Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		lušnu nin, სვანური ენა, ლუშნუ ნინ, svanuri ena, сванский язык, лушну нин
CLASSIFICATION		South Caucasian
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		sva
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		Lashx Lower Bal Upper Bal Lentex
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.

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Information from: “"Svan/Udi/Tsova-Tush" DoBES Project” . Jost Gippert and Wolfgang Schultze and Manana Tandashvili (2006)

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
30,000
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
In most recent statistics (1997): Upper Svan dialects ~15,000, Lower Svan dialects <12,000, Kodori region speakers ~2,500

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

PLACES: Georgia

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: High mountain region of North West Georgia along the gorges of the rivers Enguri, Cxenis-cqali and Kodori

Severely endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available
1,000-9,999
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
The number of speakers is usually given as 40,000, but in reality it may be down to a few thousand, because many people who have shifted to the closely related Georgian still claim Svan ethnicity.

DOMAINS OF USE

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

MORE ON VITALITY

While the situation is poorly known, it is possible that there are very few child speakers left. There are certainly some younger speakers, but most speakers appear to be middle-aged or older.

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Georgian

PLACES: Caucasia: northwestern Georgia

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Spoken in an area known as Svanetia,
mainly within Mestiya and Lentekhi counties in Georgia, and possibly in small enclaves in the adjacent regions in the Kabard-Balkar Republic in the Russian Federation.

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
15,000
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
15,000
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Speaker number and ethnic population data (A. Kibrik 2000)

PLACES: Georgia;

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Svantetia region

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
80,000
Native speakers worldwide

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
15,000
Native speakers worldwide

		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			1000-9999	The number of speakers is usually given as 40,000, but in reality it may be down to a few thousand, because many people who have shifted to the closely related Georgian still claim Svan ethnicity.		Georgian		Severely Endangered (60 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	While the situation is poorly known, it is possible that there are very few child speakers left. There are certainly some younger speakers, but most speakers appear to be middle-aged or older.	14	14	Caucasia: northwestern Georgia	Spoken in an area known as Svanetia, mainly within Mestiya and Lentekhi counties in Georgia, and possibly in small enclaves in the adjacent regions in the Kabard-Balkar Republic in the Russian Federation.
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.															43.0,42.5
	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	15,000	15,000	10000-99999	Speaker number and ethnic population data (A. Kibrik 2000)				Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)				Georgia;	Svantetia region
	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		80,000	10000-99999					Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)						43.0207,42.3193
		2006	"Svan/Udi/Tsova-Tush" DoBES Project						http://www.mpi.nl/DOBES/projects/svan	Jost Gippert and Wolfgang Schultze and Manana Tandashvili	Gippert, Jost, Wolfgang Schultze and Manana Tandashvili. 2006. ""Svan/Udi/Tsova-Tush" DoBES Project." Online: http://www.mpi.nl/DOBES/projects/svan.			30,000	10000-99999	In most recent statistics (1997): Upper Svan dialects ~15,000, Lower Svan dialects <12,000, Kodori region speakers ~2,500	education, administration	Georgian	all	Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)				Georgia	High mountain region of North West Georgia along the gorges of the rivers Enguri, Cxenis-cqali and Kodori
			World Oral Literature Project						http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.			15,000	10000-99999					Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)

Svan

Language metadata

Language information by source

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

30,000

Severely endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1,000-9,999

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

15,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

80,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

15,000

Discussion

Svan

Language metadata

Language information by source

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

30,000

Severely endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1,000-9,999

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

15,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

80,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

15,000

Discussion

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Sources of information

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