Seasons in Their General and Concrete Meanings in Georgian and Megrelian
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55804/TSU-ti-4/KhubunaiaKeywords:
time, seasons, metrical time, folk literature, Megrelian LanguageAbstract
Time is a universal category. Man has measured time since prehistoric epoch. Initially, time was expressed by lexical units of general meaning. However, in the process of communication, it became necessary to divide time and make it more concrete. At the earliest stage of human existence, this problem was solved by means of metrical time, which is expressed by lexical means denoting countable units of time. Out of these, the largest unit is the year.
The paper aims to analyze the semantics of language means denoting seasons in Georgian and Megrelian folk literature. In particular, the paper proves that these lexical units are not restricted by the semantics of concrete seasons and also denote time in general. By comparing Georgian and Megrelian data, the paper identifies similarities and differences between the two languages. This approach is important from two viewpoints: on the one hand, it reveals the peculiarities of the genre with regard to the expression of metrical time. On the other hand, it reveals the similarities and differences between Georgian and Megrelian empirical material. The issue is topical and interesting due to the ample empirical data of folk literature, embracing almost every genre. For centuries, this literature was spread orally. Examples of folk literature were recorded later, but they still preserve the most ancient code of information.
Analysis of the ample empirical material (printed texts, corpus bases, field material) leads to reliable conclusions.
The paper is a novelty because it is the first attempt of systemic research of general and concrete meanings of lexical units expressing seasons in Georgian and Megrelian folk literature. The empirical material has been analyzed using descriptive-statistical, historical-comparative, syntagmatic and paradigmatic analysis, fieldwork and elicitation methods.
The paper analyzes Georgian and Megrelian lexical units denoting seasons: “gazapxuli/gazarxuli (goṗireli)” (spring), “zapxuli/zarxuli” (summer), “šemodgoma/damorčili“ (autumn), “zamtari/zotonǯi” (winter).
Research has proved that the above-mentioned lexical units denote not only concrete units of time but general time as well. In Georgian, general time is usually expressed by compound words. For instance,
(1) “is zamtar-zapxul… gaučereblad daʒunʒulebda” (It was running non-stop all the year round (literally, all the winter-and-summer) (Georgian Folk Tales, 2009, p. 37).
Such compounds are not found in Megrelian. In both languages under analysis, there are nouns with suffix -ობა /oba/, denoting repeated actions in concrete time:
(2) “zapxulobit sopelši mivdivar; zarxulobit sopeliša mevurk” (In summer, I go to my village).
In both languages, this semantics is also expressed descriptively:
(3) “qovel zapxuls; iri zarxurs” (every summer).
Attention should also be paid to the Georgian collocation “zamtris ṗirze” (on the edge of the winter). The speaker makes the time more precise, namely, the beginning of winter. General time is also denoted by the prefixal form “sazamtrod” (for winter), cf. Megrelian “zotonǯišot”. In Georgian, we have circumfix /sa-o/ in the adverbial case. In Megrelian, the lexeme of the same semantics is given in the special benefactive case-form denoting purpose/function.
The outcomes of the research are important not only for linguists but for the specialists in the adjacent fields as well.
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