Sorry for What I Said While I Was on Salvia

I took a big hit from the bong,

coughed hard

through a cloud of smoke,

and sat back on the couch.

I looked around and noticed

that the living room

was expanding and shrinking.

Then I started to get paranoid

and thought that the TV

was ordering me to do things.

At some point during the trip,

I must’ve said something

my girlfriend didn’t like

because she ended up

getting upset with me.

But what can I say?

It wasn’t me talking,

it was the drugs. 

°

Drunk on Peach Wine at the Christmas Party

And I’m having

a pretty good time.

I laugh and smile

after opening the microwave

my mother-in-law got us.

But something else

is on my mind.

There’s always something else

on my mind.

So I take another sip

from my glass

and try to forget about it.

Gabriel Bates is a poet living in Pittsburg, Kansas. His work has appeared in many different publications. Keep up with him on Facebook!

We Were Not Taught How to Hold the Future

They taught us dates

before they taught us consequences.

How empires fell,

but not how to catch ourselves

when hope slips on wet floors.

I grew up learning that history is past tense,

as if it doesn’t knock on our doors every morning

wearing our faces.

My country wakes up tired.

Even the sun hesitates before rising

as if asking,

are they ready today?

We are a generation fluent in survival.

We know how to laugh during blackouts,

how to fold dreams small enough

to fit into pockets with holes.

We know the price of bread

and the cost of silence.

Nobody warned us

that growing up would feel like translating pain

into productivity,

that resilience would become a compliment

used when repair is too expensive.

I write because talking fails me.

Because some truths are too heavy

for ordinary sentences.

Because poetry is the only place

I am allowed to be unsure

without being called weak.

They say the future belongs to us,

but they forgot to leave instructions.

So we improvise!

with borrowed courage,

with borrowed time,

with faith stitched together

by hands that are still shaking.

If this poem sounds unfinished,

it’s because we are.

Still becoming.

Still choosing softness

in a world that profits from our hardness.

We were not taught how to hold the future,

so we are learning

with open palms,

and hope that refuses to sit down.

———————————————————————

nightmare after nightmare

the holidays…

where some people

drown themselves

in nostalgia

where those of us

that grew up in

dysfunctional

families

get to relive nightmare

after nightmare

what i tend to think

about when the holidays

come around is my

father’s father

i never got to meet

him

he committed suicide

three years after my

father was born

as i have grown older

i can’t help but think

he was probably the

smartest man ever

to live

—————————————————————

sunk into the creases of existence

pride will kill

you faster than

any disease

i was told that

long before i

could understand

what it meant

fast forward to

a bad back, arthritis

head to toe, apathy

racing through the

veins and i’m pretty

sure i’m an expert

by now

the dreams of exploring

the world and becoming

a legend died in my

twenties

and before life

simply became

a battle between

bottles of lotion

and liquor

i had sunk into

the creases of

existence

laughing in the

shadows

pretending that any

of this had meaning

empty and broken

pride no longer exists

i suppose now it

is up to the disease

————————————————————————

that tempting myth

the bitter taste of defeat

the sad songs of christmas

always hit the hardest

love, that tempting myth

so many miles away

like water in a world

of concrete

and here comes the

neon of the season

joy wrapped up

in a bundle of

greed

these are the moments

where i wish i could

sleep more than four

hours a day

they tell me all these

things that will happen

when you die

i laugh

i tend to think nothing

will happen

and if it does

i won’t have much

say about it, being

dead and all

—————————————————————

chaos and bewilderment

a paper cut that won’t

stop bleeding

a sign that the end

is near

must be the most

beautiful time

of the year

hot enough on christmas

to be wearing shorts

i suppose this is the future

we have all been running

from

chaos and bewilderment

i believe that is a drink

i made by mistake in

my teenage years

i haven’t closed a bar

in a couple of decades

now

that probably held off

a disease or two

the sound of darlene love

will put me to sleep tonight

solitude on christmas never

felt right, just what i had

still time for that to change

but not as long as i would

like

—————————————————————-

where they came from

a buddy i used

to work with

said one night

that the problem

with the world is

men spend their

whole damn lives

trying to get back

in where they

came from

everyone laughed

and i took another

drag from a cigarette

i said dan, explain

this to me

i was a c-section

he laughed

and said hope you

won’t be lonely

forever

fucker…

J.J. Campbell (1976 – ?) is old enough to know better. He’s been widely published over the years, most recently at Disturb the Universe Magazine, The Beatnik Cowboy, Crossroads Magazine, The Rye Whiskey Review and Yellow Mama. You can find him most days at home in Ohio taking care of his disabled mother and betting on sports. Most people will say he’s okay at both, most days. He does still have a blog, evil delights, but rarely has the time to write on it. (https://evildelights.blogspot.com)

Audacious Winter

Winter has just come back

Knocks the doors again

The walls have fallen 

And the doors are opened

No doorsteps or locks

Just a piece of cloth

Covers my humanity.

