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Georgian alphabet
ქართული ანბანი
Script type
Alphabet
Time period
430 AD - Present
DirectionLeft-to-right Edit this on Wikidata
LanguagesGeorgian and other Kartvelian languages
ISO 15924
ISO 15924Geor (240), ​Georgian (Mkhedruli and Mtavruli) Geok (241, Georgian scripts#Nuskhuri)
Unicode
Unicode alias
Georgian
U+10A0–U+10FF,
U+2D00–U+2D2F
 This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

Template:Contains Georgian text

History of the alphabet

The Georgian alphabet (Georgian: ქართული დამწერლობა, [kʰɑrtʰuli dɑmt͡sʼɛrlɔbɑ], literally "Georgian script") is the writing system used to write the Georgian language. It is a phonemic orthography, and the modern alphabet has 33 letters. The Georgian script can also be used to write other Kartvelian languages (Mingrelian, Svan, sometimes Laz), and occasionally other languages of the Caucasus such as Ossetic and Abkhaz during the 1940s.[1] Historically Ingush,[2] Chechen[3] and Avar languages[4][5] were written in the Georgian script, later replaced in the 17th century by Arabic and by the Cyrillic script in modern times.

The Georgian word meaning "alphabet", Georgian: ანბანი anbani, is derived from the names of the first two letters of the three Georgian alphabets, which, although they look very different from one another, share the same alphabetic order and letter names. The alphabets can be seen mixed in some context, although Georgian is formally unicameral meaning there is normally no distinction between upper and lower case in any of the alphabets.

History

The oldest Georgian inscription in Bethlehem, 430 AD.
Second oldest Georgian inscription of Bolnisi Sioni, V c.

The writing of the Georgian language has progressed through three forms, known by their Georgian names: Asomtavruli, Nuskhuri, and Mkhedruli. They have always been distinct alphabets, even though they have been used together to write the same languages, and even though these alphabets share the same letter names and collation. Although the most recent alphabet, Mkhedruli, contains more letters than the two historical ones, those extra letters are no longer needed for writing modern Georgian.

The Georgian kingdom of Iberia converted to Christianity in 326 AD. Scholars believe that the creation of an Old Georgian alphabet was instrumental in making religious scripture more accessible to the Georgians. This happened in the 4th or 5th century, not long after conversion. The oldest uncontested example of Georgian writing is an Asomtavruli inscription from 430 AD in a church in Bethlehem.

Georgian historical tradition attributes the invention of the Georgian alphabets to the semi-mythical[6] Parnavaz I of Iberia in the 3rd century BC. The modern Georgian scholar Levan Chilashvili, on the basis of dating the Nekresi inscription in eastern Georgia to the 1st–2nd century AD, claimed that Parnavaz probably created the scripts in order to translate the Avesta (sacred Zoroastrian writings) into Georgian. However, a pre-Christian origin for the Georgian scripts has not been firmly supported by archaeological evidence. According to Donald Rayfield, the assumption that the Georgian script has pre-Christian origin, is rather unfounded and was not confirmed by archaeological findings.[7] Stephen H. Rapp, too, has questioned such a dating.[8]

It is widely believed that the first Georgian alphabet was created by Armenian theologian and linguist Mesrop Mashtots.[7][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Other authorities such as John Greppin and Anahit Perikhanyan have concluded that while Mesrop Mashtots may not have been the only creator of the Georgian alphabet, it could not have appeared without his participation.[16][17] Georgian scholars have asserted that the Georgian alphabet was created before Mesrop Mashtots.[18][19][20][21]

According to Ivane Javakhishvili there are many similarities as well as differences between Georgian and Armenian alphabet, but the order of the letters in the first part of Georgian alphabet is almost parallel to the similar letters of the Greek alphabet, and the other part consists of letters which are very specific to Georgian. Also, the names of the letters and the numeral values of letters are completely different, which, would not have been the case if the Georgian alphabet had been created on the root of Armenian alphabet.[22]

Russian historian and ethnologist Victor Schnirelmann has noted that the Georgian historians' somewhat painful attitude towards Mesrop Mashtots is conditioned by the "myth of some pure original indigenous culture."[23] Werner Seibt offers to better forget the stories about such an old origin of the Georgian alphabet, and suggests that the Georgian script perhaps was invented by Georgian monks in Palestine, who were encouraged by the Armenian translation of the Holy Scriptures, so Mashtots would have been at least an indirect initiator of the Georgian alphabet.[24]

