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Georgian language
Official language of the country of Georgia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Georgian (ქართული ენა, kartuli ena, pronounced [ˈkʰäɾt̪ʰuli ˈe̞n̪ä]) is the most widely spoken Kartvelian language. It is the official language of Georgia and the native or primary language of 88% of its population.[2] It also serves as the literary language or lingua franca for speakers of related languages.[3] Its speakers today amount to approximately 3.8 million. Georgian is written with its own unique Georgian scripts, alphabetical systems of unclear origin.[1]
Georgian is most closely related to the Zan languages (Megrelian and Laz) and more distantly to Svan. Georgian has various dialects, with standard Georgian based on the Kartlian dialect, and all dialects are mutually intelligible. The history of Georgian spans from Early Old Georgian in the 5th century, to Modern Georgian today. Its development as a written language began with the Christianization of Georgia in the 4th century.
Georgian phonology features a rich consonant system, including aspirated, voiced, and ejective stops, affricates, and fricatives. Its vowel system consists of five vowels with varying realizations. Georgian prosody involves weak stress, with disagreements among linguists on its placement. The language's phonotactics include complex consonant clusters and harmonic clusters. The Mkhedruli script, dominant in modern usage, corresponds closely to Georgian phonemes and has no case distinction, though it employs a capital-like effect called Mtavruli for titles and inscriptions. Georgian is an agglutinative language with a complex verb structure that can include up to eight morphemes, exhibiting polypersonalism. The language has seven noun cases and employs a left-branching structure with adjectives preceding nouns and postpositions instead of prepositions. Georgian lacks grammatical gender and articles, with definite meanings established through context. Georgian's rich derivation system allows for extensive noun and verb formation from roots, with many words featuring initial consonant clusters.
The Georgian writing system has evolved from ancient scripts to the current Mkhedruli, used for most purposes. The language has a robust grammatical framework with unique features such as syncope in morphophonology and a left-branching syntax. Georgian's vocabulary is highly derivational, allowing for diverse word formations, while its numeric system is vigesimal, based on 20, as opposed to a Base 10 (decimal) system.
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Classification
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Georgian belongs to the Kartvelian language family, a small and distinct family of languages indigenous to the South Caucasus region. It is the most widely spoken and well-documented member of this family.[4]
The Kartvelian family is typically divided into two primary branches:
- Georgian (K'art'veluri), forming the core of one branch, and
- the Zan languages, which include Megrelian and Laz, forming the other.
Comparative linguistic research suggests that Georgian and the Zan languages diverged from a common ancestor — referred to as Proto-Karto-Zan—approximately 2,700 years ago. The third major member of the family, Svan, is more distantly related, having split off from Proto-Kartvelian significantly earlier, possibly as far back as 4,000 years ago.[5]
Theories of external relationships
Despite the general consensus that the Kartvelian language family is a primary isolate with no known relatives, several linguists have proposed hypotheses attempting to link it to other language families as part of broader macro-family groupings. These proposals remain speculative and are not widely accepted within the historical linguistics community due to insufficient or methodologically disputed evidence.
Some of the most notable proposed affiliations include:
- Dené–Caucasian Hypothesis: This controversial macro-family, proposed by Sergei Starostin and others, suggests a distant genetic relationship between the North Caucasian, Sino-Tibetan, Yeniseian, and Na-Dené languages, with Kartvelian sometimes tentatively included. However, the inclusion of Kartvelian is among the least supported elements of this proposal.[6]
- Nostratic Hypothesis: Another macro-family hypothesis that aims to group together Indo-European, Uralic, Altaic (or parts thereof), Afroasiatic, Dravidian, and Kartvelian, among others. This theory was popularized by scholars such as Aharon Dolgopolsky and Vladislav Illich-Svitych, but Kartvelian’s place in it is highly contested and lacks conclusive evidence.[7]
- South Caucasian–North Caucasian Connection: Some early 20th-century scholars hypothesized a genetic link between the Kartvelian languages and the North Caucasian language families. However, typological similarities between these groups are generally attributed to long-standing areal contact rather than genetic inheritance.[8]
These hypotheses have not met the rigorous standards of the comparative method and are regarded as speculative. To date, no external relationship of Kartvelian has been demonstrated to the satisfaction of mainstream linguistics, and the family is best treated as an independent stock.
