Learning Georgian
Learning Georgian: questions answered
What people ask before they start: how hard it is, how long the alphabet takes, whether people speak English, and more. The short answer first.
- Is Georgian hard to learn?For English speakers it’s one of the harder languages: the US Foreign Service Institute puts it in its “hard” group, about 44 weeks of full-time study, alongside Russian and Greek. But the alphabet is easy (33 letters, one sound each, readable within a week or two), and the words you need day to day in Georgia come quickly.
- How long does it take to learn the Georgian alphabet?Most people can read Georgian slowly after one to two weeks of 10 to 15 minutes a day. There are 33 letters, each with one sound and no capitals, so once you know them you can sound out any word, even one you’ve never seen.
- Do people in Tbilisi speak English or Russian?Many do. In Tbilisi, younger people often speak English, especially in cafés, shops and anywhere tourists go, and many older people speak Russian. Outside the big cities, English is much rarer. Either way, people warm to you quickly if you start with a few words of Georgian.
- Where does the Georgian alphabet come from?Georgian has its own script, unrelated to any other alphabet in use today. Its oldest form, Asomtavruli, appears in inscriptions from the 5th century AD. Today’s letters, Mkhedruli, developed from it: they first appear in the 10th century and gradually became the everyday script. In 2016 UNESCO listed the three Georgian scripts as intangible cultural heritage.
- Is Georgian related to any other language?Only to its close neighbours. Georgian belongs to the small Kartvelian family, with Megrelian, Laz and Svan, all spoken in and around Georgia. It isn’t related to Russian, Armenian, Turkish or Azerbaijani, or to any European language, which is why so little of it looks familiar.
- How do you type in Georgian on a phone or computer?Add the Georgian keyboard in your device’s settings: it’s built into iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac. Most Georgians use the QWERTY-based layout, where each letter sits on the Latin key that sounds like it: ა on A, ბ on B, გ on G.