# Georgian language word for the US State of Georgia
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgian-language-word-for-the-us-state-of-georgia/665784
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 9, 2013, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgian-language-word-for-the-us-state-of-georgia/665784 "2013-08-09T05:36:52Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@ezgranet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ezgranet)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2013, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgian-language-word-for-the-us-state-of-georgia/665784/1 "2013-08-09T05:36:52Z")
I know that Georgia (the country) is known in the Georgian language as Sakartvelo, but in the Georgian language, what is then name for the US state of Georgia? Do they call it Sakartvelo or do they just say Georgia?
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### Author:  [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2013, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgian-language-word-for-the-us-state-of-georgia/665784/2 "2013-08-09T05:59:39Z")
The US Georgia was named after one of the British kings; there’s no “native” name for it, except maybe among the Amerind population.
The Caucasus Georgians would pronounce it as closely to the original as their own alphabet and speech patterns would allow: “Ge-OR-gi-ya,” or something along those lines.
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### Author:  [@David\_H\_Singanas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_H_Singanas)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2013, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgian-language-word-for-the-us-state-of-georgia/665784/3 "2013-08-09T06:11:48Z")
You must be a true Georgian, if you know that “Sakartvelo” is the true name of your country.
I know only a few words in the language of Rustaveli because I went to Russia FIRST.
In Russian your country is called “Gruzia”. In Russia I drank “Gruzvada” or “peach water.”
AFAIK the American country of Georgia is named after King George of England.
So the question remains: what is the etymology of “Sakartvelo?”
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### Author:  [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2013, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgian-language-word-for-the-us-state-of-georgia/665784/4 "2013-08-09T07:08:19Z")
The Georgian name for the U.S. state of Georgia is [ჯორჯია](http://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%83%AF%E1%83%9D%E1%83%A0%E1%83%AF%E1%83%98%E1%83%90). (The link is to the Georgian Wikipedia page on the state.) Transliterated into the Latin alphabet, following the table on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian\_alphabet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_alphabet), that would seem to be “jorjia”.
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### Author:  [@Remember\_me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Remember_me)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2013, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgian-language-word-for-the-us-state-of-georgia/665784/5 "2013-08-09T07:08:53Z")
I believe [this](http://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%83%AF%E1%83%9D%E1%83%A0%E1%83%AF%E1%83%98%E1%83%90) is the Georgian language Wikipedia entry for Georgia (US). According to a translitaration service ([http://gooru.de/](http://gooru.de/)) this corresponds to “jorjia” in latin alphabet. So the US-state Geogia is called Jorjia in Georgian.
Edit: Simulpost. Classic!
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### Author:  [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2013, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgian-language-word-for-the-us-state-of-georgia/665784/6 "2013-08-09T13:51:54Z")
> [@ezgranet](#):
>
> I know that Georgia (the country) is known in the Georgian language as Sakartvelo, but in the Georgian language, what is then name for the US state of Georgia? Do they call it Sakartvelo or do they just say Georgia?
See, if you were a native Sakartvelian, who only speaks the Sakartvelo language, then you’d find that you wouldn’t even know that the country was also called Georgia in the wast.
What do the Vietnamese call America ? “My” !
What do the Vietnamese call Australia " ? Uc (modern) or in the past, Uc Da Loi
England ? Anh. But the point is you wouldn’t know about an exonym… a name that other people call your country…
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### Author:  [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgian-language-word-for-the-us-state-of-georgia/665784/7 "2013-08-12T11:00:50Z")
> [@David\_H\_Singanas](#):
>
> So the question remains: what is the etymology of “Sakartvelo?”
It’s basically the Georgian word meaning “Place the Karltlians live.” Kartlos was the mythical founder of Georgia, and Kartli was the core of the ancient Georgian state.
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### Author:  [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgian-language-word-for-the-us-state-of-georgia/665784/8 "2013-08-12T11:29:41Z")
All this confusion could have been avoided with a different result at the Battle of Sedgemoor, and Georgia would be “Monmouthia.”
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### Author:  [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgian-language-word-for-the-us-state-of-georgia/665784/9 "2013-08-12T12:37:50Z")
> [@ezgranet](#):
>
> … Georgia (the country) is known in the Georgian language as Sakartvelo, …
Why can’t the Anglos start calling it that also? Not only would it be the polite thing to do, but it would end a lot of confusion and ambiguity.
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### Author:  [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgian-language-word-for-the-us-state-of-georgia/665784/10 "2013-08-12T12:57:06Z")
Sometimes, there are really weird names for a place in foreign languages. Take for instance the example of the old German town Aachen:
German: Aachen
French: Aix-la-Chapelle
Latin: Aquae granni
Spanish: Aquisgrán
Luxembourgish: Oochen
Dutch: Aken
Czech: Cáchy
Polish: Akwizgran
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### Author:  [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgian-language-word-for-the-us-state-of-georgia/665784/11 "2013-08-12T13:25:03Z")
> [@Isilder](#):
>
> See, if you were a native Sakartvelian, who only speaks the Sakartvelo language, then you’d find that you wouldn’t even know that the country was also called Georgia in the wast.
> What do the Vietnamese call America ? “My” !
> What do the Vietnamese call Australia " ? Uc (modern) or in the past, Uc Da Loi
> England ? Anh. But the point is you wouldn’t know about an exonym… a name that other people call your country…
I’m confused by this post.
> [@David\_H\_Singanas](#):
>
> You must be a true Georgian, if you know that “Sakartvelo” is the true name of your country.
> I know only a few words in the language of Rustaveli because I went to Russia FIRST.
