Cultural codes in modern linguistic semiotics

Abstract

This study explores the role of cultural codes in linguistic semiotics, focusing on their representation in Uzbek and Slavic phraseological units. Phraseological expressions, including idioms, proverbs, and metaphors, serve as linguistic vehicles for national identity, historical consciousness, and collective memory. Drawing from semiotic theories by Ferdinand de Saussure, Umberto Eco, and Yuri Lotman, this research investigates how phraseology encodes socio-cultural knowledge. Using a comparative linguistic-semiotic approach, this study categorizes phraseological expressions based on D. Chandler’s and V.V. Krasnix’s typologies of cultural codes.

Findings reveal that while certain cultural codes—such as somatic, spatial, and temporal codes—are universal, many idioms remain culturally specific, shaped by historical, religious, and social traditions. Additionally, digital media and globalization have transformed the semantic structures of phraseological expressions, leading to code-switching, hybrid expressions, and memetic reinterpretations. This study contributes to semiotic modeling, intercultural communication, and cognitive linguistics by demonstrating how phraseology serves as a bridge between language and cultural identity.

Keywords

Semiotics, cultural codes, phraseology