The scholars which are in favour of the idea that the Georgian alphabet was invented by the Armenian saint Mesrop Mashtots, use as a source the writing from the fifth century, of the Armenian historian Koryun. His work "Life of Mesrob" contains many details about the evangelization of Armenia and the invention of the Armenian alphabet, and is the primary source which mentions that the Georgian alphabet was invented by Mesrop Mashtots. However, there is some suspicion that the original text of Koryun was altered or interpolated later on in accordance with ideological requests especially between the Armenian church and the neighbouring ones, as the Armenians postulated a certain hegemony over them.[24] After researching Koryun's Life of Mashtots,[25] a Georgian historian Ivane Javakhishvili came to conclusion that the story of creation of Georgian alphabet by Mashtots was a mere addition made in the VI century.

The Encyclopaedia Britannica suggests that the Old Georgian script must have been derived from the Greek alphabet, on account of the order of the alphabet and the shapes of some of the characters, although the shapes of the majority of the signs appear to be a result of a free creation of its inventor.[26]

Asomtavruli

Old Georgian inscriptions in asomtavruli found in ruined Porte monastery in the Corokhi basin (modern Turkey).

Asomtavruli, also known as Mrgvlovani, is the historical, monumental, and oldest form of the Georgian alphabet. Asomtavruli (ასომთავრული, "capital letters") derives from aso (ასო, "letter, type") and mtavari (მთავარი, "main, chief, principal, head"). Mrgvlovani (მრგვლოვანი, "rounded") is related to the word mrgvali (მრგვალი, "round"). Despite its common Georgian name, this rounded alphabet was originally purely unicameral, just like the modern Georgian alphabet. Examples of the earliest Asomtavruli scripts found in Nekresi are still preserved in national museum of Georgia.

Asomtavruli letters
Ⴀ Ⴁ Ⴂ Ⴃ Ⴄ Ⴅ Ⴆ Ⴡ Ⴇ Ⴈ Ⴉ Ⴊ Ⴋ Ⴌ
Ⴢ Ⴍ Ⴎ Ⴏ Ⴐ Ⴑ Ⴒ Ⴣ ႭჃ, Ⴓ Ⴔ Ⴕ Ⴖ Ⴗ Ⴘ
Ⴙ Ⴚ Ⴛ Ⴜ Ⴝ Ⴞ Ⴤ Ⴟ Ⴠ Ⴥ  
Some fonts for modern Georgian do not show the actual Asomtavruli forms for these letters, but instead show taller ("capitalized") variants of the modern Mkhedruli alphabet (see below).

This unicameral alphabet is still used today in some section headings and book titles, and sometimes used in a pseudo-bicameral way by varying the glyph sizes for creating capitals. Since it is no longer used for writing Georgian, it has also been reused in a creative way for writing capital letters, along with letters of one of the two other Georgian alphabets.

Incidentally, a unique local form of Aramaic writing known as Armazuli (არმაზული დამწერლობა, armazuli damts'erloba, i.e. the "Armazian script", derived from the name of the god Armazi) existed before that, as demonstrated by the 1940s discovery of a bilingual Greco-Aramaic inscription at Mtskheta, Georgia. It is conceivable that local pre-Christian records did exist, but were subsequently destroyed by zealous Christians. Therefore, many found more palatable the idea that the medieval Georgian chronicles crediting Parnavaz with the creation of Georgian writing actually refer to the introduction of a local form of written Aramaic during his reign.[8]

Nuskhuri

10th-century Georgian manuscript from Parkhali monastery written in nuskhuri.

The Nuskhuri (ნუსხური "minuscule, lowercase"), the ecclesiastical alphabet first appeared in the 9th century. It was mostly used in hagiography. Nuskhuri is related to the word nuskha (ნუსხა "inventory, schedule").

