Laz people
Laz-language speaking ethnic group / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Laz people, or Lazi (Laz: ლაზი Lazi; Georgian: ლაზი, lazi; or ჭანი, ch'ani; Turkish: Laz), are a Kartvelian ethnic group native to the South Caucasus, who mainly live in Black Sea coastal regions of Turkey and Georgia. They traditionally speak the Laz language (which is a member of the Kartvelian language family) but have experienced a rapid language shift to Turkish.
Quick Facts Regions with significant populations, Turkey ...
Regions with significant populations | |
---|---|
Turkey | 103,900 (Ethnologue, 2019)[1] |
Georgia | 1,000 (2007)[1] |
Germany | 1,000 (2007)[1] |
Russia | 160 (2010)[2] |
Languages | |
Laz, Georgian, Turkish | |
Religion | |
In Turkey: majority Sunni Islam[3] In Georgia: majority Georgian Orthodox[4] | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Georgians (especially Mingrelians), Pontic Greeks |
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Of the 103,900 ethnic Laz in Turkey, only around 20,000 speak Laz and the language is classified as threatened (6b) in Turkey and shifting (7) in Georgia on the Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale.[1]