Functional Semantic Differences In Time Deixis In English And Uzbek

Abstract

The author in the paper examines the linguistic differences in temporal deixis between English and Uzbek languages. Temporal deixis refers to the way languages anchor events in time relative to the moment of speaking. English predominantly relies on a rich tense system including past, present, and future forms to explicitly encode temporal relations. Uzbek, however, places greater emphasis on context, adverbials, and aspectual markers, with a comparatively simpler tense system. The study highlights how these structural differences influence speakers’ expression of time, narrative organization, and interpretation of temporal reference. By comparing authentic language data and native speaker intuitions, the analysis reveals that while English temporal deixis is largely grammaticalized, Uzbek temporal deixis often depends on pragmatic cues and discourse context. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of cross-linguistic variation in deixis and may support more effective  language learning and translation practices.