Mataz Language

Mataz /mɑtʰɑz/ is a Caucasian language located in North East Turkey and parts of Georgia. With about 80,000 speakers, it is the sole surviving Kadidz language. It is not an official language of any country, and is largely being replaced by Turkish and Georgian. It is also spoken by diaspora groups in Armenia, Russia and Greece.

The language has a long literary history, with written records going back to the 7th century AD. It is traditionally believed to be a descendant of the language of the Trojans, fleeing to the Caucasus after the Trojan war. This is widely disputed, though modern linguistic research has suggested a relation to the Trojan language.

Etymology
The etymology of Mataz is uncertain, though generally thought not to be native. It may be related to the Georgian word for mountain, მთა (mta).

Classification
Mataz is the only living descendant of the Kadidz languages, and is therefore thought to be related to substratum languages of Greek and Germanic. Mataz has been heavily influenced by other languages, notably Georgian and Turkish. It has also more recently taken many loanwords from English and Russian. Turkish influence has even extended to a complete replacement of the words for numbers 'four' and above.

The Southern Gahig dialect is occasionally considered a separate language.