Gvprtskvni - how is this even a word, Georgian!?

The Georgian language has some highly unusual syllables. Here's the linguistics behind its complex consonant clusters.

~ Briefly ~

Starting from one clustery word, we'll go on a journey looking for the "root" of this record-breaking consonant phenomenon known as Georgian. We'll quickly pass over some of its standout characteristics, from its ejective sounds to its striking writing system, before we settle down into Georgian's atypical syllable structure.

Not only are its syllables long, they're full of sonority violations. This happens thanks to the language's morphology, particularly the way its verbs put pieces together. We'll end with a contrast between the clustered but relatively benign gvprtskvni-like verbs versus ones that look deceptively easier to say but have much trickier grammar.

~ Credits ~

Art, narration, animation and some of the music by Josh from NativLang

Sources for claims made, and credits for most of the music, fonts, sfx:

Music:
See my doc above for song titles. Credit to these talented creators:

[bruh]

the Georgian script is so freaking beautiful. Looks like it's straight from Lord of the Rings

[mariamgambashidze]

"Georgians will proudly tell you that their words are pronounced exactly as written" for sure.

[sandrotvaradze]

Yeah, Georgian language is really hard, even our president can't speak it well...

[Gongasoso]

In Georgia they don't rap, they beatbox

[jadospis]

Say what you want about the words, but you can't deny that their alphabet is frickin' beautiful.

[jordannewbold]

“it’s not gibberish, it’s Georgian” would be a great motto for the Georgian language.

[mhv]

Polish: "I have the most unpronouncable words, like 'źdźbło' and 'szczęście'!"
Georgian: "Hold my chacha"

[Persephoneofficial]

I googled " Is georgian difficult to learn ", google said " No, it's not hard to learn . IT IS EXTREMELY HARD ! "

[pedroparamo]

Gprtskvni - გფრცქვნი
Literally: I am peeling you.
As a native Georgian, It is still tongue breaker for me, lol.

[vladpetric]

A Georgian goes to the optometrist.
The optometrist sits the Georgian, shows him a chain of random consonants and asks him: "Can you read this?"
The Georgian says "What do you mean I can read this? I know the guy!"

[gallacorn]

*OMG FINALLY GEORGIA GETS SOME ATTENTION DONT MIND ME JUST CRYING IN THE CORNER*

[ryanbutyoucancallmebob]

Rocket scientists be like: C'mon guys it's not basics of Georgian grammar!

[megipapiashvili]

This video made me smile :D As a Georgian, I completely understand how challenging our language can be for "foreigners". This is why, if you are a tourist traveling through Georgia, people get so excited even when you know only a few Georgian words. We understand how difficult the language is... In any case, as someone interested in languages, I think, the "harder" the language is, the more interesting it gets to research about it and try to understand where things come from. წარმატებები!

[danielsola]

For all those Georgians who feel nobody cares about their amazing language, I'm from Spain and I'm 100% sure I'll learn Georgian someday. I just love it, at first I was just interested in it because of having the most beautiful writing system I've seen, but now, the more things I learn about the language, the more I fall in love with it. It's consonant clusters, screeves, and irregularities sound like a huge challenge I'll enjoy a lot, and also having an amazing culture so different to mine.

[jackpayne]

When the world was being created, God designed a perfect landscape of mountains and rivers, farmland and towns. Then he added the best of music and wine. The angels protested, 'What have you done, Lord? Everyone will want to live there, and there isn't enough room!'. God replied, 'Wait until you hear the language I have created for them. That should limit the applicants'.

[wardetta]

The worst thing of all is that in Georgia itself there are regions where they have their own languages. Georgian is a language for all ethnic groups in Georgia, but the ethnic groups among themselves have their own language. Svanuri or Megruli are completely separate languages ​​with their own pronunciation and vocabulary. I myself come from Svaneti and my parents speak both Svanuri and Georgian. And it's like speaking two foreign languages. Have fun😂😂😂😂😂

[mariamberishvili]

The most amazing thing is that, we don't differ "he/she", we only have "it".

[NativLang]

I've practiced saying "gvprtskvni" who knows how many times now - out loud, under my breath, while running... and now I pass it along to you. As ever, check out the sources doc if you want to track down the books, papers and minds I'm leaning on here.

[veovis]

"Maybe your crush is Georgian"
Me: *glances at photo of Stalin in heart-shaped frame*

[raftiable]

my cat: *walking over my keyboard*
some random Georgian fellow: "hey, that's racist!"
me: 👁👄👁