Back To Georgia For More Language Immersion... Finally
- Written byDonovan NagelDonovan NagelTeacher, translator, polyglot🎓 B.A., Theology, Australian College of Theology, NSW🎓 M.A., Applied Linguistics, University of New England, NSW
Applied Linguistics graduate, teacher and translator. Founder of The Mezzofanti Guild and Talk In Arabic. - Read time1 mins
- Comments2
გამარჯობა (‘Hi’ in Georgian :))
Next week I’m heading back to one of my favorite parts of the world again to catch up with old friends, get in some adventure and of course, revisit the language.
I’m so excited about it that I decided to make a video post so here it is.
One of the things I didn’t mention in the video is that when I lived in Georgia a few years back, most of the people I met (including the host family I lived with) didn’t speak a word of English.
Not a word.
My Georgian language at the time was very basic which meant that I struggled to communicate with them on a deep level and get to know them as well as I wanted to.
Perhaps you can relate that sometimes you just really want to get to know somebody but can’t and it’s so frustrating!
The good thing for me is that as you know if you follow this blog, I’ve recently learned the Russian language having lived in Russia last year which is still the second language for many people in Georgia.
Particularly the older generations.
The general attitude toward Russia is still pretty bad (understandably) but it means that going back this time I’ll be able to communicate fluently with people and get to know them much better than I was able to before.
So this is really exciting for me on a personal level.
I’ll let you know how it goes. 🙂
Also if you’re after a good book to get started on Georgian, I recommend Beginner’s Georgian by Dodona Kiziria.
There isn’t a whole lot out there for Georgian unfortunately but this is by far the best I’ve used.
🎓 Cite article
2 COMMENTS
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Israel
I totally know that feeling! Up till now virtually all foreigners I’ve met speak English more or less fluently, so learning their language have only been a hobby. But yesterday I met this Japanese girl whose accent prevented me from understanding any of her English. Both of us were so frustrated as she tried to express something and resolved to an “interpreter”. This gave me huge motivation to refresh my “defunct” Japanese right away, for a practical reason for the first time!
Faey
This so nice :) I imagine your Georgian would get better as well. It’s a very interesting language, and so few actually learn it and speak it! Surprisingly I know many Georgians living in my town. Perhaps one day I’ll try as well!
Have fun :)