Nuskhuri letters
ⴀ ⴁ ⴂ ⴃ ⴄ ⴅ ⴆ ⴡ ⴇ ⴈ ⴉ ⴊ ⴋ ⴌ
ⴢ ⴍ ⴎ ⴏ ⴐ ⴑ ⴒ ⴣ ⴍⴣ, ⴓ ⴔ ⴕ ⴖ ⴗ ⴘ
ⴙ ⴚ ⴛ ⴜ ⴝ ⴞ ⴤ ⴟ ⴠ ⴥ

The forms of the Khutsuri letters may have been derived from the northern Arsacid variant of the Pahlavi (or Middle Iranian) script, which itself was derived from the older Aramaic, although the direction of writing (from left to right), the use of separate symbols for the vowel sounds, the numerical values assigned to the letters in earlier times, and the order of the letters all point to significant Greek influence on the script.[27]

However, the Georgian linguist Tamaz Gamkrelidze argues that the forms of the letters are freely invented in imitation of the Greek model rather than directly based upon earlier forms of the Aramaic alphabet, even though the Georgian phonological inventory is very different from Greek.

Like the monumental Asomtavruli alphabet, this squared alphabet was initially purely unicameral. However, it has also been used along with the Asomtavruli alphabet (serving as capital letters in religious manuscripts) to form the Khutsuri (ხუცური "ecclesiastical") bicameral style that is still used sometimes today.

Mkhedruli

Royal decree of King Vakhtang VI of Georgia in Mkhedruli.
Royal decree of King George V of Georgia in Mkhedruli.
Royal decree of King Bagrat IV of Georgia in Mkhedruli.
Road sign in Georgian Mkhedruli and Latin alphabets.
An inscription in Mkhedruli at the Motsameta monastery, dating to ჩყმვ meaning 1846.
Georgian inscriptions in Mkhedruli.

The modern alphabet, called Mkhedruli (მხედრული, "cavalry" or "military"), first appeared in the 11th century. It was used for non-religious purposes up until the 19th century, when it completely replaced the Khutsuri style (that used the two previous alphabets). Mkhedruli is related to the word mkhedari (მხედარი, "horseman", "knight", or "warrior"); Khutsuri is related to the term khutsesi (ხუცესი, "elder" or "priest").

Mkhedruli letters
ა ბ გ დ ე ვ ზ ჱ თ ი კ ლ მ ნ
ჲ ო პ ჟ რ ს ტ ჳ უ ფ ქ ღ ყ შ
ჩ ც ძ წ ჭ ხ ჴ ჯ ჰ ჵ ჶ ჷ ჺ ჸ ჹ

Like the two other alphabets, the Mkhedruli alphabet is purely unicameral. However, certain modern writers have experimented with using Asomtavruli letters as capitals, similarly to Khutsuri script style. In some cases, this may be a conflation with the religious Khutsuri style rather than the result of a creative design choice. Georgians often consider this bicameral use of Mkhedruli an error because some Mkhedruli letters lack equivalents in the other alphabets. Others use the Mkhedruli alphabet alone in a pseudo-bicameral way, adapting letter sizes to create capital letters, known as Mtavruli for titles and headings. Mtavruli (მთავრული) means "titlecase" and is an appropriate tribute to the older Asomtavruli.

Obsolete letters

Eight of the forty-one Mkhedruli letters (shaded above) are now obsolete. Five of these, ⟨ჱ⟩ (he), ⟨ჲ⟩ (hie), ⟨ჳ⟩ (vie), ⟨ჴ⟩ (qar), and ⟨ჵ⟩ (hoe) were used in Old Georgian. These letters were discarded by the Society for the Spreading of Literacy Among Georgians, founded by Ilia Chavchavadze in 1879, and were either dropped entirely or replaced by the sounds they had become. The last three, ⟨ჶ⟩ (fi), ⟨ჷ⟩ (shva), and ⟨ჸ⟩ (elifi), were later additions to the Georgian alphabet used to represent sounds not present in Georgian proper, and are used to write other languages in the region. Also obsolete in modern Georgian is a variant of the letter ⟨უ⟩ (un), differentiated using a diacritic: ⟨უ̌⟩ or ⟨უ̂⟩.

