LINGUO-COGNITIVE AND LINGUO-CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS IN ENGLISH AND UZBEK LANGUAGES
Keywords:
euphemism, metaphor, death, English, Uzbek, cognitive linguistics, culture, pragmatics, taboo, cross-cultural semantics.Abstract
This article is devoted to the analysis of euphemisms in English and Uzbek languages, with a special focus on the metaphorical framework of death-related euphemisms. It explores how metaphors such as “Death is Departure”, “Death is Sleep”, “Death is Coming Home”, “Death is Gambling”, and “Death is Reward” function not only as linguistic devices but also as cognitive and cultural constructs. These metaphorical expressions reveal how societies soften the harshness of death, maintain cultural taboos, and convey collective emotional responses. Through a comparative linguistic and cultural lens, the paper examines the pragmatic and semantic dimensions of these euphemisms and their reflection of national worldviews, religious beliefs, and values. Additionally, it provides a classification of euphemistic metaphors based on their source domains and cognitive motivations. The study contributes to a better understanding of cross-cultural pragmatics, cognitive linguistics, and socio-linguistic variation in euphemism usage. It also provides insight into the similarities and differences in how English and Uzbek speakers conceptualize death through metaphorical language.
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