Talk:Laz people

Page contents not supported in other languages.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Support Lazuri wikipedia[edit]

For supoort new Lazuri Wikipedia in lazuri nena please click this link Requse wiki --Salahana 14:57, 9 August 2006 (UTC) Ou this is cool. Love to see wiki in lazepe nena.... god bless u lazs. Best wishes from Georgia --unsigned 14:57, 21 February 2011 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.184.232.130 (talk) [reply]

Correction of Religion[edit]

In the page was written Religions Sunni Islam, Georgian Orthodox Christianity, Georgian Catholic Christianity, as the religions of the Laz people. It also gave a link to a book on Georgian people in general. The information is true with regard to all Georgian people, but the Laz people are all Sunni Moslems. Although there were largely Christians in old dyas, there are no Christians among them any more. This is the case with regard to both the large community that lives in Turkey and those few who live in Georgia.

It's foolish to make total-mass claims without proof to back it up. Reliable Source that states this?HammerFilmFan (talk) 06:40, 19 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Whomever wrote this text above is talking about a non sense! I’m a Laz and not all Laz people are Muslim, Laz’s in Batumi are Christian and some Laz’s which were Christian moved to Greece together with the Greeks after WWI Futurixx (talk) 18:59, 24 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Correction of "Correction of Religion"[edit]

This is not true. I am lazian and I am Orthodox christian. Bearing in mind those lazian live in Turkey had once mainly orthodox background. And still there are orthodox lazian left.

I assume that you are from Georgia. Are you converted to Christianity or is your family been Christian always?
It is a fact that Georgia since the Russian conquest has tried to wipe out its Moslem Georgian heritage and represent itself as a pure Orthodox Christian country, but Georgian peoples outside Georgia remained Moslem.--Babakexorramdin 07:02, 18 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Wait a minute. Are Laz people Georgians or not? --212.200.34.21 09:54, 5 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Laz are a Kartvelian people, their language is not eorgian proper, but is related to them. they are one of the Kartvelian (=Georgian=South Caucasian)peoples. --Babakexorramdin 15:52, 21 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

To Kolkhianboy[edit]

Pal, this is becoming very tiresome. Please explain what you actually want. You are persistently removing the info on the relationship of Georgian and Laz languages and replacing Georgians from the related ethnic group infobox with Hamshenis. This is simply ridiculous. Please stop your prejudicial behavior and explain your grievances on talk, ok? --KoberTalk 20:23, 17 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I noticed the page is updated on favor of the Georgians, they assimilate Laz’s in Georgia! Wikipedia is actually helping Georgians to twist the truth about Laz ethnicity which Laz language is under Unicef protection, Im actually thinking to bring this situation(that the page is pro Georgian written) to international attention! The page protection must be halted so that real Laz people can update the page properly! And keep the Georgians away from our Page! Futurixx (talk) 19:04, 24 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Dubious claims[edit]

This bold and odd statement: "The idea of a shared cultural Colchian heritage with Mingrelians has been popularized and some Laz even consider themselves as a part of a greater Zan (Laz-Mingerelian) ethnos that excludes the Georgians proper" should be supported by references and sources, otherwise it can be deemed as original research as per Wiki guideline on no-OR. Please insert reliable English-language sources to support that bold statement. Iberieli (talk) 17:01, 3 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

If this claim is not supported by sources and references, it will be removed as per Wikipedia:No original research, Wikipedia:No reliable sources, no verifiability, no article. Iberieli (talk) 16:59, 17 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]



There is also one very strong sentence: The family is strongly dominated by the husband, This sentence has no relation so far with the reality, Woman are least equal to Man in a marriage, even has a stronger position. wikipedia needs to proove this information with indicating the source of the researches clearly!!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dilaila (talkcontribs) 00:34, 1 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Readding offending and incomprehensible comments[edit]

Pocopocopocopoco, could you please explain why you find this post so helpful? According to Wikipedia:Talk page guidelines, the comment containing ad hominem attacks and "material not relevant to improving the article" should be removed.--KoberTalk 05:36, 18 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Because he continues the harassment strategy against long time contributors due to his personal intolerance for people who dont share his POV. Like Russians like to say "doprigaetsya" Iberieli (talk) 18:08, 18 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Copyvio text[edit]

