Motivating Features of the Concepts Zhurok and Heart

Бюллетень науки и практики / Bulletin of Science and Practice

UDC 81\'373.612.2                                  

Language and culture are deeply intertwined, as language serves as a means of communication and expression for a particular cultural group. Every language reflects the culture, national character, mental qualities, and social behavior of the nation that uses it. As every nation has its own way of conceptualizing the world, each linguistic picture of the world is unique.

Linguists and cognitologists such as A.Wierzbicka, N. D. Arutiunova, G. A. Brutian, V.N.Teliya, B. B.Kolesov, Z. D. Popova, E.S.Kubriakova have extensively studied the concept ‘picture of the world’. The scholars describe the ‘picture of the world’ as a global image of the world, the result of all human spiritual activity. [1, p. 216], a reflection of the knowledge and understanding of the world as expressed through language. [2, p. 14–16].

V. A. Maslova emphasizes that the unit of the conceptual system and the picture of the world reflected in the human psyche is the concept [3. p. 43]. The concept can be understood as an expression of ethnic specificity, a clot of culture, or a quantum of structured knowledge, depending on different definitions provided by researchers such as V. N. Telia, Y.S. Stepanov, Z. D. Popov, I. A. Sternin. These definitions highlight the complexity of the structure of a concept.

The multilayeredness of the concept is manifested in the presence of several qualitatively different components, dimensions, or levels in its structure. The most well-known approaches to revealing the structure of the concept belong to V. V. Kolesov, I. A. Sternin, V. I. Karasik, J. S. Stepanov, and M. V. Pimenova. Demonstrating the conceptual framework V.V.Kolesov sees the concept as the unity of image, notion and symbol [4, p. 107], I. A.Sternin describes the concept as a circle with the archiseme in the core, differential semes in the near periphery, latent semes in the far periphery [5, p. 34], V. I. Karasik identifies figurative, notional and evaluating components of the concept [6, p. 39].

According to Pimenova M.V. motivating feature is the one that serves as a basis for naming a certain fragment of the world, it is the internal form of the word. The older the word is, the more motivating features the concept has [7, p. 53].

The article aims at identifying the main motivating features of the concept Heart in the English and Kyrgyz worldviews revealing similar and specific features in perception of this concept by the speakers of these languages.

The multiplicity of the concept has led to appearance of various approaches to investigating its structure. We can mention the method of conceptual analysis which assumes the study of the semantic structure and pragmatics of an individual word, considered as a cultural phenomenon with its specific history [8].

Lexicographic analysis, that involves studying dictionaries, in order to characterize the semantics of the keywords of the concept, describe their associative and connotative components, thus to determine the core and periphery of the concept [9].

Componential analysis is aimed at studying the meanings of words by determining their seme composition, as well as at establishing the relationships of the key nominees of the concept [10].

Linguocognitive analysis leads the researcher to picture-forming semantic constants, expressing the results of the cognitive experience of the people, which are connected with psychology, philosophy, logic of thinking, with the life attitude of the native speakers of a particular language [11, p. 15].

It is impossible to provide the full list of the approaches due to complexness of the concept’s construction. Researchers are still creating new methods in order to reach the deepest layers of the concept. One of the most recent approaches, which was used in this article is the method of Kemerovo school of cognitive linguistics. According to this approach the conceptual structure is formed by six classes of features. Motivating features describe the primary attributes, given by etymological dictionaries, figurative attributes are revealed through the combinatory properties of the word, notional characteristics are objectified in the form of semantic components of the word and its synonyms; functional attributes reflect the functional significance of the referent, categorical attributes include dimensional, qualitative, quantitative, value-evaluative, spatial and temporal features, and symbolic attributes express complex mythological, religious or other cultural notions attached to the concept's representative processes help us to distinguish a certain object - real or virtual existing - from the general background of similar objects, to endow it with common features with others and inherent in it alone [12, p. 17].

