Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Stoney Breyer" <stoneyb AT touchwood.net>]

In the face of this repeated testimony from sophisticated native
speakers of the senior dialect of the language we share it appears I
must withdraw my characterization of the term as 'jocular'.

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Read, James C [mailto:K0434995 AT kingston.ac.uk] 
Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2005 4:16 PM
To: Stoney Breyer
Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: RE: [b-hebrew] 'Chocoholic'

 

 

While chocolicism is not a formal medical condition, it is clear that
the
word play indicates more than a simple like of chocolate.

Would describe a person who loves chocolate but only eats it once a
year/month/week
as a chocoholic?
I can't speak for all of the UK but I have certainly never heard it used
of such
of a person.

A person who describes themselves as a chocoholic is usually a person
who cannot
resist the temptation to indulge when chocolate is in their sight or
offered to
them. Now I like chocolate but I can hardly be described as such a
person because
I find it quiet easy to turn chocolate down but have extreme difficulty
when a
real pizzeria (only found in Italy) offers me a pizza. Maybe I'm a
pizzaholic
(now this is a pun as I understand the term). I'm also a b-hebrewaholic
and a
debate-aholic but definitely not a chocoholic.

Our discussion has highlighted one very important factor, though - that
different
people have different understanding of the same term (even if they share
the same
first language). And so the question very often is not 'What does the
term mean?'
but 'What did the author intend to communicate?'. A question that can
only be answered
from context and good linguistic instincts combined with a good
relationship with
Yah.
-----Original Message-----
From: b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org on behalf of Stoney Breyer
Sent: Tue 9/20/2005 7:36 PM
To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] 'Chocoholic'


-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Kirk [mailto:peterkirk AT qaya.org]
> Many people do not think this is possible, but as chocolate releases
> endorphins it is possible for the brain to become accustomed to
regular
> intervals of chocolate.

That's interesting, and a little troubling! Nonetheless, "chocoholic" is
in common usage a jocular term; and since it does not follow regular
rules of analogic formation (which would call for "chocolatic"), I doubt
that the medical establishment would use it as the label for an actual
addiction to chocolate. I would expect something on the order of
'Chocolate Habituation Syndrome (CHS)" ...

Stoney Breyer
Writer/Toucwood, Inc.



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