EXPRESSING NATIONAL MENTALITY AND CULTURAL CODE IN TRANSLATION: THEORY, STRATEGIES, AND UZBEK–ENGLISH EXAMPLES

National mentality and cultural code are among the most difficult layers of meaning to carry across languages because they are often implicit, socially shared, and embedded in everyday lexical choices, forms of address, metaphors, and cultural references. This article examines how translators can represent Uzbek national mentality and cultural code in English translation without sacrificing readability or artistic effect. Drawing on well-established cultural frameworks (e.g., Hall’s high-/low-context communication and Hofstede’s national culture dimensions) and on translation-strategy debates (domestication versus foreignization), the paper proposes a practical, text-sensitive approach: preserve culturally central signals and make them interpretable through guided foreignization, selective explicitation, and pragmatic adaptation. UNESCO’s description of “living heritage” is used to highlight why cultural practices and rituals are not decorative details but meaning-bearing cultural knowledge. The analysis demonstrates typical problem areas—realia, politeness systems, kinship-based address, metaphorical evaluation—and offers examples with commentary to show how meaning can be preserved, compensated, or responsibly adapted for English readers.