The study of any concept is advisable to begin with its etymological layer, which reveals the original meaning. The origin of the concept or its motivating features can be traced in etymological dictionaries. The analysis of dictionary entries of etymological dictionaries allows to consider the metonymic accumulation and metaphorical accretion of meanings to the first image of the conceptum. To identify the motivating features of the concept Zhurek/Heart we studied 4 etymological dictionaries of the Kyrgyz language and 4 dictionaries of the English language. The study of the etymological dictionaries has revealed 43 motivating features of the concept Zhurek/Heart, which can be grouped into 5 main blocks: ‘inside, inner’, ‘center’, ‘soul’, ‘courage, bravery’ and ‘movement’.

The Kyrgyz language belongs to the Turkic languages, including the Kyrgyz-Kipchak or Mountain-Altaic group. The word heart is jürek in Turkish, Uzbek jurăk, Tatar jürak, Kazakh žurek, Altaic d'ürek, Bashkir jörek, Turkmen jürek, Yakut süreq, Tuvan čürek, Khakasian čürăk, Azerbaijani Turkic ürek, The first meaning in all languages is "heart".

English is a language of the Anglo-Frisian sub-group, the western group of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family. English heart is derived from Old English heorte, German herz, Icelandic hjarta, Irish hryða, Swedish hjerta, Armenian sirt, Russian сердце, Latin cordis, and Greek kardia.

The cognitive model of the concept Zhurek/Heart ‘inner, inside’ is found in all the referred dictionaries. Heart is located inside the body and can be seen when the chest is opened (Жан чыккан соң, көкүрөгүмдү жоо канжар менен жаргыла да жүрөгүмдү алгыла. (Cut my chest open after I die and take out my heart) (Т.Кasymbekov Broken sword), (In his left side was a terrible lacerated wound, exposing the heart. (Lost Hearts by M. R. James)).

The motivating feature ‘internal organs’, which includes ‘stomach’, ‘abdomen’, ‘liver’, ‘gallbladder’, ‘spleen’, ‘intestines’, ‘gut’, and ‘bowel’ is considered to be a variant of the cognitive model ‘inner, inside’ The etymological dictionaries show confusion of heart and the digestive organs. “Greek kardia has a meaning "stomach", Latin cardiacus "pertaining to the stomach", Breton word kalon from Old French cauldun means ‘bowels’ . Aristotle considered the heart to be an element of the digestive system. In his opinion digestion was a series of chemical reactions that transformed food into blood, while the latter was understood as a nourishment for the body [13]. The English lexeme heartburn, which is the ‘burning sensation in the esophagus, indigestion’, connects heart and stomach.

As for the Kyrgyz concept, the phrase zhurok ailanuu that literally means ‘heart’s turning around’ is used to express the feeling of nausea. Heart accepts or needs food (Энвер паша кабагы бүркөлүп, … кымыз жүрөгүнө барбай кыңырылып отурду.) (Enver Pasha was frowning and hesitating, his heart didn’t accept kumyz) (Т. Кasymbekov Кеl кеl), The human face is a furnace sealed. The human heart its hungry gorge (Blake)). It cleanses by vomiting (Чылапчын алып чык, жүрөгүм аңтарылып кетти!) (Bring a basin, my heart is going to turn inside out) (Baitemirov), (Nay, indeed, he was under the most violent perturbation: his heart was now, if I may use the metaphor, entirely evacuated. ((Thackeray The History of Henry Esmonds Esq.).

The sign ‘lungs’ is actualized by the verb breathe (Келчи кана сагынычтык тарасын, күткөн жүрөк демин кенен ала алсын.) (Let the longing pass, let the waiting heart breathe deeply.) (А. Оsmonov Book of poems), as for the English concept, it is actualized by the noun sigh (I hope that sigh is from the heart and that you repent of ever having been the occasion of discomfort to your excellent benefactress (Ch. Bronte Jane Eyre)).

In etymological dictionaries of the Germanic languages Heart is defined as ‘womb’, ‘scrotum’. Bulgarian dolno syertse (lower heart) meaning ‘womb’, Serbian detsa ot srtsa (a child from heart) ‘own, biological child’, Russian nosit pod serdsem (carry under your heart) and English ‘carry in heart’, which mean ‘be pregnant’ all refer to the female organ or the reproductive system. [14] (Now the sweetness of that sick child, looking ever to her in love, patience, and gratitude, was as honey to her soul, and she carried her in her heart as well as in her arms, a precious burden. (T.S. Arthur An Angel in Disguise))

One of the definitions of the word Heart in Collin’s dictionary ‘a fertile condition in land’ also echoes the meanings ‘womb’, ‘scrotum’ given in etymological dictionary. (The land is in good heart, the soil is generally deep, well drained medium loam soil. In the past grain and potatoes have been grown as cash crops producing good yields (Balfours property professionals .

