STRUCTURAL-SEMANTIC MODELS OF COMPLIMENTS IN ENGLISH AND UZBEK LITERARY DISCOURSE: A COMPARATIVE PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS
Abstract
This article presents a comparative pragmatic analysis of the structural-semantic models through which compliments are realised in English and Uzbek literary texts, drawing on Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest and Said Ahmad’s satirical comedy Kelinlar qo‘zg‘oloni. The study identifies nine principal structural-semantic models distributed across the two corpora and demonstrates that English compliment structures are predominantly analytic, scalar, and direct, while Uzbek compliment structures are predominantly synthetic, metaphorical, and multidimensional. These architectural differences are not superficial stylistic variations but reflect the divergent cultural values, rhetorical traditions, and social functions of complimenting in Victorian England and Soviet-era Uzbekistan. The analysis integrates speech act theory, politeness theory, construction grammar, and linguoculturology, situating the structural findings within a comprehensive account of the cultural and social logics that shape compliment production in each tradition. Findings contribute to cross-cultural pragmatics, literary linguistics, and intercultural communication research.
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