Linguistic Representation of the Numbers Four, Ten and Forty in the Ancient Folk Worldview

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the representations of the sacred numbers “four,” “ten,” and “forty” in the worldview of Turkic peoples, particularly the Kazakh people, as reflected in language, phraseology, traditions, mythological concepts, and historical consciousness. Based on linguistic and historical evidence, the study demonstrates that these numerals originally functioned not merely as quantitative indicators but as cultural-semantic codes expressing the integrity of space and time, multiplicity, completeness, perfection, and infinity. The research shows that the number “four” embodies an ancient spatial model of the world structured around the four cardinal directions; the number “ten” became established as the upper limit of counting associated with the finger-based system of enumeration; and the number “forty” emerged as a marker of multiplicity and sacrality through the synthesis of these two conceptual frameworks. The study makes extensive use of phraseological units, proverbs and sayings, ethnonyms, toponyms, written historical sources, samples of oral folk literature, and ethnographic materials, which makes it possible to consider sacred numbers as a linguistic reflection of the worldview and social experience of the people. In addition, a new interpretation of the origin of the sacred semantics of the number “forty” is proposed, linking it to the interaction between the fourfold spatial model and the decimal counting system. The findings indicate that sacred numbers constitute not merely a numerical category but a cognitive-cultural phenomenon that preserves ethnocultural information and reflects the national worldview. The scientific novelty of the study lies in examining the semantic evolution of the numbers “four,” “ten,” and “forty” in their interrelation and in substantiating the origin of the multiplicative and sacred meanings of “forty” through the prism of the four-part spatial model and the decimal system of enumeration. The results may be applied in research on linguoculturology and ethnolinguistics, as well as in enriching the content of the National Corpus of the Kazakh Language.

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