Reprinted from journal of PRAGMATICS Journal of Pragmatics 24 (1995) 353-380 The social semiotics of Georgian toast performances: Oral genre as cultural activity” Helga Kotthoff Institute of Sociology. University of Konstanz, P.O. Box 5560 D-78434 Konstanz, Germany Received May 1992; revised version May 1994JOURNAL OF PRAGMATICS An interdseiplinary monthly of language studies hef Editar. Jacob L_ Mey, Odense University, Campusve] $5. DK-5230 Oldnae M. Denmark (e-mail jam@don.dk) Pas Cuaada Cath, Dipariment di Scienze Glotocilogiche, Universi i Genova, Via Bab 4 116126 Cesta; aly {eval cambigghpavia nf. 1) Fioromut Haberland Department of Languages and Cultre, University of Roskilde, P.O. Box 260, DK-4000 Roskilde, Desmark (e-mail artma@eve i) Richard W. Janney, Univetiy of Cologne. Gronewaldstae 2. D-S0831 Cologne, Germany {ermall:raBecv in Koeln. 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Box 5560 D-78434 Konstanz, Germany Received May 1992; revised version May 1994 Abstract This article deals with the structure and performance of the oral genre of toasts, Some soci- linguistic and ethnographic aspects of Georgian toasting, and their implications for ‘doing culture and gender’,' are also presented. Toasts are a male genre in Georgia. The dinner situ- ation is regarded as a setting where cultural identities are enacted. By the sophisticated oral performance of toasts, the good speaker becomes an honored man, and the good man an hon- ored speaker. Special attention is paid to the structure of the toasts and to how they commu nicate emotions as well as moral and religious cultural values, The analysis of the toasts pro- vides insights into the social order of Georgian society, where gender is one of the most relevant categories of difference. 1. Introduction In discourse analysis and pragmatics, scholars are interested in the interrelation between communicative and social processes. Today, few scholars are working on the principle that a specific social identity or social order is first given and then pro- duces a certain speech behavior; rather, researchers assume that ways of speaking and enacting social identities co-determine each other. Oral discourse, because it is integrated into everyday activities, is more apt than written discourse to form the st: tus of a person within a concrete situation and beyond, The subject of this paper is Georgian toasts, which represent a typical oral genre; toasts proposed during the sharing of food and drink play an important role in Georgian life. I wish to thank Peter Auer, Richard W, Janney, Jacob L. Mey, and three anonymous Journal of Pragmatics referees for comments on carlicr versions of this article. Thanks also 10 Elza Gabedava for help with the Georgian language and to the Research Council of the University of Konstanz for financ- ing a research project on Georgian oral genres The ethnomethodological concept of “doing gender’, as pointed out, ¢.g., in West and Zimmerman (1987), focuses om the ways in which the cultural system is superimposed on biological sex differences to create social differences between the sexes that can be made relevant in various contexts, 0378-2166/95/809,50 © 1995 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved SSDI 0378-2166(94)00063-K354 H. Kotthoff / Journal of Pragmaties 24 (1995) 353-380 In analyzing toasts, I am going to combine three strands of study: research on oral literature, communicative genres, and gender. Georgian toasts, which give a set structure to dinners attended by guests, show many features of verbal art, which for- merly were thought to be quintessentially literary in nature (Tannen, 1989), Studying verbal art in this everyday oral genre of toasting shows the function of verbal art in creating interpersonal involvement between speaker and audience. This point, often stated in research (Ong, 1982), can be supported when we deal with a form of oral- ity that functions in a literate context. Ong (1978) has described this phenomenon as a secondary form of orality, in order to distinguish it from the primary orality of a culture yet ‘untouched by writing or print’. Basic research findings? on the structure of oral genres are also confirmed and elaborated by the present study. Toasts have a predictable internal organization, combined with an apparent freedom of expression. A high level of improvisation is allowed within a well-defined structure. Repetition, formulaic speech, parallelisms, extravagant wording, and other factors of verbal art play an important role. Tannen (1982: 1) writes that oral literary genres, with their formulaic expressions, function as entities, as convenient ways of signaling knowledge that is already shared, For toasts, we can claim that oral literature deals with a specific kind of knowledge-transfer, namely that of values and shared moral concepts which may even lead into religious domains. It is not expert knowledge that speakers communi- cate, but rather knowledge of cultural values. Present and absent people are praised according to Georgian notions of morality. Thus, toasts represent a form of regulated emotive communication (Stankiewicz, 1964; Amdt and Janney, 1991). Speakers perform activities that the listeners interpret as signs of respect for them and their world, of pleasure in being together, of affiliation and involvement. Listening to toasts in Georgia is an effective way to get acquainted with Georgian ways of think- ing and feeling. Studying Georgian toasts also contributes to the ongoing debate about the concept of genre (Bakhtin, 1986; Hanks, 1987; Briggs and Bauman, 19924). In many ways, toasts represent an ideal case or prototype of a communicative genre, showing how formal generic classifications in this case work and how the genre can be related to action. Toasts are proposed in a specific context (dining and/or drinking with guests), and they help to shape this context according to degrees of formality Extralinguistic factors (such as alcoholic drinks) belong to the obligations of the genre; they have a textual structure, insofar as they combine activities. Central for- mulae have to be expressed, and an object of good wishes has to be recognizable. Toasts end in the nonverbal activity of shared drinking. ® Edwards and Sienkiewicz (1990), Finnegan (1988), Ong (1978, 1982), Tannen (1989), and the vol- ume edited by Tannen (1982) are among the works that present fundamental insights into orality. * Amdt and Janney (1991) give a survey of work on emotive activities in speech and a critical discus- sion of various concepts of emotive discourse. * The concept and the discussion are, of course, much older: Briggs and Bauman (1992) give an overview. H. Kothoff/ Journal of Pragmaties 24 (1995) 353-380 Beyond this, toasts can be conceptualized as open texts, since they integrate cle- ments of other genres. Prayer formulae have been integrated for a long time, and are considered to be traditional toast formulae today. Elements of other genres, such as verbal dueling, may come up. Since toasts tend to appear as part of an intertextual series, and individual toasts are part of an ordered set, different forms of intertextu- ality can be detected (Briggs and Bauman, 1992). By analyzing toasts, we can work out insights into the interrelation between genre and gender. Recent conceptualizations view gender as a system of culturally con- structed power relations which are produced and reproduced in interaction between women and men.* Studying the gender-related division of verbal and nonverbal activities at the Georgian dinner table, we can support a constructivist notion of gen- der, without neglecting history. Genres which are associated with one gender in a rather stable way, point to the fact that gender, as a category of difference, does not have to be negotiated anew in every situation, but is based on stable stocks of knowl- edge: at Georgian dinners, formal public speaking is considered to be a male activ- ity. Toasting, as a ceremonial way of speaking, thereby reaffirms a gender hierar- chy, placing men’s speech in the realm of oratorical, public, admired and traditionalized talk, and assigning women’s specch to the realm of private talk.” The interrelation between genre and gender has implications for situational for- mality. The less formal the situation, the more likely it is for a woman to take over the role of the toast-master, and vice versa. Having women as toast-masters defor- malizes the context. The rather stable ascription of the toast genre to the male gen- der also contributes to a hierarchical order between the sexes. Indeed, if men have the right and duty to praise and compliment human activities and values in their toasts, they also define the norms of gender-appropriate behavior. But forms of female resistance against male dominance can also be observed. These forms of resistance show most of the features of ambivalence discussed by Gal (1989). Caucasian Georgia is, of course, not the only society where formalized, gender- related drinking-talk plays an important role. Frake (1972) shows how adult males of the Subanun society in the Philippines use drinking-talk to manipulate the assign- ment of role and status relations. Georgian toasts also show some features of what Abrahams (1972) describes as the ‘talking sweet’ performances of the tea meeting orators in St. Vincent in the West Indies. There, toasts take place only at home cer- S Connell (1987) and Gal (1989) are among the scholars who argue for this conception, ® In many societies, styles of talk and genres are associated with men and women. Keenan (1974) pro- vides an excellent study of the Malagasy of Madagascar, who exclude women from the major formal genre of oratory that is required in order to participate in political events, Sherzer (1987) also finds among the Kuna Indians of Panama ritualized public genres of political and healing speech restricted 10 men. Gal (1989) discusses several of these studies. All the articles in a book edited by Appandurai et al (1991) address questions of gender, genre, and power. ” Asis the case in many cultures; see i.a. Philips et al. (1987) and Gunthner and Kotthoff (1991) for an overview. * This phenomenon, i.c., that women’s speech is associated with informality and that women have ‘more speaking rights in informal situations, is often mentioned in the literature on gender and commu- nication (Edelsky, 1981),356 1H. Kothoff! Journal of Pragmaties 24 (1995) 353-380 emonies; in Georgia, every informal get-together can be used as an occasion for toasting. Rites of passage and calendar festivals are, in both societies, events in which the most proficient performers give toasts. The degree of oratorical elabora tion depends on the formality of the situation. In both cultures, there is a correspon- dence between the complexity of the food served and the speeches given at the tables.” In Georgia, eloquence and entertaining toast-making are considered signs of respect of the household, as is the case in St, Vincent. The elaborateness of the toasts is identified with the demonstration of respect. Therefore, every man present is asked to propose a toast, in order to honor the host family and all others at the table, as well as the moral values of the society 2, Georgian toasts as a speech genre In former Soviet Georgia," a dinner (supra) with guests is a very marked social occasion, Dining with guests means not just eating, drinking, and talking together. but also observing the very ancient ritual of the supra, a ceremonial event.!! There are general rules for this situation that provide an orientation for virtually every get- together, and gender politics is a big part of Dinner is not served without Georgian wine, and wine is not merely drunk. A high-ranking man, often the head of the family, assumes the role of the zamada, the toastmaster. In the presence of a guest, and when more than two men are together, the appointment of a ramada — best described as a master of the table and ceremony ~ is required as a matter of custom.'? Since the samada is granted such an important role at the table, this position must be taken by a man of high status — very often the host himself. People should not, and usually do not, drink when they like, but are expected to wait for the tamada to first offer a toast. The genre is highly valued and carries more authority than other sorts of table talk. Alcohol is never drunk without a toast. Literally, the name of the genre, sadyegrselo, means ‘to a long life”; pragmati- cally, noticing how the word is used, one could call it a toast!’ The Georgian At dinners with guests, only traditional Georgian dishes are served, such as sacivi (cold chicken in & special sauce made of nuts and onions), prali (a mixture of cooked vegetables and spices), raCapuri (sally cheese cake), som (cornmeal dish) with cheese, and many more. On a Georgian table, there is always & much larger variety of dishes than on Westem tables; these Georgian dishes stay pretty much the same time after time. The demonstration of lavishness is viewed as a social sign of honor to the guests "© Georgia is one of the three Caucasian Republics of the former Soviet Union. I spent six semesters in its capital, Tbilisi, teaching German linguistics at the CavCavadze Foreign Language Institute, From the first day on, I was often invited to people's hiomes for dinner, where | could audiotape conversations. Al my data stem from East Georgia, "The notion ‘ceremonial’ is used in accordance with Gluckman (1962), who defined a “ceremony” as a complex, conventionalized, and stylized human activity regulating social relationships. '* Discussions of Georgian table and toasting semiotics with different topical foci can be found in Kotthoff (1991) and (1993). "The word contains two roots: dye (day) and gre? (long), which together form the medial verb dyegrselobs (he lives long), The active future participle of medial verbs is regularly formed by the cir- cumtix sa-....0, Thus, sadyegrselo is the active future participle of the above verb. — H. Kotthoff! Journal of Pragmaties 24 (1995) 383-3 ae 80 357 yany features that are typical of oral genres. Genres are mostly See cmnunicatve forms with a high degree of stabilization. Members of Societies develop recurrent orientations to communicative patterns that can lead to the establishing of speech genres. Viewed as constituent elements in a system of signs, speech genres, according to Bauman and Sherzer (1974) and Hanks (1987), have value loadings, social distributions, and typical performance styles, according to which they are shaped in the course of deliverance. A genre analysis should hence tbe oriented toward the action contexts in which toasts are produced, distributed, and 3, 1987). ae genres that contain evaluative judgments about people, ‘human activities, and norms are considered to be genres of moral communication and Luckmann, 1993); toasts belong among these. Additionally, toasts can even fulfill religious functions. They can integrate elements of prayers, and often do. (The religious function was especially important under communist rule, where religious life in churches was not favored.) Briggs and Bauman (1992) outline an approach to genre which allows the inclusion of a range of such intertextual rela- tions. However, the complex intertextual relations within toasts do not destroy the genre, which depends on stable textual and contextual factors: alcoholic drinks have to be served; the toast has to be addressed to the whole group: the text should include a good wish; at least one central formula must be expressed, and at least one person has to drink following its presentation. As long as these core elements are present, the toast stands out as the ‘primary’ genre, which then can very well inte- grate elements of other genres.'* | ; The central formula to be expressed in Georgian toasts is gaumar3os, meaning lit- erally ‘to your victory’; pragmatically, is is equivalent to ‘cheers’. This formula often frames the toast. Immediately after the toast, people clink glasses with the tamada. Normally, when a foreigner is present, the ramada starts with a toast to long-last- ing friendship with him or her. Traditions and national values are frequently men- tioned. Every foreigner is paid the compliment of being a good representative of hi or her country, and is assumed to be proud of this. The second toast could be to the guests’ home countries, to their families, or to family in general. Toasting mothers is, obligatory, as is toasting friendship, deceased relatives, existing and future children, peace, love, and the hostess. The famada can combine topics into one toast, or split topics into several toasts. The more people present, the more formal the toasts. At evenings with close friends, the toasts are often quite witty and short. The course of toasting follows a variable thematic canon, which is accommodated to the specific occasion. The pattern of marriage toasting is different from the pattern appropriate for toasting the birth of a child. Education, rhetorics, and a good sense of humor can be demonstrated while delivering a toast. On a typical /xinis supra (happy “Bakhtin (1986) distinguishes primary or simple genres from secondary or complex ones. Toasts are complex genre because they can integrate other types of discourse, But unlike in novels, the integrated elements do not lose the direciness of their connection to reality. See also Hanks (1987) and Briggs and ‘Bauman (1992) for extensive discussions of genre theories.458 HH. Kotthoff! Journal of Pragmatics 24 (1995) 353-380 banquet) with guests, the thematic sequence of toasting progresses approximately in the following fashion: (1) To our acquaintance and friendship; (2) to the well-being of the guests, relatives, and friends; (3) to the family of the guests; (4) to the parents and the older generation; (5) to the dead and the saints; (6) to existing and yet unborn children; (7) to the women present at the table; (8) to love; (9) to the guests mothers; (10) t0 peace on earth; (11) to the hostess; (12) to the zamada himself. ‘The toast to the hostess (normally the one who has prepared the meal) is usually the penultimate or last toast, and has certain implications for ‘opening up the clos- ing’ (Schegloff and Sacks, 1973) of the evening. When such a toast is about to be offered, frequent attempts to delay its delivery can be observed, since this toast would end the evening,"® The time-order of the entire evening is thus reflected in the pattern of toasting. To a certain extent, every evening is prestructured by the pattern of toasting. Holisky (1988: 37) gives the following order for toasts for a ¢iris supra (funeral banquet):"” (1) To the ramada:'* (2) to the person who has died; (3) to his or her spouse (if dead); (4) to the person's parents (if dead); (5) to the person's grandpar- ents (if dead); (6) to the person’s other dead relatives; (7) to people from Georgia who