Georgian ქართული Kartuli
Spoken in:	Georgia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia
Total speakers:	6. Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Azerbaijan ( English; Azərbaycan officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan Respublikası is the largest and most populous country in the South Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending 5 million [1]
Language family:	South Caucasian  Georgian
Writing system:	Georgian alphabet
Official status
Official language in:	Georgia
Regulated by:	no official regulation
Language codes
ISO 639-1:	ka
ISO 639-2:	geo (B)	kat (T)
ISO 639-3:	kat
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. List of language familiesA language family is a group of Languages related by descent from a common ancestor called the Proto-language of that family The South Caucasian languages (also known as Ibero-Caucasian or Kartvelian) are spoken primarily in Georgia, with smaller groups of speakers in Turkey A writing system is a type of Symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in Language. The Georgian alphabet (ქართული დამწერლობა is the writing system currently used to write the Georgian language and other South Caucasian Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between This is a list of bodies that regulate Standard languages Natural languages Auxiliary languages Interlingua The auxiliary language ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family ISO 639-2 is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages ISO 639 -3 (ISO 639-32007 is an international standard for Language codes The standard describes three‐letter codes for identifying languages In Computing, Unicode is an Industry standard allowing Computers to consistently represent and manipulate text expressed in most of the world's

Georgian (ქართული ენა, kartuli ena) is the official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus. An official language is a Language that is given a special legal status in a particular Country, State, or other territory Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between The Caucasus ( also referred to as North Caucasus) is a geopolitical region located between Europe Asia & Middle East

Georgian is the primary language of about 4 million people in Georgia itself (83 percent of the population), and of another 500,000 abroad (chiefly in Turkey, Iran, Russia, USA and Europe). Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The United States of America —commonly referred to as the It is the literary language for all ethnographic groups of Georgian people, especially those who speak other South Caucasian languages (or Kartvelian languages): Svans, Mingrelians, and the Laz. The Georgians (ქართველები kartvelebi) are a Nation and Ethnic group originating in the Caucasus, the oldest group of the The South Caucasian languages (also known as Ibero-Caucasian or Kartvelian) are spoken primarily in Georgia, with smaller groups of speakers in Turkey The Svan language (ლუშნუ ნინ/შკა̈ნ lušnu nin/šḳän; სვანური ენა svanuri ena) is a language spoken in Northwest Mingrelian, or Megrelian (მარგალურ ნინა margalur nina; მეგრული ენა megruli ena) is a Language The Laz language (ლაზური ნენა lazuri nena; ლაზური lazuri, or ჭანური chanuri) is spoken by the Laz people Judaeo-Georgian, or "Kivruli", sometimes considered a separate Jewish language, is spoken by an additional 20,000 in Georgia and 65,000 elsewhere (primarily 60,000 in Israel). Judæo-Georgian (also known as Kivruli and Gruzinic) is the traditional language spoken by the Georgian Jews, the ancient Jewish community The Jewish languages are a set of Languages that developed in various Jewish communities around the world more notably in Europe, West Asia, and For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics.

Contents 1 Classification 2 Dialects 3 History 4 Sounds and Writing system 4.1 Consonants 4.2 Vowels 4.3 Phonotactics 5 Grammar 5.1 Morphology 5.1.1 Morphophonology 5.1.2 Inflection 5.2 Syntax 6 Vocabulary 7 Examples 7.1 Word formations 7.2 Words that begin with multiple consonants 8 See also 9 References 10 Bibliography 11 External links

Classification

Part of the series on Georgians ქართველები

Georgian culture Architecture · Art · Cinema · Cuisine · Dance · Dress · Literature · Music · Media · Religion · Sport

By country or region Georgia Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia Autonomous Republic of Adjara

