Kamshat B. Zhumasheva; Meiramgul E. Sapargaliyeva; Damira S. Sarkulova; Rimma M. Kuzhentayeva; Ansagan G. Utarova
Abstract
The paper aims to explore the role of gender metaphors in constructing a language picture of the world on the basis of figurative appellations of human beings. The linguistic corpus obtained by the method of continuous sampling from the Dictionary of the Kazakh Literary Language comprises 249 metaphorical ...
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The paper aims to explore the role of gender metaphors in constructing a language picture of the world on the basis of figurative appellations of human beings. The linguistic corpus obtained by the method of continuous sampling from the Dictionary of the Kazakh Literary Language comprises 249 metaphorical nominations both of a person in general (gender-unmarked metaphors) and men and women in particular (gender-marked metaphors). Based on the obtained data, it is possible to identify culturally significant features that are conveyed through gender-specific metaphors. The results show that gender-unmarked metaphors are more typical of Kazakh culture. Among the features derived from gender-marked and unmarked metaphors, the most numerous group is human character and behavior. Moreover, in the metaphorical nominations of men, the second most important group of features is social status, while in the metaphorical descriptions of women, appearance plays an essential role. This paper contributes to cross-cultural research on gender differences and linguistic means of constructing gender in lexicography.