Defense of the dissertation of Baikadamova Assel for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in the educational program «8D02310 - Foreign Philology»

L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, a dissertation defense for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) by Baikadamova Assel on the topic ««Linguo-cognitive potential of explicit and implicit meanings of the semantic space of a modern literary text»» to the educational program «8D02310 – Foreign Philology».

The dissertation was carried out at the «Foreign Philology education department» of L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University.

The language of defense is russian

Official reviewers:

Ryspayeva Dinara Sarsembayevna – Candidate of Philological Sciences, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, Sh. Ualikhanov Kokshetau University (Kokshetau, Kazakhstan);

Zhanysbekova Elmira Tulegenovna – Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Acting Associate Professor, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (Almaty, Kazakhstan).

Temporary members of the Dissertation Council:

Rishat Zhurkenovich Saurbayev – Candidate of Philological Sciences, Professor of the Department of Foreign Philology, Toraighyrov University NJSC (Pavlodar, Kazakhstan);

Liliya Amiryanovna Nefedova – Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor, Dean of the Faculty of Linguistics and Translation, FSBEI HE Chelyabinsk State University (Chelyabinsk, Russia);

Nurziya Abdikarim – Candidate of philological Sciences, Head of the Terminology Department, National Scientific and Practical Center “Til-Kazyna” named after Shaisultan Shayakhmetov (Astana, Kazakhstan).

Scientific advisors:

Bizhkenova Aigul Ermekovna – Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor, L.N. Gumilyov ENU (Astana, Kazakhstan).

Melnichuk Olga Alekseevna – Doctor of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor, M.K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University (Yakutsk, Russia).

The defense will take place on March 28, 2026, at 10:00 AM in the Dissertation Council for the training direction «8D023 – Languages and literature» in the educational program «8D02310 – Foreign Philology» of L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University. The defense meeting is planned to be held online.

Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86082230594?pwd=GDTbAka5vr6DFpuYQBfPfZ9o8HDba4.1

Conference ID: 860 8223 0594, Access code: 144963

Address: Astana, K. Satpayev str. 2, Main building, room No. 302.