  • ⟨ჱ⟩ (he), sometimes called "ei" or "e-merve" ("eighth e"). As in Ancient Greek (Ηη, Ͱͱ, ēta), it holds the eighth place in the Georgian alphabet. The name and shapes of the letter in Asomtavruli ⟨Ⴡ⟩ and Nuskhuri ⟨ⴡ⟩ also resemble Greek's tack-shaped archaic consonantal heta. In old Georgian, he was interchangeable with the digraph ⟨ეჲ⟩. It represented [ei] or [ej].
  • ⟨ჲ⟩ (hie), also called iot'a, often marked Georgian nouns in the nominative case. In Old Georgian, it represented [i] or [j].
  • ⟨ჳ⟩ (vie) represented the diphthong [ui] or [uj]. It holds the same position and numerical value as Ancient Greek's Υυ upsilon, which its Asomtavruli ⟨Ⴣ⟩ and Nuskhuri ⟨ⴣ⟩ versions resemble. Its modern pronunciation is usually like ⟨უ⟩ [u] or ⟨ი⟩ [i].
  • ⟨ჴ⟩ (qar, har) represented [q] or [qʰ], the non-ejective counterpart to ⟨ყ⟩ (q'ar) above. Although this consonant is still distinguished in Svan, its modern pronunciation in Georgian is identical to ⟨ხ⟩ [χ].
  • ⟨ჵ⟩ (hoe), also called oh, represented a long ⟨ო⟩, [oː].
  • ⟨ჶ⟩ (fi) was borrowed to represent the phoneme /f/ in loanwords from Latin and Greek such as ჶილოსოჶია (filosofia, 'philosophy'). Its name and shape derive from Greek. Its modern usage is a feature of Ossetic and Laz when written in the Georgian alphabet. In modern Georgian, ⟨ფ⟩ par replaces fi.
  • ⟨ჷ⟩ (shva), also called yn, represents the mid central vowel [ə]. It appears in written Mingrelian, Laz, and Svan.
  • ⟨ჸ⟩ (elifi) represents the glottal stop [ʔ]. Its name and pronunciation derive from Aramaic. It is used in written Mingrelian and rarely in Laz.
  • ⟨უ̌⟩ or ⟨უ̂⟩ (un-brjgu) represented a short [u] in Old Georgian. It is still differentiated in Svan, Mingrelian, and Laz. In modern Georgian, it becomes ⟨ვ⟩ vin.

Ligatures and abbreviations

Georgian letter ღ is often used as a Heart symbol.
Part of a series on
Calligraphy
By culture

Writing in Asomtavruli is often highly stylized. Since the time of Vakhtang I of Iberia in the 5th century, writers readily formed ligatures, intertwined letters, and placed letters within letters. The first ligature below was a feature of 6th century Sassanid period currency. The second and third examples come from the arch of the David Gareja Monastery, pictured above. Ligatures flourished during the Middle Ages and could represent up to three letters.

Nuskhuri, like Asomtavruli is also often highly stylized. Writers readily formed ligatures and abbreviations for nomina sacra, including diacritics called karagma, which resemble titla. Because writing materials such as vellum were scarce and therefore precious, abbreviating was a practical measure widespread in manuscripts and hagiography by the 11th century.[28] Some common examples include romeli, "which" (, r~i) and Ieso Krist'e, "Jesus Christ" (, I~ui K~e).

In the 11th – 17th centuries, Mkhedruli also came to employ digraphs to the point that they were obligatory, requiring adhesion to a complex system. For example, ⟨დ⟩ don and ⟨ა⟩ an make "da": .

In the older Asomtavruli, the sound /u/ was represented by the digraph ⟨ႭჃ⟩ or as ⟨Ⴓ⟩, a modified ⟨Ⴍ⟩. Nuskhuri saw the combination of the digraph ⟨ⴍⴣ⟩ into a ligature, ⟨ⴓ⟩ (cf. Greek ου, Cyrillic Ѹ/Ꙋ). However, Mkhedruli normally uses only ⟨უ⟩ as opposed to a digraph or ligature, and uses ⟨უ⟩ instead of obsolete ⟨ჳ⟩ (above) to represent the value 400.

→ → → → → →
Asomtavruli ⟨Ⴂ⟩ gan and ⟨Ⴌ⟩ nar form a ligature.[24] The word da (⟨ႣႠ⟩, "and") in Asomtavruli. The word ars (⟨ႠႰႱ⟩, "be; is") in Asomtavruli. Development of the letter un from a digraph through the three alphabets.

Calligraphy

Main article: Georgian calligraphy

Georgian calligraphy is a centuries-old tradition of artistic writing of the Georgian language in its three Georgian alphabets.

Summary

File:Alphabet Tower at night, Batumi.JPG
Georgian Alphabet Tower in Batumi, Georgia.