died in the war; (8) to Georgians who died abroad; (9) to families who have no descendants and whose names are lost; (10) to the spouse of the deceased (if living); (11) to the children of the deceased (if living); (12) to the surviving parents; (13) 0 the surviving siblings; (14) to the surviving relatives; (15) to the surviving friends and neighbors; (16) to the other members of the supra; (17) to people who have been good to the family of the deceased. Important toasts are marked by a shift of position, Whereas the tamada and all the other men rise to their feet, the women remain seated. Additionally, the relevance of a specific toast is indicated by the appropriate quantity of wine that is to be drunk in one gulp after its deliverance, and by the drinking-vessel used (glass vs. horn). Drinking a lot of alcohol is considered a necessary component of displaying mas- culinity in an ethnomethodological sense. Since the tamada is required to empty his drinking-vessel completely after every toast, he must possess a high tolerance to aleohol ~ particularly on special occasions, when drinking-vessels are used made out of bull horns, with a mouthpiece adored with silver fittings. Talking stops when the ‘amada begins to give a toast. To continue talking is con- sidered impolite. At a supra, informal talking is hardly possible, because the themes to be talked about are pre-structured to a certain degree in accordance with the canonic order of toasting. Even among young people, a long evening is thoroughly pre-structured by the formal order of toasting. Discussions keep getting interrupted by a toast. The zamada manages to start the toasting by suddenly raising his glass 'S The relevance of conversation analysis for anthropological linguistics becomes apparent here, "© Afterwards, one may drink to different occurrences in the lives of the participants in order to prolong, the evening. "7 The canonic order of dishes varies according to the social event. Giris supra, which is held after the funeral, demands another food composition than Luinis supra (happy dinner). "8 If the tamada is chosen, which is done in very formal situations, then he is the first to be toasted. 1H. Kotthoff ( Journal of Pragmatics 24 (1995) 353-380 359 and calling a formula, or xalxo (“folks*), or some personal form of address. Anyone speaking is then expected to stop in order to listen to the famada. The toast normally tands out distinctly from other talking activity by gestures, intonation, position shifting, and addressing. Although the toasts are well-known over generations, there is never one toast like the other, The ¢amada produces performances that are similar rather than identical, as is typical for oral genres. Changes from one concrete performance to the next are determined by the preferences of the individual speaker, his perception of the audi- ence’s taste, and sometimes by the audience's open reaction. The audience is con- stantly taken into consideration; also this is typical for oral literature (Edwards and Sienkiewicz, 1990). There exists no formal teaching in how to give a toast; one trains to become a good toastgiver by listening to the toasts given at the table, People talk about the toasts delivered during an evening later on. The evaluation of special toasts is also a common theme. Criteria of judgment include the manner of delivery, the balance of traditional and creative performance features, the fluency of speaking, and the sensitive finding of social qualities to praise. When a marriage is discussed, one necessarily also talks about the excellence and originality of the toasts presented on that occasion. Excellence is judged by the perfect fulfillment of the generic norms, while originality is judged by the creativity used within the given procedure.'? Both should be optimally matched. Ong (1978) writes that oral genres are mostly used for praise and competition. Praise to the people present and to those absent is a central function of the toasts. Since praise is a social endeavor, the tamada has to be a good social observer, The person who is the subject of the toast is honored by the whole group; thus, the genre helps to establish and reestablish social bonds and norms. To be a good famada demands close observation of the surrounding social world. By praising known and unknown qualities of living and deceased people, a good tamada shows that he is more than simply a man of words. He is the one who makes people see new dimen- sions of the subject, and who keeps the memory of the deceased alive. However, praying and praising also include public norm control, as will be shown The tamada has to guarantee that the dinner ends with good feclings among all the participants, a goal that is highly valued by the Georgians. 3. Oral performance of the toasts Formulae (as they are called in the tradition of Parry, 1930, and Lord, 1960) are used in every toast, and there is a fixed set that provides a stock for every tamada:”” for example, me minda semogtavazot sadyegrgelo (‘I want to offer you a toast’), kargad qopna (‘to their well-being’), anmrteloba vusurvor (‘1 wish them health’), bedniereba vusurvot (‘I wish them good luck"), méoblebs dagilocavt suqvelas (“I B Wienold (1971) discusses excellence and originality as general evaluation criteria for poetit texts See, e.g., Ong (1982) and Finnegan (1988).360 H. Kotthoff | Journal of Pragmatics 24 (1995) 353-380 bless all your parents/best wishes for all your parents’), ymertma gaumar3os suqve- fas (‘God shall give all of them his favor’). However, a toast that consists only of formulaic phrases is considered to be a poor one. A good tamada combines tradi- tional and creative phrases. He can give voice to his own individuality, and at the same time be sensitive to the audience's pleasure A line structure, resulting from prosodic phrasing, can often be identified for parts of the toasts. However, there is no metrical structure.*! Rhetorical strategies such as repetition, contrast, triple denomination of subjects, extravagant wording, dramatic climaxes, and citations are typical. In a stricter sense, toasts have more in common with oratory than with poetry. 