“PRAGMALINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF FEAR-INDUCING LEXICAL UNITS IN DETECTIVE DISCOURSE”

Аннотация

В данной статье исследуются прагмалингвистические функции лексических единиц, вызывающих страх, в детективном дискурсе на примере узбекского (Шайтанат) и английского (Шерлок Холмс) произведений. Анализируются семантические, синтаксические и прагматические стратегии. Результаты выявляют культурноязыковые различия в передаче страха, подчеркивая роль контекста, метафоры и речевых актов. Ключые слова: Прагмалингвистика, лексические единицы, вызывающие cтрах, детективный дискурс, семантические и прагматические стратегии, анализ дискурса Pragmalinguistics observes how language is used for communication by defining meaning without literally interpreting it. It also studies how words impact the audience. Unlike traditional semantics, which examines the meaning of words in isolation, or syntax, which is sentence structure, pragmalinguistics studies meaning in relation to context, the intention of the speaker, and the impact of the words on the 99 "ZAMONAVIY TILSHUNOSLIK VA TARJIMASHUNOSLIKNING DOLZARB MUAMMOLARI" mavzusidagi xalqaro ilmiy-amaliy anjuman audience. The synthesis of core principles based on fundamental scholarly literature is presented below. Post-1980s fiction and literature outline worlds unknown to the average reader, offering diverse clusters of evocative, sensational constructs laced with frightful descriptions. The psychology of fear emerges uneasily yet critically important, while creepy fiction and dread are maintained through pliable narration and rigorous psychological control over the reader. The style of detective fiction, heavily reliant on suspense and psychological influence, becomes a language of fear: an emotionally manipulated reaction not simply to danger, but an intensively staged attempt to capture. In this research, I analyze the pragmalinguistic aspect of fear in quite different detective cultures, Arthur Conan Doyle’s “Sherlock Holmes”-the very pinnacle of English detective fiction. In Sherlock Holmes, fright is viewed through a prism of logic and deduction; echoing the West’s preoccupation with reason and tangible menace. Doyle’s prose oozes packaging precision-dread, a fear to be positioned as binary complicated, a “chill of fear” creeping down the spine, the “paralyzing terror” of a predator not seen, the “gnawing unease” inside a crime undone. These constructions are heavy on physiological metaphor (“his blood ran cold”) and violations of “Gricean maxims,” like ominous vagueness. In stark contrast, Shaytanat roots its terror in the collective and the supernatural, drawing from Central Asian folklore, Islamic cosmology, and communal taboos. Fear here is not just an individual experience but a shared cultural specter-a qo‘rqinchli shovqin (terrifying noise) in the dead of night, the shayton ishi (devil’s work) lurking in mundane spaces, or the o‘likning nafasi (breath of the dead) haunting the living. The lexicon of fear in Uzbek detective fiction is saturated with religious and folkloric imagery, where curses (Jazosi kelar!-You’ll pay for this!) and omens (Deraza g‘irillab ochildi-lekin hech kim yo‘q edi-The window creaked open-but no one was there) function as speech acts that invoke existential dread. Unlike Doyle’s detached suspense, Shaytanat employs repetition (Qo‘rqdim, qo‘rqdim!-I was afraid, so afraid!) and auditory dominance (e.g., the g‘irg‘ir of a door swinging on its own) to immerse the reader in a world where fear is inescapably communal, tied to the weight of tradition and the unseen eyes of society. Underpinning this analysis are key theoretical frameworks. Safarov’s (2008) pragmalinguistics positions fear as a contextbound performative, where language does not merely describe terror but enacts it. Van Dijk’s discourse analysis reveals how fear narratives serve as ideological tools, reinforcing cultural norms (e.g., the Uzbek emphasis on communal morality vs. Holmes’ celebration of individual intellect). Meanwhile, Peirce’s semiotics helps decode fear as a system of signs-the howl of a hound in Doyle or the creak of a door in Shaytanat are not just sounds but culturally loaded symbols of impending doom. 100 "ZAMONAVIY TILSHUNOSLIK VA TARJIMASHUNOSLIKNING DOLZARB MUAMMOLARI" mavzusidagi xalqaro ilmiy-amaliy anjuman By examining detective fiction through lexical, syntactic, pragmatic, and cultural lenses, we uncover how language is weaponized to manipulate fear. Whether through Arthur Conan Doyle’s surgical suspense or Shaytanat’s folkloric horror, both traditions reveal fear not merely as an emotion but as a linguistic artifact-sculpted by word choice, strategic silences, and unspoken cultural truths. Consider the following Uzbek passage: Xonada g‘ayritabiiy sovuq tarqaldi. Nigora bo‘yniga nimadir yopishganini his qildi – yelkasiga sovuq nafas tegdi. Orqasiga qaytganida, hech narsa ko‘rinmadi… lekin qo‘rquv ildiz otgandek yuragiga singib ketdi. In our next example, a literal translation might read: An unnatural cold spread through the room. Nigora felt something