THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LANGUAGE AND INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY: A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE ON ENGLISH AND UZBEK

Language is more than a means of exchanging information. It is also a means by which people can display their values, create relationships, communicate their sense of belonging and communicate to others. Despite the extensive work done on the link between language and identity in the field of sociolinguistics and applied linguistics, the study of identity negotiation from the perspective of the individual's communicative choices in their everyday language and culture in various settings is required. The article examines the relationship between language and the individual's identity in the comparative analysis of English and Uzbek. It investigates the use of forms of address, politeness, self-expression and adaptation to different audiences, using sociocultural approaches to identity and language use and interaction. The article does not regard English and Uzbek speakers as representatives of stable cultural identities, but takes into account the impact of context, personal experience, social relation and communicative purpose. The key conceptual feature is an understanding of identity across communicative situations; this links language to the intended self-presentation of the speaker, the interrelationship of interlocutors, and interpretations of the audience. From the discussion, it's suggested that identity is not necessarily language-based and that language is not independent of identity. Instead, language serves as an agent of resources through which identity can be expressed, negotiated and even altered.