NATIONAL-CULTURAL CODES IN ERKIN A’ZAM’S SHOVQIN: A LINGUOCULTURAL AND COGNITIVE ANALYSIS

Аннотация

This study presents a comprehensive linguocultural and cognitive exploration of contemporary Uzbek prose through the analytical prism of Erkin A’zam’s critically acclaimed novel 'Shovqin' (The Noise). Positioned within the anthropocentric paradigm of modern cognitive linguistics, the paper dissects how deep-seated national-cultural codes operate as cognitive vehicles for societal critique during transitionary social epochs. Employing a combined methodology of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) and structural-semantic linguocultural coding, the analysis exposes four foundational categories of cultural signs embedded within the text: somatic, zoomorphic, colorimetric, and social-communal codes. The research systematically maps how traditional idiomatic expressions, somatic metaphors, and animal symbols undergo cognitive transformation, evolving from historical repositories of cultural heritage into highly sophisticated satirical instruments. These linguistic mechanisms expose the moral disintegration, psychological fragmentation, and existential alienation of the post-Soviet intellectual class confronted with aggressive globalization and unchecked market commercialization. Ultimately, the paper demonstrates that Erkin A’zam’s idiosyncratic prose style functions not merely as a passive mirror of linguistic structures, but as an active cognitive mapping mechanism that preserves national semantic boundaries while simultaneously deconstructing local ethical crises.