Keywords
Abstract
This article examines the increasing penetration of English lexical units into Uzbek-language social media communication and their subsequent psycholinguistic effects on Uzbek speakers. Drawing on theories of lexical borrowing, code-switching, and language attitudes (Myers-Scotton, 2006; Pavlenko, 2014), the study analyzes how English words and phrases—such as like, share, comment, story, follow, and post—are integrated into everyday Uzbek digital discourse. Through a psycholinguistic lens, the article explores cognitive processing mechanisms (e.g., word recognition, semantic mapping, and emotional resonance), as well as the impact on identity construction, social evaluation, and language prestige. Empirical findings from a corpus analysis, survey, and reaction time experiment indicate that while English borrowings enhance expressiveness and digital efficiency (Tashpulatov, 2022), they also contribute to linguistic insecurity among certain Uzbek speakers and shift habitual word associations in the Uzbek mental lexicon (Gafaranga, 2019). This research underscores the need for balanced language planning that respects both natural language evolution and native linguistic heritage in the digital age.
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