DIFFERENCES OF SPEECH ACT LEVELS IN ENGLISH AND UZBEK LANGUAGES
Keywords:
speech act, locutionary act, illocutionary act, perlocutionary act, pragmatics, politeness, intercultural communication, English language, Uzbek language.Abstract
Speech Act Theory explains how people perform actions through language in communication. Every utterance contains different levels of meaning, including locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary acts. These speech act levels may differ across languages because of cultural values, social norms, and linguistic structures. The present article analyzes the differences between speech act levels in English and Uzbek languages from pragmatic and sociolinguistic perspectives. The study focuses on politeness strategies, directness and indirectness, honorific expressions, cultural influences, and contextual interpretation in both languages. English speech acts generally emphasize indirectness and individual politeness, while Uzbek speech acts strongly reflect respect, collectivism, and social hierarchy. The article also highlights similarities between the two languages and discusses the importance of speech act analysis in foreign language teaching and intercultural communication. Understanding these differences helps learners avoid pragmatic misunderstandings and improve communicative competence in multilingual environments.
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