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History
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Formation of Old Georgian (till 8th century)
The Georgian language, in its ancestral form, likely developed over centuries among the Kartvelian-speaking populations of the South Caucasus, particularly in the eastern Georgian kingdom of Iberia. While direct evidence of the spoken language before the 5th century is lacking, some scholars have identified possible early references in Greco-Roman sources. The Roman rhetorician Marcus Cornelius Fronto (2nd century) is often cited as having made one of the earliest allusions to the Georgian-speaking Iberians, though he did not describe the language in detail.[9]
Prior to the development of a native literary language, Aramaic served as the principal written medium in eastern Georgia, particularly in religious, royal, and administrative contexts. Inscriptions from the early Christian period, including those found at Armazi near Mtskheta, attest to widespread use of Aramaic among the elite.[10] Greek also had cultural influence, especially in western regions and ecclesiastical life.
The emergence of Georgian as a written language is closely tied to the Christianization of the Kingdom of Iberia in the mid-4th century under King Mirian III. The need to produce liturgical texts in the vernacular soon gave rise to a native writing system and a standardized form of the spoken language suitable for translation and composition.[11]
The earliest known written examples of Georgian date to the 5th century and represent what scholars classify as Early Old Georgian. These include inscriptions, palimpsests, and liturgical texts, most notably the Martyrdom of the Holy Queen Shushanik, written around 476–483 by Iakob Tsurtaveli. This work, considered the oldest extant piece of Georgian literature, reflects a highly developed literary style, suggesting that a written tradition had already begun to flourish by the late 5th century.[12]
Linguistically, Early Old Georgian was marked by features that would later evolve significantly, including a richer case system and more synthetic verb morphology than found in the modern language. The language of this period was used primarily in ecclesiastical and religious contexts, and it laid the foundation for the Classical Old Georgian of the following centuries.
Classical Old Georgian (8th-12th centuries)
The period from the 8th to the 12th centuries marks the Classical phase of Old Georgian, a time of linguistic stabilization, literary flourishing, and cultural consolidation. During this era, Georgian developed into a fully standardized literary and ecclesiastical language, used not only within Georgia but also in monastic and scholarly communities abroad, especially in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Building upon the foundations of Early Old Georgian, Classical Old Georgian retained a rich case system, complex verbal morphology, and a relatively conservative phonological structure. While many grammatical features remained stable across Old Georgian, this period saw refinements in syntactic conventions, the expansion of lexical resources, and the codification of orthographic norms, particularly in religious and scholarly contexts.[13]
The 9th and 10th centuries witnessed the Golden Age of Georgian Christian literature, characterized by large-scale translation efforts from Greek into Georgian. Major works of patristic theology, biblical commentary, hagiography, and canon law were translated, often with remarkable precision and stylistic sophistication. These translations not only shaped Georgian religious thought but also introduced new theological vocabulary and strengthened the expressive capacity of the language.
Prominent among the centers of learning were monastic institutions in Georgia and abroad, including the Petritsoni Monastery in Bulgaria and the Iviron Monastery on Mount Athos, established by Georgian monks in the 10th century. These institutions became hubs of Georgian-language scholarship and helped solidify Classical Georgian as a liturgical and scholarly medium beyond the borders of the Georgian kingdom.[14]
During this period, Classical Old Georgian also emerged as the language of historiography, law, and royal inscription. Chronicles such as the Kartlis Tskhovreba (“The Life of Kartli”) began to take form, blending historical narrative with literary artistry. While the majority of texts were religious, secular genres also began to surface in royal charters and court literature.
A particularly influential moment in this period’s conception of language and identity appears in Giorgi Merchule’s Life of Grigol of Khandzta, written in 951. In it, Merchule articulates a powerful view of national identity, asserting that the borders of Georgia are not merely geographic, but spiritual and linguistic. He famously wrote that:[15]
Georgia is counted as any land in which time is spent and every prayer is performed in the Georgian language
(“ქართლად ფრიადი ქუეყანაჲ აღირაცხების, რომელსაცა შინა ქართულითა ენითა ჟამი შეიწირვის და ლოცვაჲ ყოველი აღესრულების…)
This phrase, often paraphrased in modern usage as “Georgia is where the Georgian language is spoken,” reflects a medieval articulation of linguistic nationalism and highlights the central role of the Georgian language in shaping collective identity at a time when there was no united Georgian state and much of the nation was either divided amidst independent principalities or under Byzantine or Arab control.
Although Asomtavruli remained in use for monumental inscriptions, the script most commonly used for manuscripts during this period was Nuskhuri, a more compact ecclesiastical script that facilitated the production of religious texts.
Middle Georgian / Early Modern Georgian (12th–18th centuries)
The period spanning the 12th to 18th centuries encompasses the transition from Old Georgian to Middle and Early Modern Georgian. Linguistically, Middle Georgian is marked by gradual changes in morphology, syntax, and lexicon that differentiated it from the more conservative Classical Old Georgian of earlier centuries.[13] Over this period, the literary language evolved toward structures more reflective of spoken Georgian while retaining archaisms in formal registers.