Most of the recent additions to the article were directly copied from here. You're welcome to add more info on the Laz culture, but copy-pasting the copyrighted material is unacceptable. --KoberTalk 11:42, 18 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Copyright problem removed[edit]

One or more portions of this article duplicated other source(s). The material was copied from this URL: http://www.kalan.com/scripts/Dergi/Dergi.asp?t=3&yid=9386. Infringing material has been rewritten or removed and must not be restored, unless it is duly released under a license compatible with GFDL. (For more information, please see "using copyrighted works from others" if you are not the copyright holder of this material, or "donating copyrighted materials" if you are.) For legal reasons, we cannot accept copyrighted text or images borrowed from other web sites or printed material; such additions will be deleted. Contributors may use external websites as a source of information, but not as a source of sentences or phrases. Accordingly, the material may be rewritten, but only if it does not infringe on the copyright of the original or plagiarize from that source. Wikipedia takes copyright violations very seriously, and persistent violators will be blocked from editing. While we appreciate contributions, we must require all contributors to understand and comply with these policies. Thank you. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 14:23, 18 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Copy "Scientific" Texts But; Why ?[edit]

I dont know English.My English is bad :( I'am study in Marmara University and i am half-ethnolog-filolog :) I know everything about Laz people(and i am a Laz from Batumi Muhajir (Turkey)) but i cant write its.Because my english not enough.Cuz i copy-pasting from http://www.kalan.com/scripts/Dergi/Dergi.asp?t=3&yid=9386.Thats way so sorry but this is "scientific" or RELIABLE" more Kartvelist attacks by Kober and Iberieli TuTasTemre LAZ

I'm sorry but your biography and education is hardly of any importance here and your self-proclaimed "scientificity" and "reliability" are not convincing at all. The first thing you need to learn is to engage in civil conversation and seek a consensus with other users. Sockpuppetry, edit wars, throwing accusations of fascism and ethnic slurs around are unacceptable. You should rememeber that religious or ethnic prejudices have no room in Wikipedia. Otherwise, you will never be taken seriously.--KoberTalk 17:44, 18 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]
This sock poppet and troll should be ignored, he is well known vandal of this article and other ones too. instead of referencing and co-operating with other users, he continues vandalizes our user pages and articles on Wiki, not to mention trolling and sock puppetry. Iberieli (talk) 18:10, 18 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Dubious claims in the article[edit]

More recently, the perceived reality of a common Colchian heritage with the Mingrelians has been popularized and predominantly Laz even consider as a part of a greater Zan (Laz-Mingerelian) ethnos that excludes the Georgians proper.

The assertion above needs to be sourced using reliable sources. Neither of the websites linked in the text satisfies the reliable source criteria. On the other hand, I'm citing a passage from the scholarly source which says:

The fact that Laz can converse quite fluently with Mingrelian traders does not lead to any sense of shared identity: the primary distinguishing mark of the Mingrelians is the Christian religion, and in this context the Laz identify firmly with the Muslim Turks.

Thomas M. Wilson & Hastings Donnan (1998), Border Identities: Nation and State at International Frontiers, p. 258. Cambridge University Press, ISBN 052158745X.

to delete http://www.engnetbase.com/books/701/cr2127_ref.pdf http://books.google.com/books?id=sQfpNOKzDjcC&pg=PA520&lpg=PA520&dq=The+Exponential+Distribution+Theory+Methods+and+Approximations&source=web&ots=B3OBPAE89c&sig=oHE4IVFaFzwlz-E-4Bya_2t1L5o&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPP1,M1 Theoretical statistics[by] D. R. Cox [and] D. V. Hinkley.. Shapiro Science - Book Stacks - 4th floor | QA276 .C86

http://books.google.com/books?id=cOBQGfrPshAC&pg=PA157&lpg=PA157&dq=maximum+of+exponentially+distributed+random+variables&source=web&ots=BDrrAhzEdh&sig=XWPjV8F8eHxt6BiBGTrEvcN41UY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result

http://www.jstor.org/sici?sici=0021-9002(200109)38%3A3%3C787%3ASPOERV%3E2.0.CO%3B2-N&cookieSet=1

