John LechnerThe Joys of Learning SvanFor the past several months, I’ve been lucky enough to take classes in Svan — a small, endangered Kartvelian language spoken by less than…Nov 9, 2021Nov 9, 2021
John LechnerComparing Verbs across the Indigenous Language Families of the CaucasusIn my short attempt to explain why Georgian verbs are so difficult, a few readers asked which is harder: Georgian verbs or verbal systems…Aug 17, 2021Aug 17, 2021
John LechnerHow Mutually “Unintelligible” are Chechen and Ingush?One of the first phrases a student of Chechen or Ingush encounters is vai naax (Ingush: vai nax), which translates to our people. Vai nax —…Aug 6, 2021Aug 6, 2021
John LechnerThe Lexical Links Between Georgian and ChechenChechen belongs to the Northeast Caucasian language family, and together with closely-related Ingush and the more distant Bats, forms the…Jul 26, 2021Jul 26, 2021
John LechnerWhat Makes Georgian Verbs So Difficult?Georgian is a notoriously tough language. First: there are the complexities of a new alphabet and a bewildering array of consonants and…Jul 20, 2021Jul 20, 2021