US Embassy in Georgia marks Mother Language Day, honours 1978 Georgian protest

The US embassy in Georgia on Tuesday marked Mother Language Day with a social media post honouring the events of April 14, 1978, when Georgians protested against a Soviet attempt to strip the Georgian language of its status as a state language.

In a social media message, the embassy noted that Georgians stood up to the Soviet Union’s effort to remove Georgian as the official language, demonstrating courage in defence of their linguistic and cultural identity.

“On April 14, 1978, Georgians stood up to the Soviet Union’s attempt to strip the Georgian language of its status as a state language. Today we honor their courage and celebrate the beauty and uniqueness of the Georgian language. Happy Mother Language Day to our Georgian friends!” the embassy said.