CULTURAL UNIVERSALITY AND UNTRANSLATABILITY OF FIGURATIVE EXPRESSIONS

Figurative expressions, such as idioms and metaphors, often straddle a line between universality and cultural specificity. This paper explores the tension between culturally universal metaphoric concepts and the untranslatability of certain figurative phrases. Drawing on examples from multiple languages and recent linguistic research, we examine how some figurative expressions (e.g., heart of stone, time flies) reflect shared human experiences and appear in similar forms worldwide, while others are deeply embedded in one culture’s context and resist direct translation. The literature review highlights conceptual metaphor theory’s claim that many metaphors are grounded in universal bodily experiences, yet also acknowledges the role of unique historical and social factors in shaping language-specific idioms. Through comparative analysis of idioms in English and other languages (including Uzbek, French, and Chinese), we identify categories of expressions that travel well across languages and those that do not. The findings underscore that even “universal” metaphors (like up/down for good/bad) require cultural attunement when translated. We conclude that successful translation and cross-cultural communication depend on recognizing which figurative elements are universally intelligible and which carry untranslatable cultural load, often necessitating adaptive strategies in translation.