Communicative and pragmatic peculiarities of euphemisms in Russian and Uzbek languages

Alimov Timur Ermekovich Postgraduate student, Department of Foreign Languages, Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University of Russia 117198, Russia, Moscow, Miklukho-Maklaya str., 6 alimovcom@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Kupriyanova Milana Evgen'evna PhD in Philology Associate Professor, Department of Foreign Languages, Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University of Russia 117198, Russia, Moscow, Miklukho-Maklaya str., 6 milana_k@list.ru

1. Introduction

The relevance of the study is due to the interest of researchers in the process of euphemization as a linguistic phenomenon, which has increased significantly in recent years, which makes this study particularly relevant. Currently, scientists have to answer many questions that cause dissonance, including the communicative and pragmatic functions of euphemisms, the specific causes of euphemization, the key criteria for determining euphemism, the scope of their use, and stylistic affiliation. The study of the national and cultural originality of euphemisms in a comparative context helps to identify the specifics of reflecting real objects of the surrounding world in the linguistic picture of the world of different language systems, which is an important aspect that allows interpreting the originality of the worldview and the process of euphemization among native speakers of Russian and Uzbek languages.

In connection with this goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks: 1) to select Russian and Uzbek euphemisms, which were collected by a complete selection from English and Uzbek-language dictionaries, encyclopedias and other reference and journalistic publications; 2) to consider the definition of euphemism from the point of view of pragmatics; 3) to consider pragmatic strategies of euphemization; 4) to explore euphemisms taking into account the peculiarities of their cultural significance and identify differential and universal signs indicating national and cultural specificity.

Research methods: the continuous sampling method, the method of analyzing dictionary definitions, the cross-cultural method, which consists in describing the lexical level in each language using symmetrical criteria and factual material. This approach is based on the comparison and analysis of communicative and pragmatic features, taking into account the linguistic and cultural characteristics of the studied phenomena. A contextual method that made it possible to identify the hidden communicative intentions of the addressee.

The theoretical basis of the research is the works of Russian and foreign scientists V.P. Moskvin (2017), E.P. Ivanyan (2021), M.L. Kovshova (2007), K.Allan and K. Burridge (1991, 2006), considering the features of euphemistic expressions. The research was aimed at determining the communicative and pragmatic functions and national and cultural identity of euphemistic expressions, which were given sufficient attention in the studies of V.I. Zabotkina (1989), J. Serle (1986), V. Lutz (Lutz, 1989), N.V. Tishina (2006), L.V. Porokhnitskaya (2014), V.Y. Kharitonova (2018), A. Omonturdieva (2000), Sh.K. Shamsieva (Comparative Linguoculturology, 2021).

The results of this study are of practical importance and can be applied in the theory and practice of teaching Russian and Uzbek languages, in particular, the discrepancies found help representatives of both cultures to communicate effectively without any misunderstandings, especially those who study a foreign or second language. Learners of Russian or Uzbek as a foreign/second language can be armed with these euphemistic strategies to deal with any awkward situations or topics to facilitate cross-cultural communication and save face of both speakers, as the use of a taboo term threatens the face.

2. The theoretical part of the study

Currently, there is a growing variety and proliferation of ways and means of euphemization that affect important social topics, various spheres of human activity and relationships with other people, society and government. Communicants have a variety of motives that encourage them to use euphemisms. These motives may be related to feelings of superstition and fear, compassion, shame, or politeness. They relate directly to the emotional sphere of a person. In modern scientific research, euphemisms are studied in the context of speech pragmatics, as one of the means of creating a comfortable communicative situation. It is advisable to consider pragmatics from the point of view of linguistics and apply this concept to our study, which concerns euphemisms.

In modern linguistics, the term "pragmatics" has several different interpretations. Thus, V.I. Zabotkina identified the most accurate definitions of pragmatics from various sources. "This is the science of the use of language (Leech), the science of language in context, or the science of the contextuality of language as a phenomenon. (Parret). The study of language (or any other communication system) from the point of view of the goals pursued, various ways of achieving them and the conditions under which these goals are achieved (Parisi), the theory of interpretation of various acts, the study of linguistic means used to denote various aspects of the interactive context in which the proposition is expressed (Motsch)" ^{[3, p. 50]}. Pragmatics explores the relationship between language and the speaker, including the reasons why the author of a statement chooses certain linguistic means. The choice of these means depends on the nature of communication and the goal that the author wants to achieve. In the context of speech pragmatics, euphemistic units are one of such linguistic means.