The study of the etymological dictionaries of the concept shows that the feature ‘center’ is dominant in the English language. The Old Irish cride, Lithuanian sirdis, Slavic serda have the meaning ‘middle, center’. Heart with the meaning of ‘center’ is used for a city/town (And yet here we find them in the pocket of a dead junior clerk in the heart of London (Doyle The Last Bow)), or a region (It was, as far as I can ascertain, in September of the year 1811 that a post-chaise drew up before the door of Аswarby Hall, in the heart of Lincolnshire. (Lost Hearts by M.R. James)); and abstract notions (For to kill is the great law set by nature in the heart of existence! (The Diary of a Madman by Guy de Maupassant)). Even time has its center, which is actually the middle of the period (He began his adventures in the very heart of the later Victorian era, carried it through the all-too-short reign of Edward and has managed to hold his own little niche even in these feverish days. (Doyle The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes)).

The word ‘core’ is formed by the same Latin root and carries the meaning ‘central part of anything’. It was not often that she came to the play stirred to her heart’s core by actualities. (Theodore Dreiser Sister Carrie)) Heart of the meaning ‘core’ can be referred to some plants: a rose (But the thorn had not yet reached her heart, so the rose's heart remained white, for only a Nightingale's heart's-blood can crimson the heart of a rose. (The Nightingale and the Rose Oscar Wilde)), or a pine have a core (Cracks the strong hearts of pines, whose cable-roots held out a thousand storms… (Beaumont and Fletcher Philaster)).

According to the referred dictionaries, the meaning of the lexeme Zhurok ‘bravery, courage’, which exists in all languages of the group, is one of the most common and predominant ones. Therefore, the cognitive sign of the concept Zhurok ‘courage, bravery’ makes an important group. This metaphorical meaning is mainly seen in the derived adjectives such as жүрөктүү (Kyrgyz), жүректі (Kazakh), yürekli (Turkish) – brave; жүрөксүз (Kyrgyz), жүрексіз (Kazakh), yurᾶksis (Uygur) – cowardly; жүрөксүнүү (Kyrgyz) – be afraid, not have enough courage, йөрәклелек (Tatar), ᵹypxeн (Bashkir) - bravery, courage. A courageous person possesses a heart (Мингенин буудан Көктеке, жүрөктүү эле эркекче…(The horse Kokteke that you rode possessed a heart like a man) (Jusup Mamay “Manas”), whereas lack of the heart means being cowardly (Жүрөгү жок ургандар, Качып берип сайдырар (The heartless men will run and get stabbed) (Kyrgyz folklore); the level of bravery depends on the size of the heart (Барамын мен, … Жүрөгү тоо, Каармандар жанына (I will go to the heroes who have hearts like mountains (J.Turusbekov)), and its quantity-two hearts) («Жүрөгү эки» деп айтып … (He is said to have two hearts…) (Kyrgyz folklore).

In contrast the etymological dictionaries of the English language reveal that the meaning ‘bravery’ of the English lexeme Heart isn’t prevalent. Although the word ‘courage’ was originated from Latin root ‘cor’, equivalent of heart, its meaning changed throughout history. In Old English it meant ‘innermost feeling, temper’. The meaning ‘valour’ came into existence in the 14th century, though in Middle English the word was used for ‘wrath, pride, confidence’. The adjective formed by the suffix -ful ‘heartful’ is defined as ‘devout, earnest’, as for its antonym ‘heartless’, which meant ‘dispirited, dejected’ in Old English, altered to ‘lacking courage, foolish, sluggish’ in Middle English, and later to ‘callous, cruel’ (Dutch harteloos, German herzlos have the same meaning).

