The present study investigates the manifestations of cultural gaps and untranslatability in English–Uzbek literary translation, focusing on how socio-cultural asymmetries impede semantic transfer and stylistic equivalence. Drawing upon comparative textual analysis and conceptual frameworks from translation studies, the research identifies recurrent categories of untranslatable items, including culture-specific lexicon, idioms, metaphorical imagery, and pragmatic implicatures. The findings demonstrate that literal transfer often distorts cultural connotations and narrative voice, while functional strategies, such as dynamic equivalence, explicitation, and cultural substitution, partially mitigate loss of meaning. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of how cultural gaps shape translational decision-making and underscores the necessity of translator agency in preserving cultural authenticity without compromising textual coherence.

Cultural gaps, socio-cultural asymmetries, semantic transfer

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