By the late 12th century, features such as reduced case usage, shifts in verb agreement patterns, and changes in clausal syntax began to appear in written texts.[16] These trends are evident in The Knight in the Panther’s Skin by Shota Rustaveli, composed in the late 12th or early 13th century, which displays both traditional literary structures and elements of emerging vernacular style.
The use of Georgian extended beyond the borders of the medieval Georgian kingdoms, especially within monastic centers in the Byzantine and later Ottoman-controlled world.[17] Georgian manuscripts from this period have been preserved in monastic archives such as those of Mount Athos, Sinai, and Jerusalem.
In the early modern period, especially from the 16th century onward, linguistic and literary activity began to reflect changing political and cultural conditions.[18] The fragmentation of the unified Georgian monarchy and growing contact with Persian and Ottoman administrative systems led to increased lexical borrowing and shifts in stylistic register. Simultaneously, Western European Catholic missions began to take an interest in Georgia for both strategic and religious reasons.
In 1629, the first printed works containing Georgian text were published in Rome under the direction of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith.[19] These included the Alphabetum Ibericum sive Georgianum cum Oratione, a Georgian alphabet primer and Lord’s Prayer, and the Dittionario giorgiano e italiano, a Georgian–Italian dictionary compiled by the Georgian ambassador and cleric Nikoloz Cholokashvili. These publications were intended to assist Catholic missionaries in their efforts to evangelize the Georgian population.[20] Though limited in circulation, they represent a significant milestone in the history of Georgian as a printed language and marked the beginning of direct scholarly contact between Georgia and Western Europe.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Georgian prose and poetry developed along increasingly diverse stylistic lines. Among the most prominent prose authors of this era was Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani (1658–1725), whose Book of Wisdom combined moral fables, political allegory, and commentary on contemporary society. He also compiled a Georgian–Italian dictionary during his diplomatic mission to France and the Vatican in 1713–1716, which contributed to the development of Georgian lexicography. Orbeliani introduced neologisms and syntactic constructions intended to bring literary Georgian closer to spoken usage while retaining stylistic refinement.[21]
Catholicos Anton I (1720–1788), also known as Anton the Great, authored grammatical and theological works and encouraged the refinement of ecclesiastical language. His writings reflect deliberate efforts to standardize theological terminology and liturgical prose.[22] Ioseb Tbileli, active in the late 17th century, produced sermons and moral commentaries written in a transitional literary register that preserves features of Middle Georgian while anticipating modern structures.
Poetry from the 18th century shows further diversification of form and register. Besiki (Besarion Gabashvili, 1750–1791) composed court poetry in highly stylized language characterized by Persian lexical influences and elaborate metaphor.[23] David Guramishvili (1705–1792), a Georgian nobleman exiled in Russia, authored Davitiani, a collection of autobiographical and devotional verse combining Middle Georgian literary features with elements of personal narrative and exile literature. His language blends traditional metrics with increasing use of colloquial forms.[24]
In the 18th century, the Georgian diaspora in the Russian Empire played a significant role in the preservation and development of the Georgian literary language. Following political upheaval and exile, members of the Georgian nobility and clergy continued to produce original works and transmit manuscript traditions in Georgian. Prince Vakhushti Bagrationi, active in Moscow and Astrakhan, authored historical and geographical works in Georgian, including the Description of the Kingdom of Georgia (1745). One of the most consequential linguistic undertakings of the diaspora was the first printed edition of the complete Georgian Bible, published in Moscow in 1743 under the patronage of Prince Bakar.[25]
Standardisation and national revival (19th-20th centuries)
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In the 19th century, the Georgian language became a central focus of cultural and intellectual activity, particularly in response to the incorporation of Georgia into the Russian Empire. The annexation of the eastern Georgian kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti in 1801, followed by the gradual absorption of western Georgian polities, led to the introduction of Russian as the language of administration, higher education, and imperial policy. Georgian retained its status in ecclesiastical, domestic, and literary contexts, but its formal use declined in official institutions.[26]
Efforts to modernize and standardize Georgian were initiated in the early decades of the 19th century. Ioane Batonishvili (1768–1830), a prince of the Bagrationi dynasty and historian, proposed orthographic reforms aimed at simplifying the Mkhedruli script and eliminating redundant characters. He also worked on lexicographic and educational materials and advocated for increased use of Georgian in secular education. Although his proposals were not implemented, they represent one of the earliest documented attempts to reform and systematize the modern Georgian literary language.
