Syntactic Constructions Expressing Comparison in Guram Dochanashvili's 'Samoseli Pirveli' [The First Garment]

Abstract

The article discusses syntactic constructions expressing comparison according to Guram Dochanashvili's "Samoseli Pirveli“ [The First Garment]. The writer created comparison by grammatical conjunctions, by prepositions and separate words. This time we will focus only on the comparison expressed by conjunctions, which appears in complex syntactic constructions. Using syntactic comparison constructions, the author obtained the following comparisons:

Similative comparison. Here the writer uses conjunctions „ვითარცა“ [vitartsa] (as, like) and "როგორც“ [rogorts] (as, like). In Guram Dochanashvili's writing, a subordinate clause expressing comparison is often incomplete; the verb-predicate is omitted, the conjunction "როგორც“ [rogorts] is always in the subordinate clause, and the adverb "ისე“ [ise] (so/such/in that way/like that.) is in the principal clause: „ისე იყვნენ ერთმანეთთან, როგორც ცუდი ძაღლი და ცუდი კატა“ (They were to each other, like a bad dog and a bad cat.) Sometimes the adverb "ისე“ [ise] (so/such/in that way/like that.) is omitted, which is presented elliptically: „მწვადი ცვრიანი უნდა იყოს, კარგი, გემრიელი, როგორც კარგი ქალი” (The mtsvadi (barbecue) must be succulent, fine, and flavorful—just like a fine woman).  The writer expresses the similative comparison by an adjunctive subordinate hypotactic construction.

Contrastive comparison. The writer uses the conjunction “ვიდრე [vidre] (than)  as a connecting means in complex syntactic constructions: „საკვირველი იყო, ყურებს რაღაცნაირად მეტი სიმკვირცხლე ეტყობოდა, ვიდრე მის შავად ამღვრეულ თვალებს“ (It was strange, his ears were somehow more lively, than his dark dull eyes) - Here comparison implies a contrast between two events. „იმ მოგუდული დაკვრის გაგონება უფრო მტკივნეული იყო ლეოპოლდისთვის, ვიდრე აივნიდან გადმოფენილი შავი ფარდის დანახვა“ (Hearing that muffled playing was more painful for Leopold than seeing the black curtain hanging from the balcony) - here the difference is in degree, in the principal clause “უფრო”[upro] (more) - adverb corresponds to the predicate it belongs to.

Equal comparison. It is usually given as an adjunct. „ისევე როგორც ყველა ნამდვილ ქალს, კარგად ახსოვდა რა კაბა ეცვა“ (Like all real women, she remembered very well what dress she was wearing).

Relative comparison. To express the given comparison, the writer uses conjunctions: “რამდენადაც” [ramdenadats] (the more ... the more, as far as),  “რამდენიც” [ramdenits] (as many/much as) and “რაც”  [rats] (that): „ისიც იცოდე, დომენიკო,რომ მით უფრო თავზეხელაღებულია ქვედა კამორელი, რამდენადაც უფრო ზრდილობიანად გებაასება“ (So know, Domenico, that the more politely a resident of Lower Camora converses with you, the more desperate he is);  „ქვეყნად სწორედ იმდენი დაღმართია, რამდენიც აღმართი“ (There are exactly as many descents in the world as there are ascents). The conjunction “რაც” [rats] (that) is used for relative comparison; it acts as a connecting unit expressing a relationship to a degree: „დედამიწაზე არ არსებობს იმაზე მეტი სიკეთე, რაც თვალია“ (There is no greater good on earth, that is an eye).

Irreal comparison. The writer expresses irreal comparison with the conjunctions „ვითომ/ც“ [vitom/ts] (as if) and „თითქოს“ [titkos] (as though /as it were) which express proximity, assumption in an irreal way. The subordinate clause often follows the principal clause, but rarely precedes it. In the principal clause the adverb „ისე“ [ise] (so) is sometimes found, or it is omitted and is a subject to restoration: „ისე ჩამობნელდა ზეს ქოხში, ვითომც დაღამდა“ (It got so dark in Ze's cabin, as if it were night); „ზოგი ოხერი ხანდახან განგებ იგინება - ვითომ ინტელიგენტია“ (Some scoundrels sometimes swear deliberately - as if they were intelligent). By means of the uconjunction “თითქოს” [titkos] (as if/as through), in the construction of an irreal comparison, the thought is conveyed  affirmatively: one object resembles another: „სახე ისე დაეძაბა, თითქოს რაღაც შორეულს ყურს უგდებდა“ (His face became tense, as if he were listening to something distant).

I believe that the comparisons expressed through syntactic constructions in the language of Guram Dochanashvili's writing define the features of the writer's language, emphasizing his individuality, uniqueness, and distinctiveness.