The Status of Minority Languages in Georgia and the Relevance of Models from Other European States
Publisher: ECMI Volume: 37 pages, pdf Description: The issue of language is a highly sensitive one in Georgia. The nineteenth century Georgian writer Ilya Chavchavadze (1837-1907) expressed his conception of Georgian national identity by the slogan Mamuli, Ena, Sartsmunoeba (Fatherland, Language, Faith), which gives clear priority to language, the secular component of nationhood, over religion. This ideological framework was further reinforced during the Soviet period when ethnicity was institutionalised and formed the basis for the administrative-territorial division of the USSR.