By the mid-19th century, the development of a standard literary Georgian became closely associated with the Georgian national revival, a cultural and intellectual movement that sought to preserve Georgian identity under imperial rule. Writers and educators such as Ilia Chavchavadze, Akaki Tsereteli, and Jakob Gogebashvili promoted the use of Georgian in journalism, education, and public life. The Tbilisi dialect of eastern Georgian increasingly served as the basis for the emerging standard, especially in prose and pedagogical materials.[27] These figures also contributed to shaping orthographic and grammatical conventions through both literary production and editorial work.
Institutional support for the promotion of Georgian expanded with the founding of the Society for the Spreading of Literacy Among Georgians in 1879. The society established Georgian-language schools, trained teachers, and published textbooks, primers, and periodicals. Its activities played a key role in disseminating standardized forms of Georgian to a broader population and in developing a functional educational vocabulary.[28] Linguistic analysis also advanced during this period. Scholars such as Filip Gogichashvili, Ioseb Kipshidze, and later Arnold Chikobava undertook grammatical and phonological studies of Georgian, often influenced by comparative Indo-European and Russian linguistic models.
By the late 19th century, the Georgian Mkhedruli alphabet had dropped five archaic letters, reducing the count from 38 to 33. These changes were consolidated through reforms in the 1870s–1890s, and the modern 33‑letter alphabet became standard.[29]
The founding of Tbilisi State University in 1918 marked a turning point in the institutional development of the Georgian language. As the first university in Georgia and the wider Caucasus to offer instruction in Georgian, it established the language as a medium of modern academic discourse. The university’s establishment necessitated the expansion of Georgian technical and scholarly vocabulary and contributed to the formalization of grammatical and orthographic standards. Early faculty members, including linguists such as Akaki Shanidze and Giorgi Akhvlediani, laid the foundations of modern Georgian linguistics through teaching, research, and publication. Tbilisi State University also played a central role in the training of educators and the production of textbooks, thereby extending standardized Georgian to the national education system.[30]
During the brief independence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia (1918–1921), Georgian was formally declared the state language and used in government, law, and education. This period saw the further institutionalization of the literary standard and the expansion of Georgian-language publishing before the republic’s incorporation into the Soviet Union in 1921.[31]
Soviet Period
Following the incorporation of Georgia into the Soviet Union in 1921, the Georgian language was subject to new forms of state planning, institutional support, and ideological control, even though Georgian retained its official status as the state language of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.
During the early Soviet decades (1920s–1930s), efforts were made as part of the Soviet policy of Korenizatsiia to expand literacy and modernize the Georgian language to fit the needs of socialist society. Georgian was used in primary and secondary education, local administration, publishing, and cultural production. Major investments were made in producing textbooks, technical manuals, dictionaries, and standardized grammars, especially in the context of the campaign against illiteracy.
At the same time, Soviet language policy promoted the creation of standardized national languages across the union while also subordinating them to the status of Russian as the language of interethnic communication. While Georgian continued to be used in most official domains within the republic, Russian was increasingly dominant in higher education, science, and technical fields. This created a form of functional bilingualism, in which Georgian was used for cultural, literary, and local administrative purposes, while Russian held priority in academic and scientific disciplines.[32]
The development of Georgian linguistics accelerated during the Soviet period. Scholars such as Arnold Chikobava produced influential research in descriptive grammar, phonetics, dialectology, and historical linguistics. Chikobava headed major lexicographic and terminological projects at the Institute of Linguistics of the Georgian Academy of Sciences, which became the principal institution for linguistic planning and scholarly publication in the republic.[33] Soviet-era linguists also contributed to the broader field of Caucasian linguistics and maintained active collaboration with Russian and international scholars.
Despite periods of Russification, especially during the post–World War II era, Georgian retained its formal status and cultural visibility through state publishing houses, broadcast media, and academic institutions. Georgian-language newspapers, journals, fiction, and school curricula remained widely available. However, the dominance of Russian in elite and scientific domains continued to influence the status and vocabulary of Georgian, especially in urban and professional settings.[34]
By the late Soviet period, discussions about the role of Georgian in public life became more politically charged. Concerns over language erosion and cultural assimilation contributed to the rise of language-centered national discourse in the 1970s and 1980s. These concerns culminated in the 1978 demonstrations in Tbilisi, when thousands protested against a proposed constitutional amendment that would have reduced the official status of Georgian. In response, Soviet authorities preserved Georgian as the sole state language of the Georgian SSR in the revised republican constitution. The event marked a rare instance in which Soviet language policy was reversed due to popular mobilization.
