Mingrelian or
Megrelian (
margaluri nina) is a
Kartvelian language spoken in Western
Georgia (regions of
Samegrelo and
Abkhazia), primarily by
Mingrelians. The language was also called
Iverian (Georgian
iveriuli ena) in the early 20th century. Because for more than a thousand years Mingrelian has held only a regional status within Georgia, the number of its speakers has been decreasing in favor of the national language, with
UNESCO designating it as a "definitely
endangered language".