You’re so audacious guest

Enters without permission

Violates all the rules

And even the soft young leaves 

Turned to be brown and old.

Your clouds took the light of the day

And added the grey view in the surrounding.

To exacerbate my sadness and depression

They also took the heat of the sun

To make my children burn from the coldness inside a helpless tent.

Your water ran like a huge snake 

Sneaking to our shaky tent 

submerged my blankets and covers my heels

Where humanity fell under my feet.

ANOTHER DAY,  ANOTHER SHOOTING

Gunshots flame, and children

incinerate like smoke.

Parents plead for humanity—which doesn’t hear its name

and flits off to save the whales,

a safer endangered species.

Gunfire rips through fences, gates, and locks.

Places where people gather

are ripe for impromptu executions.

The flare-up of excuses—doused by thoughts and prayers.

And still gun sales thrive.

Guns sold and resold—a solid investment.

Fear and need eat like cancer.

Guns kill the pain—but, like all drugs,kill from the inside. 

Society’s caretakers shrug,

chanting a mantra revamped for profit:

the right to bear arms. 

Sunshine hums with voices of the newly-slaughtered

who no longer vote

and won’t get in the way.

Some leave tiny footprints,

tracking grief all over rugs and hearts.

Tiny footprints:

the cost of doing business.  

Big and Small

There were 

Big and small moments

When he told her

That he was sorry

That she felt that way

He should have just said

That he was sorry.

Taylor Dibbert is a poet in Washington, DC. He’s author of, most recently, “On the Rocks.”

Problems of Writing Idioms and Phraseological Expressions
Samarqand davlat chet tillari instituti 2414-guruh talabasi

Savranboyeva Shaxriniso Xosilboy qizi
Ingliz tili o’qitish metodikasi kafedrasi katta o’qituvchisi
T.Y.Mukarramxodjayeva

Annotation:
This article discusses the main challenges in translating English idioms and phraseological expressions. Cultural connotations, contextual equivalence, translators’ competence and semantic transfer are examined. The study also provides
practical examples of different translations, adaptation and calquing.
Keywords: idioms, phraseological expressions, translation strategies, cultural equivalence, semantic shift

Annotatsiya:
Ushbu maqolada ingliz tilidagi ibora va frazeologik birliklarni tarjima qilish jarayonida uchraydigan asosiy muommolar yoritilgan. Idiomlarning milliy-maaniy konnotatsiyasi, kontekstga mos keluvchi ekvivalent tanlash, tarjimon kompetensiyasi hamda ma’no ko’chish jarayoni tahlil qilinadi. Shuningdek, maqolada idiomlarnitarjima qilishning ekvivalent, tavsifiy, adaptiv va kalkalash
usullari misollar orqali ko’rsatib berilgan.

Kalit so’zlar: Idiomalar, frazeologizmlar, tarjima usullari, madaniy ekvivalentlik, ma’no ko’chish.

Аннотация:
В данной статье рассматриваются основные проблемы перевода английских идиом и фразеологических выражений. Анализируются культурная коннотация, выбор адекватного эквивалента, роль переводческой компетентности и особенности семантического переноса. Приводятся примеры и методы перевода: эквивалентный, описательный, адаптивный и
калькирование.

Ключевые слова:
идиомы, фразеологизмы, переводческие стратегии, культурная
эквивалентность, семантический перенос.

Language is not simply a system of grammar and vocabulary; it also contains deep cultural meanings embedded within idioms and phraseological expressions. Idioms are stable expressions whose meanings cannot be derived from the literal meanings of their components. For example, the English idiom “to kick the
bucket” does not refer to kicking a physical bucket but means to die.

Translating
such expressions is one of the most challenging tasks for translators, because idioms often reflect the history, humor, worldview, and national mentality of the people who use them. Many idioms are rooted in cultural traditions, folklore, religion or geography.