Subgroups Adjarians · Mingrelians · Svans · Laz

Religion Georgian Orthodox Church Georgian Catholicism · Islam

Languages and dialects Georgian language Georgian dialects · Georgian alphabet

Georgian History

v • d • e

Georgian is the most pervasive of the South Caucasian languages, a family that also includes Svan and Megrelian (chiefly spoken in Northwest Georgia) and Laz (chiefly spoken along the Black Sea coast of Turkey, from Melyat, Rize to the Georgian frontier). The Georgians (ქართველები kartvelebi) are a Nation and Ethnic group originating in the Caucasus, the oldest group of the The culture of Georgia has evolved over the country's long history providing it with a unique national culture and a strong literary tradition based on the Georgian The Architecture of Georgia is the architecture native to Georgia. The Cinema in Georgia has been noted for its Cinematography in Europe Georgian cuisine is considered one of the main attractions for tourists in Georgia and it is particularly popular throughout the former Soviet Union See also Culture of Georgia There are a number of dances of Georgia, these Folk dances of the Georgian people have a number of purposes Folk music Georgian folk music possesses what is the oldest tradition of polyphonic music in the world predating the introduction of Christianity. The Media in Georgia is relatively accessible and caters to a wide variety of audiences Christianity in ancient and feudal Georgia According to tradition when the Apostles were sent out to preach the Gospel to the nations of the world the Apostle Historically Georgia has been famous for its physical education it is known that the Romans were fascinated with Georgians' physical qualities after seeing the training techniques Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between Abkhazia (Аҧсны Apsny აფხაზეთი Apkhazeti or Abkhazeti Абха́зия Abhazia) is a De facto The Adjarians (Ajarians Ajars Adjars Adzhars აჭარლები Ačarlebi) are an ethnographic group of Georgians that mostly live in Adjara The Mingrelians ( Mingrelian: მარგალი margali; მეგრელები megrelebi) are a subethnic group of Georgians that The Svans (სვანები Svanebi) are an ethnographic group of Georgians that mostly live in Svanetia region of Georgia. The Laz ( Lazi (ლაზი or Lazepe (ლაზეფე in Laz, Lazlar in Turkish, Lazi (ლაზი or Christianity in ancient and feudal Georgia According to tradition when the Apostles were sent out to preach the Gospel to the nations of the world the Apostle On Georgian Catholics of Byzantine Rite see Georgian Byzantine-Rite Catholics The Georgian Catholic Church (or Catholic Church in Georgia Islam in Georgia was introduced in 645 AD when an army sent by the Second Caliph of Islam Umar, conquered Eastern Georgia Georgian (ქართული Kartuli) is a South Caucasian, or Kartvelian language spoken by about 4 The Georgian alphabet (ქართული დამწერლობა is the writing system currently used to write the Georgian language and other South Caucasian The history of Georgia began with the rise of the early Georgian states of Colchis and Iberia, which in c The South Caucasian languages (also known as Ibero-Caucasian or Kartvelian) are spoken primarily in Georgia, with smaller groups of speakers in Turkey The Svan language (ლუშნუ ნინ/შკა̈ნ lušnu nin/šḳän; სვანური ენა svanuri ena) is a language spoken in Northwest Mingrelian, or Megrelian (მარგალურ ნინა margalur nina; მეგრული ენა megruli ena) is a Language The Laz language (ლაზური ნენა lazuri nena; ლაზური lazuri, or ჭანური chanuri) is spoken by the Laz people Rize ( Greek: Riza, რიზე Ռիզե is the capital of Rize Province, in northeast Turkey, on the Black Sea

