THE REPRESENTATION OF LINGUOCULTURAL FEATURES IN TRANSLATION BETWEEN ENGLISH AND UZBEK

Language and culture are closely interconnected, as linguistic expressions reflect the traditions, values, beliefs, social relationships, and historical experiences of a particular community. Therefore, translation between English and Uzbek involves not only the transfer of linguistic information but also the interpretation and representation of culturally embedded meanings. This study examines how linguocultural features are conveyed in English–Uzbek and Uzbek–English translation, focusing on culture-specific vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, proverbs, forms of address, and traditional concepts. The research applies descriptive, comparative, and contextual methods to identify the challenges associated with transferring cultural meanings between the two languages. Particular attention is given to the translation of such Uzbek concepts as mahalla, hashar, sumalak, and mehmondo‘stlik, as well as English cultural expressions that do not have direct equivalents in Uzbek. The analysis demonstrates that literal translation is not always sufficient to preserve cultural and pragmatic meanings. Depending on the context, borrowing, descriptive translation, functional equivalence, adaptation, and compensation may provide more effective solutions. The study proposes a context-oriented approach in which the translator considers semantic meaning, cultural identity, communicative purpose, and target-reader comprehension simultaneously. It concludes that successful translation requires not only linguistic competence but also a comprehensive understanding of the cultural backgrounds of both language communities.