ИСТИНА

East Caucasian languages feature a cross-linguistically rare presence of two alternative ways to express Recipients with the verb ‘give’. This feature is consistently present throughout the family and displays amazingly subtle semantic parallels in all its languages. At first glance, the distinction between two Recipients seems to be a very elaborate semantic opposition that is more expected of a legal cobweb than of a linguistic system. I suggest that in fact the difference lies in two different conceptualizations of the Recipient - as Goal vs. Beneficiary (prospective Possessor).