Dialects

Main article: Georgian dialects

Dialects of Georgian include Imeretian, Racha-Lechkhumian, Gurian, Adjaran, Imerkhevian (in Turkey), Kartlian, Kakhetian, Ingilo (in Azerbaijan), Tush, Khevsur, Mokhevian, Pshavian, Fereydan dialect in Iran in Fereydunshahr and Fereydan, Mtiuletian, Meskhetian. Georgian (ქართული Kartuli) is a South Caucasian, or Kartvelian language spoken by about 4 Imereti Province ( Georgian: იმერეთი მხარე Imereti Mxare) is a province in Georgia situated along the middle and upper reaches Racha (also Ratcha, Georgian: რაჭა Račʼa) is a historic province in Georgia, in the mountainous northwestern part of the country Lechkhumi ( Georgian: ლეჩხუმი Lečxumi) is a historic province in northwestern Georgia which comprises the area along the middle basin For the village in Bangladesh see Guria Bangladesh. Guria (გურია is a region ( Mkhare) in Georgia Adjaran (Ach'aruli / აჭარული is one of the Georgian dialects primarily spoken within the borders of the Autonomous republic of Adjara, Imerkhevi (იმერხევი in Georgian, İmerhev in Turkish) is a valley in the north of Şavşat district in Artvin Province Kartli (ქართლი is the largest and most populated province of Eastern Georgia. Kakheti ( Georgian: კახეთი is a province in Eastern Georgia. Saingilo ( Georgian: საინგილო is a 19th-century term that is used to indicate the eastern part of the historic region of Hereti. Tusheti, or Tushetia, is a historic region in northeast Georgia. Khevsureti is a historic province in eastern Georgia, located along both the northern and southern slopes of the Great Caucasus Mountains. Khevi (ხევი is a small historical-geographic area in northeastern Georgia. Pshavi (ფშავი is a small historic-geographic area in Georgia, included in today’s Mtskheta-Mtianeti region and laying chiefly on the southern Iranian Georgians are an ethnic group living in Iran Today's Georgia was a subject to the Safavid empire in 17th century and Shah Abbas I relocated Fereydoon Shahr or Fereydunshahr, the center of Fereydunshahr County is a city in the western part of the Isfahan province of Iran. Fereydan ( Persian: فریدن Georgian: ფერეიდანი Armenian: Փերիա is a county of the Province of Isfahan, Iran Mtiuleti (მთიულეთი literally "the land of mountains" is a historical province in Eastern Georgia, on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Meskheti is a mountainous area and a former province in southwestern Georgia.

History

Georgian is believed to have separated from Megrelian and Laz in the first millennium BC. Mingrelian, or Megrelian (მარგალურ ნინა margalur nina; მეგრული ენა megruli ena) is a Language The Laz language (ლაზური ნენა lazuri nena; ლაზური lazuri, or ჭანური chanuri) is spoken by the Laz people Based on the degree of change, linguists (e. g. Klimov, T. Georgy Klimov (Гео́ргий Андре́евич Кли́мов Georgiy Andreyevich Klimov) ( September 23, 1928 – April 29, 1997  Gamkrelidze, G.  Machavariani) conjecture that the earliest split occurred in the second millennium BC or earlier, separating Svan from the other languages. The Svan language (ლუშნუ ნინ/შკა̈ნ lušnu nin/šḳän; სვანური ენა svanuri ena) is a language spoken in Northwest Megrelian and Laz separated from Georgian roughly a thousand years later.

Georgian has a rich literary tradition. The oldest surviving literary text in Georgian is the "Martyrdom of the Holy Queen Shushanik" (Tsamebay tsmindisa Shushanikisi, dedoplisa) by Iakob Tsurtaveli, from the 5th century AD. The Martyrdom of the Holy Queen Shushanik (also translated as The Passion of Saint Shushanik; Georgian: წამებაჲ წმიდისა შუშანიკისი Jacob of Tsurtavi (იაკობ ცურტაველი Iakob Tsurtaveli also known as Jacob the Priest (იაკობ ხუცესი Iakob Khutsesi was the 5th-century The Georgian national epic, "The Knight in the Panther's Skin" (Vepkhistqaosani), by Shota Rustaveli, dates from the 12th century. The Knight in the Panther's Skin ( Georgian: ვეფხისტყაოსანი transliterated as Vepkhist'q'aosani) is an Epic poem Shota Rustaveli (შოთა რუსთაველი 1160 - ? was a Georgian poet of the 12th century, and the greatest classic of Georgian secular literature

Sounds and Writing system

Main article: Georgian alphabet

Georgian has been written in a variety of scripts over its history. The Georgian alphabet (ქართული დამწერლობა is the writing system currently used to write the Georgian language and other South Caucasian Currently one alphabet, mkhedruli ("military") is almost completely dominant; the others are mostly of interest to scholars reading historical documents. The Georgian alphabet (ქართული დამწერლობა is the writing system currently used to write the Georgian language and other South Caucasian

Mkhedruli has 33 letters in common use; a half dozen more are now obsolete. The letters of mkhedruli correspond to the sounds of the Georgian language.

