THE CONCEPT OF SMELL IN THE REPRESENTATION OF CORRUPTION: A COGNITIVE AND LINGUOCULTURAL ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH AND UZBEK

Abstract

This study examines the role of smell-related metaphors in the conceptualization of corruption in English and Uzbek. The research is grounded in the framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory proposed by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson. The article investigates how olfactory perception functions as a cognitive source domain for understanding abstract moral phenomena such as dishonesty, political corruption, and ethical degradation. The analysis is based on comparative qualitative examination of phraseological units, political discourse, media texts, and evaluative lexical constructions in English and Uzbek.

The findings indicate that English discourse frequently employs explicit olfactory metaphors such as “the stench of corruption” and “something smells fishy,” whereas Uzbek discourse tends to conceptualize corruption indirectly through metaphors of impurity, dirtiness, and moral contamination. Despite these linguistic differences, both languages share a universal embodied cognitive mechanism in which unpleasant smell symbolizes hidden immorality and social decay.

The study contributes to metaphor studies, cognitive linguistics, and linguacultural analysis by demonstrating how sensory experience shapes moral conceptualization across cultures. Furthermore, the research reveals that metaphorical representations of corruption are culturally conditioned while simultaneously grounded in universal bodily experience.