Features of the conceptualization of childhood in Karachay-Balkar ethnoculture in an interdisciplinary perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25178/nit.2026.3.7Abstract
The article presents the specific features of the conceptualization of childhood in the ethnoculture of the Karachays and Balkars, examining the word forms of the concept “sabiylik” ‘childhood’, the idea-components of the concept, and the social regulation of the concept. It is noted that the concept is represented by many verbal exponents and cognitive features actualized in the linguistic consciousness of the Karachays and Balkars.
Based on ethnographic and folklore sources, the study identifies idea-concepts that objectify children’s work and play activities — “ish” ‘work’, “oyun” ‘game’, “sabiy til” ‘child language’, “yüiretiliu” ‘upbringing’, which supplement and specify the value-semantic field of childhood. The article considers sociocultural practices reflecting a complex of family rituals important from the day of the child’s birth (name-giving, placing in the cradle, first step, first haircut).
Thus, the study presents an ethnocultural model of childhood as the result of comprehending and conceptualizing a significant fragment of the Karachay-Balkar mental paradigm, whose content is determined primarily by pragmatic attitudes and distinctive features of the worldview.
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For citation:
Bashieva S. K. and Bakhtikireeva U. M. Features of the conceptualization of childhood in Karachay-Balkar ethnoculture in an interdisciplinary perspective. New Research of Tuva, 2026, no. 3, pp. 95-107 (In Russ.). DOI: https://doi.org/10.25178/nit.2026.3.7
Author Biographies
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Svetlana K. Bashieva Kabardino-Balkarian State University
Doctor of Philology, Professor, Head, Department of Russian Language and General Linguistics, Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after H. M. Berbekov.
Postal address: 173 Chernyshevsky St., Nalchik, 360004, Russia.
E-mail: bfo-pdo@mail.ru
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Uldanai M. Bakhtikireeva Kabardino-Balkarian State University, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia
Doctor of Philology, Professor, Visiting Professor, Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after Kh. M. Berbekov;
Professor, Department of Russian Language and Intercultural Communication, Institute of the Russian Language, RUDN University.
Postal addresses: 173 Chernyshevsky St., Nalchik, 360004, Russia; 10A Miklukho-Maklaya St., Moscow, 117198, Russia.
E-mail: uldanai@mail.ru
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