According to the traditional accounts written down by Leonti Mroveli in the 11th century, the first Georgian alphabet was created by the first King of Caucasian Iberia (also called Kartli), Pharnavaz in the 3rd century BC. Leonti Mroveli (ლეონტი მროველი was the 11th-century Georgian historian and priest This article is about the people of ancient Georgia For the Iberians of ancient Iberian Peninsula see Iberians. Kartli (ქართლი is the largest and most populated province of Eastern Georgia. Pharnavaz I (ფარნავაზი also spelled P'arnavaz P'arnawaz or Farnavaz was the first king of Kartli, an ancient Georgian kingdom known However, the first examples of that alphabet, or its modified version, date from the 4th-5th centuries AD. During the centuries the alphabet was modernized. Nowadays there are three Georgian alphabets which are quite different from each other, so that knowing one of them can't help one read a text written in the others. These alphabets are called asomtavruli (Capitals), nuskhuri (Small letters) and mkhedruli. The Georgian alphabet (ქართული დამწერლობა is the writing system currently used to write the Georgian language and other South Caucasian The Georgian alphabet (ქართული დამწერლობა is the writing system currently used to write the Georgian language and other South Caucasian The first two are used together as capital and small letters and they form a single alphabet used in the Georgian Orthodox Church and called khutsuri (priests'). Christianity in ancient and feudal Georgia According to tradition when the Apostles were sent out to preach the Gospel to the nations of the world the Apostle Khutsuri (ხუცური or "church script" is the Writing system composed by the Asomtavruli and Nuskhuri alphabets

In mkhedruli, there are no separate forms for capital letters. Sometimes, however, a capital-like effect is achieved by scaling and positioning the ordinary 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.

Consonants

Symbols on the left are those of the IPA and those on the right are of the Georgian alphabet

Georgian consonants^[2]

		Labial	Dental/ Alveolar	Post- alveolar	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Nasal		m მ	n ნ
Plosive	aspirated	pʰ ფ	tʰ თ		kʰ ქ
	voiced	b ბ	d დ		g გ
	ejective	pʼ პ	tʼ ტ		kʼ კ	qʼ ყ
Affricate	plain		ts ც	tʃ ჩ
	voiced		dz ძ	dʒ ჯ
	ejective		tsʼ წ	tʃʼ ჭ
Fricative	voiceless		s ს	ʃ შ	x1 ხ		h ჰ
	voiced	v ვ	z ზ	ʒ ჟ	ɣ1 ღ
Rhotic			r რ
Lateral			l ლ

