"evropuli qartia saqarTvelo "European Charter for Regional or ...

tive language in combination with education is spread within the people. Such
a rule is applied in Europe, America and in cultural countries elsewhere.
From the 4 th
century until the present day all our schools, within the territory
between the Black Sea and the border of Dagestan, were using books written
only in the common literary native language. In order to explain local unclear
words and phrases, the teachers used local terms and phrases, for instance,
in Samegrelo and Svaneti, thus spreading the detailed knowledge of the
native language. Who would ever think that such a reasonable rule, blessed by
God and appreciated by men would be opposed in our country, in Georgia?
But unexpected and impossible things happened, and it happened only in our
nation; neither Armenians nor Tatars or other Caucasians have had even a
single person with such absurd ideas claiming that schooling must be implemented
in local dialects rather than in native language.
Although, there have been such foolish men who dared to express that the
native language must not be allowed in schools of Samegrelo and Svaneti because
the population speaks local dialects there.
What could be the consequences of implementing such absurd ideas? Indeed,
rather bleak future…
Isolation is what destroys both a national tree and its branches when separated
from each other... God has created such an incredible thing as a nation
for success and happiness rather than for extinction or degradation. Thus, our
responsibility is to protect and revive the Georgian native language in schools
and churches of Samegrelo and Svaneti, protecting it in a manner typical to the
Eastern Georgians (Kartlians, Kakhetians, etc.) and Western Georgians (Megrels,
Svans, etc.) during many centuries by will and assistance of God…"
N. Marr’s discussion is interesting (Nationality of Georgians – a
letter of Professor Marr addressing the speech about the Georgian nation
delivered by the archpriest I. Vostorgov at the meeting of members
of the Holy Synod and other prominent citizens; Kutaisi, 1905, pp. 60):
Vostorgov has been deceive by some Caucasian linguist who regarded
dialect variety of the Georgian language, different local speeches and the unwritten
language, thought all these inalienably represent one related language,
as signs contributing to fragmentation of the unity of cultural Georgia. Vostorgov
has no real understanding of the fact that the unified Georgian national
culture was created by all Georgian tribes; that is why we trace purely Chan,
i.e. Megrelian and other words in the text of the Holy Scripture. Based on the
real cultural-historical opinion, the Georgian literary language is as much
Svan and Megrelian, as much Gurian and Imeretian as Georgian. It is native
literary language for all tribes of Georgia… Time has come for Russian to
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