Proto-Kartvelian language

The ablaut patterns of Proto-Kartvelian are highly similar to those of the Indo-European languages, and so it is thought that Proto-Kartvelian interacted with Indo-European at a relatively early date. This is reinforced by cognates with Indo-European, such as the Proto-Kartvelian wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Kartvelian/mḳerd-| ('breast'), and its possible relation to the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ḱerd-| ('heart'). Proto-Kartvelian wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Kartvelian/ṭep-| (warm) may also be related to Proto-Indo-European 'warm'. ==Relation to descendants==

The modern descendants of Proto-Kartvelian are Georgian, Svan, Mingrelian and Laz. The ablaut patterns of Proto-Kartvelian were better preserved in Georgian and (particularly) Svan than in either Mingrelian or Laz, in which new forms have been set up so that there is a single, stable vowel in each word element. The system of pronouns of Proto-Kartvelian is distinct on account of its category of inclusive–exclusive (so, for instance, there were two forms of the pronoun "we": one that includes the listener and one that does not). This has survived in Svan but not in the other languages. Svan also includes a number of archaisms from the Proto-Kartvelian era, and therefore it is thought that Svan broke off from Proto-Kartvelian at a relatively early stage: the later Proto-Kartvelian stage (called Karto-Zan) split into Georgian and Zan (Mingrelo-Laz). ==Phonology==

Vowels Consonants Distinction between plain and ejective remains only in Svan language. This distinction also existed in Old Georgian. ==Notes==