The Laz people in Turkey ( Turkish: Türkiye Lazları, Laz: ლაზეფე თურქონაშე ''Lazepe Turkonaşe'') are Turkish citizens of Laz descent, an ethnic group native to the eastern

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

coast of Turkey and southwestern

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Terminology

The Turkish public sometimes uses the name "Laz" generally to refer to all inhabitants of Turkey's Black Sea provinces east of

Samsun Samsun, historically known as Sampsounta ( gr, Σαμψούντα) and Amisos (Ancient Greek: Αμισός), is a city on the north coast of Turkey and is a major Black Sea port. In 2021, Samsun recorded a population of 710,000 people. The cit ...

, and the word is often associated with certain social stereotypes. However, the Laz themselves are increasingly keen to differentiate themselves from other inhabitants of these regions. Also, the non-Laz does not want to be called "Laz", preferring to be called ''Karadenizli'' ("from the Black Sea region"). The

Laz language The Laz language (; ka, ლაზური ენა/ჭანური ენა, tr; tr, Lazca, tr) is a Kartvelian language spoken by the Laz people on the southeastern shore of the Black Sea. In 2007, it was estimated that there were aroun ...

(''Lazca'' in Turkish) is a Kartvelian language, also known as South Caucasian, unrelated to the Black Sea dialect of Turkish language.

References

{{Demographics of Turkey Ethnic groups in Turkey