Linguistic Basis of the Kazakh-English Toponymics and Eastern Themes and Ethnocultural Traits in the Works of Nuraly Nisanbayuly

Abstract

Nuraly Nisanbayuly (1858–1931) was a prominent Kazakh aqyn whose works reflect the transitional cultural and literary processes of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His dastans represent a valuable source for investigating the ethnocultural foundations of the Kazakh worldview and the linguistic features of Turkic literary traditions. This study aims to examine N. Nisanbayuly’s works from ethnocultural and linguistic perspectives and to identify the relationship between cultural meaning and language representation in his texts. The research is based on the dastans “Qaraqül”, “Khanym Syry”, “Zhetim Qubyl”, and “Sauda Ishan”. The methodology combines ethnocultural interpretation, comparative analysis, and morphological analysis of linguistic units. The first part of the study investigates the ethnocultural content of the selected dastans, focusing on traditional cultural codes and value systems, and their connections to the Eastern literary tradition. The analysis demonstrates that N. Nisanbayuly’s works integrate elements of the Turkic epic heritage with distinctive Kazakh ethnocultural meanings, thereby shaping an individual poetic style. The second part examines the morphological structure of toponyms found in the author’s texts through a comparative analysis of Kazakh and English toponymic systems. The results reveal several structural correspondences in the formation of toponyms despite the typological and genetic differences between the two languages. The findings contribute to a better understanding of the interaction between language and culture in Turkic literature and provide a basis for improving the translation and interpretation of Kazakh toponyms in English-language contexts.