Abstract
The article states the results of a psycholinguistic research, the goal of which was to describe the conceptualization of the ethnocultural value “жар / spouse” by native speakers of the Kazakh language and culture, modeling the associative field “жар / spouse” in the Kazakh language, categorization of semantic zones in composition of the field. The material of the study was the data of a mass associative experiment conducted with representatives of the Kazakh ethnic group. The method of obtaining data was a free associative experiment with the registration of responses issued over a certain period of time to the stimulus word “жар / spouse”. The obtained associative data were distributed according to the frequency criterion with subsequent modeling of the associative field and structuring of the semantic zones of gestalts. The components identified as a result of the study in the associative meaning of the word-stimulus “жар / spouse” are due to the ethnic specificity of the Kazakh culture. The associative field “жар / spouse” is formed by the semantic zones “махаббат, қолдау / love, support”, “отбасы мүшелері, адамдар / family members, people”, “өмірлік серік / partner in life”, “нысан / object”, “уақыт / time, “байлық / wealth”, “жануарлар, құстар / animals, birds”, “түс / color”, the most voluminous of which are zones that reflect love and support, family members and people, and partnership in life.