PRAGMATIC USAGE OF "HEART / YURAK" PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS IN ENGLISH AND UZBEK

This article examines the pragmatic usage of phraseological units with the somatic component “heart” in English and “yurak” in Uzbek. The study focuses not only on their semantic meanings but also on their communicative functions in real speech situations. In both languages, the heart is conceptualized as a symbolic centre of emotion, courage, sincerity, moral character, inner pain, anxiety, and interpersonal attitude. English expressions such as “to break someone’s heart,” “to have a heart,” “to take heart,” “by heart,” “heart-to-heart,” and “from the bottom of one’s heart” demonstrate a wide range of pragmatic functions, including emotional evaluation, encouragement, sympathy, sincerity, memorization, and intimate conversation. Uzbek phraseological units such as “yuragi ezilmoq,” “yuragi orqasiga tortmoq,” “yuragi keng,” “yuragi toza,” “yurakdan gapirmoq,” “yuragi dov bermoq,” and “yuragiga qil sig‘maslik” similarly express emotional, moral, volitional, and evaluative meanings. The research applies a qualitative comparative method based on semantic-pragmatic classification, contextual interpretation, and cross-cultural analysis. The findings show that English and Uzbek share several universal metaphorical models, especially HEART AS EMOTION, HEART AS COURAGE, and HEART AS SINCERITY.However, Uzbek usage more frequently connects “yurak” with moral purity, patience, compassion, and collective interpersonal sensitivity, while English usage often emphasizes individual emotional state, courage, sincerity, and psychological resilience. The study concludes that “heart / yurak” phraseological units function as culturally loaded pragmatic tools that help speakers evaluate people, soften criticism, express empathy, intensify emotion, and regulate interpersonal relations.