Abstract (English): ABSTRACT of the dissertation prepared by Assel Nurlanovna Baikadamova to obtain the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in the educational program 8D02310 – Foreign Philology on the topic: «Linguo-cognitive potential of explicit and implicit meanings of the semantic space of a modern literary text» The relevance of the research is determined by the growing scientific interest in the interaction of language, thought, and culture in literary discourse, as well as the need to identify the mechanisms of meaning representation within the semantic space of a literary text and their transmission from the Kazakh original into English and Russian. Special attention is paid to explicit and implicit semantic components, which form the multilayered and interconnected structure of the text and are actualized through the interaction of the author's intention and the reader's interpretation. At the surface (linguistic) level, explicit meanings verbalize the plot content, while implicit meanings reveal deep cultural and mental layers of the novel through cognitive structures. Hidden meanings possess heightened semantic density and the ability to go beyond direct denotation; their additional senses are formed not only within the text but also in the cultural and cognitive context, allowing them to be related to concepts. The theory of hidden meanings requires further development, taking into account the multilayered and interconnected nature of textual semantic units, as well as the issues of meaning transmission and interpretation in foreign-language literary texts. The analysis of the English, Kazakh, and Russian versions of the novel enables the identification of patterns in the transformation and preservation of culturally determined meanings during the transition between different linguistic and conceptual systems. Research object: semantic space of I. Esenberlin's novel The Nomads as an integrated system reflecting the interaction between the plan of expression and the plan of content, with an emphasis on the national-cultural context in the Kazakh original text and its translations into English and Russian. Research subject: description of the linguistic and conceptual features of the representation of the multilayered semantic space of I. Esenberlin's novel The Nomads in the Kazakh original and its English and Russian translations. Research aim is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the linguistic-cognitive potential of explicit and implicit meanings forming the semantic space of I. Esenberlin's novel The Nomads, in comparison with its Kazakh original (Көшпенділер) and the Russian translation (Кочевники). Research objectives: 1. to determine the theoretical and methodological foundations for understanding the semantic space of a literary text as an integrated system reflecting the interaction between linguistic form and conceptual-semantic content in I. Esenberlin's novel The Nomads, taking into account the national-cultural and historical-ethnic context. 2. to select the research units and theoretically examine the possibilities of adequate linguistic-semantic translation of the meanings of the Kazakh original text of the novel into English and Russian while preserving historical, cultural, and value orientations. 3. to analyze the representation of explicit and implicit meanings as components of the semantic space of the Kazakh original text of the novel and its English and Russian translations using the typology and description of key artistic concepts. 4. to identify in the course of an empirical study the level of perception of explicit and implicit meanings of the novel in English, Kazakh, and Russian. Research material comprised the texts of I. Esenberlin`s novel The Nomads in the English translation, its Kazakh original (Көшпенділер), and Russian translation (Кочевники). The novel is regarded as a significant object of contemporary philological and cognitive-linguistic analysis due to its enduring cultural, educational, and interpretative relevance. A comparative study of the texts in three languages allows for the identification of the features of explicit and implicit semantic components, as well as the processes of adaptation and transference of these components from the Kazakh original into English and Russian within different linguistic and cultural contexts. Research methods include linguistic-conceptual, structural-semantic, linguistic-stylistic, descriptive-distributive, and metaconceptual analysis; comparative approach; situational text analysis using frames, scripts, and scenarios; experimental study; and statistical calculations. The theoretical and methodological basis of the research is grounded in cognitive and discursive approaches to text analysis, as presented in the works of M.A.K. Halliday, R. Hasan, R. de Beaugrande, W. Dressler, T.A. van Dijk, G. Lakoff, C. Fillmore, R. Langacker, M. Turner, G. Fauconnier, P. Werth, W. Iser, P. Grice, among others. The ideas of L.G. Babenko, Y.V. Kazarin, I.R. Galperin, M.M. Bakhtin, and Y.M. Lotman are applied to study the semantic aspects of the text. The theoretical provisions of N.D. Arutyunova, Y.N. Karaulov, V.I. Karasik, the frame-based model of conceptualization by N.N. Boldyrev, and N.F. Alefirenko`s ideas on ethnocultural semantics are used to examine the deep semantic characteristics of the text, key concepts and their interrelations, the interaction of explicit and implicit content, and the dynamics of semantic transformations. The works of S.S. Mukhtarova, S.A. Ashimkhanova, A.Zh. Zhaksylykov, and A.B. Amirbekova provide a comprehensive framework for the comparative analysis of the semantic space of I. Esenberlin's novel The Nomads in the original text and its translations. Scientific novelty of the research lies in a comprehensive approach to investigating the linguistic-cognitive potential of a literary text, in which explicit and implicit meanings are treated as complementary levels of the semantic space, realized through linguistic means of expression and cognitive structures (concepts, frames, scripts). For the first time, a comparative analysis of the perception of the same literary work in three languages (English, Kazakh, and Russian) has been carried out in the context of culturally conditioned meanings and the features of their linguistic representation. Theoretical significance of the study lies in the development of the methodology for analyzing literary texts, concept theory, and cognitive linguistics by applying a novel perspective to the