GRADATION CHARACTERISTICS OF EMOTION AND STATE VOCABULARY IN THE UZBEK LANGUAGE

Abstract

In modern linguistics, the category of gradation is considered one of the important theoretical concepts in determining the semantic relations of linguistic units. Gradation is a linguistic phenomenon that expresses the gradual increase or decrease of a certain sign, characteristic, or state based on various quantitative and qualitative indicators. This thesis semantically analyzes the gradation characteristics of lexical units expressing emotion and state in the Uzbek language. Human mental experiences have different intensity levels, which are expressed through specific lexical means in language. The formation of synonymous series expressing emotional states, the relationship of intensity levels, and the principles of lexical units' placement along a gradual scale are highlighted. In the Uzbek language, the semantic field of emotion and state can be divided into positive and negative lexical-semantic groups. For example, in the semantic field of fear, units like "qo‘rqinch → qo‘rquv → vahima → dahshat" are distinguished, and in the field of positive emotions, series like "xursandchilik → sevinch → quvonch → shodlik → surur" are identified. Furthermore, the role of denotative and connotative meanings, the function of semantic dominance, and the influence of speech context in the emergence of gradation in emotion vocabulary are examined. It is shown that gradation in emotion vocabulary arises not only through the lexical meaning of individual words but also with the help of syntactic means. In conclusion, the gradation of emotion and state vocabulary in the Uzbek language is a complex linguistic phenomenon based on the semantic relations of lexical units, which serves to deepen the study of the lexical-semantic system of the Uzbek language.