The study of the dictionaries shows that the motivating feature of the concept Heart ‘bravery. courage’ has diminished to the meaning ‘insensitive enough to do something’, which is seen in the use of the phrase ‘have heart to/for’ (“And why did one never have the heart to refuse to let her come to tea?” said the doctor. (Maugham Rain)), and hearten/dishearten meaning ‘make more cheerful or confident’ (Dean was killed in his fight, but Monk, who commanded in the same ship with his; threw his cloak over his body, that the sailors might not know of his death and be disheartened (Dickens A Child’s History of England)).

The heart is not only the most important organ of a person, but also the center of his physical and psychological life, that's why in etymological dictionaries the heart is represented by the soul. In the Old Testament, Heart often has a psychological meaning: it is the centre of the inner life of a man, the source of motivation, the seat of the passions and thought processes, the source of consciousness .

The heart and the soul are often used interchangeably that it was observed that the cognitive sign ‘soul’ is found in the synonymous expressions with the lexemes heart and soul in both languages. Heartless/soulless in the meaning of cowardly (Болуптур эмесе, жүрөгү жок коркоктор.) (Ok, heartless cowards.) (Кaimov), the heart/soul comes up to one’s mouth/ throat in the meaning of feeling anxious/scared’worried (Бүткөн боюм дүр дей түшүп, жүрөгүм алкымына капталды.) (My body shivered and my heart came up to my throat) (Аlа-Тоо), Ошондон бери жаным алкымыма келип, жаман болуп жүрөм.) (Since then I have been feeling unwell with my soul at my throat.) (Меdеtоv), burning the heart/soul meaning feel upset/desperate (Жүрөгү күйүп өрттөнүп, Жаны ачып, жаман болду дейт (He suffered as his heart burnt) (Usonbaev). Мени келебай кылбагыла, - деп Баяздын жаны куйүп айтты (‘Don’t think I am stupid,’ said Bayaz with his soul burning.) (Zhusupov), the heart/soul comes back to its sac meaning to calm down (Кабылдын жүрөгү кабына келе түшкөн экен. (Kabyl’s heart came back into its sac.) (М.Elebaev “Hard times”), (Баланын жаны өз ордуна келгендей болуп, көшүлүп уктап кетти (The child’t soul seemes to have come back into its sac.) (Бейшеналиев)), the heart/soul smokes meaning feel upset/desperate (Кемсинген букаралардын жүрөгүнүн башынан түтүн чыгып тургандай түрлөрү бар) (The hearts of the humiliated poor people seemed to be smoking) (Sh.Umetaliev), (Билбейм -этпейм. Аны силер билип корккула! — деп, Баяз жаны түтөйт ) (I don’t care. You do care and be scared! -said Bayaz with his soul smoking) (Zhusupov), from the bottom of heart/soul (When I said you were my best friend, I meant it from the bottom of my heart (merriam-webster.com)), bless one’s heart/soul (Bless your heart, old fellow, it’s better than all the advertising in the world (Dickens Pickwick paper)), (Damn, Johnny you are such an idiot! God bless your soul. (urbanductionary.com); after one’s heart/soul (Mrs. Harden, be it observed, was the housekeeper: a woman after Mr. Brocklehust’s own heart, made up of equal parts of whalebone and iron (Ch.Bronte Jane Eyre)).

In English the expression ‘heart and soul’ is frequently used together (And I read pity there, the tenderness of woman, the love, the heart and the soul of Unga (London The son of the wolf)).

In both linguistic cultures, the heart is presented as the centre of human feelings, experiences, desires and intentions, as well as an indicator of human nature and character. The etymological dictionary of the Turkic languages highlights the feelings of anger and kindness. (Ошол замат жүрөгүнөн бир тажаал от дүрт жанып, бетине кан дүргүп, бир азоо жин аны көтөрүп учту. (At that moment, a fiery flame burned in his heart, blood flowed up to his face, and a small demon flew up taking him away with him. (Т. Кasymbekov Kelkel)) While the dictionaries of the English language show the heart can feel joy, anger, worry, love, and kindness (Miss Martha's heart, as you have been told, was a sympathetic one. (O. Henry Witches' Loaves)).

