Language/Georgian/Grammar/Pronunciation-Rules
Hello everyone, and welcome to the "Complete 0 to A1 Georgian Course." In this lesson, we will be focusing on pronunciation rules in Georgian words. As a Georgian language teacher with 20 years of experience, I will share cultural information and interesting facts that will help you understand the rules for stress and pronunciation in Georgian.
Stress in Georgian
In Georgian, stress is usually placed on the second to last syllable of words that have three or more syllables. However, there are also some exceptions to this rule, particularly with loan words from other languages. Here are some examples to help you understand:
- ბავშვი (bavshvi) - child, stress on the first syllable
- მარტვილი (martvili) - turtle, stress on the second syllable
- კორტები (kortebi) - courts, stress on the last syllable
Pronunciation of Consonants
In Georgian, there are 33 consonant sounds. Some of these consonants may be difficult to pronounce for non-native learners. Here are some tips to help you:
- ხ (kh) - This sound is similar to "ch" in "loch" in Scottish English.
- ღ (gh) - This sound is similar to the "r" in French.
- ყ (q) - This sound is unique to Georgian, and is produced by stopping the airflow at the back of the throat.
- ც (ts) and წ (ts') - These sounds are pronounced with a slight hissing sound, and are similar to the "ts" sound in "bits" in English.
Pronunciation of Vowels
In Georgian, there are five vowel sounds. Here is a table to help you understand the pronunciation:
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ა | ah | father |
| ე | eh | set |
| ი | ee | see |
| ო | oh | go |
| უ | oo | soon |
Note that Georgian vowels are pure and are pronounced the same way no matter where they appear in a word.
Word Stress in Practice
Here are some examples to help you practice Georgian word stress:
- მასალები (masalebi) - subjects (stress on the second syllable)
- სიმღერები (simgherebi) - songs (stress on the third syllable)
- ვიდრე (vidre) - than (stress on the last syllable)
Remember that the rules for word stress in Georgian are not absolute, and there are exceptions. It's important to practice and listen to native speakers to get a feel for the language and how it sounds.
That concludes our lesson on pronunciation rules in Georgian. I hope you found this lesson useful and informative. In the next lesson, we will be discussing sentence structure and word order in Georgian. Don't forget to practice and listen to native speakers to improve your pronunciation skills!
Related Lessons
- Third person pronouns
- Expression “traveling by...”
- Medio actives Verbs
- Negative imperatives with “ნუ”
- Participles
- How to Use Be
- Conjugation of the verb “to have” in the future tense
- Participles of medial verbs
- Negation
- “to be” ყოფნა Present Tense
Sources
- Georgian language - Wikipedia
- 15+ Basic Georgian Verbs: Easiest Guide - Ling App
- Georgian Grammar | LEARN101.ORG