Pragmatic Aspect of Comparative Constructions in the Sayano-Altai Turks’ Epic Texts

Abstract

Comparative constructions being under study in the article belong to the epic texts of the Sayano-Altai Turks (Altaians, Khakas, Tuvinians, Shors). Main attention is paid to the semantics of lexemes used as objects of comparison and lexemes acting as standards of comparison. The objects of comparison form the semantic zones of the epic text: “Hero”, “Heroic Horse”, “Bride of the Hero”, “Environment”. Denoting the standards of comparisons lexemes reflect the basic worldview of the indigenous Turks inhabiting Sayano-Altai (Siberian Russia). The stock of lexemes-standards consists of units denoting landscape, water sources, celestial bodies, meteorological phenomena, fauna, flora, arte factus. Actual signs characterizing the objects of description are measure; quantity of objects as undifferentiated multiplicity; shape of the object; intensity of actions; emotional evaluation of the object. Lexemes-standards acquire symbolic functions, e.g., a mountain is used as a polyfunctional symbol. It can symbolize the huge size of one object, a large number of objects, a pointed shape of the object, intensity of emotions (the power of anger). The stock of standards belonging to each epic language turns out to be functionally equivalent. Moreover, ethnic epic texts expose a great amount of homogenious lexical units. This fact proves that the Sayano-Altaians own a common system of cultural codes.