About One Case of Linguistic Influence of Migration

Abstract

The work analyzes one peculiar case of linguistic influence of migration, namely the work deals with migrations of the speakers of Tsovatush language spread in a little village as well as their linguistic results. As a result of migration Tsovatushs were appeared in Georgian language environment. There were all the conditions for shifting Tsovatush language onto its dominated Georgian one. Just migration became the reason for starting language shift, which was resulted by the fact that at present the mentioned language is considered as endangered. The work names the essence of migration and gives its description due to the parameters such as: place, time, motivation, socio-cultural factors. The issue of migration is described on the bases of archival documents and historical or sociolinguistic literature and the nature of migration is revealed according to the mentioned parameters in case of Tsovatushs. After the research it was found out that we deal with short-distance, internal, long-lasting, massive, compulsory migrations from the village to the village, the linguistic result of which is the shift of Tsovatush language onto dominated Georgian one. The migration of the population from the mountain to the valley was enclosed with the illness caused from foreign climate conditions, which somehow decreased the number of speakers of the language. The research was carried out under the scientific project, which was implemented at the Department of Georgian

Philology at Telavi State University.

 

Keywords: Internal migration, Short Distance Migration, Compulsory Migration, Massive Migration, Language Shift, Endangered Language.