Pal, Nabendu.: Handbook of exponential and related distributions for engineers and scientists /Nabendu Pal, Chun Jin, Wooi K. Lim.. Shapiro Science - Book Stacks - 4th floor | QA 273.6 .P351 2006 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.213.36.47 (talk) 21:06, 29 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Mingrelians and Laz’s are genetically related and so our languages( But again Georgians do not want people to know this!!!) Laz’s became muslim not very long ago! again this pro georgian texts being published on Laz Page is an issue! Futurixx (talk) 19:07, 24 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Laz population figures in infobox[edit]

As an outsider, I am astonished by the information used as the basis for the recent edit war around the population figures in the infobox. With all due respect, it seems to me that the sources offered by anon 88.247.111.129 do not meet the Wikipedia criteria for reliability (WP:RELIABLE) for the purposes of the article under discussion. What we have here is (1) the web site of an advocacy group for minorities (references 1 and 4); (2) a tourist guidebook for Turkey (references 2 and 5), (3) the website of the European Country of Origin Information Network (references 4 and 7); and (4) the website of the Basque Government (reference 8). These sources give numbers for the Laz population, but they do not cite any verifiable references for their numbers. The only source that does cite a reference is the Basque Government web site for the number of Laz in Georgia (32,000), but the citation to ethnologue.com (2000 edition) is simply incorrect (see Ethnologue (2005 edition): 2,000 Laz in Georgia in 1982; more recent numbers are not available).

The one source that looks reliable is listed as “Encyclopedia of the Orient’’ in references 3 and 6 (actually this is LookLex Encyclopedia, identified as an expansion of “Encyclopedia of the Orient” that has allegedly existed since 1996). However, all the numbers in this source (including 500,000 Laz people in Turkey) are accompanied by a caveat: ”All figures above are estimates, due to the lack of independent data. Real figures may differ substantially.” This is not the kind of information that can be used now to replace previously published information.

A small aside on Georgia. An indirect indication that there cannot be 30,000 Laz in Georgia is provided by the 2002 population census for Georgia: Laz are not listed explicitly as an ethnic group in the table reported in the 2007 Statistical Yearbook of Georgia, although the cutoff level in the table seems to be 3,500 people. “Other” ethnic groups (which probably include Laz as well as many other minorities) total 20,600 according to the 2002 census. So there is no way to have 30,000 Laz in Georgia at this point in time.

Based on these considerations, I am reverting the version by anon 88.247.111.129 to the latest version by User:Takabeg (15:09, 25 October 2008). I strongly urge to put an end to this edit warring and to confine future changes to verifiable and reliable sources. In case of need, there is always the talk page for discussion and debate before making bold changes that may be disputed by others.

--Zlerman (talk) 10:01, 26 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

About Laz Population[edit]

Hello everyone, i can't speak very well English.But i must say you somethings.

  • Lazs aren't "50,000".Because it was 1970's estimate.freemusefworldmusicfestival.orgww4report.com[1]i-cias.com
  • According to a survey in the Milliyet[[2]] newspaper in 2007, there are around 220,000 self-defined Laz in Turkey
  • Especially look to this site:Minority Rigths.They says Turkey has 250,000 Lazs.Read carefully:minorityrigths.org
  • 50,000 is so funny estimate.Look on Turkish or Georgian vikipedias !!!
  • Estimates of the number of Laz in Turkey range from approximately 90,000 (RFE/RL 25 June 1998; Ethnologue 2001) to some 150,000 (The Swedish Institute of International Affairs 2001, section 3.3.2). Of these, some 30,000 speak Laz as their mother tongue (RFE/RL 25 June 1998; Ethnologue 2001).

