Abstract
The article examines the pragmatic functions of code-switching in contemporary Kazakh-language social media discourse. The aim of the study is to systematize the main types of code-switching, identify its pragmatic functions in Kazakh-language digital communication, and describe the communicative factors influencing language-code choice. The research material includes linguistic data presented in domestic scholarly studies addressing the linguostylistic and pragmatic features of social media language, as well as findings from recent studies of publicly available comments by Kazakh-speaking young people on the Threads social network. The study employs descriptive, contextual, comparative, and pragmalinguistic methods of analysis. The results demonstrate that code-switching in Kazakh-language social media discourse performs such pragmatic functions as linguistic economy, terminological precision, intensification of emotional and expressive effects, evaluation, the creation of humorous and ironic effects, audience adaptation, and the expression of social identity and professional communicative affiliation. The scientific value of the study lies in its systematic examination of code-switching not only as a result of interaction between Kazakh, Russian, and English, but also as a pragmatic means of realizing the speaker’s communicative intention. The findings can be applied in the fields of sociolinguistics, pragmalinguistics, media linguistics, and Internet discourse, as well as in teaching language communication at higher education institutions. In conclusion, code-switching in social media is viewed as a significant phenomenon reflecting the dynamic development of the Kazakh language in the digital environment, its adaptation to multilingual communication, and the emergence of new language practices.