"evropuli qartia saqarTvelo "European Charter for Regional or ...

Against such a background, within the large audience and the international
network some inter-exclusive qualifications regarding the
Linguistic situation of Georgia are discussed under the initiative of experts
or interested groups; namely, the number of languages to which
the "European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages" applies varies
between a few units and 12. Disputable issues include both a part of
Georgian regional dialects and status of languages of the ethnic groups
that have immigrated to Georgia in different periods and due to differing
reasons. Let us present two key points:
I. Soon after Georgia has undertaken an obligation before the
Council of Europe, it has been suggested that the following must not be
regarded as independent or regional (minority) languages: local variants
(dialects) of Georgia’s State language – Laz, Megrelian, Svan, Tsova-
Tush… as well as languages of compactly living non-autochthonous
ethnic groups that migrated to or were settled in Georgia by Russian
empire 180-300 years ago, who speak the state languages of the neighbouring
countries 239
.
240
II. according to the recommendations prepared for the Georgian
government by Tomasz Wicherkiewicz and his Georgian co-
239 For discussion see: T. Putkaradze, Language of Liturgy – A key factor for determining
consolidation of “all Georgians” (for the issue of interrelationship between an official
language and dialects); Kutaisi Discussions - VII, Kutaisi, 2000; T. Putkaradze, The
issue of interrelationship between all national literary language and idioms according to
Georgian literary language and Kartvelian dialects, materials of 20 th National Dialectological
Scientific Session, Zugdidi, 2000; T. Putkaradze, For the issue of qualification of
related linguistic entities, Kartvelian Heritage, VII, Kutaisi, 2003; T. Putkaradze, Ethno-
linguistic Terms and European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, 2005.
http://www.nplg.gov.ge/ic/DGL/work/abxaztauflebebi.htm;
www.nplg.gov.ge/ic/DGL/work/tariel%20putkaradze/etnolingvisturi%20terminebi.htm.
240 The project is financed by the Embassy of Poland. The authors are as follows:
“Youth Republican Institute” (YRI), Civil Education Centre of Public Defender Office
of Georgia (head: Kakha Gabunia, the principal advisor to the ombudsman), “Centre for
Civil Integration and International Relations (Shalva Tabatadze, Kakha Gabunia, Marika
Odzeli, Chabuki Kiria, etc.) Dr. Tomasz Wicherkiewicz, Department of Language
Policy and Minority Studies, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań. The 49-page
document cited below has been spread in the Ombudsman office itself. Besides, we are
going to critically analyze “Recommendations” by this group which apart from the foreign
expert and the ombudsman’s advisor also includes the head of Georgian languages
office of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia and Georgia’s national rep-
203