1. Opinions differ on how to classify /x/ and /ɣ/; Aronson (1990) classifies them as post-velar. The Georgian alphabet (ქართული დამწერლობა is the writing system currently used to write the Georgian language and other South Caucasian Labials are consonants articulated either with both lips ( bilabial articulation or with the lower lip and the upper teeth ( labiodental articulation In Linguistics, a dental consonant or dental is a Consonant that is articulated with the tongue against the upper teeth such as /t/ /d/ /n/ and Postalveolar consonants are Consonants articulated with the tongue near or touching the back of the Alveolar ridge, placing them a bit further back in the Uvulars are Consonants articulated with the back of the Tongue against or near the uvula, that is further back in the mouth than Velar consonants Glottal consonants are Consonants articulated with the Glottis. A nasal consonant (also called nasal stop or nasal continuant) is produced with a lowered velum in the mouth allowing air to escape freely through the A stop, plosive, or occlusive is a Consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the Vocal tract. Description Voiceless consonants are produced with the Vocal cords open and voiced consonants are produced when the vocal folds are fractionally closed Voice or voicing is a term used in Phonetics and Phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless In Phonetics, ejective consonants are Voiceless Consonants that are pronounced with simultaneous closure of the Glottis. Affricate Consonants begin as stops (most often an alveolar, such as or) but release as a fricative (such as or or occasionally into Voice or voicing is a term used in Phonetics and Phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless In Phonetics, ejective consonants are Voiceless Consonants that are pronounced with simultaneous closure of the Glottis. Fricatives are Consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together Rhotic consonants, or "R"-like sounds are non-lateral Liquid consonants This class of sounds is difficult to characterise phonetically though most of them share Laterals are "L"-like Consonants pronounced with an occlusion made somewhere along the axis of the tongue while air from the lungs escapes at one side or both Georgian (ka ქართული ენა kartuli ena) is the Official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus. ^[3]. Hewitt^[4] views the phonemes rather as ranging from velar to uvular according to context, and many other scholars simply treat the phonemes as purely velar.

Vowels

Vowels^[5]

	Front	Back
Close	i ი	u უ
Mid	ɛ ე	ɔ ო
Open		ɑ ა

Phonotactics

Some features of the Georgian phonotactics. A front vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far forward A back vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as A close vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in many spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a close vowel is that the tongue is positioned as close as A mid vowel is a Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned mid-way between an An open vowel is a Vowel sound of a type used in most spoken Languages The defining characteristic of an open vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far as Phonotactics (in Greek phone = voice and tactic = course is a branch of Phonology that deals with restrictions in a Language on the

• The language contains some formidable consonant clusters, as may be seen in words like გვფრცქვნი gvprtskvni ("You peel us") and მწვრთნელი mtsvrtneli ("trainer"). In Linguistics, a consonant cluster (or consonant blend) is a group of Consonants which have no intervening Vowel.

Grammar

Main article: Georgian grammar

Morphology

• Georgian is an agglutinative language. The Georgian language belongs to the South Caucasian or Kartvelian family Morphology is the field of Linguistics that studies the internal structure of words An agglutinative language is a Language that uses Agglutination extensively most Words are formed by joining Morphemes together There are certain prefixes and suffixes that are joined together in order to build a verb. In some cases, there can be up to 8 different morphemes in one verb at the same time. An example can be ageshenebinat ("you (pl) had built"). 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 (See Georgian grammar for a more detailed discussion). The Georgian language belongs to the South Caucasian or Kartvelian family

Morphophonology

• In Georgian morphophonology, Syncope is a common phenomenon. Morphophonology (also morphophonemics, morphonology) is a branch of Linguistics which studies The phonological structure When a suffix (especially the plural suffix -eb-) is attached to a word which has either of the vowels a or e in the last syllable, this vowel is, in most words, lost. For example, megobari means "friend. " To say "friends," one says, megobØrebi (megobrebi), with the loss of a in the last syllable of the word root.

Inflection

• Georgian has seven noun cases: nominative, ergative, dative, genitive, instrumental, adverbial and vocative. The nominative case is a Grammatical case for a Noun, which generally marks the subject of a Verb, as opposed to its object or other The ergative case is the Grammatical case that identifies the subject of a Transitive verb in Ergative-absolutive languages In such languages The dative case is a Grammatical case generally used to indicate the Noun to whom something is given In Grammar, the genitive case or possessive case (also called the second case) is the case that marks a Noun as modifying another The instrumental case (also called the eighth case) is a Grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the The Adverbial case is a Noun case in the Abkhaz language and Georgian language that has a function similar to the translative and The vocative case is the case used for a Noun identifying the person (animal object etc 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), in Georgian, one can find this reversed in many situations (this depends mainly on the character of the verb). The accusative case ( abbreviated ACC) of a Noun is the Grammatical case used to mark the Direct object of a Transitive This is called the dative construction. The dative construction is a grammatical way of constructing a sentence with the subject in the Dative case and the direct object in the Nominative case. 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 post-positional language, meaning that adpositions are placed after (rather than before) the nouns they modify, either as suffixes or as separate words. In Grammar, a preposition is a Part of speech that introduces a prepositional phrase. In Grammar, a preposition is a Part of speech that introduces a prepositional phrase. Many Georgian postpositions correspond to the meanings of prepositions in English. Each postposition requires the modified noun to be in a specific case. (This is similar to prepositions governing specific cases in many Indo-European languages such as German, Latin, Russian, and so on. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages )

• Georgian has a subject-verb-object primary sentence structure, but the word order is not as strict as in some Germanic languages such as English. In Linguistic typology, subject-verb-object ( SVO) is a sentence structure where the subject comes first the Verb second and the object The Germanic languages are a group of related languages that constitute a branch of the Indo-European (IE Language family. Not all word orders are acceptable, but it is also possible to encounter the structure of subject-object-verb. Georgian has no grammatical gender; even pronouns are gender-neutral. In Linguistics, grammatical genders, sometimes also called Noun classes are classes of nouns reflected in the behavior of associated words every noun must belong The language also 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. A relative clause is a Subordinate clause that modifies a Noun.

Vocabulary

Georgian has a rich word-derivation system. In Linguistics, derivation is "Used to form new words as with happi-ness and un-happy from happy, or determination from 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 (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. Most Georgian Surnames are derived either from Patronymics or less frequently from Toponyms with addition of various suffixes Megrelia, Mingrelia or Samegrelo / Samargalo (სამეგრელო Samegrelo; Mingrelian: სამარგალო Samargalo Svaneti or Svanetia ( Suania in ancient sources (სვანეთი Svaneti) is a historic province in Georgia, in the northwestern part of At least two personalities with Georgian surnames are known abroad: Eduard Shevardnadze and Joseph Stalin, whose birth name was Dzhugashvili. Eduard Amvrosiyevich Shevardnadze (ედუარდ შევარდნაძე ɛduɑrd ʃɛvɑrdnɑdzɛ (born 25 January 1928 in Mamati, Lanchkhuti Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party

Georgian has a vigesimal number system, based on the counting system of 20, like Basque or Old French. The vigesimal or base - numeral system is based on twenty (in the same way in which the ordinary decimal numeral system is based on ten Basque ( native name: euskara) is the Language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain In order to express a number greater than 20 and less than 100, first the number of 20s in the number is stated and the remaining number is added. For example, 93 is expressed as ოთხმოცდაცამეტი - otkh-m-ots-da-tsamet'i (lit. four-times-twenty-and-thirteen).

Examples

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 -šen- ("build"), the word šenoba ("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 ("plane") and aprena ("take-off") are derived.

It is also possible to derive verbs from nouns:

• From the noun -omi- ("war"), the verb omob ("wage war") is derived.

• From the noun -sadili- ("lunch"), the verb sadilob ("eat lunch") is derived.

• From the noun -sauzme ("breakfast"), the verb ts'asauzmeba ("eat a little breakfast") is derived; the preverb ts'a- in Georgian could add the meaning "VERBing a little. "

• From the noun -sakhli- ("home"), the verb gadasakhleba (the infinite form of the verb "to relocate, to move") is derived.

Likewise, verbs can be derived from adjectives:

• From the adjective -ts'iteli- ("red"), the verb gats'itleba (the infinite form of both "to blush" and "to make one blush") is derived. This kind of derivation can be done with many adjectives in Georgian. Other examples can be:

• From the adjective -brma ("blind"), the verbs dabrmaveba (the infinite form of both "to become blind" and "to blind someone") are derived.

• From the adjective -lamazi- ("beautiful"), the verb galamazeba (the infinite form of the verb "to become beautiful") is derived.