In Islam the comprehensive organ (mudrik) of a man, is firmly grounded in the heart, therefore the heart is endowed with reason [15, p. 214-215]. The motivating features ‘intelligence’ and ‘reason’ are actualized by the verbs understand, know, listen, respond, tell, view, recall etc. (The heart understands when it is confronted with contrasts. (Theodore Dreiser Sister Carrie)). The English concept also has the sign ‘memory’ expressed by the phrase ‘ by heart’ (She knew its dull, little round by heart. (Sister Carrie Theodore Dreiser)).

The heart is considered the center of the moral and spiritual life of the person. The Qur'an states "The hearts of the righteous are as clear as crystal, while the hearts of sinners are covered with rust and deaf to the truth" [16]. The moral and ethical qualities of the heart in both languages are actualized by the adjectives good, open, dark, innocent, pure (There, … it was his father's custom to perform domestic worship that the neighbors might come and join with him like brothers of the family, … and keep his heart pure by freshening the memory of home. (Nathaniel Hawthorne My Kinsman, Major Molineux)). In the Kyrgyz language the positive and negative qualities can be objectivized by the colorative signs white/black (О, ак жүрөк, ичкен ашына кара санабаган, куйтулукту билбеген макулугум! Oh, white-hearted creature who never knows what cunning is. (Т.Кasymbekov Kelkel). Using the attributes of some precious stones and metals is characteristic of both languages. (The silver heart left the office, swinging and banging itself independently against the office furniture as it indignantly departed (O. Henry The Romance of a Busy Broker).

The last feature of the concept Zhurok/Heart ‘movement’ forms the biggest group, which is actualized by the verbs shiver/ tremble (Укмуштарды угуп отурсаң жүрөгүң титирейт!) (Your heart shivers when you hear about those incredbile stories), flutter (Энвер пашанын ансыз да бийиктикти көтөрө албай жүргөн жүрөгү туйлайт. (Enver Pasha’s heart is fluttering not being able to carry the weight of his authority) (N.Kasymbekov Kelkel), spin (Жүрөгүм айланып, башымды көтөрө албай жатам.) (My heart is spinning and I can’t hold my head up.) (Leninchil zhash), overturn, roll over (Жаш селки сени санасам, Оодарылат жүрөгүм.) (When I think of you, young beauty, my heart overturns.) (Poems about love), turn inside out (Ардагым эске түшкөндө, Аңтарылат жүрөгүм. When I recall my love, my heart turns inside out.) (Poems), move in waves (Кулпунуп жердин көркүнөн, Козголду жүрөк толкуду. Seeing the beauty of the place my heart moves in waves)).

The movement signs of the concept Heart are objectivized by the adjective quaking (The wondrous shock of feeling had come like the earthquake which shook the foundation of Paul and Silas’s prison;…then vibrated thrice a cry on my startled ear, and my quaking heart and through my spirit (Ch. Bronte Jane Eyre)), the verb thrill (The heart was thrilled, the mind astonished, by the power of the preacher; neither were softened (Ch. Bronte Jane Eyre)), shiver (The scene made Robin's heart shiver with a sensation of loneliness stronger than he had ever felt in the remotest depths of his native woods; so he turned away and sat down again before the door. (My Kinsman, Major Molineux by Nathaniel Hawthorne)), tremble (And for those trembling starts that followed her course; they made my heart tremble, my veins glow when I viewed them. (Ch.Bronte Jane Eure)), flutter (Her knees trembled, her heart fluttered Montgomery Ann of Green Gables)).

	The motivating features	«1 •2^ co 2 r> s P Si § ^•2 Q	о| os- 5 > &C о о о s	,o os- &Q о о о s	Юо Q &0 К Q О S G &0 О к ~S -G •2 Q -2^ on o^ ^ c к o'	1E ^ Q •s -2 S-s о tel	^ ^ si ^f^ ^te	$ a-G ^ te^Gl S3 о ^.~~. s §S^ о s=q S h^ S' p 5	§ §x3§ Й^<3 s O'S:
			The	organ and its location
1	heart	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
2	chest					+
3	bosom/breast					+	+	+
Located inside
4	depth		+			+
5	abdomen	+	+	+
6	stomach	+	+	+
7	liver	+	+
8	gall-bladder	+	+	+
9	lungs	+
10	spleen	+				+
11	bowel					+
12	womb					+
13	intestines	+					+	+
14	gut						+	+
15	scrotum						+	+
Spirituality
16	soul	+	+	+	+	+
17	spirit					+
18	energy		+
Central part
19	center						+	+
20	core/kernel							+
21	middle						+	+
Mental and moral strength to face danger, difficulty, challenge
22	courage/bravery	+		+	+	+

