Cognitive-discursive features of expressing the degree of comparison in Kazakh and French

Abstract

In the context of the rapid development of cognitive and discursive linguistics, the category of degree emerges as a fundamental semantic-pragmatic mechanism for representing subjective evaluation, intensity, and communicative modality. This study offers a comprehensive multilevel analysis of degree expressions in Kazakh and French, uncovering their underlying cognitive structure, linguocultural specificity, and functional roles across discursive domains. The aim of the research is to identify both universal and culture-bound strategies for expressing degree within the framework of cross-linguistic comparison. The empirical base consists of data from corpora, journalistic prose, and literary texts in both languages, systematically selected according to genre affiliation and pragmatic orientation. The methodological framework integrates cognitive linguistics, linguocultural analysis, pragmatics, and corpus-assisted discourse studies, ensuring a multidimensional examination of the phenomenon. The findings confirm the hypothesis that degree is deeply embedded in cultural and linguistic codes, functioning as a cognitive universal whose realization is shaped by national value systems, discourse traditions, and communicative norms. A typology of degree expressions has been proposed, encompassing their grammatical-semantic properties, evaluative functions, and metaphorical mappings. The theoretical contribution of the study lies in refining the conceptual apparatus of cognitive-discursive linguistics in relation to evaluative language, while its practical implications extend to the development of models for automatic text evaluation, intercultural communication theory, and foreign language pedagogy.