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DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH ACTS IN ENGLISH AND UZBEK
LANGUAGES
Yoqubo a Sha i a Abduxalil qizi
S uden o Uzbek Na ional Pedagogical Uni e si y
mo[email p o ec ed]s :Email
Scien i ic supe iso :
Nishono a Sayyo a Saido na
Uzbek Na ional Pedagogical Uni e si y
Depa men o he Theo y and Me hodology o English
Email: [email p o ec ed]
“U e ances do hings — hey do no me ely s a e ac s; hey shape social ela ions.”
( J. R. Sea le)
Anno a ion: This s udy examines how speech ac s ha a e di ec and indi ec ope a e in
English and in Uzbek, ocusing on hei g amma ical shapes, p agma ic oles, and cul u al
mo i a ions. The pape con as s s a egies speake s use o con ey eques s, commands,
e usals and opinions, and i discusses how con en ions o poli eness and social posi ion
al e linguis ic choices. The heo e ical g ounding elies on classical speech-ac heo y
(Aus in and Sea le) and on obse a ions by Uzbek schola s who in es iga e language
beha io in local communica i e con ex s. The indings s ess ha p agma ic
compe ence—knowing how o choose o ms app op ia ely—is essen ial o c oss-cul u al
in e ac ion and language ins uc ion.
Keywo ds: speech ac ; di ec ness; indi ec ness; p agma ics; poli eness s a egies; English;
Uzbek; in e cul u al communica ion.
When people communica e, hey do mo e han exchange in o ma ion: hey pe o m ac ions
h ough language. The no ion ha speaking can be an ac was i s a icula ed by J. L.
Aus in, who dis inguished saying some hing om doing some hing wi h wo ds [1].
Building on his, J. R. Sea le cha ac e ized di e en illocu iona y unc ions ha u e ances
can ha e, such as eques ing, asse ing, o p omising [5]. Bo h English and Uzbek speake s
ou inely use o ms ha a e o e ly di ec i e o , al e na i ely, eiled and con ex -
dependen . The same p agma ic goal — o example, o ask someone o open a window —
can be achie ed by a plain impe a i e, a poli e ques ion, o a seemingly un ela ed ema k
ha implies he eques . This pape compa es such op ions in he wo languages and
PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS OF
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141 PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS OF SCIENTIFIC AND INNOVATIVE RESEARCH uni e salcon e ence.us
conside s he cul u al alues ha a o one s a egy o e ano he . Aus in’s h ee old
dis inc ion — locu iona y (wha is said), illocu iona y (wha is pe o med by saying), and
pe locu iona y ( he e ec p oduced) — emains a co ne s one o analyzing language-as-
ac ion [1]. Sea le u he o ganized illocu iona y ac s in o unc ional ca ego ies (asse i es,
di ec i es, commissi es, exp essi es, decla a ions), p o iding ools o classi y u e ances
by pu pose a he han by o m alone [5].
In a c oss-linguis ic pe spec i e, speech ac s mus be s udied oge he wi h p agma ic
indica o s (modal e bs, sen ence mood, pa icles, condi ionals) and socio-cul u al no ms.
Uzbek linguis s such as G‘. Salomo and Sh. Rahma ullae emphasize ha exp essions o
espec and g oup ha mony p o oundly a ec how eques s, e usals, o disag eemen s a e
encoded in Uzbek speech [3][4]. Thus, any compa ison should accoun o bo h linguis ic
de ices and cul u al expec a ions. A di ec speech ac is ecognized when he g amma ical
cons uc ion anspa en ly ma ches he illocu iona y pu pose (e.g., an impe a i e used o
command). In English, impe a i es and s aigh o wa d decla a i es (some imes wi h
modal auxilia ies) a e ypical o explici di ec i es: “Please, swi ch o you phone.” In
Uzbek, impe a i es accomplish he same illocu iona y o ce: “Tele onni o‘chi ing.”
Howe e , Uzbek speake s equen ly a enua e hese o ms wi h poli eness ma ke s such
as il imos o by selec ing e b endings ha show de e ence.
Di ec exp essions a e a o ed when apid compliance, cla i y, o o icial au ho i y is
equi ed — in class ooms, wo kplaces, o eme gencies — bu he social cos o ace-
h ea ening ac s can be high in cul u es ha p ize indi ec ness. Indi ec speech ac s occu
when he su ace o m di e ges om he in ended unc ion. Fo ins ance, an in e oga i e
may se e as a eques : “Could you help me wi h his?” Likewise, a s a emen like “I ’s
qui e cold in he e” can unc ion as a sub le eques o close a window. English elies hea ily
on modal e bs, ag ques ions, and hedging o signal poli eness and educe imposi ion.
