E u r o p e a n S c h o l a r J o u r n a l ( E S J )
A v a i l a b l e O n l i n e a t : h t t p s : / / w w w.s chol arzest. co m
Vol. 3 No.2, February 2022
I S S N : 2 6 6 0 - 5 5 6 2
60| P a g e
COMPARATIVE INVESTIGATION OF METAPHOR IN MODERN
ENGLISH AND UZBEK
Pazilova Nasibaxon Muhammadqosimovna
Docent, Andijan State University, Andijan, Uzbekistan
Mamadazizova Shahlo Kamoldinovna
Second-year-student of Master’s Dagree, Fergana State University, Fergana, Uzbekistan
A rt i c l e h i s t o r y :
A b s t r a c t :
R ecei v e d :
10thDecember 2021
This article deals with the problems of lexicology and stylistics in
linguistics which studies the metaphor which is one of the important devices
of the language. It finds out unique and universal features of the metaphor
in English and Uzbek.
A cc e p t e d :
11th January 2022
P ubl i s h e d :
22th February 2022
K e y w o r d s : metaphor, stylistic device, cumulative, expressive, perceptive.
Metaphor is for most people a device of the poetic imagination and the rhetorical flourish – a matter of
extraordinary rather than ordinary language. Moreover, metaphor is typically viewed as characteristic of language alone,
a matter of words rather than thought or action. For this reason, most people think they can get along perfectly well
without metaphor. We have found, on the contrary, that metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language
but in thought and action. Our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we both think and act, is fundamentally
metaphorical in nature. The idea about usage of metaphors put forward by Lakoff G. and Johnson M. inspired many
linguists to dive into the investigation of metaphor again and with conscious mind. Since, they were indeed right when
they claimed the aforementioned statement. More and more scholars and scientists had a stereotypical opinion that
only limited group of people are able to handle with this kind of stylistic device.
Johnson and Lakoff states that “The most important claim we have made so far is that metaphor is not just a
matter of language, that is, of mere words. We shall argue that, on the contrary, human thought processes are largely
metaphorical. This is what we mean when we say that the human conceptual system is metaphorically structured and
defined. Metaphors as linguistic expressions are possible precisely because there are metaphors in a person's conceptual
system.”
Up until most recently, metaphor has been primarily studied by philosophers, rhetoricians, literary critics,
psychologists, and linguists, such as Aristotle, Hume, Locke, Vico, Herder, Cassirer, Buhler, I. A. Richards, Whorf,
Goodman, Max Black, to mention just a few names from the thousands of people who have done work on metaphor
over the past two thousand years. Today, an increasing number of cognitive scientists, including cognitive linguists,
engage in the research on metaphor. The reason is that metaphor plays a role in human thought, understanding, and
reasoning and, beyond that, in the creation of our social, cultural, and psychological reality. Trying to understand
metaphor, then, means attempting to understand a vital part of who we are and what kind of world we live in.
Metaphor has been thoroughly investigated by Uzbek linguists too. Some scholars dedicated their research on
general meaning transfer (“ko’chim”), while others selected one specific type of meaning transfer such as metaphor
(sometimes called as “istiora”). If we look up Explanatory Dictionary of the Uzbek language there is given such a
definition to metaphor: “the usage of a word or a phrase on the basis of similarity or comparison or used word or phrase
in this meaning, istiora, majoz, for instance tuning peg of dutar (musical instrument) is called as “ear” in a metaphoric
meaning. As one can observe metaphoric word or phrase in one language cannot commensurate with the same meaning
transfer in another one. Like in above mentioned example, we say “ear” of dutar, rubab and things like that, whereas
in the English language they call it tuning peg, in ins turn there is also metaphor, as they call hook, usually something
to hang on it, as a peg.
As mentioned many linguists touched upon the theme meaning transfer, and they defined it more or less on their
way. If we observe some of them, we can encounter reasonable approaches. According to Qobuljonova G., lexeme is
the essential unit of language. It serves to name the objects existing in the world. It does not only limit itself with
naming, but also it has functions such as passing the knowledge to generations (cumulative), realize (perceptive), affect
to the listener (expressive). She also claims that in learning the world it is important the role of comparison. New object
or event is always compared to previous realized objects or events, and it leads to call the latter ones with names of
previous ones. [41; 3-4]
She also admits that metaphor was considered as literary device and attracted mostly poets and researches of
literature. She comments on the fact that from 70s it began to be investigated rapidly and she highlights the works of
Mirtojiyev M. As there are so many approaches to the definition of metaphor in the Uzbek language too, she puts
forward her version: “Metaphor is transfer of object’s, attribute’s, action’s name to another object’s, attribute’s, action’s
