Numerals as Cultural Codes: Semantic and Pragmatic Features in the Kazakh Linguo-Cultural Context

Zhuldyz Kurmambayeva, Tanat Ayapova, Zeinekhan Kuzekova, Gulnara Omarbekova, Orazkul Ismailova and Maussym Abduali

Published: 2026/06/01

Abstract

This article investigates the linguo-cultural concept of numerals in the Kazakh language, which describes the approaches and classifications of the concept as a tool for the interpretation of the mentality expressed in this language. It also examines the relationship between language and culture through the lens of cognitive and linguo-cultural approaches, focusing on numerals as a main object of study. Numerals serve not only as markers of quantity but also as cultural symbols that encode a nation’s values, beliefs, historical experience and traditions. The article gives a conceptual analysis of the cognitive aspects of phraseological and paremiological units with numerals such as “one”, “three”, “seven”, or “nine”. The findings reveal that these numbers embody both universal and culture-specific meanings, providing insight into the collective worldview of the Kazakh people. Mythological numerical images form part of the naive linguistic picture of the world, which represents the ways of perception and conceptualization of the world reflected in natural language, when the basic concepts of language are formed into a single system of views, a collective philosophy.

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