Lazuri: An Endangered Language from the Black Sea

Contributors

Belma Haznedar (Boğaziçi University, Turkey), Balkız Öztürk Başaran (Boğaziçi University, Turkey), Zaal Kikvidze (Tbilisi State University, Georgia), Levan Pachulia (Sokhumi State University, Georgia), Peri Yüksel (New Jersey City University, New Jersey, USA), Ömer Demirok (Boğaziçi University, Turkey), Züleyha Ünlü (Tokat Gaziosmanpasa University, Turkey), Gülşah Türk-Yiğitalp (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain), Hanife Yaman (Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University, Turkey), İsmail Avcı-Bucaklişi (Istanbul Laz Institute, Turkey), Irfan Cağatay Aleksiva (Laz Cultural Association, Istanbul, Turkey), Ömer Eren (University of Chicago), Fahrettin Şirin (Bielefeld University, Germany), K. David Harrison (Vin University, Hanoi, Vietnam)

'Lazuri: An Endangered Language of the Black Sea' is a unique source in terms of presenting a close examination of the Laz language from multiple perspectives. This volume, edited by Züleyha Ünlü, and Brian George Hewitt, examines the current status of the Laz language, Laz speakers’ perceptions of ethnolinguistic vitality, the significance of the Laz language for theoretical research in linguistics, the examination of Laz lexical data from historical documents, the linguistic variation of the Laz language, the use of a Laz alphabet in literary genres, contemporary responses to preserve the Laz language, and reflections from applied linguistics for the future of the Laz language. Focusing on the main features of the Laz language and its present situation in Turkey and in other regions as well as the attempts to revitalize Laz and Laz culture, this book will be the first scholarly publication on Laz as a South Caucasian language in terms of being a road-map for future studies.  

The sample chapters in PDF can be downloaded by clicking here (805 KB)

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Table of contents

List of Tables
List of Figures
Acknowledgement
Contributors

Introduction
[B.] George Hewitt
Emeritus Professor of Caucasian Languages (SOAS, London); Fellow of the British Academy; International Circassian Academy of Sciences, Jordan; Abkhazian Academy of Sciences

PREFACE Laz words, Laz worlds
K. David Harrison, Vin University, Hanoi, Vietnam

Chapter 1 The Current Status of Laz in Turkey
Belma Haznedar, Boğaziçi University, Turkey
İsmail Avcı-Bucaklişi, Istanbul Laz Institute, Turkey

Chapter 2 On the Significance of Laz for Theoretical Research in Linguistics
Ömer Demirok, Boğaziçi University, Turkey
Balkız Öztürk, Boğaziçi University, Turkey

Chapter 3 A Spotlight on the ‘Lazian’ Lexis: Evidence from a 19th-Century Lexicographic Resource
Zaal Kikvidze, Tbilisi State University, Georgia
Levan Pachulia, Sokhumi State University, Georgia

Chapter 4 Linguistic Variation and Complexity in Laz
Ömer Eren, University of Chicago

Chapter 5 Stories of Perseverance: Using the Lazuri Alboni for the Emergence of Literary Genres in a South Caucasian Endangered Language
Peri Yuksel, New Jersey City University, New Jersey, USA
Irfan Cağatay Aleksiva, Laz Cultural Association, Istanbul, Turkey

Chapter 6 Principles of Designing a New Dictionary Model for Endangered Languages: The Case of Laz
Fahrettin Şirin, Bielefeld University Germany
Hanife Yaman, Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University Turkey

Chapter 7 Speaking Lazuri Beautifully: Discourses on Lazuri as an Endangered Language
Gülşah Türk-Yiğitalp, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain

Chapter 8 An Applied Linguistics Perspective on the Preservation of the Laz Language
Züleyha Ünlü, Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University, Turkey

Index