INTERPRETING LITERATURE ACROSS CULTURES: BARRIERS TO UNDERSTANDING AND WAYS TO OVERCOME THEM

JOURNAL OF IQRO – ЖУРНАЛ ИҚРО – IQRO JURNALI – volume 18, issue 02, 2025 ISSN: 2181-4341, IMPACT FACTOR ( RESEARCH BIB ) – 7,245, SJIF – 5,431 www.wordlyknowledge.uz ILMIY METODIK JURNAL Madrakhimova Dilnoza G‘ulom qizi Teacher at Uzbek State World Languages University INTERPRETING LITERATURE ACROSS CULTURES: BARRIERS TO UNDERSTANDING AND WAYS TO OVERCOME THEM Abstract: This paper explores the concept of literature and its significance in understanding human life and culture. Literature is not only a form of artistic expression but also a reflection of social, emotional, and intellectual realities. Cultural context in literature is conveyed through worldview, authors’ social, historical background, their traditions and values. However, readers interpret literary books through the lens of their own cultural background. This paper discusses most providing reasons for this misinterpretation and tries to give feasible solutions to address them. Key words: literature, culture, cross-cultural communication, reading comprehension, interpretation, intercultural competence, empathy. Introduction. Literature is not only an artistic or imaginative use of language, but also it serves as a mirror that reflects culture, history, life experience of certain communities which might help us understand how people think, live and feel across time and place. Through their written or spoken work authors express cultural values, traditions and beliefs of their societies and it guides readers to understand the world more deeply. However, while reading any literary work many readers limit themselves by focusing only on linguistic surface of a text which leads to failure in recognizing or fully understanding these cultural layers of deeper worldview hidden in the literature. The reasons why readers struggle to perceive culture in literature are claimed to be arisen from differences in language, context and interpretation strategies. Comprehension becomes even more challenging when the cultural distance between author and reader is wide as understanding language nuances plays a great role in interpretation. For instance, idioms, symbols, culture-specific words which are familiar to one culture might be totally new or meaningless to another (Duta, 2022). Thus, analyzing and understanding why readers fail to realize these cultural elements is crucial to improve both literary interpretation and intercultural competence. Research methods and materials. This research is aimed at analyzing prior academic studies implementing a qualitative descriptive approach into the process. Moreover, for its final thought it relies on theoretical works on intercultural communication and a number of methods used in teaching literature. The materials include surveys, journal articles from “English Language Teaching” and other reputable sources discussing cultural barriers in reading comprehension. All the data was collected from existing studies researched the importance of linguistic, cultural, and educational contexts influence literary interpretation and several factors that lead to misinterpretation are synthesized in cross-cultural reading. Results and discussion. After analyzing existing academic studies six major factors were identified which can cause failure in understanding cultures aspects while reading any literary work. It identifies linguistic, historical, psychological, and educational barriers that cause this misinterpretation. JOURNAL OF IQRO – ЖУРНАЛ ИҚРО – IQRO JURNALI – volume 18, issue 02, 2025 ISSN: 2181-4341, IMPACT FACTOR ( RESEARCH BIB ) – 7,245, SJIF – 5,431 www.wordlyknowledge.uz ILMIY METODIK JURNAL 1. Linguistic barriers. Linguistic challenges are considered to be most significant ones among reasons of failure in comprehension of cultural aspects in literature. As Mustofa and Hill (2018) explain, idiomatic expressions, culture-specific vocabulary elements may lose their initial meaning while being translated from one language into another. Sometimes just words cannot be enough to carry their real meanings out of their cultural context. In other words, incomplete translations might end up with authors intentions of writing being totally or partially changed, in result which readers miss their chances to fully understand written texts. 2. Lack of cultural and historical background. Being unfamiliar with the historical events, cultural nuances of the authors’ era can be one of the most leading factors of misinterpretation. Dutta (2022) emphasizes that readers without abundant background knowledge of the author’s society in most cases cannot catch key symbols, metaphors, national characters or other social references depicted in literary works. As a result, reading the literature is limited by only surfacelevel interpretations. 