Cultural Specificity of the “Housing” – “Family” Metaphor in Kazakh Wedding Toast

Abstract

The article deals with some aspects of a metaphorical understanding of the concept of “family” in Kazakh culture. The study is based on the material of the texts of Kazakh wedding toasts. This variety of the speech genre of the toast is characterized by typi­fication and variability, determined by conventional language norms and norms of speech communication. Words and phraseological combinations, in which the metaphorical model is objectified with the source area “home” and the target area “family” in the texts of Kazakh wedding toasts, reveal the specific nature of the language conceptualization of the concept of fam­ily. The “traces” of pagan mythological views, ancient customs, rituals and beliefs of the Kazakhs were pre­served in linguistic units. The metaphorical model “home” – “family” reflects the idea of creating a new family as building / constructing a new home. In addition to the general idea of the family as a dwelling (aq otaw), elements of the “dwelling / yurt” frame (şañıraq, bosağa, kerege) participate in the im­plementation of this metaphorical model. They belong to the most semiotically loaded elements of the Kazakh yurt and act as symbols of happiness, security, family well­being. The rooted metaphorical model “home” – “family” in the linguistic consciousness of the Kaza­khs is evidenced by the frequency of the names of a newlyweds’ yurt – aq otaw, its components in modern wedding toasts.

Keywords

• speech genre
• wedding toast
• metaphorical model
• otaw
• şañıraq
• kerege
• bosağa