Abstract:
Until the end of the twentieth century, the metaphor was viewed as a
means of expression and a stylistic device. However, scholars of the twenty-
first century qualify it as one of the key means of cognition. Contemporary
psychologists relate a metaphoric world vision to human cultural
genesis. According to a widespread opinion, proto-language itself was metaphorical,
and proto-communication was carried out on the level of metaphor.
This opinion is enhanced by a famous metaphoric quotation: “Our
language is a graveyard of trite (/frozen/dead) metaphors”.
Metaphors are universals of consciousness. Therefore, the area of their
usage is not confined to poetic texts. Observation of Georgian cultural discourse
of different epochs proves that it does not fall behind literary discourse
in its metaphoric nature. In this regard, the given paper analyzes
one lexeme related to bread-baking – „შეცოლქმარება“ “šecolkmareba”
(lit. joining husband and wife) – which implies mixing water and fl our to
make dough.
In Georgian, the derivational field of the compound ცოლ-ქმარი “colkmari”
(wife and husband) is quite narrow. The derived words (ცოლქმრობა
“colkmroba” (matrimony), ცოლქმრული “colkmruli” // ცოლქმრობითი
“colkmrobiti” (matrimonial) are usually used in the direct sense. As for the
verb form „შეაცოლქმარებს“ “šeacolkmarebs” (‘will mix water with fl our’), like other metaphoric units, it is based on the fictional principle and is
created employing analogy. The fictional nature is revealed in the marriage
between water and fl our, whereas the analogy is based on the Georgian
national culture and mentality, which is largely Christian, hence, marriage
is viewed as the transformation of wife and husband into one indivisible
creature – “one flesh and one soul”.
The paper presents a detailed analysis of the sacral basis of the given
metaphor and focuses on bread as a cult realia, bread-baking as ritual behaviour,
as well as matrimony, which is one of the seven sacred mysteries.
