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Section 1. Applied Linguistics
DOI:10.29013/EJLL-23-3-3-7
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF LINGUOPRAGMATIC CHARACTERISTICS OF OFFICIAL LETTERS IN ENGLISH AND UZBEK
Ashurova Muhayyo Sanjarbek qizi1
1 Independent researcher, Lecturer, department of English language practice at the Andijan state institute of foreign languages, Uzbekistan
Cite: Ashurova, M. S. qizi (2023). Comparative Study of Linguopragmatic Characteristics of Official Letters in English and Uzbek. European Journal of Literature and Linguistics 2023, No 3. https://doi.org/10.29013/EJLL-23-3-3-7
Abstract
This article explains the content of official letters, its communicative importance and tasks in our life. In addition, the communicative-pragmatic features of official letters in English and Uzbek are comparatively studied. Examples of official letters in the compared languages are given, and their similarities and differences are explained. Also, the views of several linguists and scientists on the formal letter and its pragmatics are cited and highlighted. Keywords: formal style, formal letter, addressee, addresser, communicative relationship, speech situation, subjective attitude, pragmatic purpose, communicative effectiveness, pragmatic evaluation.
Introduction
A letter is one of the forms of communication between people, and its occurrence is related to writing and distance. That is, it is formed only with the help of writing and sent to someone who is at a certain distance. It expresses the opinions and feelings of the author of the letter. Sending the letter is done using certain tools.
At first, letters consisted only of correspondence between two people, but now writing a letter has become a special form of speech process considered within the framework of formal style - a written type. Nowadays, letters serve as a means of active com-
munication between offices and institutions, organizations and enterprises, as well as a convenient way to solve existing socio-economic issues. In this respect, the text of official letters is also a syntactic unit of communicative importance.
Letters and their types have been studied by many scientists, mainly R. Simon, M. Richardson, Carol Poster and Linda C. Mitchell, Uzbek researchers D. Lutfulla-yeva, M. Aminov, M. Madvaliyeva., N. Mah-kamov and N. Mahmudov conducted research in this field. Also, the work "Epistolyar janrning tuzilishi va uning ayrim til xususi-yatlari" by R. Kongurov and T. Jo'rayev, and
the candidate's dissertation entitled "Hozirgi o'zbek adabiy tilida epistolyar janrning til va uslubiy xususiyatlari" by T. Jo'rayev devoted to the study of the structure, genre, language and stylistic features of letters.
Literature analysis and methods
It is known that official letters have a wide range of functions. The book "Davlat tilida ish yuritish" states the following about official letters: "The range of issues handled by letters is wide, by means of such correspondence various instructions, requests, answers, explanations, messages, offers, requests, guarantees are given or accepted" (Aminov M., Madvaliev A., Ma^kamov N., Max;mudov N. YO. Odilov., 2020).
Through official letters, socio-economic relations are established between governments and courts, offices and institutions, organizations and enterprises that are subordinate to each others or are in equal positions. Official letters include making any proposal, offering one's services, financial incentives, transferring money or canceling an existing debt, strengthening personnel, recommending awards, resolving conflicting issues, planning production, and many other issues are covered (Jo'rayev T. 1994).
Official service letters are divided into two types according to the following tasks:
1. Letters that require a reply (such as claim letter, complaint letter, request letters).
2. Letters that do not require a response (confirmation letter, attachment letter, reminder letter, information letter, such as a letter of guarantee) (Suyarova A. 2018).
Discussion and results
It is known that all types of official letters serve to establish a communicative relationship between the participants of the dialogue: the addresser and the addressee. Even in cases where there is no requirement to respond to letters, the addressee enters into a secret communication with the addresser who sends it through the letter, that is, addressee becomes aware of a certain message or gets some information through the letter. In such a situation, a communication environment, a speech situation occurs between the addresser, that is, the sender of the letter and the receiver-addressee (Lutfullaeva D. 2020).
In particular, informational letters serve to inform the addressee about the event or conference being held or to deliver a message to him as information. In this situation, the addresser and the addressee enter into a communicative relationship by means of an information letter: one sends a message, the other receives it.
The communicative function of the text of official letters is clarified through communicative effectiveness. Communicative tasks are achieved through letters, when official letters are answered, explanations are given, or instructions and recommendations specified in the letter are followed, requests or assignments are fulfilled. Communicative effectiveness can be achieved through letters written in a short, clear and fluent style in compliance with language standards (Lutful-laeva D. 2020).
An important feature of the text of official letters is the expression of intention, that is, the pragmatic purpose of the letter owner. Each letter has a specific purpose. The basic units that make up the text of the letter are focused on demonstrating the specific purpose of its owner. For example, in the text of a request letter written with a request to send a document, the verbs so'raymiz (or so'ray-man, so'raydi), iltimos qilamiz (iltimos qil-aman, iltimos qiladi) express the request of the addresser, also reflects the purpose of having the document.
