Judeo-Georgian
| Judeo-Georgian | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Spoken in |
 Georgia , Israel , United States , Belgium , Russia , Canada    
|
|
| speaker | approx. 60,000-79,800 | |
| Linguistic classification |
|
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| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639 -1 |
- |
|
| ISO 639 -2 |
cau |
|
| ISO 639-3 |
jge |
|
Judeo-Georgian or Qivruli ( Georgian ყივრული ) is the traditional language of Georgian Jews . It is the only South Caucasian Jewish language. Its status as a minority language in Georgia has been the subject of much debate.
The language contains a large number of Hebrew and Aramaic loanwords , but can still be understood quite well by people who speak Georgian .
Global distribution
Judeo-Georgian is still spoken by around 60,000 to 79,800 people, including those
- approx. 20,000 in Georgia (as of 1995)
- 59,800 people in Israel (as of 2000)
- about 4,000 in New York City
- and from small groups in Belgium , Russia , USA (excluding New York City) and Canada .
status
Judeo-Georgian is in acute danger of extinction , especially in Israel , as many young people and children learn New Hebrew as their first language. The language has no official status in Georgia. In addition, with the emigration of the community, the number of speakers in Georgia continues to decline.