Abstract
<jats:p>The article is devoted to the analysis of speech acts that use linguistic means expressing curse in the Kazakh language. The study uses situations from Kalikhan Yskakov's novel «Konyr kuz edі». The aim of the investigation is to determine the functions of speech acts that use linguistic means expressing curse in the Kazakh language. Descriptive and pragmatic analysis were used in the study. Data was collected using a continuous sampling method. This study attempts to examine the concept of 'curse' in a work of fiction. The speech acts with the use of curse have been analyzed in this work. The intentions of the speakers and the purpose for which curse is used in speech were examined. The analysis of speech acts was conducted using pragmatic analysis to identify the speaker's intentions. The study's results show that the use of curse does not always have a negative intent, but rather serves an expressive function, revealing the speaker's emotional state and acting as a speech enhancer. The meaning of each curse must be analyzed in context, determining the speaker's intention and taking into account the specifics of the communicative situation.</jats:p>