3.1. A toasting round to the parents In the following, I present an example of a toast to parents.” This toast was given in 1990, during an informal evening meeting between three young scientists in Tbilisi. It represents an everyday scenario that fulfills merely basic obligations. The following persons participated: ramada Badri (T), Goéa (O), Gia (A), and a young married couple: First toast of a round 1 T: Me minda Semogtavazot I want to offer you a toast 2 — &veni micieri ymeriebis, — to our earthly gods, 3. m&oblehis sadyegrselo, ded-mamis. (1.0) to our parents, mother and father. (1.0) 4 saertod cesad makys, anyway I have taken it as a rule 5 supris gevrs ar vekitxebi not to ask the participants at this table 6 romeli gaklia deda tu mama. (1.0) if their mother or father is missing. (1.0) 7 gardacvlilic rom iqos méobeli, even if a parent is already dead, 8 igi maine araa mkvdari, coexalia hie or she is not dead but alive, 2) While set rhythmical units structure some oral epics (Greek and Yugoslav, according to Lord, 1960), meter has been more difficult (o establish for other cultural contexts (Edwards and Sienkiewicz, 1990: 57). Georgian laments and Georgian genres of verbal dueling show a much stronger rhythmical orzani- zation (Kotthoff, 1993b, and forthcoming), The transliteration from Georgian follows the usual transcription conventions, as they are outlined, ie., in Fahnrich (1987). It is very problematic to translate transcripts. The lines sometimes cannot repre~ sent identical contents because of different word orders in the two languages. Dotted letters (¢, ky etc.) represent a particular kind of consonants in Georgian, called “ejectives 2 This is the first toast of a set of related toasts, 9%: 10 LT: RR BR 2 28 29 30 31 Hi. Kouhoff) Journal of Pragmatics 24 (1998) 353-380 361 Dy /manam/ sanam erti grami sisxli maine viyacasia gadasuli. as long as/ a gram of their blood still flows in someone else amitomac arian isini micieri ymertebi, - - because of that they are earthly gods, - - radganac misi micieri Svilebi because their earthly children tu igi amkveqnad ar aris, when they do not dwell on this earth anymore. mis xsenebas ar moiSlian. do not let the memories of them decay. gaumarjos Evens micier ymertebs, ¢ Evens méoblebs, ded-mamas gaumarjos. to our earthly gods, to our parents, to our mother and father. gagimargpt/(?_2)/ (everybody drinks) cheers to them. (2 ?)/ /kargad/ qopna, 3anmrteloba vusurvot, bedniereba vusurvot. (1.0) Al wish them well-being, health and good luck. (1.0) xalxuri natkvania egec, - Svilma mSobels ~ - popular wisdom claims, - even if a child for his parents - - xelis gulze kvercxic rom Seucvas, would fry an egg on his or her hand, mags maine verasdros ver gadaixdiso s/he could never pay back what her/his parents did for her/him. amagis gadaxda albat imas nignavs paying back might mean that we should not p22 from is/ tradiciebi, - is cesebi, is zneobrivi kredo, Nose/ oF reject the traditions, - customs, moral credo, romelic tveni méoblebisgan mogvdgams, that our parents gave us, ar gadavtelot da pexi ar daval we should not lose it and trample on it, ai es dapasebac ikneba albat mati da amagis gadasdac. this praise will surely be the payment for their caring efforts. hegels akvs erti Sesanisnavi gamotkma in Hegel there is a remarkable statement moblebs upra mead ugvart Svilebi vidre Svilebs mSoblebio da bunebrivicaio. parents love their children more than children love their parents, and that is natural. ratomao? hkitxes. - why? he was asked. - da imitom romao mSobeli arasrulgopili ariso because parents are imperfect and see the extension da am tavisi arasrulqopilebis Sevsebas Svil8i xedavso tavisa’ of their own imperfection in their children ai amifom upro uqvarso, therefore they love them more. gaumargos, gaumargos. mSoblebs dagilocavt suqvelas. gaumarzos. best wishes to all of your parents362 H. Kotthoff | Journal of Pragmatics 24 (1995) 353-360 35 O: /gaumargos./ 36 a: /gaumargos,/ ((they clink glasses) ((they drink.)) The formal introduction of a toast, similar to the usage of the formula me minda Semogtavazot sadyegrselo (‘I want to offer you a toast’) in this case, is a frequent ‘occurrence, The addressed object is typically mentioned in the introduction, There is a pause of one second after the first sentence. The tamada’s vocabulary is ceremo- nial and festive (micieri ymeriebi (‘earthly gods"). Such changes in style are typical, and additionally help the toast stand out from the ordinary flow of conversation. The rhetorical procedure of the triple denomination of a subject — incuding a progressive specification —as used in lines 2-3 (to our earthly gods, to our parents, 10 our mother and father), is noticeable. The second sentence introduces the topic of parents’ death. The third sentence (7-10) contrasts death and life. The expression micieri ymertebi is substantiated in lines 11-14. It is repeated again in line 15. This line shows again the rhetorical procedure of triple denomination of the object. In line 16, the group gives a toast reply. The central formula is often repeated by the audience. The good wishes expressed next in line 17 are also structured in a three-part list format: kargad gopna, Sanmrteloba vusurvot, bedniereba vusurvot (‘to their well-being, | wish them health and good luck’). The one-second pause marks the time that is given for drinking. People do not always clink glasses, but hold them up to each other, as was the case here. In lines 18-20, the iamada refers to a popular saying, which is also a typical procedure. He uses an extravagant, but concrete picture, thereby combining tradition and creation. From line 23 to 26, he explains the tradi- tional values. The usage of a three-part grouping can again be observed with the val- ues mediated by the parents (traditions, customs, moral credo). These lists serve to elaborate subtopics by way of varied repetition. Triple denomination facilitates both oral composition and memory. ‘A dialogical dramatization, starring the philosopher Hegel as the main source, then follows in line 27. The small drama is used as the punch line of the toast. The coda is presented in line 32, at which point the toast noticeably comes to an end. The closing consists of gaumargos, expressed by speaker O (closings are often collabo- ratively produced). Tamada Badri repeats this formula and another one. Speaker O again repeats the gawmar3os-formula, seconded by everybody present. They all clink glasses and drink. Then speaker O raises his glass to give the follow-up toast. In the toasts, Georgian value orientations are conspicuously expressed and repeat- edly acknowledged. I shall discuss the inherent negotiation of moral values in section 5. 