Formation of Verbal Nouns (Masdars) from Non-Georgian Stems in Technical Terminology

Abstract

. The article analyzes the means of forming verbal nouns (masdars) from foreign roots in Georgian technical terminology, as well as the ways of their adaptation into Georgian. The re­search material is based on dictionaries, specifically, technical terminological dictionaries published in 1972 and 1988 (edited by R. Dvali and R. Ghambashidze), compiled as a result of extensive work of a large team of scholars. The research identifies several common patterns among the analyzed terms: those marked by the base-markers -eb and -av, which are most often accompanied by the verbal prefix da- (da + root + eb, da + root + av). However, other prefixes such as ga-, gan-, gamo-, she-, and tsa-, as well as formations without prefixes, also occur to varying degrees. Special attention is given to the dominance of the prefix da- in adapting these foreign roots into Georgian, which is due to its specific semantic feature: the ability to express neutral direction. This peculiarity is observed not only in technical terminology but also in the literary language and spoken Georgian. In addition to the terms with borrowed roots, the article also discusses lexical units obtained through semantic adaptation (loan translation/calquing), e.g. dajvareba (“breeding”). Of particular interest are the possibilities of deriving verbal adjectives (participles) from these forms. All types of participle formation are attested, including negative forms, although, for understandable reasons, the dictionaries include only some of them, most frequently, those with the suffix -ul. Formations with the suffix -ad are also encountered functioning as participles, but they are almost never used with prefixed forms (e.g. k'oksvadi – “coking”; absorbirebadi – “absorbing; absorptive”; degradire­badi  – “degrading/degenerative”). In technical literature, Georgianized verbal nouns (mostly masdars) are used primarily as nouns; verbal forms are rare. Instead, Georgian scientific texts commonly employ the following strategy: Collocations with the functional verb: verbal noun + “is in progress,” “is carried out,” “is implemented,” “continues,” etc. The reason for this is the specificity of terminology: such words are almost never found in fully conjugated verbal forms (e.g. “aggrega­tion is in progress” etc.).