This table lists the three alphabets in parallel columns, including the letters that are now obsolete (shown with a blue background). "National" is the transliteration system used by the Georgian government, while "Laz" is the system used in northeastern Turkey for the Laz language. The table also shows the traditional numeric values of the letters.[29]

Letters Unicode
(mkhedruli) 		Name IPA Transcriptions Numeric
value
asomtavruli nuskhuri mkhedruli National ISO 9984 BGN Laz
Ⴀ ⴀ ა U+10D0 an /ɑ/ A a A a A a A a 1
Ⴁ ⴁ ბ U+10D1 ban b B b B b B b B b 2
Ⴂ ⴂ გ U+10D2 gan ɡ G g G g G g G g 3
Ⴃ ⴃ დ U+10D3 don d D d D d D d D d 4
Ⴄ ⴄ ე U+10D4 en ɛ E e E e E e E e 5
Ⴅ ⴅ ვ U+10D5 vin v V v V v V v V v 6
Ⴆ ⴆ ზ U+10D6 zen z Z z Z z Z z Z z 7
Ⴡ ⴡ ჱ U+10F1 he Error using {{IPA symbol}}: "eɪ" not found in list - - - - 8
Ⴇ ⴇ თ U+10D7 tan tʰ T t T' t' T' t' T t 9
Ⴈ ⴈ ი U+10D8 in i I i I i I i I i 10
Ⴉ ⴉ კ U+10D9 k'an kʼ K' k' K k K k K' k' 20
Ⴊ ⴊ ლ U+10DA las l L l L l L l L l 30
Ⴋ ⴋ მ U+10DB man m M m M m M m M m 40
Ⴌ ⴌ ნ U+10DC nar n N n N n N n N n 50
Ⴢ ⴢ ჲ U+10F2 hie i, j - - - - 60
Ⴍ ⴍ ო U+10DD on ɔ O o O o O o O o 70
Ⴎ ⴎ პ U+10DE p'ar pʼ P' p' P p P p P' p' 80
Ⴏ ⴏ ჟ U+10DF zhan ʒ Zh zh Ž ž Zh zh J j 90
Ⴐ ⴐ რ U+10E0 rae r R r R r R r R r 100
Ⴑ ⴑ ს U+10E1 san s S s S s S s S s 200
Ⴒ ⴒ ტ U+10E2 t'ar tʼ T' t' T t T t T' t' 300
Ⴣ ⴣ ჳ U+10F3 vie /uɪ/ - - - - 400*
Ⴓ ⴓ უ U+10E3 un u U u U u U u U u 400*
Ⴔ ⴔ ფ U+10E4 par pʰ P p P' p' P' p' P p 500
Ⴕ ⴕ ქ U+10E5 kan kʰ K k K' k' K' k' K k 600
Ⴖ ⴖ ღ U+10E6 ghan ɣ Gh gh Ḡ ḡ Gh gh Ğ ğ 700
Ⴗ ⴗ ყ U+10E7 q'ar qʼ Q' q' Q q Q q Q q 800
Ⴘ ⴘ შ U+10E8 shin ʃ Sh sh Š š Sh sh Ş ş 900
Ⴙ ⴙ ჩ U+10E9 chin tʃ[30] Ch ch Č' č' Ch' ch' Ç ç 1000
Ⴚ ⴚ ც U+10EA tsan ts[30] Ts ts C' c' Ts' ts' Ts ts 2000
Ⴛ ⴛ ძ U+10EB dzil dz Dz dz J j Dz dz Ž ž 3000
Ⴜ ⴜ წ U+10EC ts'il tsʼ Ts' ts' C c Ts ts Ts' ts' 4000
Ⴝ ⴝ ჭ U+10ED ch'ar tʃʼ Ch' ch' Č č Ch ch Ç' ç' 5000
Ⴞ ⴞ ხ U+10EE khan x Kh kh X x Kh kh X x 6000
Ⴤ ⴤ ჴ U+10F4 qar, har q, qʰ - - - - 7000
Ⴟ ⴟ ჯ U+10EF jan dʒ J j J̌ ǰ J j C c 8000
Ⴠ ⴠ ჰ U+10F0 hae h H h H h H h H h 9000
Ⴥ ⴥ ჵ U+10F5 hoe oː - - - - 10000
(none) (none) ჶ U+10F6 fi f - - - - -

* ჳ and უ have the same numeric value (400).

