Mingrelian is a Kartvelian language that is mainly spoken in the Western Georgian regions Samegrelo and Abkhazia. In Abkhazia the number of Mingrelian speakers declined dramatically in the 1990s as a result of heavy ethnic cleansing of ethnic Georgians, the overwhelming majority of which were Mingrelians.
Mingrelian has two dialects: Zugdidi-Samurzakano (northwestern) and Senaki-Martvili (southeastern). The dialects are extremely close to each other.
Mingrelian has nine grammatical cases. For pluralization the suffix -ep is used, which is inserted between stem and case marker.
| Case | Singular | Plural | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mingrelian | Laz | Georgian | Svan | Mingrelian | Laz | Georgian | Svan | |||
| nominative | -i | -i/-e | -i | -i | -ep-i | -ep-e | -eb-i | -är | ||
| ergative | -k | -k | -ma/m | -d | -ep-k | -epe-k | -eb-ma | -är-d | ||
| dative | -s | -s | -s | -s | -ep-s | -epe-s | -eb-s | -är-s | ||
| genitive | -iş | -iş | -is | -iš | -ep-iş | -epe-ş | -eb-is | -are-š | ||
| lative | -işa | -işa | n/a | n/a | -ep-işa | -epe-şa | n/a | n/a | ||
| ablative | -işe | -işe | n/a | n/a | -ep-işe | -epe-şe | n/a | n/a | ||
| instrumental | -it | -ite | -it | -šw | -ep-it | -epe-te | -eb-it | -är-šw | ||
| adverbial | -o(t) | -ot | -ad | -d | -ep-o(t) | n/a | -eb-ad | -är-d | ||
| benefactive | -işo(t) | n/a | -istvis | -išd | -ep-işo(t) | n/a | -eb-istvis | -är-išd | ||
Mingrelian shares a noun classification scheme with other Kartvelian languages and classifies objects as:
| Concrete | Abstract | |||
| Animate | Inanimate | |||
| Human and "human-like" beings (e.g. God, deities, angels) | Animals | Inanimate physical entities | Abstract objects | |
| Intelligent | Non-Intelligent | |||
| mi? ("who?") | mu? ("what?") | |||
Declension of noun stem ǩoç ("man") in comparison to corresponding Laz ǩoç (id.), Georgian ḳac (id.) and Svan č'äš (husband) forms:
| Case | Singular | Plural | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mingrelian | Laz | Georgian | Svan | Mingrelian | Laz | Georgian | Svan | |||
| Nominative | ǩoç-i | ǩoç-i | ḳac-i | č'äš | ǩoç-ep-i | ǩoç-ep-e | ḳac-eb-i | č'äš-är | ||
| Ergative | ǩoç-k | ǩoç-i-k | ḳac-ma | č'äš-d | ǩoç-ep-k | ǩoç-epe-k | ḳac-eb-ma | č'äš-är-d | ||
| Dative | ǩoç-s | ǩoç-i-s | ḳac-s | č'äš-s | ǩoç-ep-s | ǩoç-epe-s | ḳac-eb-s | č'äš-är-s | ||
| Genitive | ǩoç-iş | ǩoç-iş | ḳac-is | č'äš-iš | ǩoç-ep-iş | ǩoç-epe-ş | ḳac-eb-is | č'äš-är-iš | ||
| Lative | ǩoş-işa | ǩoç-işa | n/a | n/a | ǩoç-ep-işa | ǩoç-epe-şa | n/a | n/a | ||
| Ablative | ǩoç-işe | ǩoç-işe | n/a | n/a | ǩoç-ep-işe | ǩoç-epe-şe | n/a | n/a | ||
| Instrumental | ǩoç-it | ǩoç-ite | ḳac-it | č'äš-šw | ǩoç-ep-it | ǩoç-epe-te | ḳac-eb-it | č'äš-är-šw | ||
| Adverbial | ǩoç-o | n/a | ḳac-ad | č'äš-d | ǩoç-ep-o | n/a | ḳac-eb-ad | č'äš-är-d | ||
| Benefactive | ǩoç-išo | n/a | ḳac-istvis | č'äš-išd | ǩoç-ep-işo | n/a | ḳac-eb-istvis | č'äš-är-išd | ||
Adjectives in Mingrelian are declined like nouns.
