Stylistic Functions of Phraseological Units in English and Uzbek Fiction

Phraseological units constitute one of the most expressive and stylistically marked layers of language. In literary discourse, idioms and phraseological expressions perform numerous stylistic functions including emotional intensification, characterization, humor, irony, sarcasm, and hyperbole. This article investigates the stylistic functions of phraseological units in English and Uzbek fiction and examines the ways these functions are preserved or transformed in translation. The study applies a qualitative contrastive and functional approach based on the theories of Vinogradov, Kunin, Nida, Newmark, Baker, and Munday. Literary examples from English and Uzbek fictional works are analyzed according to their stylistic role and translation strategy. The findings demonstrate that phraseological units contribute significantly to emotional expressiveness and narrative vividness, while translation often requires functional substitution, paraphrasing, compensation, and stylistic adaptation. The article also reveals that cultural specificity strongly influences the preservation of humor, sarcasm, and metaphorical imagery in translation.