Food Concept in Swahili Proverbs

The article is devoted to the specifics of the implementation of the concept “food” in the proverbs and sayings of the Swahili language. The material for the study was not only the paremiological fund of the Swahili language, which is part of the oldest folklore layer, but also the personal materials of the author, recorded during a trip to the island of Zanzibar. In modern linguistics, the division of proverbs into subject-thematic groups, which are based on a certain concept, is a popular approach to linguoculturological analysis. Consideration of the concept of “food” through the prism of Swahili proverbs is of particular relevance, since food is the basic need of any person and reflects the axiological system of the Swahilis. At the same time, the process of eating and everything connected with it differs significantly among different peoples of the world, which is vividly represented in the paroemias of the Swahili language. Swahili paroemias make it possible to single out both national behavioral traits and purely national features associated with the attitude of Swahili to food. It is important to mention that the results of the investigation may become essential for modern linguistics as far as Swahili proverbs are not studied well enough while East African region is becoming more and more popular nowadays. The analysis of proverbs allows us to draw a conclusion about the main cultivated crops (rice, legumes), about the traditional dishes of East African cuisine (ugali, stew), growing fruits (bananas, pineapples), learn about the Swahili tradition of eating with hands and bringing treats to the common table, about respectful attitude to the guests and many other subtleties associated with the life of the Swahilis and the relationship between them. At the same time, the Swahili proverbs that affect the concept of “food”, like all others, objectify reality, act as a pragmatic framework and norms of behavior, broadcasting the universal laws of being.