Unicode

The Georgian alphabet was added to the Unicode Standard in October, 1991 with the release of version 1.0.

History

In Unicode version 1.0 the U+10A0 ... U+10CF range of the Georgian block represented Khutsuri (Asomtavruli and Nuskhuri). With the release of version 4.1 in March, 2005 Asomtavruli and Nuskhuri were "disunified". The U+10A0 ... U+10CF range of the Georgian block now represents Asomtavruli and the Georgian Supplement block represents Nuskhuri.

Blocks

The Unicode block for Georgian is U+10A0 ... U+10FF. Mkhedruli (modern Georgian) occupies the U+10D0 ... U+10FF range and Asomtavruli occupies the U+10A0 ... U+10CF range.

The Unicode block for Georgian Supplement is U+2D00 ... U+2D2F and it represents Nuskhuri.

Georgian[1][2]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
U+10Ax Ⴀ Ⴁ Ⴂ Ⴃ Ⴄ Ⴅ Ⴆ Ⴇ Ⴈ Ⴉ Ⴊ Ⴋ Ⴌ Ⴍ Ⴎ Ⴏ
U+10Bx Ⴐ Ⴑ Ⴒ Ⴓ Ⴔ Ⴕ Ⴖ Ⴗ Ⴘ Ⴙ Ⴚ Ⴛ Ⴜ Ⴝ Ⴞ Ⴟ
U+10Cx Ⴠ Ⴡ Ⴢ Ⴣ Ⴤ Ⴥ Ⴧ Ⴭ
U+10Dx ა ბ გ დ ე ვ ზ თ ი კ ლ მ ნ ო პ ჟ
U+10Ex რ ს ტ უ ფ ქ ღ ყ შ ჩ ც ძ წ ჭ ხ ჯ
U+10Fx ჰ ჱ ჲ ჳ ჴ ჵ ჶ ჷ ჸ ჹ ჺ ჻ ჼ ჽ ჾ ჿ
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 15.1
2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points
Georgian Supplement[1][2]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
U+2D0x ⴀ ⴁ ⴂ ⴃ ⴄ ⴅ ⴆ ⴇ ⴈ ⴉ ⴊ ⴋ ⴌ ⴍ ⴎ ⴏ
U+2D1x ⴐ ⴑ ⴒ ⴓ ⴔ ⴕ ⴖ ⴗ ⴘ ⴙ ⴚ ⴛ ⴜ ⴝ ⴞ ⴟ
U+2D2x ⴠ ⴡ ⴢ ⴣ ⴤ ⴥ ⴧ ⴭ
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 15.1
2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

Keyboard layout

Main article: Georgian keyboard layout

All[dubious – discuss] keyboards in Georgia are fitted with both Latin and Georgian letters.

Below is the Georgian QWERTY keyboard. While Georgian has no capital letters and because it has 33 letters and English has only 26, using the shift key is necessary to write Georgian.

  • Georgian letter უ
    Georgian letter უ
  • Georgian letter ფ
    Georgian letter ფ
  • Georgian alphabet
    Georgian alphabet
  • Fragment from Zaza Panaskerteli's treatise on medicine
    Fragment from Zaza Panaskerteli's treatise on medicine
  • Asomtavruli inscription at Bolnisi Zion, 5th century AD
    Asomtavruli inscription at Bolnisi Zion, 5th century AD
  • Sample of Georgian calligraphy
    Sample of Georgian calligraphy
  • Royal decree of King Bagrat VI
    Royal decree of King Bagrat VI
  • Entrance to the David Gareja monastery
    Entrance to the David Gareja monastery
  • Inscription from David Gareja monastery
    Inscription from David Gareja monastery
  • Georgian inscriptions from the Kobair Monastery
    Georgian inscriptions from the Kobair Monastery
  • Inscrption from Mtsketa
    Inscrption from Mtsketa

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Georgian scripts.

