NATURE ENCODED IN FOLK RIDDLES: A CONTRASTIVE LINGUISTIC AND CULTURAL STUDY OF UZBEK AND ENGLISH TRADITIONS

Abstract

Folk riddles constitute a distinctive genre of oral literature in which natural phenomena are represented through metaphor, personification, symbolic imagery, and indirect description. This article examines the linguistic, semantic, cognitive, and cultural features of Uzbek and English riddles concerning natural phenomena. Particular attention is given to the representation of the sun, moon, stars, wind, rain, snow, and sky. The study aims to identify shared cognitive mechanisms and culture-specific patterns in the conceptualization of nature in the two linguistic traditions. A qualitative contrastive approach is employed, combining semantic interpretation, linguistic description, and linguocultural analysis. The discussion demonstrates how familiar natural phenomena are transformed into figurative images through comparisons with human beings, family relationships, movement, and everyday experiences. Uzbek riddles may draw on culturally familiar kinship imagery and traditional conceptions of the universe, whereas English examples may emphasize concise descriptions of observable characteristics and unexpected logical relationships. These tendencies are treated as interpretive patterns rather than absolute distinctions between the two traditions. The study highlights the significance of folk riddles for comparative linguistics, cultural studies, folklore research, translation, and foreign language education.