3.2, Alaverdi A ritualized toast-competition, called alaverdi,?* is often established between the men at the table. The ramada talks about a specific topic, and the other men must Sacks (1978) discusses the triple format as a method of ethnoperformance. 2 Alaverdi is derived from Turkish, and means “if God wil H. Kotthoff | Journal of Pragmatics 24 (1995) 353-380 modify this topic in the subsequent toasts. When one alaverdi round is completed, the amada must decide who will open the next round. His decision should be based on the criteria of the toast’s originality, its formulation, and the approval it received from the table. Table rhetoric is considered to be an important sign of masculinity Men who cannot take part are considered unmanly.?° In the special form of alaverdi toasting competition, the famada symbolically grants other men his power of speech. To whoever he hands the drink-horn or the glass, becomes temporarily the famada, and as such, the center of attraction of the dinner-party. He is then expected to vary and elaborate the topic already determined by the head-amada. In formal contexts, the competition is about ‘who is the be: ‘The head-tamada, taking into consideration the approval of the people present, judges who was best in the current round. In the next round, the winner is given the Tight to speak as the second tamada, It is frequently very obvious that the head- tamada himself was the best, and he laboriously tries to remain in that position, The audience at the table can express their appreciation of specific toasts by paying com- pliments, clapping, or making non-verbal gestures (however, this does not occur in the following example). In alaverdi-drinking, it becomes especially apparent that the power of words is a sign of masculinity in Georgian culture The first toast above was the first part of an informal alaverdi-round among the same young men. Informality is contextualized by respecting the basic alaverdi- structure of alternation, without however actually competing. In a more formal situ- ation, the participating men would try their best to outdo each other by the quality and quantity of their talk. In the present case, the response toasts become inereas- ingly shorter, Speaker O gives the following toast immediately after speaker T's toast. Second toast of a round 1 0: mioblebs dagilocavt suqvelas. - Best wishes to all of your parents. - 2 im grgnobas gaumarjos, romeli grsnobitac aygvzardes mSoblebma, to the feeling with which our parents brought us up, 3 da ymertma knas cxovreba gagr3eldes, and give God that life continues 4 dadveni mioblebis arsebobac sulieri, maine maradiuli gopiligos, and that also the spiritual existence of our parents is everlasting, da mati xsovna ar moSliligos. H and that the memory of them never fades, H 6 — gaumargos. qvelas gidyegrselebt mioblebs, - gaumargos. I drink to all of your parents. 7 Semi méoblebis dyegrselobisatvis madlobas mogaxsenebt. - express my gratitude that you toasted my parents. - 8 lalis mama ara hgavs. - Lali does not have a father anymore. ~ ® During my stay in Tbilisi, over and over again, I witnessed foreign men failing to fit the role, because their toasts lacked the required qualities of elaboration.364 H. Katihoff | Journal of Pragmatics 24 (1995) 354-380 9 da misi xsoyna igos maradiuli. his memory shall stay eternally. (they drink.)} Speaker © picks up the exact formulation of speaker T's last wish in line 34. ‘There are significant stylistic continuities across these toasts: recurrence of words and formulae is typical, and marks the coherence of the toasts. This toast is struc tured in lines to a much larger extent than the first one. Particularly, the wishes show line patterns. In line 2, forms of grznoba (‘feeling’) are repeated as the central formula is expressed. The tamada’s praise of the parents and his wishes go hand in hand, every wish forming one line. Line 6 combines two formulae. Speakers often express their gratitude for wishes expressed by former speakers, as is the case in line 7. The toast ends with a concrete wish concerning the deceased father of the only woman present. ‘These two toasts form the basic frame for the next toast. The toast is again repeated, and the topic is elaborated on The last toast of this alaverdi-round is even shorter: Third toast of a round 1 A: gaumarjos msoblebs. ‘To our parents. 2 badrim amagi axsena da — me a Badri has mentioned their merit 3 mfoblis amagis dapaseba aris is, that the best praise of our parents’ merits consists in 4 rom éven viknebit isetebi, - iseti kargebi, becoming the way they wanted, - becoming such good people, ~ rogore mat undodat rom yqopiligavit, - - like they wanted us 10 be, 6T: 12 2 7 A: /patio/sanni, martalni da kargebi, Jhonest/, truth-loving, and good people 8 ——_upirveles qovlisa ra tkma unda kargi kartvel primarily of course good Georgians. 9 gaumargos, ((hey drink)) se mgonia, and —I believe In this toast, we can also discern the rhetorical triple structure in line 7, which leads up to the kargi kartvelni (‘good Georgians’). This toast is only rudimentarily real- ized, as the ramada merely fulfills group norms: he starts with the main formulaic phrase and the toast’s address; then he repeats the first tamada’s praise, and expresses his own expectations for the young generation. The characteristics in line 7 that are typically given in the context of this toast are shared societal wishes con- cerning children. How sensitive the genre is to actual political contexts is shown in the desire to be a "good Georgian’; nationalist values play an important role here. H. Kotthoff | Journal of Pragmatics 24 (1995) 353-380. The individuals O and A merely fulfill their toasting obligations; as such, the tamada is confirmed in his role as the master of the topics, and is not outdone. 