Uzbek equen ly uses condi ional cons uc ions and so ening pa icles (e.g., -sa, -di-ku)
o achie e a simila mi iga ion e ec : “De azani yopib qo‘ysangiz, bo‘la midi?” Indi ec
s a egies a e especially common in se ings whe e p ese ing social ha mony, showing
espec o elde s, o a oiding di ec con on a ion is impo an . They allow speake s o
communica e goals while minimizing po en ial discom o o add essees.
Cul u e shapes no only which s a egies a e a ailable bu which ones a e socially
p e e ed. In many English-speaking con ex s, di ec ness is o en associa ed wi h cla i y
and e iciency; being s aigh o wa d may be in e p e ed as hones and compe en .
Con e sely, Uzbek communica i e no ms a o o ms ha o eg ound espec ,
unde s a emen , and conside a ion o social ank. These p e e ences in luence e e yday
speech in se e al ways.
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1. Poli eness o ien a ion: Uzbek in e ac ions o en p io i ize nega i e poli eness s a egies
(a oidance o imposi ion), so eques s and e usals a e commonly ph ased indi ec ly [2].
2. Face-sa ing ac ics: When disag eeing o c i icizing, Uzbek speake s end o use
mi iga ed o mula ions ha ci cumsc ibe di ec opposi ion.
3. Age and social s a us: Hono i ic o ms o special e b endings may be used in Uzbek o
signal espec owa d elde s o au ho i ies; English exp esses simila espec h ough
lexical choices and in ona ion mo e han mo phology. Examples illus a e he di e gence:
an English speake migh say, “I disag ee”, while an Uzbek speake would p e e a so e
o mula ion akin o, “Menimcha, boshqa nuq ai naza ham ma jud” (li e ally: “In my
opinion, ano he iewpoin may also exis ”).
Fo language lea ne s and ansla o s, compe ence ex ends beyond g amma and
ocabula y: i equi es sensi i i y o p agma ic no ms. Teaching ma e ials should include
con ex ualized p ac ice in choosing be ween di ec and indi ec o ms. T ansla o s mus
decide when o p ese e li e al wo ding and when o ende he p agma ic o ce in o
cul u ally app op ia e equi alen s; a li e al, di ec ansla ion may come ac oss as ude o
blun in he a ge cul u e. In in e cul u al encoun e s, mis eading indi ec ness o
e asi eness — o in e p e ing di ec ness as udeness — can cause misunde s anding.
Raising lea ne s’ awa eness o hese pa e ns educes p agma ic ailu e and os e s mo e
e ec i e in e ac ion.
Di ec and indi ec speech ac s se e iden ical communica i e aims ac oss languages
bu a e shaped by dis inc g amma ical con en ions and cul u al p e e ences. English ends
o a o explici o mula ions o e iciency and cla i y, whe eas Uzbek equen ly p e e s
indi ec ness o main ain cou esy and social equilib ium. Recognizing hese di e ences is
c ucial o accu a e ansla ion, success ul language ins uc ion, and ha monious
in e cul u al communica ion. De eloping p agma ic awa eness — he skill o ma ch o m,
unc ion, and con ex — is he e o e as i al as mas e ing g amma .
REFERENCES
1. Aus in, J. L. How o Do Things wi h Wo ds. Ox o d: Cla endon P ess. — pp. 23–45
2. B own, P., & Le inson, S. Poli eness: Some Uni e sals in Language Usage. Camb idge
Uni e si y P ess. — pp. 119–143
3. Rahma ullae , Sh. P agma ika a nu q madaniya i. Toshken : O‘zbekis on Milliy
Uni e si e i nash iyo i. — pp. 40–63
4. Salomo , G‘. Til a madaniya . Toshken : Fan nash iyo i. — pp. 14–37
5. Sea le, J. R. Speech Ac s: An Essay in he Philosophy o Language. Camb idge
Uni e si y P ess. — pp. 55–78
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6. Thomas, J. Meaning in In e ac ion: An In oduc ion o P agma ics. London: Longman.
— pp. 33–58
7. Yuldashe a, N. P agma ic Di e ences be ween English and Uzbek Speech Ac s.
Tashken : TDPU P ess. — pp. 21–48
