Phraseology and the dynamics of suspicion: a comparative linguocultural framework for Uzbek and English detective novels

Abstract

This essay proposes a comparative linguistic framework for investigating how phraseological units shape suspicion in Uzbek and English detective novels. Suspicion is described as a temporary attribution of concealed wrongdoing that differs from ambiguity, fear, and an established charge. Using phraseology, discourse posture, and cultural linguistics, the paper ties conventional meaning to speaker position, evidential grounding, narrative perspective, and subsequent changes in investigative focus. The proposed approach classifies the initiation, intensification, redirection, suspension, and revision of suspicion as contextually determined functions. Constructed bilingual examples explain why identical meanings do not imply equivalent narrative consequences, and why emotional emotions require contextual validation. The article also lays out criteria for corpus selection, annotation, and culturally responsible comparison. Its contribution is a method for transitioning from expressions to suspicion trajectories without viewing language variations as proof of fixed national mentalities. The work serves as a foundation for future empirical research, literary interpretation, and cross-linguistic translation of investigative discourse.