Psycholinguistic and Cognitive Foundations of Kazakh and English Mythotoponyms: A Comparative Linguistic Study
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Objective: The present study aimed to explore the cognitive and cultural foundations of Kazakh and English mythotoponyms by examining how relationships between humans, landscapes, mythology, and collective memory are represented through place names.
Methods and Materials: Using a qualitative comparative-typological design, this study analyzed more than 50 mythotoponyms collected from historical toponymic dictionaries, scholarly works on onomastics, and folklore-based sources. The data were examined through a cognitive-cultural framework focusing on semantic motivation, conceptual categorization, symbolic representation, and the role of mythological narratives in constructing spatial meanings.
Findings: The findings indicated that mythotoponyms in both linguistic traditions function as cultural signs that preserve collective memory and transmit symbolic knowledge across generations. However, differences were observed in the dominant patterns of meaning construction. Kazakh mythotoponyms frequently reflected relationships between sacred landscapes, natural elements, ancestral memories, and spiritual interpretations of place, whereas English mythotoponyms more commonly incorporated legendary figures, religious narratives, historical associations, and human interactions with landscapes. These patterns are interpreted as culturally shaped ways of experiencing and representing space rather than fixed characteristics of national identity.
Conclusion: The study highlights the role of place names as embodied cultural expressions through which human communities negotiate memory, identity, and relationships with their surroundings. By connecting cognition, language, and cultural experience, this research contributes to interdisciplinary understanding of how symbolic environments shape human meaning-making.
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