Ethnologue_Philologue ileti —Preceding undated comment was added at 10:24, 12 December 2008 (UTC).[reply]

Ethnologue_Philologue is repeating here the claims he made on my talk page on 10 December 2008. For the benefit of all readers, I reproduce my reply to him (10 December 2008), in which I explain that the sources he is citing are irrelevant for the purpose of demographic estimates:

Reproduced from User talk:Zlerman#About Laz Population

Three of the four sources you give in the fist line above are music-related sites and therefore cannot be used as a reliable source for demographic estimates.
The fourth source states clearly (and professionally) at the bottom of the table: "All figures above are estimates, due to the lack of independent data. Real figures may differ substantially." So we cannot really use it as a reliable source either.
Your last source is an advocacy group for minorities. It is therefore not objective and cannot be regarded as reliable in matters relating to the demographics of minorities.
Finally, you can reproduce reliable sources from Turkish and Georgian Wikipedias (if they appear there), but you cannot cite them as a source for your changes.
You may not like the numbers in the article, but they are the best we have from reliable sources and must not be changed until better reliable sources are identified. Incidentally, these issues have been previously thrashed out on the Laz people talk page, so there is no need to start the whole cycle again. --Zlerman (talk) 08:00, 10 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

User:Ethnologue_Philologue has now added a new source to his list: Milliyet. This seems to be a Turkish newspaper with which I am not familiar and which I cannot read. Someone else with knowledge of the Turkish language and understanding of the Turkish media will have to judge the reliability of this source. Meanwhile I have to treat it as unreliable on a par with the other five sources cited by User:Ethnologue_Philologue. Based on these considerations, I am once again reverting the changes made to Laz demographic estimates. Perhaps before making further changes User:Ethnologue_Philologue can be persuaded to present his sources for discussion on this talk page. --Zlerman (talk) 14:48, 12 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Laz people in Georgia[edit]

Please stop entering 32,000 Laz in Georgia based on the Catalan Government website. This number is sourced to Grimes (Ethnologue, 2000) -- see footnote to the Caucasus table on the web site -- but as pointed out in an earlier comment above, the citation to ethnologue.com (2000 edition) is simply incorrect. According to Ethnologue (2005 edition), which supersedes the 2000 edition, there were 2,000 Laz in Georgia in 1982; more recent numbers are not available. So this is the best reliable estimate available to date, and this is what we should use in the article -- even if some of us think that this is an underestimate. --Zlerman (talk) 03:29, 16 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

i am a lazdi[edit]

Hi, When my uncle in the Dodecanese Islands died a few years ago at age 102 I noticed that under his name was written "LAZ". I asked my father why. He said we ARE ALL LADZIDES. I ASKED HIM WHAT IT MEANT. HE EXPLAINED THAT WE ORIGANALLY CAME FROM GEORGIA, WE WERE NOT ALWAYS IN GREECE. THEN, I NOTICED THAT OTHER RELATIVES OF MINE,TOO, WERE CALLED LAZ. I WAS CURIOUS. SINCE THEN, I RESEARCHED AND DISCOVERED ABOUT THE LAZ PEOPLE. I TOLD MY CHILDREN. THEY, TOO, WERE INTERESTED. WE DID MANY RESEARCHES, ORDERED LAZ MUSIC, SEARCHED THE COMPUTER AND READ, ELA NA KALACHEVOUME ROMEIKA. I LOVED IT ALL! I AM PROUD TO BE A LAZ. THE MUSIC IS VERY SIMILAR TO PONDIC MUSIC. WE WATCHED THE DANCES OF THE PONDIC PEOPLE. THEY MARCH IN THE GREEK INDEPENDANCE PARADE EVERY YEAR. THERE ARE NO LAZ PEOPE IN THE PARADE. IN FACT, NO ONE I EVER SPOKE TO ABOUT THE LAZ EVER HEARD OF US. I LEARNED THAT THE LAZ PEOPLE LEFT THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY IN GEORGia IN 1863 DUE TO MASSACRES. THEY SETTLED IN THE ISLANDS, TURKEY, NORTH ATHENS AND IN ITALY. 33,000 WERE TRANSPORTED BY SHIPS MY GREAT, GREAT, GREAT GRANDFATHER OWNED. THEN, HE,TOO, CAME TO GREECE WITH HIS FAMILY. I WONDER IF THERE ARE ANY ZOUROUDIS (MY MATERNAL NAME) IN GEORGIA. WE ARE GREEK ORTHODOX BUT NOT VERY RELIGIOUS. WE SPEAK, READ AND WRITE GREEK. I RAISED MY DAUGHTERS GREEK. ONLY TWO GRAND CHILDREN SPEAK GREEK. IT IS HARD IN AMERICA TO STAY ETHNIC. THE AMERICANS DON'T LIKE IT. KIKI67.81.66.189 (talk) 19:32, 14 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

--- There is one Laz tribe called "Zoraloglu" I get the impression you have something to do with this route!!! Zouroudis!!! Check it on Facebook!!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.144.66.48 (talk) 00:26, 1 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]


Yes, my dear you are right. It is hard to maintain your identity in this competitive business, progressive, enlightened, western world.

