COGNITIVE NATURE OF MICROCONCEPTS “FATHER” AND “MOTHER” WITHIN THE FAMILY/OTBASY CONCEPT IN IRISH AND KAZAKH CULTURES

Abstract

The article is devoted to a comparative cognitive analysis of the representation of the microconcepts father and mother, considered as constituent elements of the «Family/Otbasy» concept in Irish and Kazakh cultures, based on literary texts. The study is grounded in the understanding of fiction as a conceptual reflection of national worldviews and cultural memory.

Research object: N. Williams’s novel «History of the Rain» (microconcept father) and Sh. Murtaza’s novel «Ai men Aisha» (microconcept mother). The methodology combines conceptual-cognitive analysis, interpretative analysis of literary texts and contrastive method.

The aim of the research is to identify the cognitive structure, semantic core, and functional role of the microconcepts father and mother within the «Family/ Otbasy» concept on the material of Irish and Kazakh literary works.The objectives of the study are: to analyze the microconcept father in N. Williams’s «History of the Rain» and the microconcept mother in Sh. Murtaza’s «Ai men Aisha»; to identify their semantic, cognitive, and symbolic features; to determine the role of father and mother images in the formation of the concept «Family/Otbasy» in two cultures; to formulate national and cultural features of the concept family in Irish and Kazakh cultures based on the obtained results.

The results of the analysis demonstrate that in the Irish literary text the

microconcept father is represented as the core of intellectual heritage, cultural and spiritual memory, and personal self-identification. The father figure is conceptualized through symbolic structures such as books, knowledge, history, and the river. In contrast, in the Kazakh literary text the microconcept mother functions as an axiological core ensuring the preservation of life, spiritual resilience, domestic stability, and generational continuity. The mother figure is characterized by the functions of warmth, endurance, care, and the transmission of cultural memory.

The findings confirm that although the microconcepts father and mother constitute the semantic core of the «Family/Otbasy» concept in both cultures, their functional and symbolic dominance differs: in Irish culture the father model emerges as a spiritual-intellectual axis, whereas in Kazakh culture this role is performed by the image of mother.

Scientific value of research lies in clarifying the cultural–cognitive nature of the Family/Otbasy concept at the microconceptual level and in providing a systematic description of cultural differences through literary texts. The practical importance of the study is determined by the possibility of applying the results in courses on cognitive linguistics, literary studies, and linguocultural studies.