Authors

  • Almardanov Dilmurod Eshmurodovich
    Teacher, Department of Oriental Languages, Oriental University, Uzbekistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.71337/inlibrary.uz.eijps.107679

Keywords:

Homonyms lexical homonyms grammatical homonyms Uzbek language

Abstract

This study examines the expression and usage of homonyms in Uzbek and Arabic languages, highlighting the linguistic phenomenon where words share the same form but carry different meanings. In both languages, homonyms play a significant role in enriching vocabulary, creating humor, and facilitating poetic expression. The types of homonyms are classified as lexical (including lexical and phraseological) and grammatical. Uzbek homonyms emerge through linguistic evolution, borrowing, and dialectical variations, while Arabic homonyms, known as compound words, are debated for their literal versus metaphorical meanings. Notable examples from each language illustrate the depth and variety of homonyms, emphasizing their function in literature, art, and communication. The study also distinguishes homonyms from polysemantic words, highlighting their structural and semantic independence.


background image

European International Journal of Philological Sciences

26

https://eipublication.com/index.php/eijps

TYPE

Original Research

PAGE NO.

26-29

DOI

10.55640/eijps-05-06-08



OPEN ACCESS

SUBMITED

14 April 2025

ACCEPTED

10 May 2025

PUBLISHED

12 June 2025

VOLUME

Vol.05 Issue 06 2025

COPYRIGHT

© 2025 Original content from this work may be used under the terms
of the creative commons attributes 4.0 License.

Expression of Homonymic
Words in Uzbekistan And
Arabic Languages

Almardanov Dilmurod Eshmurodovich

Teacher, Department of Oriental Languages, Oriental University,
Uzbekistan

Abstract

: This study examines the expression and usage

of homonyms in Uzbek and Arabic languages,
highlighting the linguistic phenomenon where words
share the same form but carry different meanings. In
both languages, homonyms play a significant role in
enriching vocabulary, creating humor, and facilitating
poetic expression. The types of homonyms are classified
as lexical (including lexical and phraseological) and
grammatical. Uzbek homonyms emerge through
linguistic evolution, borrowing, and dialectical
variations, while Arabic homonyms, known as
compound words, are debated for their literal versus
metaphorical meanings. Notable examples from each
language illustrate the depth and variety of homonyms,
emphasizing their function in literature, art, and
communication.

The

study

also

distinguishes

homonyms from polysemantic words, highlighting their
structural and semantic independence.

Keywords:

Homonyms, lexical homonyms, grammatical

homonyms, Uzbek language, Arabic language,
compound words, polysemantic words, linguistic
phenomenon, wordplay, metaphor.

Introduction:

The words existing in the language are

divided into 3 types according to the relationship
between form and meaning:

1. Homonym

2. Synonym

3. Antonym.

Words that have the same form but different meanings
are called homonyms. The word homonym in
translation from Greek means "the same". For example:


background image

European International Journal of Philological Sciences

27

https://eipublication.com/index.php/eijps

European International Journal of Philological Sciences

the word chang indicates the following meanings:

• dust, guard, dust; very fine powder of earth. For

example, chang rose.

• Chang is a musical instrument in the form of a

rectangular flat box, which is played with a double stick
with stretched strings. Dutar, chang... chess wall clock
appeared in a teahouse. (A. Kahkhor)

Homonyms are divided into 2 types: lexical homonyms
and grammatical homonyms.

Lexical homonyms:

1) within words;

2) inside phrases.

If the phenomenon of homonymy occurs inside a word,
it is called a lexical homonym. For example: the word
ash:

ash (noun)

a dark powder that forms as a

result of burning something. He ordered to take a
bucket of ash that stood in front of the kitchen. (P.
Tursun).

ash (verb)

to make sounds of pleasure,

sounds expressing joy: Why is Aziz so happy: His face is
smiling, his eyes are shining? (H. Gulom).

If the phenomenon of homonymy occurs

within a phrase, then it is called a phraseological
homonym. For example:

raise your head

raise your head from the

bottom up.

raise your head

rise up,

raise your head

come to your senses, start

to come to your senses.