So I have a small Proposal in the first paragraph:

Instead of this:



I propose this


Why? because we Georgians call Lazs - Chani and who on the earth can Google - Č’ani haa? I'm sorry for may language nikos (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 11:39, 6 June 2009 (UTC).[reply]

Canik[edit]

Canik Region(Samsun): the name of Samsun region in the past. The name Canik came from The Laz people = Č’ani see Macrones article: Strabo (xii.3.18) remarks, in passing, that the people formerly called Macrones bore in his day the name of Sanni, a claim supported also by Stephen of Byzantium, though Pliny speaks of the Sanni and Macrones as two distinct peoples. By the 6th century they were known as the Tzanni (Ancient Greek: Τζάννοι). / The Greek language has no "ch" sound so they used "s" or "tz" sounds... Laz people = Č’ani = Sanni/Tzanni > the name of Canik Region! But The Beyliks of Canik were Turkish Beyliks! At that time Laz people were not living in Samsun/Canik Region. Böri (talk) 11:11, 3 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

map of Canik Region: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Anadolu_Beylikleri.png Böri (talk) 14:36, 5 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Blacklisted Links Found on the Main Page[edit]

Cyberbot II has detected that page contains external links that have either been globally or locally blacklisted. Links tend to be blacklisted because they have a history of being spammed, or are highly innappropriate for Wikipedia. This, however, doesn't necessarily mean it's spam, or not a good link. If the link is a good link, you may wish to request whitelisting by going to the request page for whitelisting. If you feel the link being caught by the blacklist is a false positive, or no longer needed on the blacklist, you may request the regex be removed or altered at the blacklist request page. If the link is blacklisted globally and you feel the above applies you may request to whitelist it using the before mentioned request page, or request it's removal, or alteration, at the request page on meta. When requesting whitelisting, be sure to supply the link to be whitelisted and wrap the link in nowiki tags. The whitelisting process can take its time so once a request has been filled out, you may set the invisible parameter on the tag to true. Please be aware that the bot will replace removed tags, and will remove misplaced tags regularly.

Below is a list of links that were found on the main page:

  • http://www.karalahana.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1698&Itemid=56#usercomments
    Triggered by \bkaralahana\.net\b on the global blacklist

If you would like me to provide more information on the talk page, contact User:Cyberpower678 and ask him to program me with more info.

From your friendly hard working bot.—cyberbot II NotifyOnline 18:08, 8 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]


Requested move 10 July 2014[edit]

The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: not moved. No prejudice against a new RM with "Lazi" as the proposed title. Jenks24 (talk) 03:53, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]



Laz peopleLazs – Common and standard form. Lazs is redirected directly here so I suggest we move it. Relisted. Jenks24 (talk) 15:59, 21 July 2014 (UTC) Jaqeli 12:42, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Survey[edit]

