Traces of Old Georgian

C2 — სხვა

Passive command of Old Georgian markers: -man ergative, vitarmed, kholo, rametu, ars - for classics and liturgy.

I can read classical and liturgical Georgian passages without stumbling on archaic forms.

Examples

კაცმან კეთილმან კეთილი თქვას - ასე წერდნენ ძველად. — Let a good man speak good - that is how they wrote in olden times.
წერილ არს, ვითარმედ... - ბიბლიური ციტატის კლასიკური დასაწყისი. — It is written that... - the classic opening of a biblical quotation.
ხოლო მეფემან ბრძანა... - „ხოლო“ ძველ ტექსტში თხრობას აბამს. — And the king commanded... - in old texts 'kholo' stitches the narrative.

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Traces of Old Georgian

Passive command of Old Georgian markers: -man ergative, vitarmed, kholo, rametu, ars - for classics and liturgy.

Learning Goal

I can read classical and liturgical Georgian passages without stumbling on archaic forms.

Exam Skills:NAEC Georgian C2 · Reading

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

კაცმან კეთილმან კეთილი თქვას - ასე წერდნენ ძველად.

Let a good man speak good - that is how they wrote in olden times.

წერილ არს, ვითარმედ... - ბიბლიური ციტატის კლასიკური დასაწყისი.

It is written that... - the classic opening of a biblical quotation.

ხოლო მეფემან ბრძანა... - „ხოლო“ ძველ ტექსტში თხრობას აბამს.

And the king commanded... - in old texts 'kholo' stitches the narrative.

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

Reading across centuries

Classical and liturgical texts keep Old Georgian features: ergative -მან (კაცმან), complementizer ვითარმედ (= რომ), narrative ხოლო (= and/but), causal რამეთუ (= რადგან), copula არს (= არის). C2 readers need them passively - to read Rustaveli, church inscriptions, and the quotations woven through modern rhetoric.

Apply this grammar in C2 course exercises

Practice Exercises

Parsing -man as a separate word and using archaisms actively in modern speech, which sounds like costume drama.

Common Error Patterns

Misreading archaic -man, vitarmed, kholo in classical texts

Old-to-new transposition drills on short classical excerpts.

კაცმან კეთილმან კეთილი თქვას - ასე წერდნენ ძველად.

Let a good man speak good - that is how they wrote in olden times.

The archaic ergative -man (katsman) and postposed adjective - hallmarks of Old Georgian.

წერილ არს, ვითარმედ... - ბიბლიური ციტატის კლასიკური დასაწყისი.

It is written that... - the classic opening of a biblical quotation.

ts'eril ars (it is written) and vitarmed (that): Old Georgian's copula and complementizer.

ხოლო მეფემან ბრძანა... - „ხოლო“ ძველ ტექსტში თხრობას აბამს.

And the king commanded... - in old texts 'kholo' stitches the narrative.

kholo - the old narrative 'and/but', exactly like the Slavonic 'же'.

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Practice in course

Apply this grammar in C2 course exercises

C2 Course

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Frequently asked questions

When do you use Traces of Old Georgian?: Classical and liturgical texts keep Old Georgian features: ergative -მან (კაცმან), complementizer ვითარმედ (= რომ), narrative ხოლო (= and/but), causal რამეთუ (= რადგან), copula არს (= არის). C2 readers need them passively - to read Rustaveli, church inscriptions, and the quotations woven through modern rhetoric.
What are common mistakes with Traces of Old Georgian?: Parsing -man as a separate word and using archaisms actively in modern speech, which sounds like costume drama.

Frequently asked questions

When do you use Traces of Old Georgian?

Classical and liturgical texts keep Old Georgian features: ergative -მან (კაცმან), complementizer ვითარმედ (= რომ), narrative ხოლო (= and/but), causal რამეთუ (= რადგან), copula არს (= არის). C2 readers need them passively - to read Rustaveli, church inscriptions, and the quotations woven through modern rhetoric.

What are common mistakes with Traces of Old Georgian?

Parsing -man as a separate word and using archaisms actively in modern speech, which sounds like costume drama.