So, there are 2 types of lexical homonyms:

lexical and phraseological homonyms.

In linguistics, grammatical homonyms are also

distinguished. Grammatical homonyms are formal
equivalences within suffixes. Suffixes that have the
same form but different meanings are called
grammatical homonyms. For example: the suffix -

им

indicates the following:bilim

ot yasovchi qo‘shimcha,

fe’ldan ot yasaydi.

my book

1st person singular suffix.

Homonyms arise in different ways:

As a result of the same form of words in a

language. For example:

blue (adjective)

the air is colored, light blue,

blue.

blue (noun)

the sky, the firmament: The stars

are shining in the sky.

blue (noun)

a plant such as coriander, dill,

onion. There is no blue color on the market now, either
in winter or in summer.

As a result of the loss of internal connections

between words with several meanings:

young (noun)

calculating life by years: How old

are you?

young (adjective)

calculating life by time: He is

much younger than me.

young (noun)

the liquid that comes out of the

eyes: If he cries sincerely, even a blind man will shed
tears. (Proverb)

Borrowed words become homonyms of Uzbek

words or words borrowed from other languages:

tur (Uzbek)

type, kind, variety: Gazlama turyu.

tur (Russian)

sports term: games of the second

round of the World Chess Championship.

zhora (Tajik)

participant in a conversation: If

zhora are not the same age, the conversation will not be
heated.

zhora (Tajik)

two pieces of fabric that weavers

weave in the same way: Atlas zhora.

Words from different dialects remain similar in

form:

dim

silence, silence, not making a sound: Dim

oynamok.

dim

an idea of warm and hot weather: It’s very

dim inside the house.

dim

completely, ut

terly: dim, don’t look at

them.

Homonyms are widely used in folk art, when

creating rhymes. For example: They say that a sunflower

They look at the sun all their lives.

In Arabic, homonyms are called compound words.
Compound words are words that express several
different meanings in one word. Compound words are
divided into the following types:

• Compound words in nouns. For example:

The word

حاكن

indicates both marriage and sexual

intercourse.

The word

ةلاص

indicates both prayer and supplication.

• Com

pound words in verbs. For example:

The verb

لات

indicates the meaning of reading or

following.

• Compound words in letters. For example:

The letter

ب

indicates various meanings. Jurjani listed

more than 10 of its meanings in his book “Mi’atu amil”.

There is a difference of opinion among scholars
regarding common words. One group of scholars say


background image

European International Journal of Philological Sciences

28

https://eipublication.com/index.php/eijps

European International Journal of Philological Sciences

that there are no common words (amomin) in Arabic.
They say that expressing several meanings with one
word is metaphorical. That is, the first original meaning
is the truth, and the rest of the meanings are
metaphorical. This group of scholars is headed by
Imam Darsawayh. Other scholars believe that common
words exist, and they believe that all of these meanings
are true and not metaphorical. There are many
scholars who believe this, including Asma'i, Khalil ibn
Ahmad, Sibwayhi, Ibn Faris, Saalibi, Mubarrad, Suyuti,
and others. Examples of common words:

ىلوم

• slave emancipator;

• freed slave

ءارو

• behind

• in front

رحب

• sea;

• city;

• village

نطب

• belly;

• community;

• long feather of a bird

بلعث

• fox;

• tip of a spear;

• outlet of a pond

روث

• ox;

• sayyid;

• a large piece of cheese;

• fool;

• dust rising;

• the redness of dawn

دحج

• denial;

• lack of goodness;

• a small horse

ّ دج

• grandfather;

• seriousness;

• provision, fate;

• the earth;

• the shore of the sea or river;

• a sign, a omen;

• a black stripe on the back of a donkey;

• a well with little water (also used for a well with a lot

of water).

