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LACUNA AS A LINGUOCULTURAL PHENOMENON IN UZBEK AND ENGLISH
LANGUAGES
Dilnoza Tursunova Alisherovna
PhD student of Karshi State University
Teacher of Andijan branch of Kokand University
Kashkadarya, Uzbekistan
Email: tursunovadilnoza95@gmail.com
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14619221
Abstract:
The article discusses the concept of lacuna, its classification, its manifestations in
intercultural communication, and its role in translation studies. It also emphasizes the issue of
achieving balance in translation with the example of English-Uzbek and Uzbek-English
comparisons. Approaching the term “lacuna” from the linguocultural point of view is highly
supported in the article. It is proved that the study of lacuna in the linguocultural aspect has a
number of advantages. This approach can help to understand the lacuna in integrity, in all its
beauty, to see deeper foundations of the lacuna, and to open up new perspectives and
opportunities for understanding intercultural communication. In particular, we stand for the use
of linguocultural analyses in Uzbek-English translation fiction, the languages, which are distant
from each other, because in prose works there are many lexical units with a clear linguocultural
component, and in most cases they are given the decisive roles as expressing the literary value
and idea of the work. Deep background knowledge is required to properly understand and
translate these lexical units. Insufficient understanding and incorrect translation can lead to
misunderstandings and cultural errors in communication. In this context, this paper aims to
show the benefits of a deeper and combined study of the lacuna in linguistic and cultural aspects.
Keywords:
lacuna, alternative vocabulary, intercultural communication, relative lacunae,
national conceptual space, const.
Due to the growing scientific and technical process and globalization as a result of large-
scale international dialogue, lately cultural focus has been on these links. Cultures are more than
languages, but this is why there is an urgent need to study intercultural communication -
intercultural communication. Naturally, such communication is characterized by a clash of
cultures, which in turn creates some barriers to communication. Currently, the changing
methodological paradigm in linguistics and translation, the rapidly evolving world and
globalization, now require translation to focus not only on linguistic issues, but also on its
cultural aspects, and is now regarded as a form of intercultural and intercultural communication.
Certainly, as a result of inter-linguistic and intercultural alternatives arising from intercultural or
intercultural communication, the problem of understanding and interpreting the concepts of
another language and culture by one language and culture owner arises. As the scientific
paradigm shifted towards anthropocentricism in the 20th and 20th centuries, special attention
was paid to the national-cultural nature of linguistic phenomena and the close relationship
between language and culture. The urgency of these issues has prompted the emergence of such
areas as cognitive linguistics, psycholinguistics, ethnopsycholinguistics, linguistic philosophy,
linguistics, and lacunology. In the second half of the twentieth century in the work of researchers
comparing aspects of language and culture, the concepts of lacuna and lacuna emerged. First of
all, the national aspects of the conceptualization of the world surrounding the lacuna
phenomenon are related to the fact that people of different nationalities have a deep and
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unbalanced attitude towards the world, based on their own worldview. In the course of the
research, the lacuna was classified into lexical and lingual cultures. Lacunas indicate the national
and cultural identity of languages, and this is due to the fact that there are no other languages or
concepts that have emerged as a result of living conditions, worldviews, psychology, traditions of
a particular nation. Of course, mutual understanding is not an inescapable goal, but achieving
this goal in a realistic way requires a deeper understanding of the national culture, linguistic and
conceptual worlds of this nation. According to Yu.A.Sorokin and I. Markovina, "Lacunas are the
result of a lack or excess of experience in linguocultural unity". Lacunas, first mentioned in
linguistics, in particular in stylistics, are currently being considered in many studies on
ethnopsycholinguistics, cultural studies and linguistics, with different classifications, research
and elimination methods. In turn, there appeared a special area of study of lacuna - lacunology. A
number of authors who study lacuna from a linguistic and cultural perspective perceive it as a
barrier to communication, and we consider it to be a valid conclusion. Lacuna as a linguistic
phenomenon that causes the process of mutual understanding between participants of any kind,
especially intercultural communication, always occurs when certain parts of the culture and
language codes are not covered by semantic means and cause confusion.
ANALYSIS AND RESULTS.
When considering the differences between languages and
cultures, one of the first issues to consider is the notion of 'lacuna', which is used in a narrow and
broad sense. This is because the difference between the two languages and cultures is obvious in
the example of the lacunae. When the term “lacuna” is used in the narrow sense, it is assumed
that the vocabulary does not contain the necessary words to describe a particular concept.
