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Concept
Laz people
Summary
The Laz people, or Lazi (ლაზი Lazi; ლაზი, lazi; or ჭანი, ch'ani; Laz), are a Caucasian 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.
From 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.
The ancestors of the Laz people are cited by many classical authors from Scylax to Procopius and Agathias, but the word Lazi in Latin language (Lazoí) themselves are firstly cited by Pliny around the 2nd century BC.
Vladimir Minorsky, Russian scholar of Oriental studies, argued in 1913 that the Laz living in Turkey and Georgia have developed different understandings of what it means to be Laz as their identity in Georgia has largely merged with a Georgian identity with the meaning of "Laz" being seen as merely a regional category.
Today, most of those living in Turkey do not consider themselves Turkish, but uphold their Laz identity as a separate one.
In a stereotyping manner, non-Laz often use the exonym Laz for groups that are mostly not ethnic Laz:
In Turkey, the term Laz is a 'folk' definition and exonym for anyone originating in the eastern Black Sea coast of Turkey. Sometimes, the term is extended to the western portion of the coast as well. Therefore, this term is often used mostly for ethnic Pontic Greeks, Turks, Hemshins in addition to Laz in Turkey.
The residents of the northwestern portion of the Gümüşhane are viewed as Laz by other people from Gümüşhane.
The residents of Posof are named as Laz by neighboring communities.
Pontic Greeks are seen as Laz by other Greeks.
People from İspir and the Hemshins of Erzurum are thought to be Laz by other people from Erzurum.
The Pontic Greek-speakers from the village of Dönerdere in Van are called as Laz by the neighboring communities.
Official source
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