Different Semantic Features of Verbs Denoting „Eating“

Abstract

The group of Georgian verbs denoting „eating“ is quite abundant. There is also a wide variety of differential semantic components revealed through the observation of these lexemes. The abundance of verbs under discussion is determined by various factors, primarily, extralinguistic ones. For example, the cognitive meaning of the verb „to eat“ (ჭამს) implies a sequence of several actions  placing food into the mouth, chewing, and swallowing. Each of these can be expressed by a number of different lexemes.

In literary Georgian and dialects, verbs expressing the act of eating not only denote the action itself but also convey additional nuances: the amount of food consumed (small, large);  physical properties of the food (solid, liquid); taste characteristics (sweetness, deliciousness); desirability of the food; time of consumption (verbs derived from nouns denoting specific mealtimes); manner of eating (eating quickly, messily, noisily, or secretly); the speaker's respectful or disrespectful attitude toward the subject of the action, including: polite verbs used in formal communication related to offering or receiving food, derogatory verb forms used in informal discourse.

Within the group under discussion, verbs denoting gluttonous eating outnumber all others. Greed, as a universally recognized vice, is also regarded by Georgians as an evil and undesirable trait. In the context of food consumption, gluttony and gourmandizing are considered by Orthodox Christians not only as sins, but also as the root of other sins. Alongside folk knowledge about the harm of overeating, there is religious significance of overeating that has generated semiotic density in the Georgian discourse surrounding the expression of „gluttony“, giving these verbs a distinctly negative connotation.