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HOSPITALITY IS AN INEVITABLE PART OF POLITENESS
MEHMONNAVOZLIK NUTQIY ETIKETNING AJRALMAS QISMI
Erkaboyeva Nargiza Tojiyevna
PhD researcher in Tashkent State University of the Uzbek language and literature
named after Alisher Navoiy
E-mail:nterkaboeva@gmail.com
ORCID ID: 0009-0008-8296-1185
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13771023
Abstract.
This article is devoted to the study of the concept of Politeness (Speech
Etiquette) and Hospitality in English and Uzbek languages from lingua-pragmatic aspect and
the use of daily expressions related to it in communication. The author refers to the content of
the concepts “Politeness” (Speech Etiquette)and "Hospitality "and the links between them ,
consider ways of their representation. The ways of reaching successful communication by
following the principles of Politeness and Hospitality and its place in our national cultural life
will be discussed in this article.
Abstrakt.
Ushbu maqola ingliz va o‘zbek tillarida nutqiy etiket va mehmonnavozlik
tushunchalarini lingva-pragmatik nuqtai nazardan o‘rganish va unga aloqador kundalik
iboralarning muloqotda qo‘llanilishiga bag‘ishlangan. Muallif “Nutqiy etiket” va
“Mehmonnavozlik” tushunchalarining mazmuni va ular o‘rtasidagi bog‘liqlikka e’tibor
qaratadi, ularni ifodalash usullarini ko‘rib chiqadi. Ushbu maqolada xushmuomalalik va
mehmonnavozlik prinsplariga amal qilish orqali muvaffaqiyatli muloqotga erishish yo'llari va
uning milliy madaniy hayotimizdagi o'rni haqida so'z boradi.
Key words:
politeness, speech etiquette, hospitality, guest, host, attitudes, respect,
honor, communication.
Kalit so‘zlar:
nutqiy etiket, mehmonnavozlik, mehmon, mezbon, munosabatlar, hurmat,
izzat, muloqot.
Communication is one of the most significant aspects of human life in today’s globalized
world and how these interactions are handled can make the difference between extreme
success and abject failure. The eminent philosopher I. Gerder mentioned "four major
phenomena in human activity: language, culture, society, and national spirit are inextricably
linked." Language's origins are linked to culture, and it changes alongside society.
As the researcher Hulkar Turdiyeva studied the term Politeness (Speech etiquette)
comparatively and referred that “Studying the principles of speech etiquette specific to each
nation from various points of view can provide knowledge about the etiquette principles,
views, traditions and values that are specific to the culture, lifestyle, language and morals of
that people in their daily activities and speech reflects a person's culture, etiquette,
knowledge, and behavior. In linguistics, this perspective is conveyed by the idea of "Speech
Etiquette" ("Politeness").”
1
1
Hulkar Turdiyeva Komilovna, Lingua-pragmatic analysis of Persian and Uzbek politeness in cross-cultural communication Monograph Tashkent –
2024 ISBN 978-9910-06-045-8
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Politeness is one of the important features of a human kind that being appreciated from
an ancient time. Still, it is considered an essential tool in society for having an appropriate
communication with others. Even though we are living in this modern era under one
umbrella, still there are some different phenomena of politeness in every culture.
2
Therefore,
the term politeness is very broad and thus originally derived from the Latin word “politus”,
meaning polished. From the linguistic point of view, politeness is not only being modest or
nice to other people, or keeping social behavior, but also it is one of the important notions in
pragmatics. According to Austin
3
when communicating with the addressee, the addresser may
produce three kinds of speech acts, that are the locutionary, illocutionary and perlocutionary
acts, which are the hearer’s reaction toward the speech of addresser and important in
analyzing the notion of politeness. It means, when the speaker shows politeness, the receiver
may react positively, remaining positive self-image in diverse situations.
The notion of politeness has been studied by many scholars, to be centered on the
notion of face, which is “public self-image that every member wants to claim for him/herself”
4
.
This is true, as politeness assists to shape interpersonal relationship and communication that
members of societies use in order to eliminate communication failure. In this sense, showing
politeness or being polite means demonstrating self-image to others that benefit each part
both emotionally and socially. The reason for this is that in order to be socially acceptable, one
should be aware how to be polite and how to save other’s face while interaction. So, while
interacting with others, it is essential to save face and to show politeness, taking into account
age, gender, and most importantly culture of others.
