COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ENGLISH AND UZBEK HYDRONYMS

69 Vol. 5, No. 11 – Special Issue (EJAR) ISSN: 2181-2020 LPTIENP International Scientific-Practice Conference on “Linguistics and Pedagogical Technologies: International Experience and National Practice” Denau, November 20, 2025 in-academy.uz/index.php/ejar COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ENGLISH AND UZBEK HYDRONYMS Sanginova Umeda Umbarovna Zafarova Parvina Rustam qizi Student of Denau Entrepreneurship and Pedagogy institute [email protected] [email protected] Muradova Sevara Zoir qizi Teacher at Denau Institute of Enterpreneurship and Pedagogy [email protected] https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17626931 Annotation: This thesis explores the original meanings of hydronyms and compares the lexical features of these words in English and Uzbek. It is well known that English is one of the richest languages in the world. A hydronym refers to the name of a body of water. In Uzbek, people use many words for hydronyms, such as Amu, Syr, and others. In English, descriptive adjectives such as deep, clear, or middle are often used together with main hydronymic terms like river, sea, or lake. Interestingly, this pattern is also observed in Uzbek. It is a fact that hydronyms can be classified into three main types for example helonyms, limnonyms, oceanonyms, pelagonyms, potamonyms. Key words: English and Uzbek, historical and semantic layers, water, river, sea, lake. Annotatsiya:Ushbu tezis gidronimlarning asl ma’nolarini o‘rganadi hamda ularning leksik xususiyatlarini ingliz va o‘zbek tillarida qiyoslaydi. Ma’lumki, ingliz tili dunyodagi eng boy tillardan biridir. Gidronim — bu suv havzalarining nomlarini bildiruvchi atamadir. O‘zbek tilida Amu, Sirdaryo kabi ko‘plab gidronimlar ishlatiladi. Ingliz tilida esa river (daryo), sea (dengiz), yoki lake (ko‘l) kabi asosiy gidronimik atamalar bilan birga deep (chuqur), clear (toza), yoki middle (o‘rta) kabi sifatlar ko‘p qo‘llanadi. Qiziqarli tomoni shundaki, bu holat o‘zbek tilida ham uchraydi. Gidronimlar bir necha asosiy turlarga bo‘linadi. Ular quyidagilardir: gelonimlar (botqoqlik va loyqa joylar nomlari), limnonimlar (ko‘l va hovuz nomlari), okeanonimlar (okean nomlari), pelagonimlar (dengiz nomlari) va potamonimlar (daryo nomlari). Kalit so’zlar: Ingliz va O‘zbek, tarixiy va semantik qatlamlar, suv, daryo, dengiz, ko‘l. Аннотация: В данной выпускной работе исследуются исходные значения гидронимов и проводится сопоставительный анализ их лексических особенностей в английском и узбекском языках. Известно, что английский язык является одним из самых богатых языков мира. Гидроним — это название водного объекта. В узбекском языке существует множество гидронимов, например, Аму, Сыр и другие. В английском языке описательные прилагательные, такие как deep (глубокий), clear (чистый) или middle (средний), часто употребляются вместе с основными гидронимическими терминами — river (река), sea (море) или lake (озеро). Интересно отметить, что аналогичное явление наблюдается и в узбекском языке. Гидронимы можно классифицировать на несколько основных типов, включая: гелонимы (названия болот и топких мест), лимнонимы (названия озёр и прудов), океанонимы (названия океанов), пелагонимы (названия морей) и потамонимы (названия рек). Ключевые слова: английский и узбекский, исторические и семантические слои, вода, река, море, озеро. Introduction It is no secret that hydronyms — the names of water bodies — play a significant role in linguistic and historical studies. The term hydronym originates from the Greek words hydor meaning “water” and onoma meaning “name.” Hydronyms serve not only as geographical identifiers but also as valuable sources of information about the language, culture, and history of the peoples who once 70 Vol. 5, No. 11 – Special Issue (EJAR) ISSN: 2181-2020 LPTIENP International Scientific-Practice Conference on “Linguistics and Pedagogical Technologies: International Experience and National Practice” Denau, November 20, 2025 in-academy.uz/index.php/ejar inhabited a particular region. In many cases, the names of rivers, lakes, and other water bodies reflect specific physical or geographical features such as size, cleanliness, direction of flow, or relative position (for instance, whether a river comes from the left or right side). These linguistic patterns reveal how humans have historically perceived and interacted with their natural environment. In the Uzbek language, hydronyms differ from those in English in several ways. Uzbek hydronyms often preserve historical and semantic layers, making them important for cultural and etymological research. This characteristic allows for a broader classification of hydronyms based on