Dear Ms. Cynthia,
My name is Yvonne Doe, and I'm the manager at Petty Shelters, the animal shelter you visited last month. I'm writing to ask whether your pet supply store would like to donate to our animal shelter...
It can be seen that the pragmatic purpose of the addresser is clearly expressed in the official letter below. In general, official letters are a type of document that clearly expresses a pragmatic purpose among business documents (Lutfullaeva D. 2020).
It is known that letters are a type of official document with orientation characteristics. R. Karimov, who studied the linguistic features of commercial letters in Uzbek and English languages, also recognized that commercial letters have a sign of direction among other signs. He stated the following about this: "The text of commercial correspondence
is such a written form of official discourse, it has a communicative orientation, content and logical connection and completeness, informative integrity" (Karimov R. 2018).
Formal letters are addressed to individuals or groups. Such letters also differ according to the pragmatic purpose of the addresser. In particular, in letters addressed to individuals, the addressee is often asked to perform certain activities, recommendations are given, wishes are expressed, congratulations are expressed, etc. Such pragmatic goals also reveal the task of influencing the addressee with the help of a letter (Lutfullae-va D. 2020).
The text of official letters also has a pragmatic value due to the fact that it reflects the subjective modality. In such letters, the attitude of the addresser to the addressee, the assessment given to him is clearly expressed. For example, the preamble of letters written to international heads of state differs from the preamble of a letter written to the head of an ordinary organization and institution: O'zbekiston Respublikasi Prezidenti Islom Karimov janobi oliylariga! "Oriyon" konserni rahbari muhtaram (hurmatli) Fayzulla Ziyo-yevga! While it is possible to use the words hurmatli and muhtaram in relation to the President of the Republic, it is not possible to use janobi oliylari in relation to the head of the concern. Also, greeting letters written by official heads of state to each other are a vivid example of letters reflecting subjective modality (Jo'rayev T. 1994).
O'zbekiston Respublikasi Prezidenti Savkat Mirziyoyev janobi oliylariga
Janobi Oliylari,
Sizni O'zbekiston Respublikasi Mustaqil-ligining 27 yillik bayrami bilan muborakbod etishga ijozat bergaysiz. O'zbekiston Respub-likasi xalqiga bundan buyon ham ravnaq, baxt-saodat va farovonlik tilayman.
Yelizaveta Ikkinchi. Buyuk Britaniya va Shimoliy Irlandiya Birlashgan Qirolligi Qi-rolichasi.
Dear Mr. President-Elect:
Please accept my warm congratulations on your victory and my best wishes for your success as you prepare to take up the responsibilities and challenges of your high office...
I look forward to working with you not only to develop closer relations between our countries but also to concert our efforts in the cause of peace and the brotherhood of all peoples.
Sincerely,
Richard Nixon
In the example of greeting letters in Uzbek and English given above, we can see that subjective modality is reflected through the words Janobi oliylari and Dear Mr. President. Open expression of subjective attitude through official letters is clearly reflected in offer letters. In particular, invitation letters are written on behalf of an organization or an individual, and mainly reflect the positive attitude of the addressers. We focus on the following:
Muhtaram Aziz Rahmonovich!
Sizni 12-15-oktabr kunlari onamiz Habiba ayaning tavallud ayyomlari munosabati bilan yoziladigan dasturxonimizga lutfan taklif etamiz!
Dear Mr. Pritchard,
I would like to invite you to our annual club meeting which will take place this year on 21st December. The meeting will be held in the clubs own banqueting suite at 8.00 pm.
We woul be honoured, if you join ...
The words muhtaram, lutfan and the phrase we would be honored used in these invitation letters serve to express a positive attitude and reveal the subjective attitude of the owner of the letter.
A negative evaluation attitude of the owner of the letter can be felt in the letters of refusal to requests, offers, orders, etc. This attitude is expressed in the text of the letter in such usages as iltimosinggiz rad etildi, iltimosinggiz qabul qilinmadi, iltimosing-gizni bajara olmasligimizni ma'lum qilamiz, buyurtmanggiz qabul qilinmadi, taklifinggiz rad etildi (Lutfullaeva D. 2020).
Dear Mr. Prescott,
I am sorry to say that I will not be able to attend the annual club meeting on the 21st of December.
The phrase I will not be able to attend used in this letter shows the negative response of the owner of the letter to the invitation letter.
A negative attitude can also be observed in the letters stating the objections and demands. As it is known, claim letters often require to include this kind of phrases. "...shart-noma(bitim)ga ko'ra o'z zimmasiga olgan majburiyatini olgan tomon yetkazgan zarar-ni qoplash talab qilinadi" (Aminov M., Mad-valiev A., Max;kamov N., Max;mudov N. YO. Odilov 2020).