Nevertheless, knowing exactly all the specific features of the notion of politeness of each
culture is difficult, unless studying or seeing it in real life. Admittedly, culture is a social norm,
and it can be connected with a great deal of things like language, food and drinks, clothes,
festivals and holidays, table manners, music, religion, family relationships, politeness and
taboos and others. Every culture, in this sense, has its own norms and rituals that make the
culture unique among others. According to Liddicoat and Scarino (2013), “culture can be
understood as a system of shared meanings that make collective sense of experience, which
allows for experience to be communicated and interpreted as being meaningful”.
5
As the research is comparative, it can be mentioned that there are several similarities
between English and Uzbek speech etiquette in terms of usage. In accordance with English
etiquette, "If you are polite, people will listen to you in any situation and take your opinion
seriously.
6
" One of the most significant traits shared by the Uzbek people is kindness and
meekness, and their religious beliefs also reflect this trait. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him) told people to guard their tongues from unsuitable comments and to be silent as
much as possible, saying, "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him speak only
good things or keep silent."
7
2
Aziza Musoeva , Contrastive analysis of politeness in Uzbek, Turkish and English. May 2019
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.13446.22086
3
Austin, J. (1962). How To Do Things With Words. Oxford: Clarendon Press
4
Brown, P., & Levinson, S. C. (1987).p 13 Politeness: some universals in language usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
5
Liddicoat, A. J. and Scarino, A. (2013). Intercultural Language Teaching and Learning. Oxford: Blackwell
6
Баймуратова С. М. Teaching speech etiquette in English lessons // Молодой ученый. — 2018. — №24. — С.302-303
7
https://islom.uz/maqola/5576
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Various conceptual explanations have been proposed in studies on the English people's
speech etiquette units. M. Sifianou
8
, for example, conducts a study with 27 British
representatives in England and utilizes the concept of English speaking etiquette as "taking
into account the feelings of others in accordance with the rules of society" rather than a
summary of the findings. For instance in most cases English people use the language in more
polite ways in order not to hurt others. They say “I
am afraid
we
will have to
stop working
together.” Instead of “ We must stop working together”
9
and also say “
It looks like there has
been some mistake
” in place of “There has been a mistake”.
If we look at Politeness more profoundly it is relatively connected to the notion of
Hospitality. Hospitality includes the principles of Speech Etiquette and strategies of
Politeness. The tradition of hospitality plays an important role in the linguistic consciousness
of the ethnoses under study. By looking at language as an object of culture, we have explored
the “cultural” layer of language, sealed by the separation of cultures that encompass the
landscape of this or that ethnic world.
10
Hospitality is prevalent concept in daily life. Whenever we have friends over for dinner,
host an old classmate for a few days, or share some food for neighbors, we engage in
hospitable behavior.
Moreover, like happiness and empathy, hospitality may be a concept with nuanced and
diverse definitions. The Oxford English dictionary defines hospitality as “friendly and
generous reception and entertainment of guests or strangers” and also as “cordiality, warmth,
congeniality, sociability and generosity.”
Garipova G.R., who conducted research on the concept of "hospitality" in
English writes: “In English, the expression of this concept reflects the aristocratic identity,
adherence to the rules of etiquette and norms of conduct
11
. From the articles that illuminate
the tradition of hospitality, G.R. Garipova it is possible to understand Garipova’s definition,
where we also agree with her that in English culture there are strict rules and regulations
established between the guest and the host, and these rules of etiquette apply from the time
the guest visits until he leaves. The English phrases “to give a hearty welcome”,”to roll out the
red carpet”, or “Help yourself” are confirmations of the above.
In the British context, within the middle class dominant cultural values,
behaviour could be said to be underpinned by a basic assumption that freedom
of action and the independence of the individual are paramount. In hospitality
the host is both obliged to be generous and simultaneously obliged to respect the
independence of the guest by not imposing too much. The guest, for their part, might feel
obliged to accept a certain amount of generosity from the host but would have to weigh this
up against the desire of both guest and host to not be imposed upon. Thus, we find that
hospitality encounters between British English speakers, rituals of offering and refusing exist,
but they tend to be less elaborate and more negotiable than Uzbek people.
8
Sifianou M. Off-record indirectness and the notion of imposition // Multilingua 1993. - № 12- 1, - P. 69-79.
