Terminology and classification of artistic descriptive means in the Uzbek language

Abstract

This article examines theoretical and practical problems related to the terminology used for artistic descriptive means in Uzbek literary language and linguistic stylistics. It compares the concepts “descriptive-expressive means,” “means of artistic depiction and expression,” and “special descriptive means of language” found in textbooks and methodological studies. The analysis identifies logical duplication and stylistic redundancy in several established terms. To ensure terminological consistency, the article substantiates the unified term “artistic descriptive means of language.” It also proposes a revised classification based on the linguopoetic, formal, and semantic properties of language units. The proposed system includes three groups: form-related devices or figures of speech; meaning-transfer devices or tropes; and complex synthetic phenomena based simultaneously on formal and semantic change, including antithesis and chiasmus. The findings contribute to the standardization of stylistic terminology and may support the teaching of stylistics, linguopoetics, and the systematic analysis of literary texts in Uzbek higher education.