The Udi Language in Georgia (The sociolinguistic analysis)

Abstract

The Udis, Udins – their own name „Udi, Uti” – are one of the autochthonous peoples of the Caucasus. They are considered to be descendants of the Caucasian Albanians. The Udis living in Georgia migrated from the Azerbaijani village of Vartasheni to the village of Zinobiani in the Kvareli district.The Udi language is included in the UNESCO World Atlas of Endangered Languages.
According to the results of the 2014 general census, 203 Udis lived in Georgia, and the absolute majority of them lived in the village of Kvareli district.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, it was believed that the Udis (Utis) were the only remaining descendants of the ancient Albanians.
According to the majority of scholars, the only direct descendants of the ancient Albanians are the Udis, who have preserved the Albanian (Udi) language to this day. The Albanian language belongs to the group of dead languages. The Udi language belongs to the Ibero-Caucasian family of languages.
At present, the Udi language area is limited to three villages: Zinobiani village (Georgia, Kvareli municipality), Oghuzi village (Vartashen district) (Azerbaijan, Gabal (Kutkashen) district), Nidzh village (Gabal district, Azerbaijan). The Udi language is mainly used at home.
Since 2015, the Udi language has been taught in the village, in the primary classes of the Zinobiani public school.
In October 2023, I conducted a sociolinguistic study in the village of Zinobiani, Kvareli municipality, Kakheti, where the Udi people live compactly.
In order to analyse the results of the study, I used the main factors of sociolinguistic research: structured and unstructured interviews; linguistic observation, questionnaires...
During the sociolinguistic analysis of the language, I identified several important factors:
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Demographic indicators and their impact on the functioning and vitality of the Udi language;
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Proportionality of Udi speakers to the total population;
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Bilingualism in the Udi community;
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Mixed marriages and their impact on the functioning of the language;
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Migration processes and their impact on the vitality of the language.
The combination of these methods allowed me to study language in a social context and to analyse linguistic changes in different social groups.
Based on the analysis of the available data, I tried to imagine the level of vitality/viability of the Udi language in Georgia, to identify the causes of the problems and the existence of programmes supporting the functioning of the language.