> In Russian your country is called “Gruzia”. In Russia I drank “Gruzvada” or “peach water.”
> AFAIK the American country of Georgia is named after King George of England.
> So the question remains: what is the etymology of “Sakartvelo?”
And this one.
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### Author:  [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgian-language-word-for-the-us-state-of-georgia/665784/12 "2013-08-12T13:54:14Z")
Those people seem to think the OP said something about being from Georgia, which he didn’t.
Skimming through the Wikipedia page, it seems there’s a region of Georgia that the Romans called Iberia, so this name confusion goes back millenia! 🙂
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### Author:  [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgian-language-word-for-the-us-state-of-georgia/665784/13 "2013-08-12T14:39:51Z")
> [@terentii](#):
>
> The US Georgia was named after one of the British kings; there’s no “native” name for it, except maybe among the Amerind population.
>
> The Caucasus Georgians would pronounce it as closely to the original as their own alphabet and speech patterns would allow: “Ge-OR-gi-ya,” or something along those lines.
The US Georgia was named after King George II of Britain.
Other areas in the US were also named after British royalty:
North Carolina and South Carolina were named after Charles I of Britain
Virginia was named in honor of Elizabeth I. Larry Gonick, author of the very good “Cartoon History” books, states that it was named Virginia in honor of “the queen’s sexual inexperience”.
Also, there are many municipalities on the East Coast that are named after British nobility and royalty, many (most?) of them dating from the British colonial period when naming an area after a royal would be considered perfectly normal. In Virginia, obvious examples are Prince William County, Prince George County, Prince Edward County (infamous for shutting down its public school system rather than racially integrate it as ordered), and the cities of Jamestown and Williamsburg.
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### Author:  [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgian-language-word-for-the-us-state-of-georgia/665784/14 "2013-08-12T15:16:46Z")
And the borough of Queens is named after the Portugese wife of Charles II, whose legacy in US Georgia is that thin treacle they drink called sweet tea.
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### Author:  [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgian-language-word-for-the-us-state-of-georgia/665784/15 "2013-08-12T17:28:21Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#):
>
> Skimming through the Wikipedia page, it seems there’s a region of Georgia that the Romans called Iberia, so this name confusion goes back millenia! 🙂
And there’s a region of the western Atlantic called the Indies. That’s _really_ weird!
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### Author:  [@mdcatdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mdcatdad)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgian-language-word-for-the-us-state-of-georgia/665784/16 "2013-08-12T19:37:27Z")
If you go to [http://www.fjc.org.ua/centers/default\_cdo/aid/118460/jewish/Jewish-Community-of-Kremenchug.htm](http://www.fjc.org.ua/centers/default_cdo/aid/118460/jewish/Jewish-Community-of-Kremenchug.htm) and on the right side go to “select a state” (the site is all in Russian) the state of Georgia is spelled Gruziya, the Russian word for the country of Georgia!
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### Author:  [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgian-language-word-for-the-us-state-of-georgia/665784/17 "2013-08-12T22:06:05Z")
I’ve always found it fairly annoying that every country has its own name for other countries that don’t take into consideration what that country calls itself. In a perfect world, every language would call Japan Nippon, every language would call Germany Deutschland, and so forth. It’s ridiculous that it isn’t this way, in this global age. Japan and Germany wouldn’t even be words at all. _sigh_
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### Author:  [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgian-language-word-for-the-us-state-of-georgia/665784/18 "2013-08-12T22:46:22Z")
> [@Keeve](#):
>
> Why can’t the Anglos start calling it that also? Not only would it be the polite thing to do, but it would end a lot of confusion and ambiguity.
why would you saddle only “Anglos” with that burden? Will you also campaign to get the French to stop saying “Allemagne” in favor of “Bundesrepublik Deutschland?” Or try to force the Japanese to stop saying “Chugoku” in favor of “Zhongguo?”
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### Author:  [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgian-language-word-for-the-us-state-of-georgia/665784/19 "2013-08-12T22:55:18Z")
> [@Keeve](#):
>
> Why can’t the Anglos start calling it that also? Not only would it be the polite thing to do, but it would end a lot of confusion and ambiguity.
> [@jz78817](#):
>
> why would you saddle only “Anglos” with that burden? Will you also campaign to get the French to stop saying “Allemagne” in favor of “Bundesrepublik Deutschland?” Or try to force the Japanese to stop saying “Chugoku” in favor of “Zhongguo?”
Plus us “Anglo” countries are given all sorts of other names in other languages too.
> [@drewtwo99](#):
>
> I’ve always found it fairly annoying that every country has its own name for other countries that don’t take into consideration what that country calls itself. In a perfect world, every language would call Japan Nippon, every language would call Germany Deutschland, and so forth. It’s ridiculous that it isn’t this way, in this global age. Japan and Germany wouldn’t even be words at all. _sigh_
Maybe so, but how could we even change it? Hand out leaflets with a list of around 200 countries and what we’re allowed to call them? Presumably there will be pronunciation guides too. Do we extend this to cities? We all have a lot different names for them, too.
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### Author:  [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2013, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgian-language-word-for-the-us-state-of-georgia/665784/20 "2013-08-12T22:58:44Z")
> [@Bozuit](#):
>
> Plus us “Anglo” countries are given all sorts of other names in other languages too.
it’s funny to watch people expose how little they know by their attempts to be worldly.
> [@](#):
>
> Maybe so, but how could we even change it? Hand out leaflets with a list of around 200 countries and what we’re allowed to call them? Presumably there will be pronunciation guides too. Do we extend this to cities? We all have a lot different names for them, too.
and let’s not get started on how to handle sounds in one language which have no counterpart in another.
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