LINGUOCULTURAL FEATURES OF ENGLISH AND UZBEK PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS DENOTING COLOURS

الملخص

The present article investigates the linguocultural characteristics of English and Uzbek phraseological units that denote colors, emphasizing the intricate relationship between language, cognition, and culture. Colors are not only perceptual phenomena but also powerful symbolic tools through which communities express emotions, moral values, social norms, and cultural beliefs. Phraseological units involving colors such as idioms, sayings, and fixed expressions encode these meanings, reflecting both the universal human experience and culture-specific conceptualizations. Through a contrastive analysis of English and Uzbek color-related phraseological units, this study identifies similarities and differences in semantic, metaphorical, and pragmatic functions. For example, certain colors, such as red, may universally signify strong emotions like anger or passion, yet the subtleties of their usage reveal cultural distinctions between the two linguistic communities. Similarly, the interpretation of colors like blue, yellow, and green varies significantly, demonstrating how historical, social, and environmental factors shape the symbolic and emotional connotations attached to each hue. The article also explores the communicative and pragmatic roles of these idioms in discourse, highlighting how they enhance expressiveness, convey attitudes, and reflect cultural literacy. Understanding these linguocultural features is crucial for language learners, translators, and intercultural communicators, as literal translation often fails to convey the intended cultural nuance. By adopting a comparative and cognitive approach, the research illuminates the ways in which English and Uzbek speakers conceptualize the world through color, revealing the deep interconnection between linguistic form, meaning, and cultural worldview.