Declension of stem ǯveş ("old") in comparison to corresponding Laz (mǯveş), Georgian (ʒvel) and Svan (ǯwinel) forms:
| Case | Singular | Plural | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mingrelian | Laz | Georgian | Svan | Mingrelian | Laz | Georgian | Svan | |||
| Nominative | ǯveş-i | mǯveş-i | ʒvel-i | ǯwinel | ǯveş-ep-i | mǯveş-ep-e | ʒvel-eb-i | ǯwinel-är | ||
| Ergative | ǯveş-k | mǯveş-i-k | ʒvel-ma | ǯwinel-d | ǯveş-ep-k | mǯveş-epe-k | ʒvel-eb-ma | ǯwinel-är-d | ||
| Dative | ǯveş-s | mǯveş-i-s | ʒvel-s | ǯwinel-s | ǯveş-ep-s | mǯveş-epe-s | ʒvel-eb-s | ǯwinel-är-s | ||
| Genitive | ǯveş-iş | mǯveş-iş | ʒvel-is | ǯwinl-iš | ǯveş-ep-iş | mǯveş-epe-ş | ʒvel-eb-is | ǯwinel-är-iš | ||
| Lative | ǯveş-işa | mǯveş-işa | n/a | n/a | ǯveş-ep-işa | mǯveş-epe-şa | n/a | n/a | ||
| Ablative | ǯveş-işe | mǯveş-işe | n/a | n/a | ǯveş-ep-işe | mǯveş-epe-şe | n/a | n/a | ||
| Instrumental | ǯveş-it | mǯveş-ite | ʒvel-it | ǯwinel-šw | ǯveş-ep-it | mǯveş-epe-te | ʒvel-eb-it | ǯwinel-är-šw | ||
| Adverbial | ǯveş-o | mǯveş-ot | ʒvel-ad | ǯwinel-d | ǯveş-ep-o | n/a | ʒvel-eb-ad | ǯwinel-är-d | ||
| Benefactive | ǯveş-işo | n/a | ʒvel-istvis | ǯwinel-išd | ǯveş-ep-işo | n/a | ʒvel-eb-istvis | ǯwinel-är-išd | ||
The Mingrelian numerals are almost identical to Laz with minor phonetic differences. The number system is vigesimal like in Georgian.
Most of the Mingrelian cardinal numbers are inherited from Proto-Kartvelian language, except arti (one) and eçi (twenty), which are considered as a Karto-Zan heritage, since there are no regular equivalents in Svan.
| Mingrelian | Laz | Georgian | Svan | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | arti | ar(t) | erti | ešxu | |
| 2 | zhiri/zhƨri | zhur/jur | ori | yori | |
| 3 | sumi | sum | sami | semi | |
| 4 | otxi | otxo | otxi | woštxw | |
| 5 | xuti | xut | xuti | woxušd | |
| 6 | amşvi | anşi | ekvsi | usgwa | |
| 7 | şkviti | şkvit | švidi | išgwid | |
| 8 | bruo/ruo | ovro | rva | ara | |
| 9 | çxoro | çxoro | cxra | čxara | |
| 10 | viti | vit | ati | yešd | |
| 11 | vitaarti | vitoar | tertmeṭi | ešdešxu | |
| 12 | vitozhiri | vitojur | tormeṭi | ešdori | |
| 13 | vitosumi | vitosum | cameṭi | ešdsemi | |
| 14 | vitaantxi | vitotxo | totxmeṭi | ešdoštx | |
| 15 | vitoxuti | vitoxut | txutmeṭi | ešdoxušd | |
| 20 | eçi | eçi | oci | yerwešd | |
| 21 | eçdoarti | eçdoar | ocdaerti | yerwešdiešxu | |
| 30 | eçdoviti | eçdovit | ocdaati | semešd | |
| 40 | zhaarneçi | jurneçi | ormoci | woštxuešd | |
| 50 | zhaarneçidoviti | jurneçdovit | ormocdaati | woxušdešd | |
| 60 | sumoneçi | sumeneçi | samoci | usgwašd | |
| 70 | sumoneçdoviti | sumeneçidovit | samocdaati | išgvidašd | |
| 80 | otxoneçi | otxoneçi | otxmoci | arašd | |
| 90 | otxoneçdovit | otxoneçidovit | otxmocdaati | chxarašd | |
| 100 | oşi | oşi | asi | ašir | |
| 101 | oşarti | oşi do ar | aserti | ašir i ešxu | |
| 102 | oşzhiri | oşi do jur | asori | ašir i yori | |
| 110 | oşviti | oşi do vit | asati | ašir i ešd | |
| 200 | zhiroşi | juroşi | orasi | yorašir | |
| 500 | xutoşi | xutoşi | xutasi | woxušdaršir | |
| 1000 | antasi | şilya/vitoşi | atasi | atas | |
| 1999 | antas çxoroşotxoneçdovitoçxoro | şilya çxoroşotxoneçdoviťoçxoro | atas cxraasotxmocdacxrameṭi | atas čxara aširchxarašd chxara | |
| 2000 | zhiri antasi | jurşilya | ori atasi | yori atas | |
| 10000 | viti antasi | vit şilya | ati atasi | ešd atas |
In Mingrelian the circumfix ma-...-a produces ordinal numbers, which is a Common-Kartvelian heritage, since it has regular phonetical equivalents in Svan and Georgian (me-...-e in both)
