Endangered Languages Project

CLASSIFICATION		South Caucasian
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		lzz
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		Ardaşen-Atina (Ardeşen-Pazar) Vits’e-Arkabe (Fındıklı-Arhavi) Khopa (Hopa- Borçka)
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS		It is important to note that South Caucasian is not genetically related in any demonstrable way to other language families of the Caucasus.

Compare Sources (7)

Information from: “Europe and North Asia” (211-282) . Tapani Salminen (2007) , C. Moseley · London & New York: Routledge

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
22,000-33,000
Native speakers worldwide

MORE ON VITALITY

A language shift to Turkish and Georgian has proceeded increasingly rapidly.

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Turkish
Georgian

PLACES: Turkey, Georgia

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Spoken along the Black Sea coast in the northeast of Turkey and the southwestern corner of Georgia, including the towns of Pazar (Atina), Ardesen, Camlıhemsin and Fındıklı in Rize Province and Arhavi (Arkabi/Arxave), Hopa (Xopa), Borcka and Sarp (Sarpi) in Artvin Province in
Turkey; Sarpi is partly in the Republic of Ajaria on the Georgian side; there are also Laz villages, founded by refugees of the 1877–8 war, in the western parts of Turkey mainly in Sakarya, Kocaeli and Bolu provinces.

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
26,007
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
According to Andrews (1989: 176), in the 1965 Turkish census, which is the last official statiistic, 26,007 people declared Laz as their mother tongue and 59,101 as their second language.

DATE OF INFO: 1965

At risk

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
250,000
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Feurstein (1983) estimates 250,000 speakers all around the world.

DATE OF INFO: 1983

MORE ON VITALITY

"Laz people are forgetting their own language as younger generation fails to fully acquire the language. There are also semi-speakers who can understand and speak some but generally show tendency to apply for Turkish words instead" (p. 139).

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
33,000
Native speakers worldwide

At risk

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
130,000
Native speakers worldwide

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
33,250
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"30,000 in Turkey (1980)...Ethnic population: 92,000 in Turkey (1980)."

PLACES: USA; Belgium; Georgia; France; Germany; Turkey;

			2007	Europe and North Asia	Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages	211-282	C. Moseley	London & New York: Routledge						Tapani Salminen	Salminen, Tapani. 2007. "Europe and North Asia." In Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, edited by C. Moseley. 211-282. London & New York: Routledge.	HHOLD	22,000-33,000		10000-99999			Turkish, Georgian	Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	A language shift to Turkish and Georgian has proceeded increasingly rapidly.	Turkey, Georgia	Spoken along the Black Sea coast in the northeast of Turkey and the southwestern corner of Georgia, including the towns of Pazar (Atina), Ardesen, Camlıhemsin and Fındıklı in Rize Province and Arhavi (Arkabi/Arxave), Hopa (Xopa), Borcka and Sarp (Sarpi) in Artvin Province in Turkey; Sarpi is partly in the Republic of Ajaria on the Georgian side; there are also Laz villages, founded by refugees of the 1877–8 war, in the western parts of Turkey mainly in Sakarya, Kocaeli and Bolu provinces.
0199255911			2005	The World Atlas of Language Structures			Bernard Comrie and David Gil and Martin Haspelmath and Matthew S. Dryer	Oxford University Press			New York				2005. "The World Atlas of Language Structures." edited by Bernard Comrie et al. Oxford University Press.												41.5,41.5
		16	2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)			M. Paul Lewis	SIL International			Dallas, TX		http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub	33,250		10000-99999	"30,000 in Turkey (1980)...Ethnic population: 92,000 in Turkey (1980)."			Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)		USA; Belgium; Georgia; France; Germany; Turkey;
			2015	Novus Ortus: The Awakening of Laz Language in Turkey		133-146	Yazgülü BOZKURT	Sanat ve Dil Araştırmaları Enstitüsü	Idil Journal of Art and Language	4	Kuleli Sokak, 49/24, Çankaya/Ankara TÜRKİYE		https://www.academia.edu/16486784/Novus_Ortus_The_Awakening_of_Laz_Language_in_Turkey	Nurdan Kavakli			250,000	1983	100000	Feurstein (1983) estimates 250,000 speakers all around the world.			At risk (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	"Laz people are forgetting their own language as younger generation fails to fully acquire the language. There are also semi-speakers who can understand and speak some but generally show tendency to apply for Turkish words instead" (p. 139).
978-3-11-042168-2	The World of Linguistics		2018	The Languages and Linguistics of Western Asia: An Areal Perspective	The Languages and Linguistics of Western Asia: An Areal Perspective		Geoffrey Haig; Geoffrey Khan	Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG		6		6		René Lacroix			26,007	1965	10000-99999	According to Andrews (1989: 176), in the 1965 Turkish census, which is the last official statiistic, 26,007 people declared Laz as their mother tongue and 59,101 as their second language.	59,101		Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)
		3rd	2010	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger				UNESCO Publishing			Paris		http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas	Christopher Moseley (ed.)	Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)	ll_pub	130,000		100000				At risk (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)				41.2736,41.2646
				World Oral Literature Project									http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.		33,000		10000-99999				Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)

Laz

Language metadata

Language information by source

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

22,000-33,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

26,007

At risk

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

250,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

33,000

At risk

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

130,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

33,250

Discussion

Laz

Language metadata

Language information by source

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

22,000-33,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

26,007

At risk

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

250,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

33,000

At risk

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

130,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

33,250

Discussion

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Sources of information

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