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

Georgians Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and Peoples of the Caucasus, Caucasian ethnic group native to present-day Georgia (country), Georgia and surrounding areas historically associated with the Ge ...

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

Georgian language Georgian (, ) is the most widely spoken Kartvelian language, Kartvelian language family. It is the official language of Georgia (country), Georgia and the native or primary language of 88% of its population. It also serves as the literary langu ...

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

Artvin Province Artvin Province (; Armenian language, Armenian: Արտվինի նահանգ ''Artvini nahang''; ka, , ''Artvinis p'rovintsia''; Laz language, Laz: ართვინიშ დობადონა ''Artvinish dobadona;'') is a Provinces of Turke ...

, an historical region located in northeastern

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 ...

. The Imerkhevians are

Sunni Muslims Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

, closely integrated with the Turkish society. Almost all are bilingual in Georgian and Turkish. Reflecting some internal differentiation persisting in Turkey's Georgian community, the Imerkhevians claim a different origin from the Georgians in the

Borçka Borçka () is a town in Artvin Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey, on the border with Georgia. It is the seat of Borçka District.

area, who have adopted an inclusive Adjar identity. The first who brought the local culture to a scholarly attention was

Nicholas Marr Nikolai Yakovlevich Marr (, ''Nikolay Yakovlevich Marr''; , ''Nikoloz Iak'obis dze Mari''; — 20 December 1934) was a Georgian-born historian and linguist who gained a reputation as a scholar of the Caucasus during the 1910s before embarking o ...

, 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. There are 15 villages in this area, inhabited by ethnic Georgians, who speak a local dialect of the Georgian languag ...

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 Georgia (country) Ethnic groups in Turkey Peoples of the Caucasus

Geographical distribution

See also

References