PM stresses "duty to preserve" national language on anniversary
The PM also stressed the "duty of each of us” to treat the" true treasure" of the language with "special respect" and to preserve, develop and pass its traditions to future generations. Photo: Government Administration
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Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili on Thursday stressed the "duty to preserve and treat with respect" the national language in remarks celebrating the Georgian Language Day across the country.
Garibashvili said the Georgian language combined “Georgian identity, historical memory, patriotic spirit and national self-consciousness," noting the April 14,1978 demonstration where citizens of the country protested plans by Soviet authorities to strip Georgian of the status of the state language in the country.
For our nation, the language is a value that has always been uncompromisingly defended, and April 14 of 1978 became a symbol of this - [this is] the day of the state language [that was] won by the people under an authoritarian regime. Our victory preserved the state status not only of the Georgian language, but also of the languages of other [Soviet] Republics,” the head of the Government said.
The PM also stressed the "duty of each of us” to treat the" true treasure" of the language with "special respect" and to preserve, develop and pass its traditions to future generations.
Thousands of Georgians - including students, professors and teachers - took to the streets of Tbilisi in protest against the Soviet Government’s decision to remove the clause in the Soviet Georgian Constitution that solidified the status of Georgian as the official state language.
The authorities were eventually forced to retract the plans and keep the status in the Constitution.
Georgia is celebrating Mother Language Day today, which marks the country’s victory over the Soviet repressive machine in maintaining the Georgian language as the official language.
The story of the UNESCO-recognised writing systems of the Georgian alphabet is now on display at Google Arts and Culture, a major online repository of museum exhibits and cultural phenomena.
The ancient fire-worship temple in Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi known as Ateshgah has been added to a list of sites of national significance.
The ancient Georgian alphabet has been granted the national status of cultural heritage.
Georgian institutions and the public are celebrating Mother Language Day today, commemorating mass protests that forced Soviet authorities in 1978 to abandon plans to strip Georgian of the status of the official state language of the country.
The United States Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan and her diplomatic mission on Thursday marked the Georgian Language Day with a video address to the Georgian public, hailing their 1978 defence of the status of the language from Soviet authorities.
President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili proposed the teaching of indigenous Megrelian and Svan languages at Georgian schools on Thursday, marking the Mother Language Day celebrated in the country.
Institutions, officials and citizens in Georgia are marking Mother Language Day today, with the date commemorating mass protests that forced Soviet authorities in 1978 to abandon plans to strip Georgian of the status of the official language.
The Georgian language was presented on Saturday at the special event in Bucharest on the occasion of the forthcoming European Day of Languages on September 26, with the Georgian Embassy in Romania joining German, French, Italian and English, as well as Spanish, Romanian, Greek and Turkish cultural institutions.