According to E. S. Kuzmina, the main goal pursued by communicants, using euphemistic nominations, is "to avoid communicative conflicts and is due to the desire not to put the interlocutor in an uncomfortable position, not to hurt his feelings" ^{[5, p. 132]}.

S. Luchtenberg considers euphemism as the projection of a selfish version of reality, which the scientist calls "concealment and veiling" ^{[28, p. 26]}. It is important to note that I. R. Galperin also drew attention to the manipulative possibilities of the functions of euphemisms, arguing that "the main condition for manipulating mass consciousness is the ability of influence to disguise itself, since it is in these cases that it is possible to control the objects of influence" ^[2]. Euphemisms have a pragmatic nature, since they are aimed at distracting the listener's attention from a forbidden or unpleasant concept, thereby performing the function of an "emotionally neutral substitute for undesirable or excessively harsh designations" ^{[23, p. 12]}.

In turn, the definition given by K. Allan and K. Berridge can shed light on our discussion of face-oriented euphemism: "these are words or phrases used as an alternative to an undesirable expression in order to avoid possible loss: either one's own, or, offending, the face of the public, or some third person" ^{[19, p. 32]}. The concept of "face", proposed by Hoffman ^[24] and described by Brown and Levinson, plays a motivating role in the process of euphemization ^{[20, p. 61]}. In the process of communication, language users use euphemistic expressions or indirect means to preserve either their own face or the face of the interlocutor. According to K. Linfoot-Ham, the main function of euphemism is to protect interlocutors from possible offending each other caused by raising a taboo topic or mentioning a subject to which one of the interlocutors may be sensitive ^[27]. R. Wardhau also suggests that speakers should protect their own face, as well as the face of others, which it can be achieved with the help of a euphemism ^{[31, p. 276]}.

In this study, the term euphemism is used to refer to indirect or polite means of expressing taboos, the purpose of which is to preserve the face of the speaker or interlocutor. Thus, from this point of view, euphemism is mainly a pragmatic phenomenon, an approach adopted by many authors who consider euphemism in a discursive framework, taking into account the social conventions of the pragmatic context surrounding the participants in the dialogue. It should be noted that euphemisms, acting as a means of communication to prevent possible communication failures, contain information about moral values and ethical prescriptions of society.

3. Analysis and results of the study

3.1. Euphemisms and the theory of indirect speech acts

The theory of indirect speech acts by J. Searle is of particular interest for the study of euphemia. It helps to understand the pragmatic aspects of euphemistic substitution, which is one of the varieties of indirect speech acts. It is important to note that "in indirect speech acts, the speaker conveys to the listener more content than what he actually communicates, and he does this based on general background knowledge, both linguistic and non-linguistic, as well as on the general abilities of reasonable reasoning implied by him in the listener" ^{[16, p. 197]}.

In the context of the study of euphemism, this provision means that when using a certain euphemistic unit, the author of the utterance seeks to establish a semantic or phonetic connection with the substitute in order to evoke in the recipient's mind the interpretation of the word form implied by the author. That is, the author assumes that the recipient is able to carry out this mental action.

The consciousness of communicants forms the semantic structure of euphemisms through "combinatorial interaction of cognitive, linguistic, speech and communicative-pragmatic semantics of both euphemisms as a whole and its multilevel components" ^{[11, 128]}.

According to A.S. Meirieva, this approach to the communicative and pragmatic features of euphemistic units explores a set of measures to understand the relationship between two types of relations - linguistic and extralinguistic. Linguistic relations are determined by the system-linguistic and speech organization, and extralinguistic relations are associated with the speech-thinking activity of communication participants (intention, perception, interpretation and interpretation of the message, which contains euphemistic word forms).

