Transformation and Semantic Changes of Metaphors in the Translation Process: A Comparative Study of English and Uzbek

Metaphor constitutes one of the most challenging units in translation due to its deep embedding in culture, cognition and national worldview. This study investigates the transformation and semantic shifts that metaphors undergo in English–Uzbek literary translation. Drawing on conceptual metaphor theory (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980), cultural variation theory (Kövecses, 2005), and the translation strategies proposed by Newmark (1988) and Baker (1992/2018), the paper identifies eight recurrent problem areas and evaluates corresponding solutions. The analysis is based on a qualitatively selected corpus of metaphorical expressions from English literary texts and their Uzbek renderings, supplemented by culturally specific Uzbek metaphors. Results indicate that full formal equivalence is rarely achievable; successful translation typically requires analogical substitution, adaptation or explanatory amplification in order to preserve communicative effect and cultural resonance. The study argues that translators must operate not merely as linguistic mediators but as cultural interpreters, and that clearer pedagogical distinction between metaphor and simile remains necessary in translator training.