analysis of a text’s structural-semantic properties and the explicit and implicit components of its content. This approach deepens the understanding of the mechanisms underlying the formation of a text’s semantic space and the translation of its conceptual content into other languages. The findings contribute to the further development of theoretical insights into the processes of meaning generation, transmission, and reception in literary discourse. Practical significance of the study is determined by the possibility of applying its theoretical provisions and findings in disciplines such as text linguistics, stylistics, translation theory, intercultural communication, and linguoculturology. The results obtained in the course of the research can be used in the development of educational and methodological materials on cognitive semantics, conceptology, and the interpretation of literary texts. Key points for defense: 5. The semantic space of I. Esenberlin’s novel The Nomads (Көшпенділер) constitutes an integrated system encompassing linguistic, cognitive, and cultural components. In a literary work, the semantic space is understood as its core content viewed through the lens of the author’s intention and expressed using the necessary linguistic means: vocabulary, lexical combinations, fixed expressions, stylistic and grammatical devices. The national-historical and cultural-ethnic specificity of the literary work endows its semantic space with multilayered expression, not only at the level of meaning but also in linguistic form. 6. To study the semantic and conceptual space of the work using thematic selection and systematic sampling, a corpus of 5000 contexts was compiled from the English (The Nomads), Kazakh (Көшпенділер), and Russian (Кочевники) versions of the novel. The original Kazakh text has been translated into more than 30 languages worldwide. Conveying the semantic space with all its semantic and linguistic structures is a key aspect of translation. However, under the influence of differences in linguistic and conceptual systems, the form of expression undergoes transformations, and some of the meanings of the original text are inevitably lost. 7. A comparative analysis of the semantic space of the original and translated texts allows for the identification of invariants through the correlation of explicit and implicit meanings, linguistic units, and key conceptual layers. Five identified macro-concepts define the invariant semantic core and form its linguistic-semantic and cognitive-cultural framework. Concepts of a military-historical nature and those related to social and kinship relations predominantly convey explicit meanings, whereas religious-mythological, spiritual-moral, and personal-psychological concepts embody implicit meanings, creating a deep, symbolically rich level of the novel’s semantics. 8. The invariance of semantic layers in the English, Kazakh, and Russian versions of I. Esenberlin’s novel The Nomads (Көшпенділер) leads to differences in readers’ interpretation of the work’s meanings, regardless of the high quality of the translations, as confirmed by the empirical results. The level of understanding of the semantic content of the literary text is higher when the material is culturally and linguistically closer to the respondents’ native cognitive system: Kazakh – 87%, Russian – 86.4%, English – 37.2%. Consequently, the degree of cultural-linguistic congruence of the reader directly affects the accuracy of literary text interpretation and the preservation of the work’s semantic integrity. Approbation of the work: The results are presented in 9 publications, including 4 articles in the Scopus, 3 articles in journals recommended by the Committee for Control in the Field of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and 2 reports at international conferences. Структура диссертации. Работа состоит из введения, трех разделов, заключения, списка использованных источников, и приложений. Structure of the dissertation: The dissertation consists of an introduction, three chapters each with subsections and conclusions, a final conclusion, and a bibliography. Appendices include the materials of the experimental study, including the questionnaire, textual fragments in English, Kazakh, and Russian, as well as examples of translations of Kazakh anthroponyms and toponyms. List of publications on the topic of the dissertation: 4 articles in the Scopus: 10. The construction of meanings in a textual space: cognitive-lexical and cognitive-synergetic aspects. // Xlinguae. – 2023. – Vol. 16, Iss. 4. – P. 66-82. 11. Analysing the explicit and implicit semantic structure of the Iljas Esenberlin novel trilogy “Nomads” // AILA Review. – 2024. – https://doi.org/10.1075/aila.23008.bai. 12. Modus Ethical Categories as a Condition for the Emergence of Phraseological Semantics, their Application in Political Discourse // Space and Culture, India. – 2024. – 12 (3). – P. 171-188. 13. Perceptual-Figurative Concept «Moral Traits and Qualities of a Person’s Character» // Forum for Linguistic Studies. – 2025. – №7(3). – P. 1067-1079. 3 articles in journals recommended by the Committee for Control in the Field of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan: 14. Лексическая семантизация концепта «Степь» в художественном произведении // Вестник Казахского национального университета имени Аль-Фараби. Серия филологическая. – 2022. – №1 (185). – С. 71-83. 15. Вербально-концептуальный анализ исторического персонажа в трилогии Ильяса Есенберлина «Кочевники» // Известия КазУМОиМЯ имени Абылай хана. Серия «Филологические науки». – 2022. – №3 (66). – С. 221-235. 16. Этический дискурс Абая: когнитивно-коммуникативный аспект // Вестник Кокшетауского университета имени Ш. Уалиханова. Серия филологическая. – 2024. – №3. – С. 22-33. 2 articles in the proceedings of international conferences: 17. Лингвосемантический анализ концепта «степь» в художественном тексте // Сборник материалов международной научно-практической конференции «Технологии перевода и сравнительное литературоведение в зеркале научного наследия Ахмета Байтурсынова» (2022 – 28 октября – С. 95-98). 18. Концептуализация исторического персонажа в художественном произведении // материалы международной научно-практической конференции «Филологическая наука в современном образовательном пространстве» (2023 – 28 апреля – С. 61-66).

Dissertation

List of Scientific Works

Consultant's Review

Foreign Consultant's Review

Conclusion of the Research Ethics Committee

Official Reviewer's Review

Official Reviewer's Review