Post-Soviet developments
Following the restoration of Georgia’s independence in 1991, the Georgian language was reaffirmed as the official state language in the Constitution of Georgia (adopted in 1995, Article 8). Language policy in the post-Soviet period has focused on strengthening the role of Georgian in government, education, and media, while addressing challenges related to linguistic diversity, regional variation, and minority language rights.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, the Georgian state introduced legislation to expand the use of Georgian in official domains and to ensure its role as the primary language of instruction in public education. The Law on the State Language (2005) established the legal framework for language use in administration, public signage, education, and media. The law also created mechanisms for monitoring compliance and promoting linguistic integration.[35]
The State Language Department (later restructured as part of the Ministry of Education and Science and the State Language Commission) has led efforts in terminology development, language policy implementation, and the standardization of usage in public institutions. Georgian continues to serve as the primary language of instruction in schools and universities, though state programs also provide Georgian-language instruction for members of ethnic minority communities, especially in Samtskhe–Javakheti and Kvemo Kartli.[36]
In parallel, the use of Georgian in digital media, publishing, and broadcast journalism has expanded significantly. The language is used in national television and radio, internet content, and official communications. The growth of Georgian-language content in print and online has supported the continued vitality of the literary standard, though concerns persist about the influence of Russian and English loanwords, particularly among younger speakers and in urban settings.
The post-Soviet period has also seen the expansion of the Georgian-speaking diaspora, particularly in Europe, North America, and Israel. In these communities, Georgian is maintained primarily through family transmission and community institutions, though the degree of intergenerational transmission varies. The Georgian government has partially subsidized private and religious Georgian Sunday schools primarily in Europe and North America for Georgian heritage speakers.
In the post-Soviet period, the use of the Georgian language has been severely restricted in the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which have been under de facto Russian-backed separatist control since the early 1990s and especially following the 2008 Russo–Georgian War. In both regions, Georgian-language education has been systematically curtailed. In Abkhazia, schools teaching in Georgian in the Gali district - home to a predominantly ethnic Georgian population - have been progressively converted to Russian-medium instruction. By the late 2010s, Georgian was removed as a language of instruction even in the early grades. Similar policies have been reported in South Ossetia, where ethnic Georgian villages in the Akhalgori district experienced the closure or reorganization of Georgian-language schools. These measures have been described by international human rights organizations as violations of linguistic and educational rights. The suppression of Georgian in these territories has contributed to the displacement of Georgian speakers and the erosion of language transmission among local communities.[37]
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Dialects
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Regional dialects
The Georgian language consists of a number of regional dialects that are mutually intelligible and form part of a single language. These dialects vary in phonology, morphology, syntax, and vocabulary but share the core grammatical structure of Georgian. Linguists traditionally classify them into eastern, western, and, in some models, southwestern or southern dialect groups. The standard literary language is based primarily on the Kartlian dialect spoken in the region of Tbilisi.[38] While dialect usage has declined in urban areas due to internal migration, mass education, and the spread of standardized media, regional varieties remain in active use in many parts of the country and are well documented in Georgian linguistic scholarship.[39]
Georgian dialects have been extensively studied by linguists, notably Akaki Shanidze and Arnold Chikobava, and have been documented in dialect atlases and monographs produced by academic institutions in Georgia. While all dialects are considered part of a single language, they often serve as regional identity markers and are used alongside the standard language in informal settings. In recent decades, some dialects have experienced leveling or decline in active use due to increased exposure to standardized Georgian in education, media, and interregional communication.[40]
Qivruli
Qivruli, also known as Gruzinic or Judeo-Georgian, is a Jewish ethnolect historically spoken by Georgian Jews. It is based on Georgian grammar and structure but incorporates a distinct lexicon, including borrowings from Hebrew, Aramaic, and other Jewish languages. Qivruli was used primarily in domestic and religious contexts and is mutually intelligible with standard Georgian, though it is socially and culturally distinct. It is not classified as a dialect of Georgian, but rather as a separate ethnolect. The language has declined sharply since the late 20th century due to emigration to Israel and assimilation into either Hebrew or standard Georgian.[41]
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Geographical distribution
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Georgian is the official language of Georgia and is spoken as a native or second language by the majority of the population. According to the 2014 national census, approximately 86.8% of the population reported Georgian as their mother tongue.[42] It is used as the primary language of government, education, media, and public administration, and serves as the main medium of instruction at all levels of the state education system.
Georgian is spoken throughout most of the country, though its prevalence varies by region. In areas with large ethnic minority populations, such as Samtskhe–Javakheti, Kvemo Kartli, and parts of Shida Kartli and Kakheti, Georgian often functions as a second language acquired through formal education. In these regions, languages such as Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Russian are commonly spoken in homes and local communities. The state has implemented language integration programs aimed at increasing Georgian proficiency among minority-language speakers, particularly for access to higher education and civil service.