3. Cultural stereotypes and ethnocentrism. According to “Barriers to Cross-Cultural Communication” (2024), many readers assume cultural layers relying on their own bias and commonly accepted stereotypes about that culture. This phenomenon is called as ethnocentric perspective and it hinders objective understanding and causes readers to clarify foreign culture as “strange” or “wrong” ones which deprives them from getting the right interpretation. 4. Lack of intercultural empathy. In order to fully interpret literary works readers are awaited to possess empathy and open-mindedness. Without these qualities, they cannot truly feel the characters they are reading in foreign literature with different cultural backgrounds (Mustofa & Hill, 2018). Eventually, this will limit readers’ ability to understand human emotions, feelings across cultures and places which are illustrated with cultural nuances and unique peculiarities of literature. 5. Educational and pedagogical gaps. In many classrooms where English is taught as a foreign language, foreign literary is mainly seen as a source to develop students’ obtained knowledge in terms of only grammar and vocabulary. Students receive this experience as linguistic exercise rather than as a cultural exploration. Consequently, students lack of cultural sensitivity achieving only linguistic competence. 6. Psychological barriers and culture shock. Being able to cope with emotional discomfort or “culture shock” might be one of the key points in the development of cultural literacy. When readers cannot manage with emotions like stress or confusion they get while reading any unfamiliar cultures this experience might end up with failure in engagement with the text (“Barriers to Cross-Cultural Communication”, 2024). To improve readers’ cross-cultural understanding and develop their cultural literacy these barriers should be taken into account and addressed effectively. Here are some possible ways to get it done: - Before reading any foreign literature, it is better to get acquainted with its cultural and historical context to understand the text deeply. - Teachers should encourage readers to implement comparative analysis while reading books to get connected with the culture, - Readers should foster intercultural empathy through group discussions, reflective writing and creative interpretation. They should be involved in role-plays, debates, and group projects that highlight cultural values. - While translating literary works translators should provide readers with explanations and annotations for realia, culture-specific words. Conclusion. Cultural understanding plays a significant role in deeper and mindful interpretation of literary works. Readers often fail to get this understanding due to linguistic complexity, lack of cultural background information, insufficient teaching methods of literature to focus cultural JOURNAL OF IQRO – ЖУРНАЛ ИҚРО – IQRO JURNALI – volume 18, issue 02, 2025 ISSN: 2181-4341, IMPACT FACTOR ( RESEARCH BIB ) – 7,245, SJIF – 5,431 www.wordlyknowledge.uz ILMIY METODIK JURNAL aspects. Developing intercultural competence and empathy bridges the gap between author and reader. Teaching literature from a cultural perspective deepens understanding and fosters global awareness, open-mindedness, and respect for diversity. References: 1. “Barriers to Cross-Cultural Communication.” Barriers to Communication, 2024, https://barrierstocommunication.net/barriers-to-cross-cultural-communication/. 2. Dutta, S. K. “Reading Religious Literature and the Legitimacy of Misunderstanding: A Cross-Cultural Perspective.” The Creative Launcher, vol. 7, no. 4, 2022, pp. 12–20. 3. Mustofa, A., and J. Hill. “Understanding Cultural Context in Responding to Literature: Researching the Teaching of Literature in EFL Classroom Context.” English Language Teaching, vol. 11, no. 5, 2018, pp. 150–158. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v11n5p150. 4. “Navigating Narratives: The Influence of Cultural Context on Literary Interpretation.” Journal of International Social Research, vol. 16, no. 2, 2023, pp. 245–260. https://www.sosyalarastirmalar.com/articles/navigating-narratives-the-influence-of-culturalcontext-on-literary-interpretation-106280.html. 5. “Exploring Cultural Identity through Literature.” Worlds of Words, 2019, https://wowlit.org/on-line-publications/stories/storiesiv6/6/. 1.