Kists, language policy, linguistic minorities, Georgia, Pankisi

Georgia has been a multiethnic country for centuries. The ethnic diversity poses challenges to the effective communication of the members of the ethnic groups in the Georgian society. The current Georgian policy focuses on the reintegration of the country. The state language policy thus seems to be addressing the minority integration issues. This paper aims to present the results of the original sociolinguistic research using the method of a semi-structured interview. Firstly, it attempts to clarify the goals of the Georgian language policy and the methods of their implementation. Secondly, it will present the results of the investigation into the linguistic situation of Kists in Pankisi Valley, whose mother tongue is the Chechen language, who receive their education in Georgian and can often speak Russian fluently as this is another language taught at local schools, along with English.

Georgia has been a multiethnic country for centuries. The ethnic diversity poses challenges to the effective communication of the members of the ethnic groups in the Georgian society. The current Georgian policy focuses on the reintegration of the country. The state language policy thus seems to be addressing the minority integration issues. This paper aims to present the results of the original sociolinguistic research using the method of a semi-structured interview. Firstly, it attempts to clarify the goals of the Georgian language policy and the methods of their implementation. Secondly, it will present the results of the investigation into the linguistic situation of Kists in Pankisi Valley, whose mother tongue is the Chechen language, who receive their education in Georgian and can often speak Russian fluently as this is another language taught at local schools, along with English.