In the Russian-occupied regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Georgian is not recognized as an official language and its public use has been sharply restricted. In Abkhazia, Georgian-language education in the Gali district, which is inhabited primarily by ethnic Georgians, has been systematically reduced and replaced with Russian-medium instruction. In South Ossetia, similar measures have been taken in the Akhalgori district, where schools that formerly operated in Georgian have been closed or reorganized. These restrictions have been documented by international organizations and are widely viewed as violations of the linguistic rights of local Georgian-speaking populations.
Despite regional differences in usage and challenges in specific territories, Georgian remains a functionally dominant and institutionally supported language across the country, with a strong presence in public life and continued reinforcement through education and media.
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Phonology
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Consonants
On the left are IPA symbols, and on the right are the corresponding letters of the modern Georgian alphabet, which is essentially phonemic.
- Opinions differ on the aspiration of /t͡sʰ, t͡ʃʰ/, as it is non-contrastive.[citation needed]
- Opinions differ on how to classify /x/ and /ɣ/; Aronson (1990) classifies them as post-velar, Hewitt (1995) argues that they range from velar to uvular according to context.
- The uvular ejective stop is commonly realized as a uvular ejective fricative [χʼ] but it can also be [qʼ], [ʔ], or [qχʼ], they are in free variation.[45]
- /r/ is realized as an alveolar tap [ɾ] [46] though [r] occurs in free variation.
- /l/ is pronounced as a velarized [ɫ] before back vowels; it is pronounced as [l] in the environment of front vowels.[47]
- /v/ is realized in most contexts as a bilabial fricative [β] or [v],[48][46] but has the following allophones.[46]
- before voiceless consonants, it is realized as [f] or [ɸ].
- after voiceless consonants it is also voiceless and has been interpreted either as labialization of the preceding consonant [ʷ] or simply as [ɸ].
- whether it is realized as labialization after voiced consonants is debated.
- word-initially before the vowel /u/ and sometimes before other consonants it may be deleted entirely.
- In initial positions, /b, d, ɡ/ are pronounced as a weakly voiced [b̥, d̥, ɡ̊].[49]
- In word-final positions, /b, d, ɡ/ may be devoiced and aspirated to [pʰ, tʰ, kʰ].[49][48]
- /r/ may be dropped in CrC contexts in colloquial speech.[50]
- Word-final /b, d, ɡ/ may be realized as unreleased stops [b̚, d̚, ɡ̚] before another obstruent at word boundaries.[51]
Former /qʰ/ (ჴ) has merged with /x/ (ხ), leaving only the latter.
The glottalization of the ejectives is rather light, and in fact Georgian transliterates the tenuis stops in foreign words and names with the ejectives.[citation needed]
The coronal occlusives (/tʰ tʼ d n/, not necessarily affricates) are variously described as apical dental, laminal alveolar, and "dental".[43]
Vowels
Per Canepari, the main realizations of the vowels are [i], [e̞], [ä], [o̞], [u].[56]
Aronson describes their realizations as [i̞], [e̞], [ä] (but "slightly fronted"), [o̞], [u̞].[55]
Shosted transcribed one speaker's pronunciation more-or-less consistently with [i], [ɛ], [ɑ], [ɔ], [u].[57]
Allophonically, [ə] may be inserted to break up consonant clusters, as in /dɡas/ [dəɡäs].[58]
In casual speech, /i/ preceded or followed by a vowel may be realized as [i̯]~[j].[59]
Phrase-final unstressed vowels are sometimes partially reduced.[51]
Prosody
Prosody in Georgian involves stress, intonation, and rhythm. Stress is very weak, and linguists disagree as to where stress occurs in words.[55] Jun, Vicenik, and Lofstedt have proposed that Georgian stress and intonation are the result of pitch accents on the first syllable of a word and near the end of a phrase.[60]
According to Borise,[61] Georgian has fixed initial word-level stress cued primarily by greater syllable duration and intensity of the initial syllable of a word.[62] Georgian vowels in non-initial syllables are pronounced with a shorter duration compared to vowels in initial syllables.[63] long polysyllabic words may have a secondary stress on their third or fourth syllable.[64][65][66]
According to Gamq'relidze et al, quadrisyllabic words may be exceptionally stressed on their second syllable.[65] Stressed vowels in Georgian have slightly longer duration, more intensity, and higher pitch compared to unstressed vowels.[65]
Some Georgian dialects have distinctive stress.[67]
Phonotactics
Georgian contains many "harmonic clusters" involving two consonants of a similar type (voiced, aspirated, or ejective) that are pronounced with only a single release; e.g. ბგერა bgera 'sound', ცხოვრება tskhovreba 'life', and წყალი ts’q’ali 'water'.[68] There are also frequent consonant clusters, sometimes involving more than six consonants in a row, as may be seen in words like გვფრცქვნი gvprtskvni 'you peel us' and მწვრთნელი mts’vrtneli 'trainer'.
