The Georgian language belongs to the Kartvelian group of Ibero-Caucasian languages. Georgian is the only language in the Ibero-Caucasian family still using its own, ancient alphabet. This alphabet is unique among the 14 scripts in use today.
The Georgian language can be traced to the 5th century AD. The alphabet includes 33 symbols: 5 vowels and 28 consonants. A fascinating site called Omniglot gives details about the Georgian alphabet and its history.
You can download Georgian fonts from the Embassy of Georgia to U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
Fascinating Fast Fact: The shape of the letters is absolutely unique and it cannot be compared to any other existing alphabet.
When working with Georgian words or names, remember that our English translation is phonetic; that is, we've translated the sounds of the Georgian alphabet into our English alphabet. The result is that just about every word can be spelled different ways in English. For example, King David the Builder's name is also spelled "Davit," because the "t" more accurately reflects the way it's pronounced in Georgian. You'll find the country's capital city spelled T'Blisis, Tiblisi, Tblisi, and many other ways.
Georgian native Besiki Sisauri has created a Georgian-English dictionary on the Internet. His site also includes several excellent Georgian alphabets, including a downloadable font. Another Internet resource on the Georgian language is Georgian citizen David Mchedlishvili's web site.
Language-Learning Resources
Title |
Author |
ISBN, ASIN, or LC Control Number |
Publisher & Comments |
Language Resources |
|||
| English-Georgian Self-Study and Reference Phrase-Book with Two Audio Cassettes | Khatuna Gelashvili | Saari in Tbilisi, Georgia, 2002; Khatogela@hotmail.com | |
| Georgian-English/English-Georgian Dictionary and Phrasebook | Nicholas Awde & Thea Khitarishvili | 0781805422 | Hippocrene Books, 1997 |
| Georgian Language and Culture: A Continuing Course | Howard Aronson & Dodona Kiziria | 0893572780 | Slavica Pub, 1999 |
| Georgian: A Learner’s Grammar | George Hewitt | 04115102731 | Routledge, 1996 |
| Georgian Reader | George Hewitt | 0728602520 | SOAS/University of London |
| Georgian: A Reading Grammar | Howard Isaac Aronson | 0893472071 | Slavica, 1982; cassettes available |
| Georgian: A Structural Reference Grammar | George Hewitt | 1556197268 | Routledge |
| Georgian Syntax: A Study in Relational Grammar | Alice C. Harris | 80041497 | Cambridge University Press, 1981 |
| Survival Georgian: Georgian Language Phrasebook for Speakers of English | Patricia Hall Taniashvili and Tatyana Bukia | Order from web site or: Patricia Hall Taniashvili, Survival Georgian, 455 Morgan Bay Road #2, Surry Maine 04684, USA | |
| Talk Now! Series CD-ROM Language Courses | Multilingual Books, 800-218-2737 | ||
A Quick Georgian Primer
| English Phoenetic Translation | English Meaning | gamarjoba | Hello | nakhvamdis | Goodbye | to sheidzleba | Please | madlobt | Thank you | didi madloba | Many thanks | diakh | Yes (ki=yeah) | ara | No | bodishi | Sorry | nu | Don't | sad aris...? | Where is...? | ra ghirs...? | How much is...? | Lari | Georgian currency: 1 lari = 100 tetri | ver gavige | I don't understand | ingliseli/amerikeli var | I am English/American | es lamazia | This is beautiful | dzalian | Very | da | And | didi | Big | p'atara | Small | dzalian bevri | Too much |
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