Ebook: Georgian-Megrelian-Laz-Svan-English Dictionary

Tbilisi, publishing house Petiti, 2015. 244 p.The dictionary presents up to 6000 entries of various origins. The data were diverse in terms of both form and meaning. Dictionary indices are compiled in accordance with Explanatory Dictionary of the Georgian Language in Eight Volumes (1950-1964) and Georgian Dictionary (2014). As far as the dictionary is multi-lingual, Georgian items, notwithstanding some exceptions, are presented without definitions; however, individual items are defined. If a word is polysemantic, a definition corresponds to what appears in Explanatory Dictionary of the Georgian Language, Georgian Dictionary, and A Comprehensive Georgian-English Dictionary.
Rarely, the Kartvelian part includes an English translation. This happens when a meaning of a certain Kartvelian word varies in the Kartvelian languages proper; for instance, the Svan for ‘brother’ are two lexemes: muxûbe (brother for brother) and jəmil (brother for sister).
As far as the dictionary targets a wider community of readers, it does not provide grammatical qualifications of lexical items. Neither it indicates the origins of earlier loan-words, having entered the lexical stock of the Kartvelian languages centuries ago. For instance, Gr. μωρός –> Megr. boro ‘stupid’. In more recent borrowings, a donor language is referred to, even when the lexeme does not immediate belong to that one. For instance,in Laz zamani (Arab/Tr. zaman ‘time’), etc.
It has been known that the Kartvelian languages – Megrelian, Laz, and Svan are rich in dialectal variation. It is obvious that it was impossible to reflect that diversity in the dictionary. Therefore, data from each language are referred to with respect to certain principles.
The Svan data are mostly presented as the Upper Bal dialect. It should be stated that there is considerable subdialectal variation even within individual dialects of Svan. In the present dictionary, the Svan data are based on the Upper Bal dialect (predominantly, Ushguli subdialect) which is more archaic. Frequently, the dictionary refers to, either as parallel or independent variants, more widespread grammatical forms and/or lexemes from
the Mestia-Mulakhi subdialect of Upper Svan. In some cases, data of other dialects are referred as well for the sake of a more perfect equivalence with Georgian and English data.
Megrelian vocabulary is presented according to the three areas (eastern, central, western); however, the western, that is, the Zugdidi-Samurzakano dialect has been preferred as far as it has better preserved the genuine lexicon. Besides, lexical borrowings from Georgian have perfectly reflected the phonetic processes peculiar to Megrelian – metathesis, epenthesis, etc.; besides, verbal patterns are less transformed (I mean the processes of the iotation and loss of the phoneme l: l > y > Ø). A finite present tense form of a Georgian verb is mainly rendered by means of including of the particle tm, peculiar to the Senaki variety (eastern area), etc.
The Laz data have bee mostly rendered according to the Hopa variety. This has been conditioned by the fact that the Sarpi sub-lect of the Hopa variety displays more common elements with Georgian; besides, for the sake of the perfect representation of a lexical item in Laz it is necessary to retain the sound q’, which is retained in the Hopa variety in the pre- and inter-vocalic positions, while, in other varieties of Laz, it is either transformed
or vanished totally.
In the Kartvelian languages, a verb is rendered as a non-finite form, while, in English, as an infinitive. Parentheses mostly feature future and, rarely, present tense forms of the verbs. For finite forms, active is essential for Georgian and English, however, with respect to verb meaning proper, either passive forms alternate or both are presented. As for Megrelian and Svan, their verbal features are brought in accordance with Georgian; however, verba sentiendi do not form active, and, in such cases, natural forms of passive are preferred.