Abstract
Auditory perception, often overshadowed by visual perception, constitutes a crucial dimension of human experience. Yet the ways in which languages encode ‘hearing,’ ‘listening,’ or the general concept of auditory perception vary considerably across linguistic communities. This article examines how different languages express auditory perception, emphasizing typological and cultural factors that shape these expressions. Drawing on cross-linguistic studies of perception verbs, this research highlights how English and Uzbek languages distinguish subtle aspects of auditory perception, such as volitional listening versus passive hearing. Real examples drawn from previous studies and fieldwork illustrate these linguistic divergences. The methodological approach combines corpus analysis and elicitation tasks, offering a multifaceted view of the phenomenon. Results reveal that while some languages favor a single generic term for auditory perception, others exhibit a rich array of verbs that differentiate agentivity, intensity, or emotional response. Such patterns carry implications for translation, language teaching, and our broader understanding of the interplay between language, cognition, and culture.