The role of transformations and their effectiveness in achieving phraseological equivalence in translation between English and Uzbek

Abstract

Phraseological equivalence is a complex problem of translation because fixed expressions combine denotative meaning with conventional imagery, pragmatic force, cultural associations, and stylistic value. This article investigates the role of lexical, grammatical, semantic, and stylistic transformations in English-Uzbek phraseological translation and evaluates the effectiveness of combined translation procedures. The research is based on comparative, contextual, semantic, and functional analysis of selected English phraseological units and proverbs together with their Uzbek correspondences. The findings show that formal similarity is not a sufficient criterion of adequacy. Effective phraseological translation depends on preservation of contextual meaning, conformity with Uzbek grammatical and phraseological norms, pragmatic correspondence, and stylistic appropriateness. Lexical and semantic transformations are especially productive where the two languages conventionalize comparable meanings through different lexical components or figurative images, whereas grammatical transformations are required by structural differences between English and Uzbek. Combined procedures become necessary when several types of asymmetry occur simultaneously. The study concludes that transformation is not a departure from equivalence but a systematic means of achieving it when direct correspondence is linguistically or culturally inadequate.