For example, if signs of a serious or incurable disease are detected in the diagnosis, the doctor tries to avoid directly providing information to the patient. Instead, he selects lexical units with positive coloring or with vague semantics that are able to soften the message being sent and not shock the patient with negative news. For example, in Russian, Our test showed that you have a positive reaction to the sexually acquired HIV disease instead of you are infected with AIDS – in Uzbek Bizning testimiz shuni ko'rsatdiki, siz jinsiy yo'l bilan yuqadigan VICh kasalligiga ijobiy munosabatda bo'lasiz instead of siz OITS bilan kasallangansiz/ you are infected with AIDS or another example, Required surgical intervention (you need to perform an operation) – Uzbek Jarrohlik zarur/ surgical intervention instead of sizga operatsiya kerak/ you need surgery, or in case of death of the patient during the operation, his family is informed that a fatal outcome has occurred (doctors were powerless; we lost the patient), Uzbek joni chiqdi/ the soul has left, oramizdan yo'qoldi/ left us, taslim bo'ldi/ surrendered to death.

The above word forms contribute to the camouflage of a socially unpleasant topic - death, the speaker tends not to use the original component, minimizing the threat of open confrontation. As noted by P. Brown and S. Levinson, addressing an inappropriate topic is a threat to a positive person, and replacing a rude term with a euphemism is a common strategy to reduce the threat of a positive person ^[20]. Thus, the above examples demonstrate the pragmatic needs of the speaker in order to mask the negative aspects of the described subject and protect their interests. These examples also confirm the dialectical nature of euphemistic expressions, which E.I. Sheigal speaks about. The essence of the dialectical nature of the euphemistic name lies in the fact that the result of the euphemization process is a nomination, which, on the one hand, does not directly name the negative connotation of the essence of the object, which helps to soften its perception by recipients. On the other hand, the semantics of the word form remains unchanged, and each representative of the linguistic community "is able to carry out this mental action for its concept" ^{[17, p. 207]}.

From the perspective of national identity, we found that in the first example, there is no speech difference in the case of using a euphemistic expression in both languages studied, but in the second case, there is still a difference when reporting the news of the patient's death. Nevertheless, there is a national and cultural peculiarity inherent in the mentality of the Uzbek people, where characteristic religious and secular shades for addressees and addressees are manifested in speech. Despite the fact that Islamic philosophy speaks about the horror of death, it is forbidden to be afraid of it. Uzbek proverbs Shzi berdi, Shzi oldi/He (himself) gave, He (himself) took (selected), Shlim ҳak/ Death is right (Death is truth), Shlim kosh bilan kovokning shrtasida/ (no translation into Russian), Hudoning irodasi shu ekan/ God's will is for everything, Bad bir, shlim barak/ God is one, and death is eternal, Bandalik/ slavery (meaning we are all slaves of God in this world) are linguistic expressions of this philosophy. According to Islamic belief, a believer should prepare for death. That is why it is said that when a person who has reached the rank of faith passes away, he is called abadiy orom topdi/ he has found eternal peace, abadiy rohat-farogatga ketdi/ has gone into eternal pleasure or from the expression bu dune azoblaridan kutuldi/ this world has been freed from suffering it is clear that death in Islam is not somethingthat's scary.

Another pragmatic theory of J. Searle's theory of reference presupposes reference to an object, so when using certain expressions by a speaker, they must: "a) contain descriptive terms that are true only for this object, or b) point to the object, or c) combine the indication with a description of the object sufficient for its identification" ^{[16, p. 196]}.

Let's consider the euphemisms of extramarital affairs and sexual relations on the example of Uzbek discourse, since they have national specifics. In Uzbek traditions, the family has always been considered sacred, therefore, any kind of relationship without marriage, cohabitation outside the family is prohibited compared to Russian traditions, in which there are no restrictions on creating a family outside of marriage. Uzbek society traditionally adheres to conservative values, all relationships between a man and a woman must be officially registered and confirmed by marriage. So, there are euphemisms that veil the names of the shameful concept of zino kilmok / fornication: emon yilga kirgan / embark on a bad path, yurib ketgan / go on a spree, yur (adi)gan/ walking, ҳalol emas/ unclean. 1) "Chunki u eriga vafosizlik kilgan, emon yllarga yurgan" / Because she was unfaithful to her husband, went down a bad path (R. Uzokova. Sailanma); 2) "Kimdir Kimsanning kulogiga shivirladi: – Hunting ҳalol emas" / Someone whispered in Kisman's ear that his wife was not clean (Abdullah Kaor. Ok aroking kora ishi).

