LEXICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN KHOREZM REGIONAL DIALECTS AND THE UZBEK LITERARY LANGUAGE: A SOCIOLINGUISTIC AND ETYMOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

This article examines the lexical relationship between the regional dialects of the Khorezm oasis — specifically the Urgench (Urg.), Yangibazar (Y.bzr.), Gurlan (Grln.), Khanka (Xnq.), and Khiva (Xv.) subdialects and the contemporary Uzbek literary language. Drawing on an original corpus of approximately 60 dialect lexical items compiled from field research data, the study conducts a systematic etymological, semantic, and functional analysis of dialectal vocabulary that either lacks equivalents in, has been marginalized by, or exists in parallel with, the standard literary norm. The findings demonstrate that Khorezm dialectal lexis constitutes a rich, internally stratified layer of the Uzbek national language, encompassing archaic Turkic roots, Arabisms, Iranisms, indigenous cultural nominations, and onomatopoeia — many of which encode cultural realities absent from the literary standard. The study further argues that systematic integration of productive dialectal lexis can enrich the Uzbek literary language without destabilizing its normative coherence. These findings have practical implications for Uzbek lexicography, language planning, and dialect documentation efforts.