The “girl” concept in Kazakh linguistic consciousness: a gender-cognitive linguistic analysis

Abstract

This article examines the conceptual representation of the “girl” lexeme in Kazakh linguistic consciousness within the framework of the theoretical and methodological foundations of gender cognitive linguistics. The object of the study is the cognitive structure of the “girl” concept as it is formed in linguistic consciousness, namely its representations at the frame, prototype, associative, and discourse levels. The relevance of the article lies in its investigation of the interweaving of gender stereotypes and national concepts in linguistic consciousness through a new integrative approach. The study employs a comprehensive combination of conceptual analysis, frame semantics, prototype theory, and psycholinguistic experimental methods. The material includes Kazakh folklore, a paremiological corpus, mass media texts, and data from associative experiments. As a result of frame-based modeling, the “girl” concept was described through five main slots: being, activity, social status, axiological evaluation, and transformational attribute. The being slot includes honor, respect for elders, and modesty; the activity slot includes education, learning, and labor; the social status slot includes the roles of future spouse, mother, and spiritual pillar; while the axiological and transformational slots reflect evaluative meanings and new social roles. Prototypical analysis demonstrates that the “girl” image coexists in the linguistic consciousness across several semantic layers – traditional, modern, and gender-transformative. The results of the psycholinguistic experiment show that associations with the “girl” stimulus are firmly rooted in the national linguistic consciousness, yet are undergoing certain transformations in line with modern demands. The scientific novelty of the study lies in its systematic examination of the mechanisms through which the “girl” concept is represented in linguistic consciousness from the perspective of the gendered cognitive linguistics paradigm. The article contributes to the development of knowledge in the fields of gender linguistics and cognitive semantics in the Kazakh language.

Keywords: gender cognitive linguistics, linguistic consciousness, the “girl” concept, frame semantics, prototype theory, gender stereotype, psycholinguistic experiment.