As we can see, the addressee uses the euphemistic nominations wafosizlik kilgan/ to be wrong(oh), ҳalol emas/ unclean(oh) in order to make a reference to an object that implements a euphemistic function in the language system and is reliably understandable to the recipient. In this case, we mean how the form of expression is used "in an "inappropriate" meaning, which, in comparison with the use of the form in its "proper" meaning, reflects the specific content" [ibid., p. 200]. In this case, the form has a more general meaning, which makes it indefinite and causes only vague semantic associations, which in turn leads to a special softening of the expression.

In Uzbek everyday life, the topic of sexual intimacy is very closed, and in the language of Uzbek people living with Islamic beliefs, it is not mentioned openly. When it is necessary to mention, various euphemisms are used (graphic means such as punctuation in writing). According to A. Omonturdiev, "140 euphemistic ways of having sex have been recorded" ^{[13, p. 50]}. The oriental mentality and national culture, formed on the basis of the Uzbek civilization, led to the adaptation of speech etiquette, which contains many lexemes with euphemization. Due to this, the distinctive euphemisms peculiar to this culture have been reflected. Despite the euphemistic function of these nominations, oral speech still reflects a certain sense of shame. However, in Uzbek society, according to its traditions, there are euphemisms-substitutes for obscene words and expressions.

For example, the expressions birga bilmok/ to be together,birga etmok/ to lie together,yakin munosabatda bilmok/ to be in a close relationship, yakinlik kilmok/to retire,aloka kilmok/to have sexual relations are considered national cultural euphemistic nominations and their use is dictated by Uzbek culture and oriental mentality.

In the euphemistic expression of sexual intimacy, the word ish/ work takes an active part in the associations of a native Uzbek speaker, due to the semantics of this word, which has the sign of a somewhat abstracting and generalizing rude, shameful concept. The following euphemistic nominations with the lexical unit ish/work can be distinguished:ishini bazharmok/ to do work,ishini bitirmok/ to finish work,ishini kilmok/ to do work that do not directly name sexual relations and contain the national and cultural flavor of the Uzbek people.

Thus, the national originality of the above-mentioned word forms of sexual relations in the Uzbek language, first of all, arose as a result of oriental life, and frankly speaking about intimate relationships in the culture of the Uzbek people is considered a sin, and the veiling of this topic is fixed in its linguistic culture. Later it was regulated as a requirement of cultural discourse.

The concept of "pragmatic principle" plays an essential role in our research. Based on this, in order to ensure uninterrupted communication, users of the language should be guided by the principle of politeness and distancing, which underlie the emergence of euphemism.

3.2. The principle of politeness

A large group of euphemistic substitutes is often based on the principle of politeness. Within the framework of the theory of intercultural communication, the category of politeness is studied as "compliance with a communicative agreement and consists in following by communicants a set of laws and rules appropriate for a given situation" ^{[14, p. 37]}.

T.V. Larina considers the principle of politeness as "a universal communicative category, which is a system of nationally specific behavioral strategies aimed at harmonious, conflict-free communication and meeting the expectations of a partner" ^[7]. In her opinion, politeness has its own characteristics in every nation, taking into account national norms of behavior, which are determined by cultural values, socio-cultural relations and the worldview of the people.