According to Yu.Stepanov, the lacunas are "white spots" or spaces in the semantic map of the
language [3.120]. They exist in each language and are units that are not felt in the internal
structure but which are distinguished in the comparison process. Stepanov proposes to
differentiate between absolute and relative lacunas. Absolute lacunas appear in translation
dictionaries and are understood as words that have no equivalent in a particular language. In
other w words, the absence of a lexical unit in one language is absent in another. The meaning of
absolute lacuna can only be illustrated. For example, for English, the expression of parts of the
day in the Uzbek words such as azan (early morning), peshin (noon time) asr (after noon
time)and hufton ( time for night prayer) (for example, slept before noon, stayed home in the
evening, went out in the afternoon prayer and left in the night prayer) are the absolute lacunas.
Relative lacunas are words that are used rarely in the language, in exceptional cases. The relative
lacuna for the English language is an example of such concepts as "bolajonko`ngil (heart striving
for love of children), yo`nqo`shni – jonqo`shni (close neighbor - soul neighbor)". Separate studies
of lacuna in absolute and relative species are supported by many researchers. But there are some
who oppose it. According to Gudkov, the term "relative lacuna" itself has not been successful.
Because, "there is no relative gap" [2.79]. The term “Lakuna” is used not only to compare
languages but also other aspects of culture. With some modifications to Stepanov's description,
researchers recommend describing the lacuna as "white spots" in the semantic map of language,
text, or culture, the tools of national consciousness. Lacunas also appear in comparisons that
have their place in intercultural communication. According to Tomasheva "national elements of
culture that are harmoniously reflected in the languages of certain cultures and that are not fully
understood or partially understood by other linguists and cultures" [5.49]. In general, the lacuna
expresses concepts that exist in one culture and do not exist in another, to be more precise, a
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sign of the specifics of language and culture. In contrast to the language lacuna, culturological
(cultural) lacunas are also highlighted. This approach methodologically justified, because on the
one hand such a broad interpretation of the term "lacuna" relies on a real connection between
language and culture, on the other hand it helps to clearly identify some forms of language and
culture. Different classifications of the lacuna are suggested, depending on the differences and
the basis. Ethnopsycholinguistics presents the following types: Language lacunas (lexical,
stylistic and grammatical), cultural lacunas (ethnographic, psychological, lifestyle, kinesic), text
lacunas. As we have already mentioned, when the English and Uzbek languages are compared,
the lexicon for the English language is an example, such as the azan, evening, and noon, referring
to the time in Uzbek. For English, the suffixes that are added to the verb in the Uzbek language
are grammatical lacunas. An example of a stylistic lacuna is the absence of a word with similar
stylistic color in one of the contrasting languages. For example, the word “oraz” (literally “face”)
in the Uzbek language or the word “sarv”referring to the beautiful figure are stylistic lacunas for
the English language. Ethnographic lacunas are directly related to the nonlinguistic environment,
and their existence is explained by the fact that the realities of one culture are not in another
culture. For example, the Uzbek concepts of English such as "sochpilik (used for fastening the
hair endings)" and "tillaqosh (women’s ornament)" are ethnographic lacunas. Because
ethnographic lacunas are located in linguistic and extraterrestrial environments, some
researchers suggest that they are called linguocultural phenomena rather than culturological
phenomena. This view is also true in our view. There are other types and classifications of
lacuna. According to the language system, the lacunas are divided into types of inter-linguistic
and onelanguage systems. Lacunas are defined when comparing different languages, and in one
of them there is no lexical equivalent to another language unit. Lacunas belonging to one
language are defined within a paradigm of language - for example, the absence of a word with
opposite meaning or the absence of any morphological form of the word, etc. The interracial
lacunas can be classified as wellfounded and non-substantiated. Lacuna based on the fact that
there is no corresponding thing or event in the national culture. But unreasonable lacuna cannot
be explained by the absence of something or event - in culture they exist, but the words they are
named by do not exist. For example, "sochpilik" is a lacuna based in English, because this word is
a culturebound word that is not typical of English culture. The words "noon" and "supper" are
called unsound lacuna. Bogdanova says that "when it comes to lacuna, the absence of a word in a
given language does not always indicate a lack of words in that language" [4.29]. The point is that
certain concepts are in demand in society. On the one hand, it is the lacuna that play the key role
in defining concepts that are important to one culture and not important to another. This means
that not only the current understanding of the language, but also the nonexistent concept, can
provide information about an event.
CONCLUSION.
Deep analysis of the lacuna helps to gain new knowledge about the culture
of the people, including its mentality. This facilitates the translation process and helps preserve
the original form and content in translation. As a result of this analysis, we can see that the
concept of "lacuna" is still inaccurate in the scientific apparatus of translation theory. The term
"lacuna", successfully used by a number of authors, does not have a single interpretation. There
have been several articles and theses published in the translation, but the development of a more
accurate approach to this term and concept remains relevant. In general, it has been proved that
the study of lacuna in the linguocultural aspect has a number of advantages. This approach can
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help to understand the lacuna in integrity, in all its beauty, to see deeper foundations of the
lacuna, and to open up new perspectives and opportunities for understanding intercultural
communication.
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