CULTURAL MEANING IN OPPOSITE WORDS: A LINGUOCULTURAL STUDY OF UZBEK ANTONYMS IN SPEECH AND PROVERBS

Abstract:

This article explores the cultural dimension of antonymy in the Uzbek language by analyzing how commonly used oppositional word pairs reflect national values, social attitudes, and moral judgments. Moving beyond a purely semantic interpretation, the study adopts a linguocultural approach to show how antonyms in Uzbek—particularly as found in proverbs, idioms, and everyday speech—encode binary models of thought that are central to the community’s worldview. Pairs such as halol–harom, oq–qora, kattalik–kichiklik, and sabr–g‘azab do more than express contrast; they also carry symbolic, ethical, and emotional meanings shaped by tradition and cultural context. The paper also examines how these oppositions differ from their English or Russian equivalents, highlighting the importance of culture in shaping semantic asymmetry and the use of contrastive language.