THE COGNITIVE NATURE OF DEGREES OF ATTRIBUTE: LINGUISTIC IMAGES IN KAZAKH AND FRENCH

Abstract

The present article offers a comprehensive and rigorously argued comparative investigation of how gradability is represented in Kazakh and French, approaching this phenomenon not merely as a grammatical-semantic category, but as a reflection of fundamental cognitive mechanisms and culturally embedded models of linguistic consciousness. The study focuses on both universal and culturally specific ways of conceptualizing degrees of properties, which manifest themselves in lexical-semantic resources, stable metaphorical patterns, pragmatic strategies, and discursive practices. The relevance of the work stems from the fact that gradability functions as one of the core instruments of evaluation, intensification, and interpretation of reality, yet within the Kazakh-French perspective it has not previously received a coherent cognitive-cultural account.

The aim of the study is to identify the deep cognitive structures and linguocultural scenarios that determine the specificity of expressing gradability in two typologically contrasting languages. The methodological framework integrates cognitive analysis, conceptual metaphor theory, componential semantic analysis, and a pragmatic-discursive approach, enabling the reconstruction of a multi-layered model of interpreting degrees of properties. The empirical material comprises 1,260 contexts drawn from literary, journalistic, and conversational texts, selected on the basis of semantic relevance and pragmatic significance.

The analysis is carried out on three levels: lexical-semantic, conceptual-metaphorical, and cultural-functional. The findings demonstrate that the Kazakh system tends toward expressivity, hyperbole, and value-oriented perception, whereas the French system is characterized by moderation, analyticity, and register differentiation. These contrasts are interpreted as the operation of ethnolinguistic cognitive filters that shape distinct ways of evaluating and interpreting features of reality. Based on the comparative analysis, the study proposes an integrated cognitive model of gradability representation, allowing one to trace the transition from linguistic form to conceptual schema and further to cultural function. Universal cognitive domains (scale, movement, heat, force) are identified, and their transformation under the influence of national cultural codes is demonstrated.

The results obtained hold substantial theoretical and applied value for cognitive linguistics, linguistic cultural studies, intercultural communication, translation theory, and language pedagogy. The study broadens the understanding of gradability as a complex, multidimensional, and culturally motivated category that plays a pivotal role in meaning construction across different linguistic traditions.