In connection with the Georgian Language Day, Tbilisi State University hosted an international scientific conference entitled “Issues of the Literary Language: Main Trends and Problems”, as well as an exhibition of rare books and works by prominent foreign Kartvelologists.

Georgian scientists, together with foreign colleagues, discussed the challenges facing the Georgian language and the promotion of its development. The conference presented current issues related to the modern Georgian language. Among them were the functioning of the Georgian language and the process of its standardization, the technical tasks and scientific goals of the Georgian terminology, the importance of digital teaching of the Georgian language and the modern model of teaching and learning, the public attitude to the norms of the literary language, the problems of standardization of the legal language in the context of consecutive interpreting with the example of different languages, the peculiarities of the language of social networks and the main trends, etc.

“April 14 is a very important day not only for Georgia, but also for the countries that used to be part of the Soviet Union. It was after the protests that erupted at Tbilisi State University that the Soviet totalitarian government was forced to include in the constitutions of the republics that were part of the Soviet Union a provision stating that the native language should be the state language in all these republics. Today's conference is dedicated to the modern challenges of the Georgian language. Language is a living organism. It always needs protection and development, and this is what our university should be working on. These are the issues that Georgian scientists are discussing today with their foreign colleagues,” said Academician Jaba Samushia, Rector of Tbilisi State University.

Darejan Tvaltvadze, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at TSU, said that the theses presented at the conference are of paramount importance in defining the Georgian literary language, its history, present and future. “April 14 was a date of special significance for our generation. The Georgian language retained its status as the state language. Today, we need to protect the Georgian language from a different angle, we should take care of the development of the Georgian language and the expansion of its operational scope,” she noted.

The first Georgian printed book was presented at the exhibition dedicated to the Georgian Language Day. The book titled “The Georgian Alphabet with Prayers” was printed in Rome in 1629. The first seven pages of the book contain the Mkhedruli alphabet, while the remaining pages contain prayers, the hymn of the Virgin Mary, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments in Georgian and Latin with Georgian transcription. Additionally, Francesco Maria Maggio’s “Grammar of the Georgian Language”, published in Rome in 1670, presents all three forms of Georgian writing, the Georgian alphabet with numerical correspondences, Georgian words and phrases, and the Arabic-Georgian alphabet.

The exhibition, organized by the TSU Library, also features the first edition of Iakob Gogebashvili's “Mother Language.” “Mother Language, or the Alphabet and the First Reading Book for Public Schools" was printed at the Melikishvili Printing House in Tbilisi in 1876.

The organizers of the event are the Arnold Chikobava Institute of Linguistics at TSU, the State Language Department and the Giorgi Akhvlediani Society for the History of Linguistics.