Comparative Relations in English and Uzbek: Form, Meaning and Function
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Abstract
Comparative relations constitute one of the fundamental semantic categories through which speakers identify similarities, differences, superiority, equality, and degree between entities, actions, and qualities. Although English and Uzbek belong to different language families and demonstrate distinct grammatical systems, both languages employ a wide range of lexical, morphological, and syntactic devices to express comparative meaning. This study examines comparative relations in English and Uzbek from functional, semantic, and structural perspectives. Employing a contrastive linguistic approach, the research analyzes authentic examples selected from literary texts, academic sources, and contemporary language usage. The analysis demonstrates that English primarily relies on morphological markers (-er, -est) and analytical constructions involving more, most, and than, whereas Uzbek expresses comparison mainly through lexical particles, postpositions, and syntactic structures. Despite these structural differences, both languages perform comparable communicative functions, enabling speakers to evaluate, classify, and describe objects and phenomena. The findings contribute to comparative linguistics by identifying similarities and language-specific features in the realization of comparative meaning and provide practical implications for translation studies, English language teaching, and intercultural communication.
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