Georgian

Georgian

The Georgian language is spoken by about four million people in Georgia and an additional 1.5 million in other countries (primarily Turkey, Iran and Azerbaijan and in emigrant communities in Russia and the West).

Georgian belongs to the South Caucasian, or Kartvelian language family. It is related to Laz (spoken in eastern Turkey), Mingrelian and Svan (spoken in western Georgia).

Georgian grammar is considered very difficult. Nouns have seven cases and the verbal system is extremely complex. The main sources of vocabulary borrowings have been Turkish, Persian, Arabic, Russian, and, recently, English.

Georgian employs a unique script whose first known examples date back to the fifth century AD. The current incarnation of the Georgian script is called Mkhedruli, which replaced Asomtavruli in the twelfth century. It has 33 letters: 28 consonants and 5 vowels.