INVESTIGATING SEMANTIC PROTOTYPES OF FOOD IN BAHDINI KURDISH

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Prototype theory is a vital categorization theory in cognitive semantics that Rosch introduced in the 1970s. It serves as a fundamental framework in cognitive semantics for comprehending the formation and organization of categories in the human mind. The current study aims to identify the prototypes of various food categories in Bahdini Kurdish, thereby, it addresses a gap in contemporary research regarding this issue. It examines food semantics by emphasizing categorization, the most typical example in the selected category, and the impact of gender on their perception and categorization. The study investigates the prototypes of a total of nine semantic categories, including Homemade food, Fast Food, Dairy Food, Fruits, Vegetables, etc. The study has adopted descriptive and quantitative approaches by administering a questionnaire consisting of nine food categories to 100 students who speak Bahdini Kurdish based on Rosch’s model (1973, 1975). The participants are selected from English and non-English departments at the University of Zakho and comprised of an even number of 50 males and 50 females. The findings identified nine food categories in Bahdini Kurdish, which feature representative or the best examples such as rice and dolma for Homemade food, pizza for fast food, baklava for sweets, etc. Gender-based disparities arose, as males and females had distinct preferences within these categories.