For example, in the Islamic religion, the majority of the population of the Republic of Uzbekistan perceives religion as a guide to good social behavior. It regulates the duty to respect teachers, teachers, government and God. In addition, elders, guests, and strangers should be treated with respect using a respectful Uzbek language, usually identified by lexical choice, for example, in Uzbek linguistic culture it is not customary to address elderly people by name. Euphemistic units are used in relation to them, such as ota/ dad, otahon/ daddy, she/ mom, onahon/ mommy, boovi, buva/ grandma, bobo/ grandpa, momo/ grandma. In these forms of address, euphemistic units arise as a result of naming a stranger as a neighbor, and by adding forms of subjective assessment -hon, -jon.Russian Russian culture shows a discrepancy, as E.P. Ivanyan notes, "the forms of addressing "You" instead of "you" in the Russian language cannot be attributed to euphemisms" ^{[4, p. 16]}, since there is no negative emotion in Russian discourse, which we must mitigate using the plural form. Addressing elders as "you" is often considered a manifestation of intimacy, trust and respect. This comes from the long history of Russia, where respect for elders and family values played an important role. Traditionally, there was a hierarchy in the Russian family, where the older generations held a special position and had authority. Young people addressed their elders as "you" and used more formal addresses to express their respect and emphasize the hierarchical structure of the family. However, with the passage of time and sociocultural changes, addressing elders as "you" has become more common. This is due to changes in society and the relationship between generations. Today's young people are increasingly seeking more open and friendly relationships with their parents, older relatives, and even with colleagues. Addressing "you" is considered a manifestation of intimacy and trust, and can help establish a warmer and more intimate relationship.

As we can see, the pragmatic content of the word "encodes the features of the communication situation in which it is usually used" ^{[3, p. 52]}. Of particular importance is the identification of restrictions in the use and the process of choosing a certain language tool in a specific communicative situation during social interaction between participants, which are also dictated by the peculiarity of the meaning of word forms. As M.L. Kovshova correctly pointed out, "euphemization functions in relation to a specific communicative situation as a strategy aimed at shifting the pragmatic focus and achieving a specific pragmatic goal of transmitting hidden (implicit) information by encrypting situationally inappropriate topics and words according to the norms of a rhetorical ethnos" ^{[6, p. 122]}.

In the most general sense, politeness is defined as a form of communicative behavior based on respect for the personality of the interlocutor, his opinions, interests and desires, as well as the desire to prevent possible conflict situations. It also presupposes the manifestation of linguistic competence on the part of the speaker, expressing his good upbringing and belonging to this society. "Compliance with the principle of politeness is aimed at achieving maximum efficiency of social interaction" ^{[1, p. 3]}.

For example, we have recorded a voluminous functional and semantic group of euphemisms characteristic of Uzbek discourse, veiling virginity qizlik/ the presence of virginity: ibo/ modesty, or/ honor, nomus, baqorat/ chastity, birinchi kechalik/ the first night, kerakli narsa/ necessity, qimmatbaho narsa/ value, ulug‘ ne'mat/ great blessing, bahorni ko'rmagan checak/ literally a flower that has not yet seen spring, bokira/ pure in the meaning of "virgin".

Russian and Uzbek linguistic cultures differ in this regard, in the first one it is possible to talk about it, in the second one they do not allow openly expressing sexual concepts. In Uzbek cultures, romantic relationships between a man and a woman outside of marriage are prohibited. Therefore, in the moral norms of the Uzbek people, faithful to ancient traditions, it is forbidden to openly and directly imagine the form and content of intersex relations.

3.3. The principle of distancing

"The practice of replacing a potentially offensive expression with a more pleasant one can be used by speakers as a distancing strategy"^[21]. This property places euphemism among other pragmatic forms of discursive maneuvering, leading to implicitness and indirection of expression. This is due to one of several key effects that euphemism achieves, namely semantic ambiguity. Uncertainty is a defining feature of euphemisms as a linguistic phenomenon, capable of generating ambiguity and performing the function of euphemization, which implies "hiding an unpleasant concept, thus allowing to mitigate taboos" ^{[26, p. 16]}. The broad semantic structure of the word "serves as a kind of veil covering the unpleasant, negative essence of the phenomenon" ^{[3, p. 91]}. However, it should be noted that euphemism is inextricably linked to taboos, especially linguistic taboos ^[30] and, more specifically, with what is called a "conceptual prohibition" ^[25]. This determines "the cognitive process of conceptualizing a forbidden reality, which, manifesting itself in discourse through the use of linguistic mechanisms, allows the writer in a certain "context" or in a certain pragmatic situation to weaken or, conversely, strengthen a certain forbidden concept or reality" [ibid., p. 738].

