NATIONAL-CULTURAL SPECIFICITY OF MUSIC-RELATED LEXICAL UNITS IN ENGLISH AND UZBEK: A DIACHRONIC AND SYNCHRONIC COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Abstract

This paper explores the national-cultural specificity of music-related lexical units in English and Uzbek using a contrastive linguistic approach. A purposive corpus of 200 terms, genres, and idioms from authoritative lexicographical sources was analyzed through diachronic and synchronic lenses. Diachronically, results show distinct evolutionary paths: the English musical lexicon absorbed Greco-Roman and Italian influences, reflecting Eurocentric classical traditions, while the Uzbek lexicon is rooted in Chagatay, Arabic, and Persian layers, shaped by the Maqom tradition and folklore. Synchronically, the study identifies significant cultural non-equivalence; Uzbek terms like tanbur, gijjak, and shashmaqom encode unique spiritual-philosophical concepts (realia), whereas English exhibits a high density of music-derived conceptual metaphors used in daily pragmatic discourse (e.g., "face the music", "play second fiddle"). The discussion concludes that despite globalization, distinct socio-cultural worldviews prevent total semantic equivalence.