Georgian language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Georgian |
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| Kartuli ქართული |
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| Region | Georgia (Including Abkhazia and South Ossetia) Russia, United States, Israel, Ukraine, Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan |
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| Native speakers | 3.7 million (2014)e18 | |||
| Language family |
Kartvelian
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| Early forms: |
Old Georgian
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| Dialects |
Georgian dialects
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| Writing system | Georgian script Georgian Braille |
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| Official status | ||||
| Official language in |  Georgia |
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| Regulated by | Cabinet of Georgia | |||
| Linguasphere | 42-CAB-baa – bac | |||
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Georgian (Ⴕⴀⴐⴒⴓⴊⴈ Ⴄⴌⴀ, khartuli ena) is the official language of Georgia. Georgia is a country located in the Caucasus region, which is a mountain area between Europe and Asia.
About 3.9 million people in Georgia speak Georgian as their main language. This is about 83 percent of the country's population. Another 500,000 people who live outside Georgia also speak it. Many of these speakers are in countries like Turkey, Iran, Russia, the USA, and various parts of Europe.
Georgian is very important for all Georgian groups. This is especially true for those who speak other South Caucasian languages. These languages are also called Kartvelian languages. They include Svans, Megrelians, and the Laz. Georgian acts as the main written language for all these groups.
There is also a special form of Georgian called Gruzinic, or "Kivruli." Some people consider it a separate Jewish language. About 20,000 people in Georgia speak it. Another 65,000 speakers live in other places, mostly in Israel.
Images for kids
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Georgian alphabet from The American Cyclopædia, 1879
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Road sign in Mtavruli and Latin scripts
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"Mshrali khidi" (dry bridge) bilingual construction signboard in Georgian (Mtavruli) and Italian in Tbilisi.
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The last verse of Shota Rustaveli's romance The Knight in the Panther's Skin illustrating the appearance of the Georgian script.
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See also
In Spanish: Idioma georgiano para niños