References

  1. ^ Georgian alphabet (Mkhedruli), Omniglot.com, retrieved 2009-04-22
  2. ^ Язык, история и культура вайнахов, И. Ю Алироев p85
  3. ^ Чеченский язык, И. Ю. Алироев, p24
  4. ^ Грузинско-дагестанские языковые контакты, Маджид Шарипович Халилов p29
  5. ^ История аварцев, М. Г Магомедов p150
  6. ^ Stephen H. Rapp. Studies in medieval Georgian historiography: early texts and Eurasian contexts, vol 601. Peeters Publishers, 2003. ISBN 90-429-1318-5, 9789042913189. P. 275. «While P’arnavaz may in fact be a fabrication, it is more feasible that over time the memory of the historical P’arnavaz accumulated a legendary facade.»
  7. ^ a b Donald Rayfield "The Literature of Georgia: A History (Caucasus World). RoutledgeCurzon. ISBN 0-7007-1163-5. P. 19. "The Georgian alphabet seems unlikely to have a pre-Christian origin, for the major archaeological monument of the 1st century 4IX the bilingual Armazi gravestone commemorating Serafua, daughter of the Georgian viceroy of Mtskheta, is inscribed in Greek and Aramaic only. It has been believed, and not only in Armenia, that all the Caucasian alphabets — Armenian, Georgian and Caucaso-Albanian — were invented in the 4th century by the Armenian scholar Mesrop Mashtots.<...> The Georgian chronicles The Life of Kanli - assert that a Georgian script was invented two centuries before Christ, an assertion unsupported by archaeology. There is a possibility that the Georgians, like many minor nations of the area, wrote in a foreign language — Persian, Aramaic, or Greek — and translated back as they read."
  8. ^ a b Stephen H. Rapp. Studies in medieval Georgian historiography: early texts and Eurasian contexts. Peeters Publishers, 2003. ISBN 90-429-1318-5. P. 19. "Moreover, all surviving MSS written in Georgian postdate K'art'li's 4th-century conversion to Christianity. Not a shred of dated evidence has come to light confirming the invention of a Georgian alphabet by King P'arnavaz in the 3rd century ВС as is fabulously attested in the first text of K'C'<...> Cf. Chilashvili's "Nekresi" for the claim that a Geo. asomt'avruli burial inscription from Nekresi commemorates a Zoroastrian who died in the 1st/2nd century AD. Archaeological evidence confirms that a Zoroastrian temple once stood at Nekresi, but the date of the supposed grave marker is hopelessly circumstantial. Chilashvili reasons, on the basis of the 1st-/2nd-century date, that P'amavaz likely created the script in order to translate the Avesta (i.e.. sacred Zoroastrian writings) into Geo., thus turning on its head the argument that the Georgian script was deliberately fashioned by Christians in order to disseminate the New Testament. Though I accept eastern Georgia's intimate connection to Iran, I cannot support Chilashvili's dubious hypothesis. I find more palatable the idea that K'C actually refers to the introduction of a local form of written Aramaic during the reign of P'amavaz: Ceret'eli. "Aramaic," p. 243."
  9. ^ Lenore A. Grenoble. Language policy in the Soviet Union. Springer, 2003. ISBN 1-4020-1298-5. P. 116. "The creation of the Georgian alphabet is generally attributed to the Armenian linguist and monk Mesrop, who is also credited with the creation of the Armenian alphabet."
  10. ^ Catholic Encyclopedia. Mesrob. "But his activity was not confined to Eastern Armenia. Provided with letters from Isaac he went to Constantinople and obtained from the Emperor Theodosius the Younger permission to preach and teach in his Armenian possessions. He evangelized successively the Georgians, Albanians, and Aghouanghks, adapting his alphabet to their languages, and, wherever he preached the Gospel, he built schools and appointed teachers and priests to continue his work. Having returned to Eastern Armenia to report on his missions to the patriarch, his first thought was to provide a religious literature for his countrymen."
  11. ^ Glen Warren Bowersock, Peter Robert Lamont Brown, Oleg Grabar. Late antiquity: a guide to the postclassical world. Harvard University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-674-51173-5. P. 289. James R. Russell. Alphabets. " Mastoc' was a charismatic visionary who accomplished his task at a time when Armenia stood in danger of losing both its national identity, through partition, and its newly acquired Christian faith, through Sassanian pressure and reversion to paganism. By preaching in Armenian, he was able to undermine and co-opt the discourse founded in native tradition, and to create a counterweight against both Byzantine and Syriac cultural hegemony in the church. Mastoc' also created the Georgian and Caucasian-Albanian alphabets, based on the Armenian model."
