Georgian alphabet
| Georgian |
|
|---|---|
damts'erloba "script" in Mkhedruli
|
|
| Type | |
| Languages | Georgian (originally) and other Kartvelian languages |
|
Time period
|
430 – present |
|
Parent systems
|
Modelled on Greek
|
| Direction | Left-to-right |
| ISO 15924 |
Geor, 240 – Georgian (Mkhedruli)Geok, 241 – Khutsuri (Asomtavruli and Nuskhuri) |
|
Unicode alias
|
Georgian |
|
|
| Georgian scripts | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Country | Georgia |
| Reference | 01205 |
| Region | |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2016 (11 session) |
The Georgian scripts are the three writing systems used to write the Georgian language: Asomtavruli, Nuskhuri and Mkhedruli. Although the systems differ in appearance, all three are unicase, their letters share the same names and alphabetical order, and are written horizontally from left to right. Of the three scripts, Mkhedruli was the civilian royal script of the Kingdom of Georgia mostly used for the royal charters. Mkhedruli is the standard script for modern Georgian and its related Kartvelian languages, whereas Asomtavruli and Nuskhuri are used only in ceremonial religious texts and iconography by the Georgian Orthodox Church.
Georgian scripts are unique in their appearance and their exact origin has never been established; however, in strictly structural terms, their alphabetical order largely corresponds to the Greek alphabet, with the exception of letters denoting uniquely Georgian sounds, which are grouped at the end. Originally consisting of 38 letters, Georgian is presently written in a 33-letter alphabet, as five letters are currently obsolete in that language. The number of Georgian letters used in other Kartvelian languages varies. The Mingrelian language uses 36, 33 of which are current Georgian letters, one obsolete Georgian letter, and two additional letters specific to Mingrelian and Svan. That same obsolete letter, plus a letter borrowed from Greek (making 35 letters total), are used in writing the Laz language. The fourth Kartvelian language, Svan, is not commonly written, but when it is, it uses Georgian letters as utilized in Mingrelian, with an additional obsolete Georgian letter and sometimes supplemented by diacritics for its many vowels.
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Wikipedia