Comparative Idioms in Tuvan: Clustering and Cross-Linguistic Parallels of Metaphorical Models
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25178/nit.2026.1.17Keywords:
Tuvan language, comparative idiom, cognitive semantics, conceptual metaphor, cluster analysis, cross-linguistic comparisonAbstract
The article examines phraseological units with a comparative component in the Tuvan language from the perspectives of cognitive semantics and ethnolinguistics. Based on a specially compiled corpus of 36 stable Tuvan expressions, their cognitive-semantic encoding is carried out using V. Boers’ transparency and imagery scale. The resulting data are subjected to cluster analysis, which makes it possible to distinguish three groups of expressions according to their degree of cognitive accessibility.
As comparative material for comparative phraseological units (CPUs), data from other languages (Russian, Kazakh, and English) are drawn upon. This reveals the presence of conceptual metaphorical models underlying the polysemy of lexical items in the languages under comparison. In this context, not only idioms (comparative idioms in this case) are considered, but also the domain of figurative meanings of the analyzed lexemes. A lexico-semantic and ethnocultural analysis shows that, despite the presence of universal cognitive scenarios, Tuvan fixed expressions in most cases rely on culturally specific standards—images of the animal world (zoosemisms), body parts (somatisms), natural objects, and artifacts.
The article demonstrates the productivity of applying modern quantitative methods to the material of various languages and underscores the significance of Tuvan idioms for typological and ethnocultural linguistics.
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For citation:
Shingareva M. Yu., Dmitryuk N. V. and Abramova G. I. Comparative Idioms in Tuvan: Clustering and Cross-Linguistic Parallels of Metaphorical Models. New Research of Tuva, 2026, no. 1, pp. 307-321 (In Russ.). DOI: https://doi.org/10.25178/nit.2026.1.17
Author Biographies
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Marina Yu. Shingareva South Kazakhstan Pedagogical University named after Uzbekali Zhanibekov
Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor, Department of English, South Kazakhstan Pedagogical University named after O. Zhanibekov.
Postal address: 13 Baitursynova St., Shymkent, Kazakhstan, 160012.
E-mail: logrus1976@mail.ru
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Natalia V. Dmitryuk South Kazakhstan Pedagogical University named after Uzbekali Zhanibekov
Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor, Department of Russian Language and Literature, South Kazakhstan Pedagogical University named after O. Zhanibekov.
Postal address: 13 Baitursynova St., Shymkent, Kazakhstan, 160012.
E-mail: nvdmitr@yandex.ru
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Galina I. Abramova South Kazakhstan Pedagogical University named after Uzbekali Zhanibekov
Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor, Department of English, South Kazakhstan Pedagogical University named after O. Zhanibekov.
Postal address: 13 Baitursynova St., Shymkent, Kazakhstan, 160012.
E-mail: galina_abramova@hotmail.ru
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