6:15 Pm, Wednesday, February 22, 2012

ISET/CRRC Georgia, Zandukeli St. 16

downstairs Conference Room

This project investigates the social contexts in contemporary Tbilisi in which Russian language acts as a resource for affectively-charged Georgian utterances. Despite appearing "Russian", speakers treat loanwords in aesthetic rather than political terms, semantically refiguring Russian terms in Georgian social practice. In this talk I will present examples from several different contexts and briefly discuss the historical links that speakers perceive for various parts of the Russian-influenced lexicon. Additionally, I will discuss the category of speech designated by Georgians as "zhargoni" and the analytical problems it poses. One of the main goals of this project is to describe how modes of linguistic and cultural practice are passed on outside of educational institutions.

Perry Sherouse is a Ph.D. candidate in Linguistic Anthropology at the University of Michigan. He is currently conducting his dissertation research in Tbilisi, Georgia. 

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W-i-P is an ongoing academic discussion series based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that takes place every Wednesday at the International School of Economics (ISET) building (16 Zandukeli Street). It is co-organized by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, and the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC).

The purpose of the W-i-P series is to provide support and productive criticism to those researching and developing academic projects pertaining the Caucasus region.

Would you like to present at one of the W-i-P sessions? Send an e-mail to wip@crrccenters.org.