MENTAL GRAMMAR IN THE CONTEXT OF UZBEK-RUSSIAN BILINGUISM: MECHANISMS OF INTERLINGUISTIC INTERACTION

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the formation and functioning of mental grammar in the context of Uzbek–Russian bilingualism developing within the multicultural space of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Mental grammar is conceptualized as an integrated and dynamic cognitive system that ensures the storage, processing, and production of grammatical structures in two typologically distinct languages. Particular attention is paid to the mechanisms of interaction between linguistic representations, manifested in the phenomena of code-switching and cross-linguistic interference. Based on the analysis of speech data, the main types of codeswitching (intra-sentential and inter-sentential) are identified, and hybrid morphological models are described, demonstrating the existence of a unified cognitive space in the bilingual mind. The study systematizes the types of interference (phonetic, lexical, morphological, grammatical, and syntactic), which illustrate the transfer of first language (L1) structures to the second language (L2). Interference is interpreted not as a mere set of errors, but as a natural result of the superimposition of stable cognitive schemas onto new linguistic representations. The findings allow mental grammar in Uzbek-Russian bilingualism to be characterized as an adaptive hybrid system based on mechanisms of activation, structural interaction, and selective retrieval of linguistic patterns. The conclusions refine current understandings of the cognitive organization of bilingual consciousness and outline prospects for further psycholinguistic research in the field of bilingualism.