| ma-NUMBER-a | ma-NUMBER-a(ni) | me-NUMBER-e | me-NUMBER-e |
| 1st | p̌irveli | maartani | ṗirveli | manḳwi | |
| 2nd | mazhira | majura | meore | merme | |
| 3rd | masuma | masuma | mesame | meseme | |
| 4th | maotxa/mantxa | maotxa | meotxe | meuštxwe | |
| 5th | maxuta | maxuta | mexute | meuxušde | |
| 6th | maamşva | maanşa | meekvse | meusgwe | |
| 7th | maşkvita | maşkvita | mešvide | meyšgwide | |
| 8th | maruo | maovra | merve | meare | |
| 9th | maçxora | maçxora | mecxre | meyčxre | |
| 10th | mavita | mavita | meate | meyšde | |
| 11th | mavitaarta | mavitoarta | metertmeṭe | meyšdešxue | |
| 12th | mavitozhira | mavitojura | metormeṭe | meyšdore | |
| 20th | maeça | maeça | meoce | meyerwešde | |
| 21st | eçdomaarta | eçdomaarta | ocdameerte | ||
| 30th | eçdomavita | eçdomavita | ocdameate | mesemešde | |
| 100th | maoşa | maoşa | mease | meašire | |
| 101st | oşmaarta | oşmaarta | asmeerte | ||
| 102nd | oşmazhira | oşmazhura | asmeore | ||
| 110th | oşmavita | oşmavita | asmeate | ||
| 200th | mazhiroşa | majuroşa | meorase | meyorašire | |
| 500th | maxutoşa | maxutoşa | mexutase | meuxušdašire | |
| 1000th | maantasa | mavitoşa | meatase | meatase |
The fractional numbers derivation rule in Mingrelian is akin to Old Georgian and Svan.
| Georgian | Svan | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old | New | |||
| na-NUMBER-al/or | na-NUMBER-al | me-NUMBER-ed | na-NUMBER-al/ul |
| Mingrelian/Laz | Georgian | Svan | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old | New | ||||
| whole | teli (m)mteli (l) | mrteli | mteli | tel | |
| half | gverdi | naxevari | naxevari | xənsga | |
| 1/3 | nasumori | nasamali | mesamedi | nasemal | |
| 1/4 | naotxali (m–l)naantxali (m) | naotxali | meotxedi | naoštxul | |
| 1/5 | naxutali | naxutali | mexutedi | naxušdal | |
| 1/6 | naamşvali (m)naanşali (l) | naekvsali | meekvsedi | nausgwul | |
| 1/7 | naşkvitali | našvidali | mešvidedi | nayšgwidal | |
| 1/8 | naruali (m)naovrali (l) | narvali | mervedi | naaral | |
| 1/9 | naçxorali | nacxrali | mecxredi | načxaral | |
| 1/10 | navitali | naatali | meatedi | naešdal | |
| 1/11 | navitaartali (m)navitoartali (l) | natertmeṭali | metertmeṭedi | naešdešxul | |
| 1/12 | navitozhirali (m)navitojurali (l) | natormeṭali | metormeṭedi | naešdoral | |
| 1/20 | naeçali | naocali | meocedi | nayerwešdal | |
| 1/100 | naoşali | naasali | measedi | naaširal | |
| 1/1000 | naantasali (m)navitoşali (l) | naatasali | meatasedi | naatasal | |
| Mingrelian | Laz | Georgian | Svan | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | ma | ma | me | mi | |
| You (sing.) | si | si | šen | si | |
| That | ena | aya | is | ala | |
| This | ina | ia | es | eǯa | |
| We | çki/çkƨ | çki | čven | näy | |
| You (pl.) | tkva | tkvan | tkven | sgäy | |
| Those | (t)inepi | entepe | isini | eǯyär | |
| These | (t)enepi | antepe | eseni | alyär |
| Mingrelian | Laz | Georgian | Svan | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | singular | çkimi/çkƨmi | çkimi | čemi | mišgu |
| plural | çkini/çkƨni | çkini | čveni | gwišgwey | |
| 2nd person | singular | skani | skani | šeni | isgu |
| plural | tkvani | tkvani | tkveni | isgwey | |
| 3rd person | singular | muşi | muşi | misi | miča |
| plural | inepiş | mutepeşi | mati | mine | |
The Mingrelian verb has the categories of person, number, version, tense, mood, aspect, voice, and verbal focus.
