In this episode we share how to learn the Georgian language based on two success stories and the experiences of our students. We talk about our paths in learning the Georgian language, sharing our stories and how we are proceeding with Georgian language. Also we talk about how to find motivation to proceed with learning the Georgian language.
My guest today is Mr Smith, English language teacher who one day started learning Georgian and now is the host of YouTube channel Learn Georgian in English p’arask’evia! We talk about our ways and methods of learning Georgian, importance of good study materials and whether Georgian is really so hard to learn.
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Episode shownotes:
00:22 – let’s introduce our guest and the topic of today’s episode of the Caucasus Podcast – Mr Smith from the Youtube channel p’arask’evia!
03:15 – Who produces content about the Georgian language in the internet and how to find the Georgian textbooks.
How it started with learning Georgian?
4:50 – How Mr Smith started learning the Georgian language and how Georgia appeared in his life. The learning other languages and getting the tatoo after meeting a Georgian person.
6:50 – The first encounter with the Georgian alphabet and Georgia as a country and the first motivation to learn the Georgian language. It all started with meeting one Georgian person.
8:40 – How Polish people call Georgian alphabet and what is the first impressions after seeing the Georgian alphabet.
09:35 – The first visit to Georgia and the first encounter with the Georgian language, when you don’t speak the local languages from the Caucasus. Where to find a motivation to learn the Georgian language and how to combine traveling with getting to know and learning Georgian.
11:15 – Start of learning the Georgian alphabet and how to read the names of the cities and labels in Georgian language.
13:32 – How the fact you learn the Georgian language changes your life and opens new possibilities.
14:30 – Asia’s story of learning Georgian in order to proceed with scientific research. Why is it beneficial to learn the Georgian language when you work with Georgia and conduct research in the Caucasus?
Listen to the episode of The Caucasus podcast in which Asia tells her story how she started learning Georgian and then became a Georgian language teacher
The benefits when you learn the Georgian language
16:08 – How you benefit from speaking Georgian when you travel alone in Georgia and want to blend into the Georgian culture and not to stand out during your travel to the Caucasus.
17:26 – What are the struggles Asia and Mr Smith had during learning Georgian? What are the different approaches of learning Georgian, depending on the mother tongue.
19:37 – How to learn the Georgian sounds when you don’t have these sounds in your language?
20:01 – The need to learn the proportions of the Georgian letters and importance of learning how to write in Georgian. Asia and Mr Smith talk about the usefulness of the good writing materials we have in our store in the e-book ‘Let’s study the Georgian alphabet’. We talk about learning how to produce the Georgian sounds from the daily life situations and Georgian words.
How to start learning Georgian?
24:32 – The advice how to easily start learning Georgian – to focus on a topic or vocab you would use on a daily basis and then try to say these in a simple way in Georgian. When you have problems pronouncing some Georgian sounds just give yourself time and start listening and speaking the way you can. The perfection comes with time.
27:45 – The importance of handwriting in Georgian and why you cannot skip learning the Georgian alphabet because otherwise it will be hard to proceed with studies.
30:47 – What was difficult for English-speaker when wanted to learn the Georgian language and the need to adjust to the daily-life speaking Georgian. From grammar perspective how to adjust to the verb’s conjugation and the screeves
33:41 – How to use other languages when learning Georgian to find similarities? What helps you when learning Georgian if you know German, Polish, English and Spanish. What are cases in Georgian and how to learn the Georgian cases and different noun forms.
36:43 – How a Polish person can help you with learning Georgian? What is the issue with learning Georgian just with the Georgian friends for whom Georgian is the first language and how to learn the Georgian language as a foreigner, non-Georgian speaker.
38:00 – How to practice Georgian with your Georgian friends and family so you can learn the Georgian language faster.
Is Georgian hard to learn?
40:18 – Is Georgian language impossible to learn? What are the stereotypes with Georgian language and how it impacts the attitude to learning Georgian? The main challenges with learning Georgian as an English speaking person and how to overcome these.
46:10 – The challenges when learning Georgian when you start feeling discouraged in your study of Georgian. Do Georgians make mistakes when they speak Georgian and how to learn Georgian the way Georgians speak it on daily basis.
49:53 – What are the advantages for English speakers when learning and speaking Georgian and how to use English and international words when starting speaking Georgian.
52:48 – Is Georgian really a difficult language from Asia’s and Mr Smith’s perspective? What is the myth and what is the fact when learning Georgian. Comparison of Georgian with Spanish and German when speaking and learning Georgian. The best rewards you can get when learning the Georgian language and how learning Georgian supports living in Georgia and being part of the Georgian community in your country.
How to find good Georgian study materials?
55:38 – How to find good study materials to learn the Georgian language and which books will actually help you and what will be a disadvantage. How our Georgian study books support students in learning Georgian in Mr Smith’s opinion. The rewards of learning Georgian and being appreciated by Georgians.
57:50 – Why Mr Smith’s YouTube channel is called p’arask’evia and why this name symbols the path of learning Georgian.
59:58 – Why Georgian is not as hard as they say and the challenge is to find good study materials and some Georgian study books are not adjusted to the European language levels, e.g. A1, A2 in Georgian and how we in Jezyki Kaukazu fill in this gap with well-prepared study materials. The fact English is also not that easy but there are more study materials that walks you through.
1:02:50 – Now is the best time to study Georgian and learn the Georgian language because there are much more study materials and it is much easier than was Asia started learning.
1:04:54 – The final good advices when you learn the Georgian language and the power of asking Georgians and writing the comments under the tutorials. The importance of finding a good Georgian language teacher and investing in the well-prepared Georgian study books.
1:07:18 – Why just learning from free video tutorials and apps is not sufficient to fully learn the Georgian language?
1:08:55 – How to support the community of people learning Georgian and teaching Georgian?