, სამეგრელო, tr ; ) is a historic province in the western part of Georgia, formerly known as Odishi. It is primarily inhabited by the Mingrelians, a subgroup of Georgians. Geography and climate Mingr ...

and

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

), whereas Laz is spoken by the

Laz people The Laz people, or Lazi ( ''Lazi''; ka, ლაზი, ''lazi''; or ჭანი, ''ch'ani''; ), are a Kartvelian languages, Kartvelian ethnic group native to the South Caucasus, who mainly live in Black Sea coastal regions of Black Sea Region, ...

in Turkey (and in a small portion of Adjara, southwestern Georgia).

References

* (see also ) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zan Languages Agglutinative languages Kartvelian languages Languages of Georgia (country) Languages of Turkey Georgian-Zan languages stub