Scientific Work on the Georgian Language and Identity Published in Germany
Wednesday, February 10th, café Ligamus hosted presentation of a newly released book "Die georgische Sprache im Mittelalter" (Georgian Language of the Middle Ages in Search of the Identity). Author of the book, which was published in Germany, is the professor of the Ilia State University Mrs. Nino Doborjginidze.
Monograph is a part of a scientific project that is funded by the international Humboldt Foundation. It presents topological models of emancipation of the local, national language in the Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Research topic of the work concentrates on the standardization process of the old Georgian language.
Monograph contains two discourses (based on old Georgian sources), which correspond to historically proven conceptualizations of the author of the texts with the language. One of the discourses is of political, another one of theological character. Despite the fact, that in both cases "religious" texts serve the definition of identity and legitimation of the language, political interest of historiographers is more connected to specific and changing positions of the Georgian language within the state while theological discourse concentrates on such linguistic issues of translation, which are never shown in known conceptualizations of the European tradition. That's what makes these texts so important. These are the issues of text theory, which are emphasized in the monograph, though here we also meet discussion of the political discourse as motivation of Georgian translators was partially determined by political issues too.