Feel free to state your position on the renaming proposal by beginning a new line in this section with *'''Support''' or *'''Oppose''', then sign your comment with ~~~~. Since polling is not a substitute for discussion, please explain your reasons, taking into account Wikipedia's policy on article titles.
  • Oppose without further evidence of usage. I'm suspicious because normal English orthography would have Lazes as the plural of Laz. Lazs looks like a Hungarian surname. —  AjaxSmack  04:08, 13 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support, but move to Lazi as this is the most common English plural of Laz. --KoberTalk 06:50, 13 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
    • Really? An -i plural in English. Granted we have cacti and a few others but those are usually for Latin-derived common nouns. It is more likely that Lazi is derived from Georgian usage and serves as both a singular and plural as is seen with other exotic peoples and animals.  AjaxSmack  15:03, 13 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
      • I think the English rendition, "the Lazi", is derived from the ancient Greek name for the people, Lazoi. Not sure about this though. A quick Google Book search yields quite a few results for Lazi in English-language literature [3], [4], [5]. --KoberTalk 15:33, 13 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support: If it was ending with -sh or -ch like English, Turkish, Spanish or French i would oppose but in this situation (like Georgians), it sounds OK.elmasmelih (used to be KazekageTR) 17:19, 21 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose Lazs per AjaxSmack and GBooks hits: ~2000 for "the Laz" Georgia; ~300 for "Lazs" Georgia. FWIW there's ~2800 for "Lazes" Georgia but this may be outdated usage as many of these are from 19th-century books. There's also ~10k for "Lazi" Georgia but some seem to be mis-hits & others are quite old as well. quant18 (talk) 04:26, 22 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose Lazs per above. Also please revert hasty changes to Lazs in the article prior to the ruling on this request move.--KAVEBEAR (talk) 06:56, 24 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support Lazi and apparently no other move. Red Slash 05:51, 26 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

@Jenks24: 4 vs 3 and how's that you didn't move it? Jaqeli 11:20, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Only one person agreed with you on "Lazs", there was a clear consensus against it. Yes, several others argued for "Lazi" but it is hard to gauge consensus for that title because several of the other commentators gave no opinion on it (indeed you are one of those who gave no opinion for that proposed title). As I said, no prejudice against a new RM for "Lazi". Jenks24 (talk) 11:26, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
@Jenks24: Move it to "Lazi" then as the most agreed on it. + plus my vote as well. Jaqeli 11:38, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Lazi is a disambiguation page, so we would also need to move that somewhere and have consensus that this article is the primary topic. I'm sorry if you feel like I'm giving you the run around, but I really do think we'll need a new RM to get this article moved. Jenks24 (talk) 11:51, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
@Jenks24: You're right. I still think Lazs was the best way to move it to. Jaqeli 12:00, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

the Laz were discussed this week on NPR for their travel-show .....[edit]

The woman/SME from Turkey discussing them and the region had some interesting points - I will see if there is a text to go along with this story - it may be useful for the article. HammerFilmFan (talk) 06:51, 19 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Language contradiction - need a Subject Matter Expert here ....[edit]

The Wiki Kartvelian page states: " On the basis of glottochronological analysis, G. Klimov dates the split of the Proto-Kartvelian into Svan and Proto-Karto-Zan to the 19th century BC,[14][15] and the further division into Georgian and Zan to the 8th century BC,[15] although with the reservation that such dating is very preliminary and substantial further study is required.[14] The older name "South Caucasian" is no longer much used, as it derives from the idea that Kartvelian is related to the Northwest Caucasian and Northeast Caucasian languages, a position which is no longer maintained. Higher-level connections[edit] No relationship with other languages, including the two North Caucasian language families, has been demonstrated so far.[9] A few linguists[who?] have proposed that the Kartvelian family is part of a much larger Nostratic language family, but both the concept of a Nostratic family and Georgian's relation to it are in doubt.[citation needed] "

The Wiki Iberian (family) page states: " Iberian is speculated to be a language isolate, but while its different scripts have been deciphered to various extents, the language itself remains largely unknown. "

The Laz People article contains info in the lead which derives from this cite: " Both the Laz, and for that matter the Georgian languages, are related to the Iberian family of languages. " Something is not correct here. Either the website quoted is in error (which it probably is) or the other two Wiki language articles need tweaking. If a linguist familiar with the issue can give their input here, it would be appreciated. HammerFilmFan (talk) 07:45, 19 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