In the text of claim letters of this content, special units are used, such as talab qilamiz (talab qilaman), so'raymiz(so'rayman), ka-momad, undirish, jarima to'lash, 10 kun ichida, 30 kunlik muddatda, hisob raqami. These units are semantically the basic units of the text of the claim letter, and its essence is revealed through these units. Sentences such as "Kamomadning undirilishini talab qilamiz", "Ko'rsatilgan jarimaning belgilangan muddat ichida to'lanishini talab qilamiz", "Jarima belgilangan muddatda to'lanmagan holatda ish xo'jalik sudiga oshiriladi" in the letter serve to express the negative attitude of the owner of the letter.
Da'vo xati qarzni to'lash bo'yicha
"ZhKH-servis" MChJ sizga uy-joy kommunal xizmatlarini to'lash uchun 482 rubl miqdorida qarzingiz borligini ma'lum qila-di. 2016 yil 01 oktyabr holatiga ko'ra shak-llangan 78 tiyin. Ushbu xat olingan kundan boshlab bir hafta ichida ko'rsatilgan qarzni to'lash zarurligi haqida sizni xabardor qila-miz. Agar belgilangan muddatda to'lov talabi bajarilmasa, Hukumatning 2011-yil 06-may-dagi 354-sonli qarori, 11-bo'limiga muvofiq, kvartirangizga suv ta'minoti cheklanadi va keyinchalik to'xtatiladi, qayta ulanish to'la-nadi to'lanmagan taqdirda, qarzni undirish masalasi sud tomonidan hal qilinadi...
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to express my complete dissatisfaction with the meal I was served last night at the local branch of Benny's, and my anger at the behaviour of the supervisor when I complained.
As you can imagine, I am extremely upset. I feel I am entitled to a full refund, in addition to a written apology from local manager.
In general, such usages used in claim (complaint) letters (I am writing to express
my complete dissatisfaction, I am extremely upset, I am entitled to a full refund) turn into stereotyped sentences and are an important attribute of this type of letters.
It seems that special language units and specific speech usages are often used in letters expressing the attitude of value. But this situation is not the same for all types of letters. Due to the fact that the text of official letters has a strict syntactic structure, the units expressing the value relationship are not freely used in all types of letters. A characteristic point is that pragmatic factors such as communication environment, language knowledge and skills of the addresser are not taken into account when composing the text of letters.
Although some official letters do not use special units that serve to express the subjective attitude, it is possible to perceive the negative or positive attitude of the addresser. For example, in letters agreeing to scientific supervision of a researcher, special units that show the subjective attitude of the addresser towards the researcher are not used. However, from the text of such letters, it can be understood that the positive attitude of the owner of the letter is hidden (Lutfullaeva D. 2020).
In some official letters, the addresser's pragmatic assessment of reality may be hidden. However, in all types of reply letters, the addresser must openly respond to the suggestions, comments, objections, and give his assessment to the letter. In such a situation, the addresser will publicly state his attitude to the letter. Even in the reply letter, when the addresser states his denials and objections, he will certainly cite certain reasons for this or give an explanation. Sentences such as "So'rov xatinggizga javoban sizga shuni ma'lum qilamizki", "So'rov xatinggiz bo'yicha quyidagilarni ma'lum qilamiz" found in the text of the reply letter indicate that the reply letter has a reacting character (Lutfullaeva D. 2020).
Conclusion
As can be seen from the above examples, the communicative and pragmatic aspects of official letters in English and Uzbek languages are similar. That is, official letters in both languages serve as a means of realizing the pragmatic goal of the addressee. So, based on the analysis of the pragmatic features of the text
of official letters in the compared languages, the following conclusions can be summarized: The text of official letters provides a communicative connection between the participants of the speech, that is, the addresser and the addressee, creates a communication environment, a speech situation;
• The text of official letters will have a sign of communicative effectiveness;
The text of official letters shows the pragmatic purpose of the letter writers;
The text of official letters expressing attitude also reflects the owner's pragmatic assessment of reality; The text of official letters has the function of having a speech effect on the addressee.
References
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Jo'rayev T. Hozirgi o'zbek adabiy tilida epistolyar janrning til va uslubiy xususiyatlari. nomzodlik dissertasiyasi.- Samarqand, 1994.
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Karimov R. Lingvopragmaticheskij aspekt kommercheskih pisem: Filol.oshibki v nauke. Dok. Diss. na soiskanie uchenoj stepeni kandidata tekhnicheskih nauk. posle etogo.- Tashkent, 2018.- P. 72.
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Mu^iddinova H. S., Abdullaeva N. A. Vid diplomaticheskoj perepiski oficial'nogo stilya.-Tashkent: Respublikanskij obrazovatel'nyj centr Ministerstva narodnogo obrazovaniya Respubliki Uzbekistan, 1997.
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Suyarova A. O'zbek tilida ish yuritish. - Namangan, 2018.
submitted 7.09.2023;
accepted for publication 30.09.2023;
published 8.10.2023
© Ashurova, M. S. qizi
Contact: mohinabonu9414@mail.ru