Vicenik has observed that Georgian vowels following ejective stops have creaky voice and suggests this may be one cue distinguishing ejectives from their aspirated and voiced counterparts.[69]
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Writing system
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_-_Georgian_language_alphabet.png)
A commemorative plaque using Mkhedruli for the upper four lines and Mtavruli for the lower two (the name of the person), with each line written in a different typeface
Georgian has been written in a variety of scripts over its history. Currently the Mkhedruli script is almost completely dominant; the others are used mostly in religious documents and architecture.
Mkhedruli has 33 letters in common use; a half dozen more are obsolete in Georgian, though still used in other alphabets, like Mingrelian, Laz, and Svan. The letters of Mkhedruli correspond closely to the phonemes of the Georgian language.
According to the traditional account written down by Leonti Mroveli in the 11th century, the first Georgian script was created by the first ruler of the Kingdom of Iberia, Pharnavaz, in the 3rd century BC. The first examples of a Georgian script date from the 5th century AD. There are now three Georgian scripts, called Asomtavruli 'capitals', Nuskhuri 'small letters', and Mkhedruli. The first two are used together as upper and lower case in the writings of the Georgian Orthodox Church and together are called Khutsuri 'priest alphabet'.
In Mkhedruli, there is no case. Sometimes, however, a capital-like effect, called Mtavruli ('title' or 'heading'), is achieved by modifying the letters so that their vertical sizes are identical and they rest on the baseline with no descenders. These capital-like letters are often used in page headings, chapter titles, monumental inscriptions, and the like.
Keyboard layout
This is the Georgian standard[70] keyboard layout. The standard Windows keyboard is essentially that of manual typewriters.
| “ „ |
1 ! |
2 ? |
3 № |
4 § |
5 % |
6 : |
7 . |
8 ; |
9 , |
0 / |
- _ |
+ = |
← Backspace |
| Tab key | ღ | ჯ | უ | კ | ე ჱ | ნ | გ | შ | წ | ზ | ხ ჴ | ც | ) ( |
| Caps lock | ფ ჶ | ძ | ვ ჳ | თ | ა | პ | რ | ო | ლ | დ | ჟ | Enter key ↵ |
| Shift key ↑ |
ჭ | ჩ | ყ | ს | მ | ი ჲ | ტ | ქ | ბ | ჰ ჵ | Shift key ↑ |
| Control key | Win key | Alt key | Space bar | AltGr key | Win key | Menu key | Control key | |
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Grammar
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Perspective
Morphology
Georgian is an agglutinative language. Certain prefixes and suffixes can be joined in order to build a verb. In some cases, one verb can have up to eight different morphemes in it at the same time. An example is ageshenebinat ('you [all] should've built [it]'). The verb can be broken down to parts: a-g-e-shen-eb-in-a-t. Each morpheme here contributes to the meaning of the verb tense or the person who has performed the verb. The verb conjugation also exhibits polypersonalism; a verb may potentially include morphemes representing both the subject and the object.
Morphophonology
In Georgian morphophonology, syncope is a common phenomenon. When a suffix (especially the plural suffix -eb-) is attached to a word that has either of the vowels a or e in the last syllable, this vowel is, in most words, lost. For example, megobari means 'friend'; megobrebi (megobØrebi) means 'friends', with the loss of a in the last syllable of the word stem.
Inflection
Georgian has seven noun cases: nominative, ergative, dative, genitive, instrumental, adverbial and vocative. An interesting feature of Georgian is that, while the subject of a sentence is generally in the nominative case and the object is in the accusative case (or dative), one can find this reversed in many situations (this depends mainly on the character of the verb). This is called the dative construction. In the past tense of the transitive verbs, and in the present tense of the verb "to know", the subject is in the ergative case.
Syntax
- Georgian is a left-branching language, in which adjectives precede nouns, possessors precede possessions, objects normally precede verbs, and postpositions are used instead of prepositions.
- Each postposition (whether a suffix or a separate word) requires the modified noun to be in a specific case. This is similar to the way prepositions govern specific cases in many Indo-European languages such as German, Latin, or Russian.
- Georgian is a pro-drop language; both subject and object pronouns are frequently omitted except for emphasis or to resolve ambiguity.