Words that begin with multiple consonants

In Georgian many nouns and adjectives begin with two or more contiguous consonants.

• Some linguists assert that almost half of the words in Georgian begin with double consonants. This is because most syllables in the language begin with certain two consonants. Some examples of words that begin with double consonants are:
  • წყალი, (ts'q'ali), "water"
  • სწორი, (sts'ori), "correct"
  • რძე , (rdze), "milk"
  • თმა, (tma), "hair"
  • მთა, (mta), "mountain"
  • ცხენი, (tskheni), "horse"

• There are also many words that begin with three contiguous consonants:
  • თქვენ, (tkven), "you (plural)"
  • მწვანე, (mts'vane), "green"
  • ცხვირი, (tskhviri), "nose"
  • ტკბილი, (t'k'bili), "sweet"
  • მტკივნეული, (mt'k' ivneuli), "painful"
  • ჩრდილოეთი, (črdiloeti), "north"

• There also a few words in Georgian that begin with four contiguous consonants. Examples are:
  • მკვლელი, (mk'vleli), "murderer"
  • მკვდარი, (mk'vdari), "dead"
  • მთვრალი, (mtvrali), "drunk"
  • მწკრივი; (mts'k'rivi), "row"

• There can also be some extreme cases in Georgian. A screeve is a term of grammatical description in traditional Georgian grammars that roughly corresponds to TAM (tense-aspect-mood marking in the Western grammatical tradition For example, the following word begins with six contiguous consonants:
  • მწვრთნელი, (mts'vrtneli), "trainer"

• And the following words begin with eight consonants:
  • გვფრცქვნი (gvprtskvni), "you peel us"
  • გვბრდღვნი (gvbrdgvni), "you tear us"

See also

• Culture of Georgia
• Georgian in Iran
• 1978 Tbilisi Demonstrations
• Georgians in Turkey

References

Bibliography

• Pavle Ingorokva. Georgian (ka ქართული ენა kartuli ena) is the Official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus. Pavle Ingorokva ( Georgian პავლე ინგოროყვა ( 1893 - 1990) was a Georgian Historian, philologist Georgian inscriptions of antique. - Bulletin of ENIMK, vol. X, Tbilisi, 1941, pp. 411-427 (in Georgian)
• Zaza Aleksidze. Epistoleta Tsigni, Tbilisi, 1968, 150 pp (in Georgian)
• Korneli Danelia, Zurab Sarjveladze. Questions of Georgian Paleography, Tbilisi, 1997, 150 pp (in Georgian, English summary)
• Elene Machavariani. The graphical basis of the Georgian Alphabet, Tbilisi, 1982, 107 pp (in Georgian, French summary)
• Ivane Javakhishvili. Ivane Javakhishvili (ივანე ჯავახიშვილი also spelled Javaxishvili or Javaxišvili ( April 11, 1876 &ndash November 18, Georgian Paleography, Tbilisi, 1949, 500 pp (in Georgian)
• Ramaz Pataridze. The Georgian Asomtavruli, Tbilisi, 1980, 600 pp (in Georgian)
• "Great discovery" (about the expedition of Academician Levan Chilashvili). - Newspaper "Kviris Palitra", Tbilisi, April 21-27, 2003 (in Georgian)
• Shosted, Ryan K. & Chikovani Vakhtang (2006), "Standard Georgian", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 36 (2): 255-264

External links

• Summer School of Georgian at Tbilisi State University
• Georgian English, English Georgian online dictionary
• English-Georgian, German-Georgian and Russian-Georgian dictionaries
• English-Georgian HTML Dictionary
• About Georgia - Language and Alphabet
• Georgian Website / Portal with info on Georgian culture and language
• online Georgian Grammar
• Georgian fonts, compliant with Unicode 4.0, also available for MAC OS 9 or X
• Dictionary with Georgian - English Translations from Webster's Online Dictionary - the Rosetta Edition
• Georgian Language Distance Learning Course for beginners (English speaking)
• Collection of Georgian dictionaries

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