Georgian Language and Alphabet

Georgian Manuscript, Jrutchi I Gospels (X century)

• Georgian Language
• Georgian Alphabet
• Georgian Phrases

Georgian is spoken by approximately four million people, mainly in the Republic of Georgia where it is the official language. Approximately 98 percent of the population speak Georgian as their first language. A significant number of Georgian speakers also live in Iran (1,000 to 10,000) and Turkey (40,000). A small number of Georgian speakers live in the United States. Since Russian was the official language of the former Georgia Soviet Socialist Republic, a great number of Georgian speakers are also fluent in Russian.

There are 33 phonemes in Modern Standard Georgian: 5 vowels and 28 consonants. The Georgian alphabet has 33 graphemes (letters) for these 33 phonemes (sounds): one grapheme for each sound. Spelling usually coincides with pronunciation.

The Georgian alphabet has its own independent place among the alphabets known to the world. The oldest known inscriptions date from the beginning of the 5th century. The writing has undergone considerable changes since then. Three stages of development may be distinguished:

Mrgvlovani (V-IX cent.)
Nuskhuri (IX-XI cent.)
Mkhedruli (XI-until now).