For example: Idiom Literal Meaning Cultural Note Break
a leg! It’s raining cats and dogs. In Uzbek culture, similar meanings may be conveyed with completely different imagery. Thus, direct translation often fails to convey meaning.

Main Problems in Translating Idioms

1.Lack of Direct Equivalents
Not all idioms have ready –made equivalents in the target language. Example: To spill the beans- meaning “ sirni oshkor qilish” There is no identical idiom in Uzbek, so a descriptive translation is required.

2. Cultural Differences
   Idioms may refer to cultural symbols unfamiliar to the target audience. Example:
   A piece of cake –“ juda oson ish”. The metaphor is culinary and may not carry the same emotional color in another culture.
3. Polysemy and Context Sensitivity
   Some idioms change meaning depending on context. Example: To break the ice may mean: Muzni sindirish(literal). Suhbatni boshlash (figurative)
4. Translator’s Competence
   A translator must know the idiom’s figurative meaning. Choose appropriate translation method. Maintain emotional tone and stylistic register. Why idioms are hard to translate: core problems.
   Why translating idioms are so difficult: Non-compositionality: The central difficulty is that the meaning of an idiom is not recoverable by a simple combination of constituent meanings. Word-for-word translation often fails.

Cultural specificity: Many idioms encode cultural knowledge, institutions, or historical references (e.g, white elephant in English refers to a burdensome possession). When SL cuture lacks an equivalent, literal translation may confuse.
Fixedness and syntactic constraints: Idioms often resist grammatical manipulation: kick the bucket cannot easily become the bucket was kicked without idiomatic loss. Some PU s have slots for variation- understanding which are fixed affects translation choice.
Polysemy and pragmatic uses: Idioms can have different senses depending on context (literal or figurative). A translator must determine whether the idiom is used metaphorically, sarcastically, humorously, or literally.

Register, connotation, and collocational patterns: Idioms carry register (formal/informal), affective tone, and collocational constraints. Choosing an equivalent must preserve register and pragmatic force.
Intertextually and stylistic function: In literature, idioms contribute to voice, characterization, rhythm and style. Translating them affects authorial voice.

Multiple idioms and layered metaphors: Some utterances combine several idioms or metaphors, complicating analysis and translation.
Translation strategies – comprehensive discussion: Below is an extended taxonomy of strategies, each described with strengths, weaknesses, and guidance on when to use it.

Literal translation: Description: Translate each word or morpheme directly. When to use: Rarely — when the idiom is transparent and compositionally interpretable in TL, or when a literal rendering is acceptable for stylistic reasons (e.g., deliberate foreignness). Pros: Preserves SL imagery and form; can be useful in poetic or
didactic contexts. Cons: Risk of incomprehension or unintended meaning shift.

Idiomatic equivalent (naturalization): Description: Replace SL idiom with a TL idiom that conveys the same pragmatic function and connotation. When to use:
Preferred when a close TL idiom exists and preserves register and effect. Calque (loan translation): Description: Translate the components literally but keep the structure; i.e., borrow the expression as a transparent compound in TL (e.g., skyscraper calqued into other languages historically). When to use: If TL readers
can easily parse the calque or when introducing a new term. Pros: Preserves SL conceptual metaphor. Cons: Can be awkward or unintelligible; may feel foreign.

Modulation: Description: Change the semantic point of view, focus, or category to express the same idea differently (Vinay & Darbelnet). Example: SL He has a green thumb → TL He is good at gardening (modulating to ability). When to use: When no idiomatic equivalent exists and literal translation fails; especially useful in technical or explanatory texts. Pros: Conveys intended meaning clearly.

Substitution / Cultural substitution: Description: Replace a culturally specific referent with a culturally equivalent referent in TL (e.g., Thanksgiving dinner may become a locally analogous festival meal if context allows). When to use: When cultural equivalence preserves communicative effect and readers lack SL cultural knowledge. Pros: Enhances reader relevance and comprehension. Cons: Risks
altering historical or geographical specificity.

Paraphrase / Explication:
Description: Explain the idiom’s meaning in more words instead of rendering it idiomatically. When to use: When accuracy is paramount and no concise equivalent exists (legal, technical, explanatory translation). Pros: Ensures understanding. Cons: Disrupts rhythm and may reduce stylistic density.

