Binary Relations in Abai’s Language

Abstract

The conceptual reflections and humanistic ideas of Abai Kunanbaiuly, the great son of the Kazakh people, dedicated to his native people and universal human values, lie at the core of the spiritual development of the modern Kazakh world. This article focuses on analyzing linguistic units that characterize binary relationships in the language of Abai’s works. A sequence of ideological symbols, consolidated around a multi-layered concept, encompasses synonymous, intermediate, and antinomic notions based on shared features. The polar boundaries of each sequence are closed by opposing meanings. Philosophers’ recognition of the concept as a unity of contradictions, in line with the dualistic theory of dialectics, also stems from this. In linguistic science, such oppositional connectors in the noospheric world manifest through binary pairs in the linguistic realm. The linguistic units describing binary relationships in language intertwine with the linguo-philosophical phenomenon linked to the dialectical law of the unity and struggle of opposites.

Overall, while language is a systematic structure and a complex noospheric phenomenon, its inherent nature is full of contradictions. Since humanity is considered a part of nature, its language is both a natural microcomponent and a multifaceted category that reveals human existence, distinguishes humans from other living beings, defines human cognition and quality, and reflects the unique mental characteristics of a linguistic community or ethnicity. The binary relationships in Abai’s language include oppositions such as “life – death,” “soul – body,” “existence – non-existence,” “good – evil,” “wisdom – ignorance,” “faithfulness – faithlessness,” “father – child,” etc. The ethno-cultural content of lexemes describing these binary relationships in Abai’s language elucidates the great thinker’s intricate system of thought and worldview.