4. Interactional and intertextual aspects In discussions about toasts with the Georgians, the genre was always referred to as a monologic one, with the exception of the alaverdi. They explain to foreigners that the tamada offers a toast, after which the guests drink. But that does not cover the whole procedure. Tape-recording and transcription of naturally occurring toa revealed that, although the monological format is in fact the main means of realizing the genre, other participants in the supra often also collaborate in the toast of the tamada: the head-tamada normally remains in the role of the main speaker, but others may add wishes and toast formulae to the samada’s performance; extended side sequences may also occur. As we saw, toast topics are interactively developed in alaverdi-rounds. The first text creates the context for the next; the two together again build up the verbal envi- ronment for the third text, Certain expressions are carried on from one toast to the next. This kind of intertextuality”” is institutionalized in Georgian toasting. However, there are also other kinds of intertextuality The following toasts are filled with prayer formulae, such as ymertma gaumar3os sugvelas (‘God may grant them well-being’). Toasts can integrate elements of prayers, and often do. The first toast below was offered one evening in Suapxo, a PXavian village,” in May 1991. Regarding the participants, Cotne (C) is an approxi- mately 40-year-old man, born in PSavi, who lives in Tbilisi; Niko (N), Irakli (1), and Vaxtang (V) are elder Péavians; and Dato (D) and Elza (E) are approximately 40- year-old Thilisians; (H) is the researcher. Special forms of Georgian politeness are acted out; this will be discussed in the next section. As to speaker Coine, he dis~ plays both a PSavian and a Thilisian identity. By speaking in a ceremonial way, these men communicate praise. Suddenly, however, the ceremonial way of speak- ing changes to a teasing tone. The conflict between city and village is put on stage. A short, humorous sequence of dissent comes up, which shows features of another oral genre. 1 emo Ketilo da kargo xalxo. My gentle and good people. 2 me ar vici am sopelki, (?2)/ I do not know whom I in this village (2 ?)/ 3% KP VY 4 C: me ar vici am sopel kveqanaii Tdon’t know, to whom in this village world, Bakhtin emphasizes the way in which texts and utterances are shaped by’ prior texts that they respond to and by subsequent texts that they anticipate. See Bakhtin (1986; a paper he wrote in the early 1950s.) * ‘The village is situated high in the Caucasian mountain366 15 16 17 H. Kotthoff | lownal of Pragmatics 24 (1995) 353-380 vis ekutvnis Sendoba. to whom I should drink Sendoba da vis gamarjveba, me ar vici, and to whom gamar$veba.™ I don’t know, ekutvnis Gemgan ucxo kacisagan. to whom it is appropriate from a stranger. ar Vici, magram me ert yames getquit don’t know, but I would like to tell you one thing saxelis gamo, mario saxelis gamo, because of their name and only because of their name, visac tkveni xelidan Sendoba ekutvnodes tkvens sagvareulosi, they have earned getting Sendoba from your hands in your clan, tkvens sopelsi, sul qvela Scieqalos ymerima, in your village, with all of them God shall have pity, da visae gamargveba ekutynodes. and they should become gamargveba. ~ me mapatiet, Cvenma xatsalocavebma ertab ician xolme - forgive me, at our holy places it is custom cocxlehsa da mkvdrebus xseneba - to mention the living and the dead - - da visae ekutynodes, - likewise, tkvengan gamar3veba sugvelas gaumargos, to all those who have earned to get gamarjveba from you, ide imitom, rom (me sevkvecay ak?) cocxal-mkydrebi Evensi gaugopelni arian, therefore, because the living and the dead are inseparable from us, coexalsac pativsa veemt da mkvdarsac pativsa veemt. we grant the same honor to the living as well as to the dead. N: kai kaci xar. you are a good man. V: kargad igavi. to your well-being C: adidos imati saxeli, rometnic tkveni xelidan Gikas itxos, praised be the name of those, who can expect getting a glass from you, da tkveni enidan saxelis gagonebas da sakmelis tkmas. and the mentioning of their own name from your tongues. gaumarjos imat saxelsa da imat kacobas gaumargos to the names and to humanity da imat vazkacobas da imat kalobas, and to masculinity and femininity, vine gverdit dagidian, avlil-¢avlilni mrude tvals ar gamogagoleben, of those who go on your side and who do not give you a bad eye, tkven pativsa scemt dl isinic pativsa geemen, those that you respect and those that respect you. ymertma gaumargos suqvelas, God may grant them well-being. Sendoba designates the traditional, obligatory toast, asking God to forgive the dead for their sins. ‘Toast to the well-being, literally to the victory. 28 H. Kotthoff / Journal of Pragmatics 24 (1995) 353-380 me amit davlocay ak tkven samezoblosac, sagvareulosac, as such T drink to your neighbors, your extended families, N: sapSavlos, to the PSavians, CC: sapSavios. dagilocavt suqvelas to the PSavians. I bless all people near you da ymertma gaumargos suqvelas, tven maspinglebs and God may give them his kindness." our hosts, amin, amin, amin, gaumargos. ((they drink)) aumargos. N: vine &veni xelit Xebdibas elis, - to those who can expect getting Sendoba from your hands, - C: mec avdgebi. Tet up. N: - tkven dabrgandit. (to C) - remain quietly seated. al 42 4B 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 C: ara, me mekutvnis pexze adgoma. (1.0) no, it is custom for us to get up? (1.0) N: éventan, am patara kutxedi, at our little comer here, otxi axalgazrda /avariulad daiyupa mtasi,/ four young people died in fan accident in the mountains / C: /gaanatlos ymertma,/ /God shall give them His light,/ N: ai imati tamadobit qvela udroot casulis mogoneba igos. and under their tamadoba we drink to all those who have died early. C: gaumargos, N:évenma Iraklim - me batanobit ar vi our Trakli - T shall not call him Mister, - €venma Irakli ics isini vine iqvnen, our Irakli knows who they were, da im or o§axs dara Svilebi ori biti ucol8vilo da avariasi daiyupnen. in two families two unmarried sons died in an accident. - da modi imati tamadobit xsovna igos cxra aprils dayupulta. in your name we drink to those who lost their lives on the ninth of April. Gemo Cotne, imati mogonebisatvis my Coine, for mentioning these dead people da aseti kargi sitqvisatvis me var madlobeli and for your nice words I am grateful to you. GN clinks glasses with Cone, takes up his cap and puts it on again) 367 1 do not always translate the gaumar§os-formula in the same way, as its English rendering depends (on the actual circumstances, While toasting the mother, the deceased, and the homeland, the men stand up to show their respect. On April 9, 1989, 19 women and 3 men were killed by Soviet soldiers, while peacefully demon. trating for Georgian independence in front of the goverment building in the center of Tbilisi. This inci- dent started off the course of radical independence from Moscow.368 H. Kotthoff | Journal of Pragmatics 24 (1995) 353-380 51 es kudi ro mxuria, ara tkva, tu rato, this cap that covers my head, please don’t ask, why 52 ar ixdiso, es aris namusis kudi sacrtod. J do not take it off because this is the cap of my eonscience. + viel. L know it /HEHEHE/ {lays his hand on his head))/ mec xeli maparia tavze da namusis erpeli makvs. I cover my head with the hand and my conscience is pure. 57 E: HAHA 58 C: az::, unamusos gvicodeb? az: do you think [am without conscience? 