When I tell people that I know Georgian and also I teach it, I always hear those 5 questions so Georgian for beginners. If you are one of the beginners in the world of Georgian or Caucasian languages, read this post before jumping into learning the language itself.
Is Georgian similar to Russian?
The quick answer I can give you is: No. Georgian is part of a totally different language family. To simplify it a bit, you may say this is a family on its own. This means that the language, so words, grammar, syntax etc. is unique, not really similar to other languages. As you may see in our other lessons in the seris Georgian for beginners it’s also quite logical and not that hard to learn.
However, this is not entirely true, because there are the elements from other languages, e.g. Russian or Persian. Mainly those are the words that thanks to the history and geography have been used and at present we write them in the Georgian alphabet. Those may be slang words, technical or administrative terms etc. Those when started being used were incorporated from one of the languages dominating in the region that time. For example, Russian was the so-called lingua franca in the whole Caucasus and also the language in which new technologies were introduced. At present this is English.
Do you know our study book about Georgian alphabet? This is a great first step entering Georgian for beginners.
Is Georgian difficult to learn?
Learning each language is always connected with devoting some time to do this. Is the process of learning Georgian more difficult than for other languages? If you compare it with English or German, for sure at the beginning our ears have to accomodate more to the new sounds. It is because you do not hear Georgian as often as those ones (unless you live in Georgia). You can do this by conducting a few simple exercises on a regular basis. Georgian is different from European languages. For this reason at the beginning we find it difficult. However having a good study plan and maybe a teacher learning Georgian becomes a great pleasure.
Are there cases in Georgian?
Yes, similarly to some other languages, e.g. Polish or Russian there are 7 cases. 3 of them are similar to the ones in Slavic languages (and to some extent in German), the remaining four are being used slightly differently. If you want to know more about Georgian cases, start with this introductory article.
How many tenses are there in Georgian?
Georgians say that there are only 3 tenses – past, present and future. However this is not a convincing story for many of the foreigners learning Georgian. As a matter of fact there are 3 tenses, but there can be different forms of the past, as in English we have past simple and past continuous. In Georgian this is called screeve – mckrivi. Hence you have to learn more than just 3 versions of the verb. More about tenses in Georgian you can learn from this article.
Why do people study Georgian?
This is the question different people have different answers. My belief is that if you want to truly learn about the country, it is not enough to know the facts about it or read about it. The understanding and knowledge of the language is essential because there are often hidden nuances about tradition or culture of the country. The other situation is when you want to live in Georgia or have friends from there. Then knowing the language becomes essential.
If you have any questions about the Georgian language or about our series Georgian for beginners, send us via e-mail. We’ll answer all of them!