Comparison of the Category of Polysemy at the Phraseological Level (Illustrated by Yakut and Kazakh Phraseological Units)

Abstract

Purpose of the Study: Research on the meaning structure of phraseological units representing the figurative richness of language has been central up to the present. Words and phraseological units of a language represent a universal basis for polysemy development, with virtually any language unit having enough potential for the development of new meanings. The subject of the study is polysemantic phraseological units of Yakut and Kazakh that have not been specifically studied before.
 Methodology: We analyzed Yakut phraseological units with four meanings and their equivalents in Kazakh. Polysemantic phraseological units of Yakut and Kazakh with a wide range of structural arrangement and a rich figurative potential for the convergent and divergent direction of semantic transfer of linguistic units of indirect nomination have not been studied before. We analyze Yakut phraseological units with the highest number of meaning transfer and compared them to Kazakh phraseological units. Semantic reinterpretation in view of the separate formation of linguistic units of indirect nomination has always been interesting for scholars studying Turkic languages.
 Main Findings: Semantics of Yakut and Kazakh polysemantic phraseological units is complex due to the fact that the meaning of the original free word combination is transferred in Yakut in four directions, which makes it extremely difficult to find their equivalents in Kazakh in view of the specific reflection of the world picture in the compared languages. The limit of development of convergent and divergent semantic transfer of linguistic units of indirect nomination in Yakut is the formation of phraseological units with four meanings, which is indicative of a rich figurative potential of Yakut linguistic units. Considering that phraseological units as semantically reinterpreted separate units and set word complexes already are linguistic units of indirect nomination, their further semantic reinterpretations and transformations must be reinterpreted to a greater extent.