The Cognitive Origin of Taboos and Common Roots

Authors

  • Aidana KASHKEYEVA

    Language and Linguistics Department, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty 050010, Kazakhstan
  • Didar AKHANAEV

    Language and Linguistics Department, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty 050010, Kazakhstan
  • Bakitgul KULZHANOVA

    Language and Linguistics Department, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty 050010, Kazakhstan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i12.12038
Received: 10 September 2025 | Revised: 20 October 2025 | Accepted: 22 October 2025 | Published Online: 24 November 2025

Abstract

The article discusses the linguocognitive value and meaning of taboo, which in linguistics refers to ethnographic lexis, and analyzes its semantic structure. Lexical units in the vocabulary of a language are abstracted in the mind through deep linguistic structures, logical, psychological, philosophical, social, etc., foundations formed in the linguistic consciousness, and are reflected in the language through a cognitive model. As we know, taboo is a forbidden word and action. Language is a product of centuries-old human knowledge and human consciousness. Taboo words and their interpretation help to understand the meaning of folk customs. The main goal of the work is to examine cognitive phenomena in the language in close connection with the formation of the spiritual world of people speaking that language - their thinking, language consciousness, and the national consciousness that develops on its basis. The article considered the meaning of prohibitions and their common roots. The linguocognitive, linguocultural, and educational significance of taboos is explained on the basis of the continuity of taboos in cognition and tradition. Research methods: ethnolinguistic, comparative-descriptive, lexicographical selection. According to the results of the study, words that are prohibited from being mentioned are considered separately from euphemisms, which indicates their special cultural and cognitive significance. Despite the grammatical differences, we conclude that there are some common features between Kazakh and English. The research highlighted the ethnolinguistic nature of words and compared their existence in different languages.

Keywords:

Taboo; Common Roots; Cognition; Linguocognitive; Linguoculture; Ethnography; Prohibition; Customs and Traditions

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How to Cite

KASHKEYEVA, A., AKHANAEV, D., & KULZHANOVA, B. (2025). The Cognitive Origin of Taboos and Common Roots. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 7(12), 1594–1602. https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i12.12038

Issue

Vol. 7 , Iss. 12 (December 2025): In progress

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Article

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Copyright © 2025 Aidana KASHKEYEVA, Didar AKHANAEV, Bakitgul KULZHANOVA

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This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.