A Cognitive-Conceptual Analysis of Cult Words in the Kazakh and Kyrgyz Linguistic Worldview
Rysbayeva G. Kulbekova B. Kozhabekova S. Sadybayev K. Burkitbay G. Nurgozha Z.
March 2026Lulu Press Inc
International Journal of Society, Culture and Language
2026#14Issue 1114 - 128 pp.
This study provides a cognitive-conceptual analysis of “cult” (worship) concepts within the Kazakh and Kyrgyz linguistic worldview. Moving beyond purely religious interpretations, we argue that cult-related vocabulary functions as a system of culturally-loaded cognitive structures. Applying the theory of cultuling (culture in language) and a tripartite cognitive methodology, we deconstruct the concept into three interlocking layers: (1) Ritual Cult, analyzed via script theory to model procedural knowledge of worship; (2) Venerative Cult, analyzed via frame and Gestalt theory to map the symbolic networks surrounding sacred entities like the Sun, Moon, and Fire; and (3) Metaphorical Cult, revealing the entrenchment of these entities as source domains for everyday metaphors of beauty, power, and value. Our findings, derived from the systematic analysis of 150 lexemes and phraseological units from authoritative Kazakh and Kyrgyz sources, demonstrate that the “cult” concept is not monolithic but a stratified cognitive architecture. This architecture sustains cultural memory, anchors ethnic identity, and provides a replicable methodological framework for future comparative studies across Turkic languages.
Anthropocentrism , Cult concepts , Language , Linguistic worldview , Phraseological units
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Egyptian University of Islamic Culture Nur-Mubarak, Kazakhstan
Kazakh Ablai Khan University of International Relations and World Languages, Kazakhstan
Egyptian University of Islamic Culture Nur-Mubarak
Kazakh Ablai Khan University of International Relations and World Languages
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Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026