That comment "the Laz...are related to the Iberian family of languages" is linguistic fantasy. The Kartvelian language family has no demonstrable genetic connection to any other language family in the world. There is only unproven speculation that most linguists reject. --Taivo (talk) 09:22, 19 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks, Taivo. As a historian, I knew of no conceivable connection between the Celto-Iberians and the Laz, but needed an expert in languages to address this. HammerFilmFan (talk) 09:53, 19 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
The fact that there was a Kingdom of Iberia in this region and the Greco-Romans used the term "Caucasian Iberians" to describe what are presumed to have been Kartvelians in the region is probably the source of the linguistic fantasy and speculation that Taivo mentions.--William Thweatt TalkContribs 13:14, 19 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
If so, the reference sorely erred in referring to the language group as Iberian - Iberian refers to the Iberian peninsula ancient language families (excluding Basque). It's impossible for an amateur job like Wikipedia, but we should strive for excellence, anyway.HammerFilmFan (talk) 17:39, 19 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, even without the Kingdom of Iberia in the Caucasus, there are certain linguists who have postulated a connection between Basque and the Caucasian languages (sometimes including Kartvelian). Indeed, in the most extreme versions, Dene-Caucasian stretches from Basque country, through the Caucasus and Karakorum ranges, to include the Sino-Tibetan family, the Yeniseian family of Siberia, then across the Bering Strait to include the Na-Dene languages of Alaska, northwestern Canada, the California-Oregon coast, and ending in the American Southwest with Navajo and Apache. Let's just say that's on the fringe of fringe. --Taivo (talk) 18:19, 19 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Responding to request: I suspect that this was merely confusion over the dual use of the name "Iberian". (There's also a Caucasian language called Albanian, which has caused its share of confusion.) AFAIK, the Iberian language has not been included in Dene-Caucasian, and certainly not directly connected to Kartvelian. — kwami (talk) 04:44, 20 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

A small number of Christians everywhere[edit]

The fact that a very small number of a people have converted to Christianity is no more notable than a small number of people converting to Buddhism or Islam or abandoning their religion altogether. It's not a population shift, it's just normal. Conversion to Christianity tends to be reported more because Christians tend to be hyperactive about converting the world. It's not encyclopedic, however, except in Christopedia. --Taivo (talk) 23:44, 30 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

A travel guide to Georgia is not a reliable source. And unless the number of Laz converting to Christianity is non-trivial, it is, indeed, trivial. What's the percentage? If it's just a Christian missionary trying to claim that the Laz are "coming to Jesus", then it is trivial and unencyclopedic. --Taivo (talk) 04:01, 31 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Apparently the editor trying to insert this trivial information doesn't know how to discuss here on the Talk Page. --Taivo (talk) 14:33, 31 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
An untranslated source in Russian is not appropriate. If it's relevant, then provide a translation here along with a discussion of its relevance and significance. --Taivo (talk) 17:47, 31 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Google-translate does a nice job. The info is cited to Zurab Tskhovberadze,the press-sectretary of the Georgian Partiarchate, which meets WP:RS.--Lute88 (talk) 18:17, 31 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 1 December 2014[edit]

In the article, it says "The family is strongly dominated by the husband, but, even under Islam, the rule of monogamous marriage has been preserved." I request that "even under Islam" be removed, as it clearly suggests that marriage under Islam is encouraged to be monogamous. This opinion is up to debate, is unnecessary in this article. There is no need to add bias feelings, whether encouraging or discouraging of the matter, to a Wikipedia article. 32.214.138.29 (talk) 04:33, 1 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Done Stickee (talk) 06:36, 1 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]

External links modified[edit]

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Laz people. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

This message was posted before February 2018. After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{source check}} (last update: 18 January 2022).

  • If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool.
  • If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool.

Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 18:12, 12 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]


After invasion of Turkey in Cyprus in 1974 they brought many Laz to occupy Northern Cyprus and change the demographic statistics of the island. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.205.231.38 (talk) 11:58, 31 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 25 September 2018[edit]

recep tayyip is georgian , not Laz !! change it immediately— Preceding unsigned comment added by Mathrockwell (talkcontribs) 25 September 2018 (UTC)

 Done L293D ( • ) 01:34, 26 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]

A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion[edit]

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion:

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 02:51, 21 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Removing semi-protection[edit]

This article was set to semi-protected ten years ago, I think it's time to remove protection.--Lazicum (talk) 11:24, 26 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Laz people in Abkhazia[edit]

Лазское население Абхазии в XX – начале XXI вв.: демографическая ситуация и особенности географии расселения — Preceding unsigned comment added by Geograffer (talkcontribs) 17:47, 10 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Population of 1.6 million should be removed[edit]