	The motivating features	«J -2 §р 2 г> з £ з t!§ ^2 Q	1й >3^3 о Os й S	.о ^ 1 о Os S	3 <Х) К 3 О 3 Й &0 О к •2-2 2 3 Ьо с 22 S ^ О-з ® 2 к o'	Зв ч> к з -2 "о и 5^ о 2	зб2'^ 2§s^ ^1^2 ^ ^ ^ ^14	г ? ■3 2^^ 3 3 ^Г1 о s=q 2 ^ ~ S S i 5^ РР §	2 §x3S ^2 зч^2 Ша s tfs
23	will				+	+	+	+
24	confidence					+
25	determination				+
26	diligence		+	+
27	desire					+
Seat of feelings and emotions
28	love					+
29	joy					+
30	anger/wrath			+		+		+	+
31	worry							+
32	kindness			+					+
Seat of intellect
33	mind					+
34	intellect			+		+
35	reason			+
36	memory					+
Movement
37	move		+						+
38	walk		+
39	jump/leap/hop								+
40	live/alive/living			+
Moral principles
41	ethic	+
42	moral	+
43	justice	+

As it is seen in the table the etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages [17] provides 13 definitions, the etymological dictionary of the Turkic languages [18] - 11, the etymological dictionary of the Turkic languages living [19] – 12, and the etymological dictionary of the Chuvash language [20] provides 5 definitions of the of the concept Zhurok. All the referred dictionaries define the Heart as ‘the organ, that pumps blood’; other meanings are the internal organs such as liver, abdomen, stomach, gall-bladder; ‘soul’ and ‘bravery’. Notably, the definitions of "center," "middle," "core," and reproductive organs like the "womb" and "scrotum" are not typically associated with the Kyrgyz concept of Zhurok.

The online dictionary Etymoline presents the biggest number of the concept Heart – 19, A Handbook of Germanic Etymology [21] - 8, the Etymological dictionary Proto-Germanic [22] – 11, and the etymological dictionary of the English language [23] gives only 5 definitions of the concept. The study displays there is no full agreement on the meanings contained in the dictionaries except the first one. Breast/bosom, anger, and will are found in three dictionaries, while the meanings stomach, liver, gall-bladder, diligence and the features of moral principles don’t exist in the mentioned dictionaries.

Conclusions

The concept, as a fundamental element of our understanding of the world, undergoes changes over time. It expands as new components are added to reflect the worldview and cultural nuances of a particular period and national culture. While equivalent concepts in different languages share a common cognitive foundation, their specific components may vary. This is due to the historical development of concepts within the linguistic context of a specific language. Even though certain conceptual attributes may become outdated, they still persist in historical texts, providing insights into the stages of development and the process of mental formation. The comparison of the lexicographic definitions of the words Zhurok/Heart has allowed to establish some common features of the concept within the framework of the compared language. The features include ‘central organ of the body’, ‘internal organs’, ‘soul’, and ‘movement’. The nationally specific features of Kyrgyz speakers' perceptions of the concept Heart involve ‘courage and bravery’, while for the English picture of the world the feature has changed to ‘determination and will’. The latter attribute refers to ‘memory and reason’, connecting it with the perception of the heart as a receptacle of spiritual and mental essences of a person. In the linguistic consciousness of the Kyrgyz people the heart functions as the nearby digestive organs, whereas the English speakers consider the heart the place where life originates. The revealed qualitative differences in the perception of the studied fragment of the linguistic picture of the world by native speakers of English and Kyrgyz languages are caused by the peculiarities of the national worldview. In general, the complexity of the structure of the studied concept indicates its rather high significance in the consciousness of speakers of the compared languages and the possibility of attributing it to the group of key concepts of the compared cultures.