  12. ^ George L. Campbell. Compendium of the World’s Languages. — Routledge; New edition (May 14, 1998) — ISBN 0-415-16049-9. P. 183. "Old Georgian was written in the xucuri character, traditionally invented by Mesrop Mashtots, to whom the Armenians owe their script. In the 11th century the ecclesiastical xucuri was replaced by the character known as the mxedruli 'civil', which is in use today. Georgian is the only Caucasian language to have developed its own script."
  13. ^ Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature. Merriam-Webster, 1995. ISBN 0-87779-042-6. P. 756. "Mesrob". "A collection of biblical commentaries, translations of patristic works, and liturgical prayers and hymns is credited to Mesrob, corroborating his reputation for having laid the foundation of a national Armenian liturgy. He is also credited with contributing to the origin of the Georgian alphabet."
  14. ^ Russian: «История Востока», ЗАКАВКАЗЬЕ В IV—XI вв — Институт Востоковедения РАН. "Христианизация закавказских стран имела важные последствия и для развития местной культуры. На рубеже IV-V вв. появилась армянская письменность, созданная Месропом Маштоцем. Не без его помощи были изобретены и национальные алфавиты в Грузии и Албании. "
  15. ^ Peter R. Ackroyd, C. F. Evans, Geoffrey William Hugo Lampe, Stanley Lawrence Greenslade. The Cambridge History of the Bible: From the Beginnings to Jerome — Cambridge University Press, 1975 — ISBN 0-521-09973-0. P. 367. "Georgia was converted during the 4th century, tradition has it by the agency of an Armenian slave woman, and whether these details are in any measure true or not, the tradition probably indicates the source of the Georgians' knowledge of Christianity and the Christian scriptures. These did not begin to be translated into Georgian until Mesrop, provider of an Armenian alphabet, also supplied the Georgians with an adequate means of transcription for their speech."
  16. ^ Greppin, John A.C.: Some comments on the origin of the Georgian alphabet. — Bazmavep 139, 1981, 449-456
  17. ^ Russian: Периханян А. Г. К вопросу о происхождении армянской письменности // Переднеазиатский сборник. М.: Наука, 1966. Вып. 2. Стр. 127-133
  18. ^ Russian: Церетели Г. В. Армазское письмо и проблема происхождения грузинского алфавита. II // Эпиграфика Востока. М.; Л.: Изд-во АН СССР, 1949.
  19. ^ Russian: Бердзенишвили Н., Джавахишвили И., Джанашиа С. История Грузии: В 2 ч. Ч. 1. С древнейших времен до начала XIX в. Тбилиси: Госиздат ГССР, 1950.
  20. ^ Russian: Джанашиа С.Н. К вопросу о языке и истории хеттов. 1959 // Труды: В 3 т. Тбилиси: Изд-во АН ГССР
  21. ^ Russian: Tamaz Gamkrelidze. АЛФАВИТНОЕ ПИСЬМО И ДРЕВНЕГРУЗИНСКАЯ ПИСЬМЕННОСТЬ (Типология и происхождение алфавитных систем письма)
  22. ^ Georgian: ივ. ჯავახიშვილი, ქართული პალეოგრაფია, გვ. 194-203, 236-238, 266-272
  23. ^ Russian: В. А. Шнирельман, «Войны памяти. Мифы, идентичность и политика в Закавказье», М., ИКЦ, «Академкнига», 2003. English: V. A. Shnirelman. The value of the past. Myths, identity and politics in Transcaucasia. Osaka: National Museum of Ethnology (Senri Ethnological Studies No. 57), 2001. Page 392
  24. ^ a b c Seibt, Werner. "The Creation of the Caucasian Alphabets as Phenomenon of Cultural History". Cite error: The named reference "Lig1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  25. ^ Koryun's Life of Mashtots
  26. ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica - Georgian language, Britannica.com, retrieved 2009-04-22
  27. ^ Armazi
  28. ^ Shanidze, Akaki (2003), ქართული ენა (in Georgian), Tbilisi, ISBN 1-4020-1440-6 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  29. ^ Aronson (1990), pp. 30–31.
  30. ^ a b Aronson (1990) depicts the two affricates as aspirated, though other scholars, like Shosted & Chikovani (2006) describe them as voiceless.

Bibliography

  • Aronson, Howard I. (1990), Georgian: a reading grammar (second ed.), Columbus, OH: Slavica
  • Shosted, Ryan K.; Chikovani, Vakhtang (2006), "Standard Georgian", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 36 (2): 255–264, doi:10.1017/S0025100306002659

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