J

The transcription of the Georgian letter J is zh.
'J' is pronounced exactly like English  in 'pleasure'.

Recordings:
 
 

JuJuna
Jirafi
vaJa
zhuzhuna
zhirapi
vazha
Zhuzhuna (a name of a woman)
 giraffe
Vazha (a name of a man)

 
JuJuna da vaJa aq arian
zhuzhuna da vazha ak arian
zhuzhuna and vazha here are.
Zhuzhuna and Vazha are here.

Click here to listen:Speaker 1, Speaker 2.

When pronouncing the consonant 'J' the lips are slightly rounded and protruded, the tip of the the tongue is retracted. The back of the front part of the tongue comes closer to the front part of hard palate at the alveolae, creating an opening. Concave configuration of the middle part of the tongue tightens, the top of the tongue creating two focuses (one focus is created by coming of the top of the front part of the tongue closer to the alveolae, thus creating an opening, the second is created by the configuration of the middle and back parts of the tongue) and intensifies  hissing.

The letter written or typed in this way is called zhani.

It is traced out with one movement of the hand and is written between the three lower lines: movement of the hand begins above the lower middle line, goes downwards drawing a small open circle from left to right on the lower middle line, goes on to the upper middle line in a slightly upwards directed line, goes downwards vertically drawing a semicircle from right to left on the  lower line and ends between the lower middle line and lower line with a tip slightly rounded to the right.

Back to the Georgian alphabet