ECOLOGICAL METAPHORS IN THE UZBEK LANGUAGE AND THEIR SEMANTIC ANALYSIS

This article examines ecological metaphors in the Uzbek language from a semantic and cognitive perspective. Ecological metaphors are understood as metaphorical expressions in which elements of the natural environment are used to conceptualize social, psychological, and cultural phenomena. The study is based on qualitative semantic and contextual analysis of lexical and phraseological units extracted from Uzbek literary texts, mass media, and everyday speech. The results reveal that ecological metaphors form a systematic semantic network structured around key conceptual domains such as growth, movement, stability, and decline. These metaphors reflect the national worldview, cultural memory, and ecological consciousness of Uzbek speakers. The findings support the view that ecological metaphors are not merely stylistic devices but fundamental cognitive tools that shape meaning construction and cultural interpretation. The study contributes to the development of ecolinguistics and semantic studies in Uzbek linguistics.