Omission: Description: Omit the idiom if it is redundant or its sense can be inferred from context. When to use: Rare and risky — useful when compression is necessary and the idiom adds little. Pros: Concise. Cons: Loss of nuance or humour.

Addition / Compensation: Description: Add information elsewhere in the text to compensate for loss of meaning when a direct equivalent is infeasible. When to use: When necessary to preserve meaning, tone, or cultural reference across that text. Pros: Restores balance across the translation. Cons: Can be intrusive if overused.

Borrowing: Description: Keep the SL idiom in the TL (possibly italicized) and provide gloss or explanation. When to use: When the idiom is iconic, untranslatable, or when foreign flavor is desirable. Pros: Preserves SL identity and cultural reference. Cons: May confuse readers unfamiliar with SL.

Creative adaptation / Transcreation: Description: Recreate the effect, humor, or imagery using a fresh TL expression that captures the same function, sometimes inventing a new idiom-like phrasing. When to use: Advertising, literary translation, or when preserving impact is more important than literal equivalence. Pros: Preserves rhetorical and emotional effect.

Syntactic transformation: Description: Modify sentence structure to accommodate TL idiomatic patterns (e.g., changing
active to passive or altering word order). When to use: When structural differences between languages hinder idiomatic rendering. Pros: Improves fluency and readability. Cons: Risk of losing focus or emphasis.

Worked examples and comparative analyses. Below are examples showing analysis and strategy choice. Each example includes SL sentence, literal rendering, recommended TL rendering, and justification.

Example 1

SL (English): She finally bit the bullet and applied for the job. Literal word-for-word (bad). (Uzbek literal translation keeps the image but confuses.)

Recommended strategy: Idiomatic equivalent or Paraphrase. TL (Uzbek) idiomatic equivalent: (“took courage”) Justification: Preserves pragmatic force (reluctant decision) without confusing the TL reader.

Example 2
SL (English): He felt like a fish out of water at the wedding. Literal (bad). Justification: Focuses on the feeling rather than preserving fish image.

Example 3
SL: When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Strategy: Equivalent proverb if exists in TL; else Paraphrase. (If exact proverb absent, paraphrase the advice.)

Example 4
SL: “He spilled the beans and let the cat out of the bag.” (two idioms for same meaning: reveal secrets) Strategy: Condense into one idiom or paraphrase; use compensation. TL example: (“revealed the secret”) Justification: Keeps meaning without awkward double metaphors.

Example 5
SL (English): He kept his cards close to his chest. (implies strategic silence) Strategy: Find TL idiom with same connotation or use transcreation. Potential TL: Justification: Preserves register and implied secrecy.

Idioms and phraseological expressions pose translation challenges across semantics, culture, syntax, and pragmatics. No single strategy fits all cases.

Translators must combine linguistic analysis, cultural knowledge, and creative thinking and problem-solving. The taxonomy presented here helps decide among literal translation, idiomatic equivalents, calque, modulation, paraphrase, borrowing, omission, and transcreation. Good practice includes careful context analysis, corpus support, and documentation of translation choices.

References:

1. Baker, M. (1992). In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation. Routledge.
2. Mukaramxodjayeva T.Y. “Ingliz va o ‘zbek tilidagi so‘zlashuv
   frazeologizmlarining lingvomadaniy xususiyatlari”//Yangi O’zbekiston
   taraqqiyotida tadqiqotlarni o’rni va rivojlanish omillari Respublika ilmiy
   anjumani, Vol. 40 No. 1 (2025)
3. Vinay, J.-P., & Darbelnet, J. (1995). Comparative Stylistics of French and English (transl. J.C. Sager & M.-J. Hamel). John Benjamins. [Original work 1958]
4. Mukaramxodjayeva T.Y. “Interlingual Phraseological Equivalents and Analogies” Best journal of innovation in science, research and development, New York, NY 10009, United States, Volume 4 Issue 40, 2025
5. Mukaramxodjayeva T.Y., Furqatova M. “O‘zbek va ingliz tilidagi maqollarning o‘xshash va farqli jihatlari” Education and research in the era of digital.,Xalqaro ilmiy anjuman vol1. N1., mart 2025
6. Newmark, P. (1988). A Textbook of Translation. Prentice Hall.
7. Fernando, C. (1996). Idioms and Idiomaticity. Oxford University Press. Nunberg, G., Sag, I. A., &Wasow, T. (1994). Idioms. Language