Mingrelian language

The Mingrelian or Megrelian language (მარგალური ნინა margaluri nina) is a Kartvelian language spoken in Western Georgia (namely the regions of Mingrelia and Abkhazia) and to a lesser extent throughout the country. It is used primarily by Mingrelians, a subgroup of Georgians. Mingrelian has historically been only a spoken, regional language used informally in day-to-day activities. Mingrelian speakers have traditionally relied on the standard Georgian as their literary language and through the late 19th century there were no known written Mingrelian grammar books or dictionaries. There have been some limited publications in Mingrelian throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, but producing or translating written works into Mingrelian is controversial because it is seen as a deviation from its historic profile as a non-literary language. The number of people speaking Mingrelian has been steadily declining in favor of standard Georgian, with UNESCO designating Mingrelian as a "definitely endangered language".