- A study by Skopeteas et al. concluded that Georgian word order tends to place the focus of a sentence immediately before the verb, and the topic before the focus. A subject–object–verb (SOV) word order is common in idiomatic expressions and when the focus of a sentence is on the object. A subject–verb–object (SVO) word order is common when the focus is on the subject, or in longer sentences. Object-initial word orders (OSV or OVS) are also possible, but less common. Verb-initial word orders including both subject and object (VSO or VOS) are extremely rare.[71]
- Georgian has no grammatical gender; even the pronouns are ungendered.
- Georgian has no articles. Therefore, for example, "guest", "a guest" and "the guest" are said in the same way. In relative clauses, however, it is possible to establish the meaning of the definite article through use of some particles.[citation needed]
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Vocabulary
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Perspective
_-_Georgian_language_-_Tariel_(last_verse).png)
Georgian has a rich word-derivation system. By using a root, and adding some definite prefixes and suffixes, one can derive many nouns and adjectives from the root. For example, from the root -kart-, the following words can be derived: Kartveli ('a Georgian person'), Kartuli ('the Georgian language') and Sakartvelo ('the country of Georgia').
Most Georgian surnames end in -dze 'son' (Western Georgia), -shvili 'child' (Eastern Georgia), -ia (Western Georgia, Samegrelo), -ani (Western Georgia, Svaneti), -uri (Eastern Georgia), etc. The ending -eli is a particle of nobility, comparable to French de, Dutch van, German von or Polish -ski.
Georgian has a vigesimal numeric system like Basque and (partially) French. Numbers greater than 20 and less than 100 are described as the sum of the greatest possible multiple of 20 plus the remainder. For example, "93" literally translates as 'four times twenty plus thirteen' (ოთხმოცდაცამეტი, otkhmotsdatsamet’i).
One of the most important Georgian dictionaries is the Explanatory dictionary of the Georgian language (ქართული ენის განმარტებითი ლექსიკონი). It consists of eight volumes and about 115,000 words. It was produced between 1950 and 1964, by a team of linguists under the direction of Arnold Chikobava.
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Examples
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Perspective
Word formations
Georgian has a word derivation system, which allows the derivation of nouns from verb roots both with prefixes and suffixes, for example:
- From the root -ts’er- 'write', the words ts’erili 'letter' and mts’erali 'writer' are derived.
- From the root -tsa- 'give', the word gadatsema 'broadcast' is derived.
- From the root -tsda- 'try', the word gamotsda 'exam' is derived.
- From the root -gav- 'resemble', the words msgavsi 'similar' and msgavseba 'similarity' are derived.
- From the root -shen- 'build', the word shenoba 'building' is derived.
- From the root -tskh- 'bake', the word namtskhvari 'cake' is derived.
- From the root -tsiv- 'cold', the word matsivari 'refrigerator' is derived.
- From the root -pr- 'fly', the words tvitmprinavi 'airplane' and aprena 'takeoff' are derived.
It is also possible to derive verbs from nouns:
- From the noun -omi- 'war', the verb omob 'you wage/are waging war' is derived.
- From the noun -sadili- 'lunch', the verb sadilob 'you eat/are eating lunch' is derived.
- From the noun -sauzme 'breakfast', the verb ts’asauzmeba 'eating a little breakfast' is derived; the preverb ts’a- in Georgian adds the meaning 'a little'.
- From the noun -sakhli- 'home', the verb gadasakhleba 'relocating, moving' is derived.
Likewise, verbs can be derived from adjectives, for example:
- From the adjective -ts’iteli- 'red', the verb gats’itleba 'blushing, making one blush' is derived. This kind of derivation can be done with many adjectives in Georgian.
- From the adjective -brma 'blind', the verbs dabrmaveba 'becoming blind, blinding someone' are derived.
- From the adjective -lamazi- 'beautiful', the verb galamazeba 'becoming beautiful' is derived.
Words that begin with multiple consonants
In Georgian many nouns and adjectives begin with two or more contiguous consonants. This is because syllables in the language often begin with two consonants. Recordings are available on the relevant Wiktionary entries, linked to below.
- Some examples of words that begin with two consonants are:
- Many words begin with three contiguous consonants:
- A few words in Georgian that begin with four contiguous consonants. Examples are:
- Some extreme cases also exist in Georgian. For example, the following word begins with six contiguous consonants:
- მწვრთნელი (mts’vrtneli), 'trainer'
- While the following word begins with seven:
- გვწვრთნი (gvts’vrtni), 'you train us'
- And the following words begin with eight:
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Sample text
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:[72]
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See also
References
Bibliography
External links
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