Introduction Georgia and the Georgian Language HistoryoftheflagThe"five-crossflag"(Whiteflagwitharedcrossandfoursmallercrossesinthewhitequarters.)hasbeenusedsinceatleastthe13thcentury.ThecentralelementoftheflagisSt.George's(thepatronsaintofGeorgia)cross.TheflagwasadoptedbytheGeorgianparliamenton14January2004.Georgia’sStateEmblemThisisGeorgia'sStateEmblemadoptedon1October2004.ItispartiallybasedonthemedievalarmsoftheGeorgianroyalhouseofBagrationi.Ithastwolionsrampantassupporters.TheyheldashieldwithSt.George,Georgia'spatronsaint,slayingthedragon.TheshieldissurmountedwiththeroyalcrownofGeorgia.LanguageTheofficiallanguageisGeorgian,theonlylanguageintheIberian-Caucasianfamilywritteninancientscript,withitsownuniquealphabet.ShortinfoaboutGeorgianscript:TheNuskhuri(“minuscule”)orKutkhovani(“squared”)scriptfirstappearedintheninthcentury.AsomtavruliandNuskhuri,collectivelyknownasKhutsuri(ხუცური,or“churchscript”),wereusedtogethertowritereligiousmanuscripts,withtheAsomtavruliservingascapitalletters.TheoldestuncontroversialexamplesofGeorgianwritingareanasomtavruliinscriptioninachurchinBethlehemfrom430CE.Themodernalphabet,calledMkhedruli(მხედრული,“secular”or“militarywriting”),firstappearedintheeleventhcentury.Itwasusedfornon-religiouspurposesupuntiltheeighteenthcentury,whenitwascompletelyreplacedbyKhutsuri.Theorthographyisphonemic.ThereareafewtheoriesabouttheoriginofGeorgianscript(imitationoftheGreekmodel,SassanianPersianandSogdianscripts,Sumerian,Akadianetc.)ArmeniansourcesattributethealphabettoMesropMashtots,whoiscreditedwiththeinventionoftheArmenianalphabet,butthisisnotgenerallyaccepted.ThisstorycomesfromGeorgian-Armenianreligiousoppositioninthe7thcentury.AsamatteroffactthefirstGeorgianwritingsamplesaremuchelderthanArmenianscript.Thereareotherinterpretations.Oneofthemorecontentiousisthattheasomtavrulialphabetwasinventedin412BCbyGeorgianpriestsofthecultofMatra(PersianMithra),andreformedin284BCbyKingParnavazIofIberia.TheAsomtavrulialphabetisknownalsoasMrgvlovani(მრგვლოვანი,“rounded”).Examplesofitarestillpreservedinmonumentalinscriptions,suchasthoseoftheGeorgianchurchinBethlehem(nearJerusalem,430)andthechurchofBolnisiSioninearTbilisi(4th-5thcenturies).OlderAsomtavruliinscriptionshavebeenclaimedtodatefrompre-Christiantimes,the3rdcenturyBCtothe3rdcenturyAD.ThesewerefoundinArmaztsikhe(nearMtskheta)andNekresi(intheKakhetiregionofEasternGeorgia).MorphologyGeorgianisanagglutinativelanguage.Therearecertainprefixesandsuffixesthatarejoinedtogetherinordertobuildaverb.Insomecases,therecanbeafewdifferentmorphemesinoneverbatthesametimewiththemeaningoftheverbalcategories.MorphophonologySyncopeisacommonphenomenoninGeorgian.Whenasuffix(especiallythepluralsuffix-eb-)isattachedtoawordwhichhaseitherofthevowelsaoreinthelastsyllable,thisvowelis,inmostwords,lost.Forexample,megobarimeans“friend.”Tosay“friends,”