On Several Lexical Units of Arabic-Persian Origin in the Khevsurian Dialect

(Based on Aleksi Chincharauliʼs „Dictionary of the Khevsurian Dialectof Dialect“)

Abstract

The article surveys lexical units of Arabic-Persian origin that have become established in the Khevsurian dialect and that are recorded in Aleksi Chinch’arauli’s Dictionary of the Khevsurian Dialect. It is shown that the Georgian language was historically enriched, in an ongoing and active manner, by Eastern vocabulary, which entered by various routes – through both written and oral contacts – and became established in part in the literary language, while in part being preserved within the dialects and jargons.
The study analyzes specifific words (e.g., alami, bardibari, dazarnishuli, dukardi, zerdagi, tamamad, matara, urumi, jaati), examining their etymology, meaning, and phonetic-semantic changes. Each unit is compared with its corresponding Arabic and Persian forms, as well as with data from the Georgian literary language and its dialects. Particular attention is devoted to sound transformations (e.g., the loss or adaptation of Arabic sounds in Georgian) and to the semantic shifts that occurred in the process of these words becoming established in the Georgian language.
The results of the study confifirm that the Arabic-Persian vocabulary present in the Khevsurian dialect has, for the most part, entered with minimal changes and is represented chiefly in the form of nouns. At the same time, there are also instances in which borrowed roots are incorporated into Georgian word-formation models, giving rise to verbs and verbal derivatives. This fact confirms the organic integration of foreign vocabulary into the Georgian language and its active functioning within the dialectal system.