Georgian 101

Yes, Georgian pronunciation is difficult for foreigners, but certainly nowhere near as impossible as its reputation would suggest. Try not to get bogged down by the exotic consonants and tongue-twisting consonant clusters; truly almost nothing will please Georgians more than your efforts to speak their language and they will be very patient with your attempts!

Also on the positive side, there are no capital letters in Georgian; no need to memorize two characters per letter! Moreover, Georgian is phonetically regular—letters are always pronounced exactly as written. Lastly, it is an unstressed language—each syllable receives equal weight. If you are not used to speaking an unstressed language, approximate the sound by placing stress on the first syllable of the word. But don't "stress" out about this—you will be understood!

Vowels

If you are familiar with Spanish, Georgian vowel sounds are very similar.


ა ah
like car

ე eh
like pet

ი ee
like knee

ო oh
like doh!

უ oo
like boot

Note: Diphthongs do not exist in Georgian—every vowel is given equal weight and every syllable has only one vowel.

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