9
Daria Storozhilova. Communication Hacks: Polite English. 2017.
https://www.stordar.com/polite-english
/
10
Feruza Mamatova Makhammadovna Comparative analysis of the notion “ Hospitality “ reflected in the linguoculturology (on the examples of
English and Uzbek phraseological units June 22, 2022
11
Garipova G.R. Kontsept “gostepriimstvo” v russkom i angliyskom yazykakh, Cand. philol. sci. diss. Abstr. Ufa, 2010
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However, The Uzbek people have long been recognized as a "hospitable nation." This can
be seen in the works of a number of Uzbek scholars. Indeed, our people have always been
respected for their hospitality and hospitality. Representatives of many countries around the
world emphasize this value and always treat it with respect, admiration.
As Karim Makhmudov highlights some sayings related to it "If nodiv visits someone's
home, they should not blame people, everyone should pay attention and respect their own
customs and manners," (Uyiga mehmon kelmay qolsa, odamlardan o‘pkalay bermay, har kim
o‘ziga, odob-axloqiga nazar tashlamog‘I joiz) , “ "If host has any bad manners or habits, guests
may reject this person," (Mezbonning ko‘pchilikka malol keladigan odati bo‘lsa, bundaylardan
ham mehmon yuz o‘giradi ) and "If anyone who can’t be hospitable with other people ,he or
she should be alert when he visists others too."(Mehmonni malol ko‘radigan odam o‘zi ham
mehmon bo‘lganda, malol kelishini o‘ylashi kerak
) Indicate that hospitality is a moral-
aesthetic process in our mentality.
When Hulkar Turdiyeva conducted individual interviews with foreigners who were
guests in Uzbekistan, comments regarding Uzbek politeness and hospitality from an objective
point of view became one of the sources for studying "polite speech etiquette units in the
Uzbek language ",she identified the following features and Uzbek people
12
:
- behave inferiorly, condescending to the interlocutor/guest (behave like a host-Uzbek
waiter in hospitality; humbly respond to praise (example: - You are a very knowledgeable
person! - No, you are exaggerating, we still have a lot to learn);
-put pressure on the guest (offering a lot of food to the guest saying "do , help yourself,
help yourself");
-ask personal questions (How old are you? Are you married? What do you do? Is the
salary good?);
-abstract offer or promise (difficulty determining whether the offer is true or superficial:
"Come, be our guest", "If you need help, feel free to contact us", etc.)
In conclusion,
it can be said that learning the pragmatics and politeness system of the
languages is important for each member of the society to interact with others successfully. As
we are human beings, we need more interactions that are more natural and meaningful, we
may seem too direct and impolite to the receivers and it may lead misunderstanding and may
perhaps result in the failure of speech acts. The contrastive approach to politeness and
hospitality is therefore crucial for everyone who come from different cultural backgrounds.
Once the Speech Etiquette principles are followed, the notion of Hospitality becomes a
prominent issue in the community.
References:
1.
Austin, J. (1962).
How To Do Things With Words
. Oxford: Clarendon Press
2.
Aziza Musoeva , Contrastive analysis of politeness in Uzbek, Turkish and English. May
2019 DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.13446.22086
3.
Brown, P., & Levinson, S. C. (1987).p 13
Politeness: some universals in language usage.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
12
Hulkar Turdiyeva Komilovna, Lingua-pragmatic analysis of Persian and Uzbek politeness in cross-cultural communication
Monograph Tashkent – 2024 ISBN 978-9910-06-045-8
YOSH OLIMLAR
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133
4.
Coulmas, F. (2005).
Sociolinguistics. The study of speaker’s choices.
Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
5.
Daria
Storozhilova.
Communication
Hacks:
Polite
English.
2017.
https://www.stordar.com/polite-english
6.
Feruza Mamatova Makhammadovna Comparative analysis of the notion “
7.
Garipova G.R. Kontsept “gostepriimstvo” v russkom i angliyskom yazykakh, Cand. philol.
sci. diss. Abstr. Ufa, 2010
8.
Hulkar Turdiyeva Komilovna, Lingua-pragmatic analysis of Persian and Uzbek
politeness in cross-cultural communication Monograph Tashkent – 2024 ISBN 978-9910-06-
045-8
9.
Liddicoat, A. J. and Scarino, A. (2013).
Intercultural Language Teaching and Learning.
Oxford: Blackwell
10.
Sifianou M. Off-record indirectness and the notion of imposition // Multilingua 1993. -
№ 12- 1, - P. 69-79. Hospitality “ reflected in the linguoculturology (on the examples of English
and Uzbek phraseological units June 22, 2022
11.
Баймуратова С. М. Teaching speech etiquette in English lessons // Молодой ученый.
— 2018. — №24. — С.302-303
12.
https://islom.uz/maqola/5576