592: 12 60 N: rakli/ itqvis, tu viquivar. Mirakli/ should say whether Lam lying. 61 C: zogsa 3ia Niko, Niko Sia, zogsa namusis kudi stirdeba, some, uncle Niko, Niko uncle, some need the cap of conscience, 62 rom namusi gamoamyavnos to show others that they have a conscience at all, 63 da zogi kide ukudodac namusianebi vart. and some are like us honest without. 64 N: mesamoce celi var da me kuds vixdi mxolod xatéi 1am almost sixty and I only take my cap off at the holy places. 65 (takes it off) 66: e: HAHAHA 67 V: kudi sokosac hxuramso a mushroom wears cap (00. 68 a: HAHAHA 69 (Cand N shake hands)) onaa Cotne starts his toast with a formal-polite, standardized address. He wants to drink Sendoba and gamar3veba.“ Cotne presents himself as a stranger who does not know to whom the honor of sendoba and gamar3veba should be given. However, on a higher level, he thereby presents himself as somebody who is familiar with PSavian behavior norms. He includes Vaxtang and Niko in his toasts, because he drinks to everybody who can expect sendoba and gamar3veba from them. Niko compliments Cotne on being a "good man’, and Vaxtang expresses a good wish for Cotne. During the toast, it is always possible to make a brief remark. Cotne goes on expressing highly standardized good wishes to the people of PSav' Niko supports him (29). Cotne appeals to God several times, to which Elza reacts with the prayer formula amin (amen). After Vaxtang’s confirming gaumar3os, they drink. Cotne and Dato get up. Niko tries to grant them special rights (37), which they reject. Accepting the right to remain seated would mean to accept an identity as city men who are alienated from Georgian customs. Cotne presents himself as being just M1 discuss these concepts in the next section, H. Kotthoff ! Journal of Pragmatics 24 (1995) 380 369) as much Georgian as the village people themselves. This topic is quickly changed by toasting specific deceased people. Toasts often develop thematically from general subjects to subjects that are more specific. Niko drinks to the people in the name of Cotne. Now he makes himself the main speaker, elaborating on Cotne’s topic. The topic of drinking to people from PSavi is thus shared, something which Cotne accepts, expressing a religious wish to the peo- ple (41), and uttering the toast-formula (43). Again Niko drinks, under the tamadoba (table leadership) of Cotne, to the people who were killed in Tbilisi during a protest meeting on April 9, 1989. He expresses his thanks to Cotne (48 and 49) for men- tioning their deceased, and they clink glasses. Suddenly he takes off his cap, puts it on again, and refers to the PSavian tradition of wearing caps to show a pure conscience. In contrast to the bareheaded city men, Dato and Cotne, all the old PSavians (Vaxtang, Irakli and Niko) wear caps. Differ- ences such as these are normally not focused on in toasts. By giving a positive response, Cotne demonstrates intimate knowledge of PSavian ways of thinking. Dato immediately picks up on the cap symbol, demonstrating his pure conscience in his own way. Elza laughs. Coine reacts to an implied negative attribution (58). Conflicts generally are not acted out in toasts, because only positive facts about a person should be mentioned. However, at the end of this toast, we find a conflict between the young men from the city (C and D) and the village elders (N and V), acted out in a'side sequence that shows features of another genre. Coine starts challenging Niko, thereby taking the side of the Tbilisian, Dato, Niko defends himself, appealing to Irakli, the PSavian authority present (60). Cotne further identifies with Dato, the city man’s position, by teasing Niko in lines 61-63. He addresses him in a familiar way, thereby toning down an indirect criticism: the cap is required only for village men. Niko refers to his age and his identification with P¥avian religious customs. Everybody laughs. Vaxtang supports Niko in line 67, indirectly claiming that Niko’s behavior is more in line with nature. This short allu- sion to nature ends the fight. Age group conflicts and conflicts of regional identity (city vs. country) are acted out here, and the village wins. Then everybody laughs, and Cotne congratulates Niko on his victory ‘This small episode around the cap on the head of an old PSavian sets off a short verbal duel about who has the best conscience, the PSavians or the Tbilisians. The challenges take place in a humorous tone. Attacks and challenge, even if realized in a highly indirect way, do not belong among the elements of toasts: in toasting, shared values and customs are attended to. But in line 52, the peasant Niko formu- lates behavior rules that are not shared. Already in line 37, he had tried to give Cotne special treatment, thereby negotiating another identity for him. At that time, Cotne refused the offer. This time, Dato and Cotne produce counter-challenges. Thus, ele- ments of a humorous verbal fight are integrated into the toast. Especially the formal acceptance of the victory of the village people over the city people is typical for kapioba, an oral genre of verbal dueling that is also very popular in PSavi (Kotthoff, forthcoming). Within the verbal attack genre of kapioba, the loser has to openly accept the fact that the other party has won. We witness an interlocking of genres here: kapioha, when realized as the primary genre, must meet strong formal stan-