meaning, origin, and regional usage. Moreover, both English and Uzbek languages share similarities in how hydronyms are associated with cities and settlements, showing a universal connection between placenaming and water sources. Result and Discussion In the English language, hydronyms can vary in form depending on size, type, or specific characteristics of the water body. For example, names such as the Mississippi River, the Black Sea, or the Great Lakes reflect distinctions in size (“river,” “sea,” “lake”) as well as descriptive or historical attributes (“black,” “great”). In some cases, hydronyms may also derive from personal names or historical references, which give them cultural and historical significance. Structurally, English hydronyms are most often formed in the noun + noun pattern — for instance, Mississippi River, Hudson Bay, or Lake Victoria. The first noun typically specifies the unique name, while the second noun identifies the type of water body. In contrast, Uzbek hydronyms often follow the adjective + noun pattern. For example, names like Amudaryo and Sirdaryo consist of an adjective element (Amu, Sir) combined with the noun daryo (“river”). These two rivers are among the most prominent in Uzbekistan, as they flow through the country and hold great geographical and historical importance. Thus, while English hydronyms tend to emphasize classification and distinction through compound nouns, Uzbek hydronyms more frequently express descriptive or regional meanings through adjective-noun combinations. According to M. Abdullaeva (2020), in her article “Language and Culture,” language in Eastern culture is considered a symbol of peace and harmony. She contrasts this with Western culture, where language and communication are often associated with various forms of struggle and complexity. Abdullaeva also notes that expressions such as “the river represents the hardships of life” reflect the Eastern philosophical view that natural elements often symbolize human experiences. Similarly, R. Bozorova (2021) supports this perspective in her own article, explaining that such metaphors emphasize the connection between nature and human destiny in both linguistic and cultural contexts. Conclusion In conclusion, many scholars and linguists have contributed valuable research to the study of hydronyms. When comparing English and Uzbek hydronyms, it becomes clear that both languages preserve important historical and cultural information through place names. One of the most significant similarities is that both English and Uzbek make use of ancient and descriptive naming traditions, often reflecting the geographical, historical, or physical characteristics of water bodies. However, the main structural difference lies in the way these names are formed. In Uzbek, hydronyms are often created through an adjective + noun pattern, while in English, the more common structure is noun + noun. For instance, Amudaryo and Sirdaryo in Uzbek correspond to names such as Mississippi River or Hudson Bay in English. Despite these grammatical differences, both languages 71 Vol. 5, No. 11 – Special Issue (EJAR) ISSN: 2181-2020 LPTIENP International Scientific-Practice Conference on “Linguistics and Pedagogical Technologies: International Experience and National Practice” Denau, November 20, 2025 in-academy.uz/index.php/ejar show a similar cultural approach to naming — reflecting how people perceive and interact with nature. It is also worth mentioning that both English and Uzbek languages contain numerous ancient hydronyms whose origins are deeply rooted in history. While it may be challenging for speakers of one language to fully understand the historical meanings of the other, such linguistic comparisons reveal the richness of cultural diversity and the shared human tendency to name and classify the natural world. References: 1. Begimov, O. T. A Historical Study of Assimilated Findings in Southern Uzbekistan. Monograph. Tashkent: Voris, 2020. 2. Whewell, William. The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences, Founded upon Their History. London: Frank Cass & Co., 1967. 3. Abdullaeva, M. (2015). Language and culture in the context of hydronyms. Samarkand: SamDU Publishing. 4. Bozorova, R. (2024). Metaphorization in expressions containing hydronyms. Bukhara State University, Department of German Philology. 5. Joraeva, N., and O. Urolova. “Comparative Study of Hydronym Terms in English and Uzbek Languages.” American Journal of Language, 2024. 6. Muradova Sevara Zoir qizi. (2025). LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF THE ENGLISH RIVERNAMES OF TWO COUNTIES. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15179409 7. “Lakes of Uzbekistan.” CAWater-Info.pdf. Accessed. cawater-info.net