Standard Georgian language: History and current challenges
Standard Georgian language: History and current challenges

Summary/Abstract: This article outlines some debates and issues in the field of Georgian linguistics and offers a research agenda for standard Georgian language, including its history, phases of development, present-day challenges and prospects. There is a multitude of conflicting and even mutually exclusive ideas and points of view regarding these issues. My key point is to provide the periodization of the standard Georgian language that encompasses sixteen centuries, taking into consideration not only the level of normalization and standardization of the Georgian language in a particular historical period, but also the language variety on which the standard / literary language was based, and the institutions controlling and governing the development of the standard language. The point of departure here is the definition of the “standard” as a historically determined set of commonly used language assets, recognized by society as the most appropriate and prestigious variety due to its common usage and high cultural status. Using descriptive, synchronic, diachronic, and comparative research methods, I have tried to identify four phases / periods in the continuous history of the Georgian standard language spanning sixteen centuries.

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