Svan
Svan is a Kartvelian language spoken in Russia and Georgia, by about 15 thousand people. Glottolog rates it threatened.
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Svan (ლუშნუ ნინ lušnu nin; Georgian: სვანური ენა, romanized: svanuri ena) is a Kartvelian language spoken in the western Georgian region of Svaneti primarily by the Svans, a subgroup of Georgians. It is of particular interest because it has retained many features that have been lost in the other Kartvelian languages.
Historically, Svan has only been a spoken, regional language used informally in day-to-day activities. Svan speakers have traditionally relied on the standard Georgian as their literary language and through the late 19th century there were no known written Svan grammar books or dictionaries. With its speakers variously estimated to be between 30,000 and 80,000, the UNESCO designates Svan as a "definitely endangered language".
From Wikipedia · Svan language · CC BY-SA 4.0
Words in Svan
| Meaning | Word | Romanization |
|---|---|---|
| mother | დედე | dede |
| father | მუ | mu |
| friend | აფხნეგ | apxneg |
| eye | თე | te |
| ear | შდიმ | šdim |
| nose | ნეფხვნა | nepxvna |
| tooth | შდიქ | šdik |
| hand | ში | ši |
| heart | გვი | gvi |
| head | თხვიმ | txvim |
| blood | ზისხ | zisx |
| bone | ჯიჯვ | ǯiǯv |
| knee | ღულა̈ჲ | ɣuläy |
| liver | ყუ̂იჟე | q̇ûiže |
| water | ლიც | lic |
| fire | ლემესგ | lemesg |
| sun | ბჟა | bža |
| moon | დოშდულ | došdul |
| star | ამტყუ̂ა̈სგ | amṭq̇ûäsg |
| sky | დეც | dec |
| rain | უჩხა | učxa |
| snow | მუს | mus |
| wind | ბიქუ̂ | bikû |
| night | ლე̄თ | lēt |
| dog | ჟეღ | žeɣ |
| cat | ციცუ̂ | cicû |
| fish | ცუზ | cuz |
| bird | მეპო̈̄რ | meṗȫr |
| horse | ჩა̈̄ჟ | čǟž |
| cow | ფუ̈რ | pür |
Most similar languages
Vocabulary
- LazKartvelian10% alike
- MingrelianKartvelian10% alike
- BambassiBlue Nile Mao9% alike
- KyengaMande8% alike
- BongoCentral Sudanic8% alike
- Indus KohistaniIndo-European8% alike
Vocabulary compares 40 basic words (ASJP); grammar compares 195 features (Grambank). Similar is not always related.
Nearby languages
Elsewhere
Glottolog · svan1243 · Wikipedia (English) · Ethnologue · sva