The Pragmatic and Linguacultural Problems of Translating Phraseological Units Containing Somatisms (In English and Uzbek)

This article explores the intricate interrelation between language, culture, and translation, focusing on the pragmatic and linguacultural challenges of translating phraseological units containing somatisms (body-part terms) from English into Uzbek and vice versa. Somatisms represent one of the oldest and most culturally saturated layers of the lexicon in any language, serving as a primary tool for conceptualizing the human experience. However, because body parts acquire metaphorical and idiomatic meanings that are strictly unique to specific linguistic communities, their literal translation often leads to pragmatic failure and semantic distortion. Through a comparative and contrastive analysis, this study examines how concepts of the eye, heart, head, and hand function within the phraseological systems of both languages. The findings reveal that achieving pragmatic equivalence requires a deep understanding of the source culture's conceptual worldview and the employment of translation strategies such as idiomatic replacement, analogical substitution, and descriptive paraphrasing.