راج

• neighbor;

• helper in trouble;

• female genitalia;

• hypocrite

ثرح

• sowing;

• worldly wealth;

• reward;

• blazing fire;

• searching for something;

• woman

فرح

• letters of the al

phabet;

• side, direction;

• doubt, doubt;

• crossing;

• large camel

Homonyms are similar to polysemantic words in that
they are similar in form. However, the difference
between homonyms and polysemantic words is that a
polysemantic word is one word with several meanings,
and the meanings it expresses are internally
interconnected, based on the original and secondary
meanings of the same word. Homonyms are several
words expressing different meanings. Homonyms.
Words that have the same pronunciation and spelling
(shape), but different meanings are called homonyms.
For example, apple (fruit), apple (not to take
something); horse (animal), horse (to throw); water
(food), water (in water). Homonyms are mainly formed
from words of the same family. For example, swam (in
water), swam (eat food) - verb category. Sometimes
homonyms are formed from words of different
categories: noun (noun), noun (animal) - noun category,
noun (to throw) - verb category.

When adding suffixes to homonyms, some of them
(words of the same category) retain the property of
homonymy. However, in some (words of another
category), the property of homonymy is lost. For
example, atim (name), atim (animal) retain the property
of homonymy, atim (action) does not accept this suffix
and the property of homonymy is lost.


background image

European International Journal of Philological Sciences

29

https://eipublication.com/index.php/eijps

European International Journal of Philological Sciences

Homonyms are also formed on the basis of
homonymous words: suz (in water), suz (food) - suzma
(yogurt), suzma (action); ol (red), ol (apple) - alma
(fruit), alma (action).

Homonyms and polysemantic words are similar to
each other. Because they have the same form in
appearance. However, while homonyms form one
word for each meaning, polysemantic words form one
word for all their meanings. For example, the
headword is one word, no matter how many meanings
it has. Fire itself is one word according to each
meaning. Accordingly, homonyms are mainly
distinguished from polysemantic words as follows. The
meanings of polysemantic words are related to each
other. For example, the combination of meanings such
as mountain top, human head, road head in the
headword is an expression of the head part (one
point). In homonymy, the meanings are not related to
each other. For example, "fire", "grass", "pass" in the
word "fire" have different meanings. Accordingly, the
word "grass" is a separate word for each of these
meanings.

Homonyms create a genre of humor in fiction.

A candle burns in my head

From my tears, the fire burns on the earth

From my tears, the blood made your path a tulip field

I have so much to say, the fire from my blood

(A. Navoi)

Homonyms are used as a play on words in fiction,
especially in askiya. In fiction, the art of metaphor is
created with the help of homonyms.

CONCLUSION

Homonyms, as explored in Uzbek and Arabic, reflect
the intricate relationships between form and meaning
within languages. Their development through linguistic
processes such as semantic divergence, borrowing,
and metaphorical extension illustrates their dynamic
nature. While homonyms in Uzbek often originate
from dialects and cultural interplay, Arabic homonyms
provoke scholarly discourse on their interpretation and
usage. Both languages leverage homonyms for creative
and rhetorical purposes, significantly impacting
literature and oral traditions. Understanding the
nuances of homonyms not only deepens linguistic
knowledge but also underscores the cultural and
expressive capabilities of language.

REFERENCES

ّنانبلّةبتكمّسبنقّدمحمّميلحلاّدبعّ.ةيبرعلاّيفّةكرتشملاّظافللااّمخعم

1987

Imamnazarov M. Reality and metaphor (2-3 articles) //
Sharq yulduzi.

T., 1989. - No. 4; 1991. - No. 4.

Ishakov Yo. Dictionary of the art of speech.

Tashkent:

Zarqalam, 2006.

Jumahoja N. Magic in a series of lines.

T.: O’qituvati,

1996

Sultan I. Theory of literature.

Tashkent: O’qituvati,

2005.

References

معخم الالفاظ المشتركة في العربية. عبد الحليم محمد قنبس مكتبة لبنان 1987

Imamnazarov M. Reality and metaphor (2-3 articles) // Sharq yulduzi. – T., 1989. - No. 4; 1991. - No. 4.

Ishakov Yo. Dictionary of the art of speech. – Tashkent: Zarqalam, 2006.

Jumahoja N. Magic in a series of lines. – T.: O’qituvati, 1996

Sultan I. Theory of literature. – Tashkent: O’qituvati, 2005.