In Mingrelian the verbs can be monovalent, bivalent or trivalent. This feature is also shared with other Kartvelian languages.
| Unipersonal | Bipersonal | Tripersonal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| intransitive | transitive | intransitive | ditransitive | ||
| Subject | + | + | + | + | |
| Direct Object | + | + | |||
| Indirect Object | + | + | |||
The person may be singular or plural.
Subject and object markers in Mingrelian are roughly the same as in Laz.
| Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | v- | v-...-t | |
| S2 | ∅- | ∅-...-t | |
| S3 | ∅-...-∅/-s/-u | ∅-...-na/-es |
| Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| O1 | m- | m-...-na/-es/-t | |
| O2 | g- | g-...-na/-es/-t | |
| O3 | ∅- | ∅-...-na/-es |
In pre-consonant position the markers v- and g- may change phonetically:
In Mingrelian there are four types of version marking like in other Kartvelian languages:
| Subjective | -i- | -i- | -i- | -i- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Objective | -u- | -u- | -u- | -o- | |
| Objective-passive | -a- | -a- | -e- | -e- | |
| Neutral | -o-/-a | -o- | -a- | -a- |
In total there are 20 screeves in Mingrelian. They are grouped in four series.
| Screeve | Stem: ç̌ar- "to write" | Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| present | ç̌aruns | s/he writes | |
| imperfect | ç̌arundu | s/he was writing | |
| imperfective optative | ç̌arundas | s/he were writing | |
| imperfective conditional | ç̌arundu-ǩon | if s/he were writing | |
| future imperfect | ç̌arundasiʔuapu(n)/iʔii(n) | s/he will be writing | |
| conditional of future imperfect in the past | ç̌arundu-ǩoniɣuapudu/iɣiidu | if s/he were writing | |
| future | doç̌aruns | s/he will write | |
| future in the past | doç̌arundu | s/he would write | |
| future optative | doç̌arundas | ||
| II series | |||
| aorist | ç̌aru | s/he wrote | |
| aorist optative | ç̌aras | should s/he write | |
| aorist conditional | ç̌aru-ǩon | if s/he wrote | |
| III series | |||
| inferential I | uç̌aru(n) | (it seems) s/he has written | |
| inferential II | uç̌arudu | (it seems) s/he had written | |
| inferential optative I | uç̌arudas | may s/he have written | |
| inferential conditional II | uç̌arudu-ǩon | if s/he have written | |
| IV series | |||
| inferential III | noç̌arue(n) | (it seems) s/he has written | |
| inferential IV | noç̌aruedu | (it seems) s/he had written | |
| inferential optative III | noç̌aruedas | may s/he have written | |
| Inferential conditional IV | noç̌aruedu-ǩon | if s/he have written | |
Indicative
Indicative statement claims that the proposition should be taken as an apparent fact.
Interrogative
There are two ways to express interrogative mood:
Imperative
Indicates a command or request. The aorist form is used when addressing 2nd person (singular/plural) and aorist optative in all other cases.
Subjunctive
Expresses possibility, wish, desire. The subjunctive mood in Mingrelian is provided by optative screeves.
Conditional
Indicates condition in contrary to a fact. It is produced by adding a verbal suffix -ǩo(ni) to the end of a verb.
In Mingrelian the verbs may have two aspects depending on the completeness of action (perfective aspect) or the lack of it (imperfective aspect). The perfective aspect is derived by adding a preverb to the verb.
In 2nd, 3rd, 4th series the verbs equally have both aspect forms, while in the 1st series the screeves are distributed between two aspects.
| Screeve | Stem: ç̌ar- "to write" | Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| present | ç̌aruns | s/he writes | |
| imperfect | ç̌arundu | s/he was writing | |
| imperfective optative | ç̌arundas | s/he were writing | |
| imperfective conditional | ç̌arundu-ǩon | if s/he were writing | |
| future imperfect | ç̌arundasiʔuapu(n)/iʔii(n) | s/he will be writing | |
| conditional of future imperfect in the past | ç̌arundu ǩoniʔuapudu/iʔiidu | if s/he were writing | |
| Perfective Aspect | |||
| future | doç̌aruns | s/he will write | |
| future in the past | doç̌arundu | s/he would write | |
| future optative | doç̌arundas | ||