1.6 million is a result of a survey. It is not a scientific research either. Many Turkish people think that they are Laz but actually they are not. There is a misconception of Laz people in Turkey. A lot of people think that if someone lives in Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey then he/she is Laz. Therefore, information should be removed from infobox. Cem Rize (talk) 10:43, 5 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Plagiarism[edit]

This part of Self-Identification is plagiarized: "Officially, the Laz people are not recognized as a minority. Thus, many Turks do not even know about their diverse existence and falsely call the inhabitants of the Black Sea coast as the "Lazlar". Within the last decade more and more intellectual Laz people realized that the disappearance of their language would lead to the disappearance of their identity and tried to preserve their inherited culture through political empowerment, linguistic education, and music and poetry." This source may be the original: https://www.kon.org/urc/v7/yuksel-sokmen-2.html 24.211.250.124 (talk) 05:52, 3 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@Diannaa: This might be of interest for you. The material was inserted with this edit:[6]. As I have seen, the editor was blocked by you for persistent copyvios. –Austronesier (talk) 07:56, 3 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
I have removed it.— Diannaa (talk) 14:39, 3 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion[edit]

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 21:41, 30 December 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 9 May 2021[edit]

Laz people are Kartvelian-speaking ethnic group just like Mingrelian, Svan, and other Kartvelians. They are Proto-Kartvelians and its inaccurate to keep it in this state. Better and correct version would be "Laz people are an indigenous Kartvelian-speaking ethnic group" Lemabeta (talk) 17:40, 9 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Laz people in Turkey (%99 of Laz people) hate the term "Kartvelian". We use South Caucasian instead. Laz people have right to define themselves like any other nation. We do not want to be subgroup of Georgians. Laz (talk) 11:26, 10 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
 Not done for now: please establish a consensus for this alteration before using the {{edit semi-protected}} template. Run n Fly (talk) 15:54, 10 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Laz people are Kartvelian people[edit]

Laz Greetings brother in blood, as i see you are my Laz brother according to your name. What research makes you think that Lazs aren't Kartvelians? its widely accepted scientific fact that Laz people are Kartvelian people, but for some reason i came across lot of Lazs that don't consider it so. Which research supports that claim? 500 yrs ago before the conquest of Lazeti by the Ottoman empire, Lazs considered themselves Kartvelians, what changed today? We are all Kartvelians and i think it would be beneficial for both of us if we don't create illusions between ourselves. We are same people. One strong nation. Peace brother, much love and support to my laz brothers and sisters. --Lemabeta (talk) 20:25, 21 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Lazs are Kartvelians, therefore they are Georgians.[edit]

Austronesier In Georgia we call ourselves Kartveli, therefore Georgian. when we are talking about Georgian language we say Kartuli, which identifies as an Kartvelian language but we don't call Mingrelian Language Kartuli, because those are different languages. we call mingrelian language Kartveluri. When us Georgians(therefore Kartvelians, Kartvels) are talking about our language family, which is Kartvelian language family we say Kartveluri not Kartuli. If you are thinking that Georgian means only Kortu tribe you are wrong. Its just that english language creates problems in it. because for us Georgian=Kartvelian not just kortu. So we have established that Georgian for us(Georgians) equals to Kartveli(which consists of all the subgroup in it alongside with Adjarians, Mingrelians, Svans and Lazs and many many others).

When we say Laz's are Georgians we mean that they are Kartvelians. --Lemabeta (talk) 19:25, 22 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 18 June 2023[edit]

The part about the Laz being an indigenous European population should be removed, as the traditional homeland of the Laz is entirely within Asia. Only the northern mountainous uninhabited extremities of Georgia are North of the Greater Caucasus making Georgia a transcontinental country, however, the Laz people and their homeland has always been in Asia. RivailleFieldman (talk) 14:37, 18 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Done. Semsûrî (talk) 14:45, 18 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 17 April 2024[edit]

The article states that "Pontic Greeks are seen as Laz by other Greeks". That's certainly wrong. I'd like a "citation needed" added next to this claim, thank you! 2A02:1388:4153:A7EA:55B1:1100:B445:4281 (talk) 12:14, 17 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

 Done --Ferien (talk) 15:56, 17 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]