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

the Taoans, the Pshavians, the Kartlians, the Khevsurians the Javakhs,
the Hers/the Ingilos) constitute the same historical ethnos with a long
history 374
that is interconnected by extensive literary culture.
375
The centuries-old shared cultural-literary work and historical
memory contains tremendous amount of facts that witness the fierce
struggle of Georgians from all regions for maintaining ethnicity.
We may argue that the literary culture created in the common
Georgian language in all Georgian regions is the primary defining factor
of national identity of the Georgians. For many centuries the Georgian
literary language and the local varieties of the national language of the
Georgians co-exist; these varieties are considered to be the enriching
sources for the Georgian literary language. Namely, the local varieties
of the Georgian (/Kartvelian) language are as follows: Megrelian, Laz,
Svan, Khevsurian, Mokhevian, Pshavian, Mtiul-Gudamaqarian, Tushian,
Her (Ingilo), Kakhetian, Kartlian, Samtskhean¸ Javakhian, Taoan,
Imerkhevian-Shavshian, Livanan, Machakhelian, Acharan¸ Gurian, Im-
376
eretian, Lechkhumian, Rachan, etc. Probably as a consequence of
374 R. Topchishvili, Problems of Ethnogenesis and Ethnic History of the Georgians, Tbilisi,
2008, p. 48. For the history of the issue see also: T. Putkaradze, The Georgians, Kutaisi,
2005.
375 The major part of which is a literature reflecting Christian (Orthodox) consciousness.
Naturally, a substantial part represented by the pagan cultural heritage, folklore, tradi-
tional dances and songs, polyphonic church songs (Sagalobeli), etc.
376 For the similar qualification of domestic idioms of the Georgians see also: M.
Tabidze, Linguistic situation in Georgia and the issues of functioning of the Georgian
Language, Tbilisi, 2005; M. Nachqebia, On the Issue of interrelationship between Megrelian
and Laz: Kartvelological Collection, IV, Tbilisi, 2005; Manana Tabidze, The
contemporary language situation in Georgia. Some problems in the linguistic identity of
the population, Language, History and Cultural Identities in the Caucasus, June 17-19
2005, Abstracts, Malmo University, Sweden, 2005, 44-4; T. Putkaradze, The Georgians,
part I, Pre-Christian Era, Kutaisi, 2005; M. Nachqebia, Ethnolinguistic Terms of Georgia,
Tbilisi, 2006; T. Putkaradze, Origins and Prospects of Georgian Literary Language,
Tbilisi, 2006; T. Gvantseladze, The Question of Language and Dialect in Kartvelology,
Tbilisi, 2006; R. Sherozia, On Some Issues of Kartvelian Literary Language and
“Sitkvis Kona” (“Bouquet of Words”) by Sulkhan-Saba, Kartvelian Heritage, XI, Kutaisi,
2007; R. Gujejiani, Father Besarion (Nizharadze), the newspaper of Mestia and
Upper Svaneti Diocese, June 4, 2007; ibid. see: T. Putkaradze, Svan – A Variety of Archaic
Georgian; Manana Tabidze and Bela Shavkhelishvili, Russian Language in
Georgia, Workshop Language Change in Bilingual Communities. Focus on the Post-
Soviet Countries and their Immigrant Communities Elsewhere. A Related Event of the
23rd Scandinavian Conference of Linguistics. October 3, 2008, Uppsala, Sweden; M.
315