Linguistic representation of the external image of a Khakass man:
semantic-cognitive aspect of description (based on literary works)

The article aims to identify and describe the external image of a Khakass man in a semantic-cognitive aspect. The research was based on the data from the artistic works of the Khakass language. Revealing a common image of a Khakass
man from fiction is not an easy task, since the artistic text, as an integral and structured system of linguistic means, is
characterized by the uniqueness and openness of the ideological space. It is known that artistic works are characterized
by genre categories and are created according to the laws of individual perception and associative thinking of the author.
Moreover, in addition to depicting living space, including the characters, fiction always has a subtext and implicit meaning. Thus the descriptions tend to reflect the secondary reality. Taking all these issues into account, the following aspects
were analyzed: what lexical and syntactical meaning is given to the image of a Khakass man; how semantic details are
emphasized when depicting growth, physical strength, age, clothing, and facial features; what names of body parts and
internal organs, combined with characterizing words, are included in the context of describing the appearance of a man
(in ordinary and extreme situations).

The verbal portray of a Khakass man is represented by multilevel (mainly syntactic and lexical) linguistic means. The
key units are sïnnïg “tall”, xara sas “black hair”, xara xaraxtar “black eyes”, xara sagallïg “with black mustache
(beard)”, čas “years”, čiit “young”, kiir “old” and etc. The discursive context also includes somatisms (the names of
body parts and internal organs) in combination with characterizing words. The external image of a Khakass man is more
likely to emphasize such semantic details as height, physical strength, age, clothes, and facial features.