From the point of view of the pragmatic interpretation of euphemism as a method of discursive maneuvering, it also operates on the underlying mechanism of increasing the symbolic distance between the mentioned phenomenon and its specific verbalization by the speaker. To this end, the speaker can rely on conventional, lexicalized euphemisms or create new euphemistic forms of expression. However, in a much broader pragmatic sense, such discursive maneuvering — the desire to problematize what could be formulated more bluntly - also includes other linguistic phenomena that are not usually considered to have a "euphemistic" function.

For example, in the compared languages, the word forms hanging, standing, sticking, sticking/sticking (male genital organ, most often during erection), sticking in Russian and Uzbek mizhoz/weapon language (male body, names of the male genital organ) can denote a taboo part of the body - the penis, and at the same time function as a euphemism in a certain context.

Another example is a group of euphemisms denoting the absence of virginity, or its deprivation. In the Russian language, this group is not represented extensively, the following euphemisms were found in the dictionary of E.P. Senichkina: treasure, unopened bud, not kissed, untouched, veil of chastity ^[15], whereas in the Uzbek dictionary of A. Omonturdiev they are represented quite variously, for example, gul kesmok/ cut flower, gulini sildirmok/ withered flower, aibi bor/ there is a mistake, nopok/ unclean. In these examples, the word forms kesmok/ cut and syldirmok/ withered are interpreted as "devoid of chastity" due to the similarities that exist between different aspects of these concepts. On the other hand, replacing the same statement with another lexeme, for example, kiz emas/ not a girl instead of nopok/ unclean, will never have the same euphemistic effect, mainly because the aforementioned aspects of similarity are no longer observed. Metaphor, due to its ability to extract similarities from analogs and seemingly mutually exclusive entities, has a complex associative-semantic structure. Due to these features and the ability to replace a literal description, it is able to "correct the perception of reality and perform a euphemistic function in certain contexts" ^{[9, p. 186]}.

To achieve a euphemistic effect, metaphor plays an important role, since "it is a marker of implicit meaning" ^{[8, p. 26]}. In this case, the metaphor implements a semantic shift by identifying more or less obvious similarities between an object or concept associated with a forbidden content and a corresponding denotation outside this sphere: "the speaker invites the listener to know negative, unpleasant or low-prestige phenomena through figurative likening of their phenomena to positive or, at least, evaluatively neutral" ^{[13, p. 88]}, how the penis is metaphorized into a stick-out/stick-out and a mizhoz/ weapon. "The use of the word in an indirect, not in its "own" meaning, due to the transfer of negative knowledge into the field of positive knowledge, contributes to the realization of a veiling, softening and beautifying euphemistic function" ^{[22; 29]}.

Metonymy is also a very productive technique of euphemization in the studied dictionaries of the Russian and Uzbek languages. Metonymic transfer based on spatial relations of contiguity is used, for example, when designating a number of physiological features of the human body: in Russian, strawberry (female genital organ), wislihi and wobble (female breast) and in Uzbek, muҳabbat gunchasi/ bud of love, jinsiy erik/ sexual crack in a formal and polite assembly is appropriately used for designations of women's breasts and vaginas that are considered taboo. Using the mechanism of metonymy, the euphemistic technique allows you to insinuate a taboo denotation by substituting its name through associative connections based on adjacency.

To fulfill the euphemistic function of mitigation, it is important to note that "metonymic incompleteness, as well as metaphor, is a tool for conveying implicit meaning, acting as one of the manifestations of the tendency to speech compression" ^{[8, p. 22]}, thereby implicitly it has a greater meaning than expressed at the surface level; "the meaning of compact metonymic constructions are not limited to the lexical meaning of its components, they assume the interpretation of the entire situation, named after some of its most typical component, which is strongly associated with other components" ^{[10, p. 40]}.

Thus, euphemisms-metonymies and euphemisms-metaphors are used to mask unpleasant or obscene aspects of life, hinting at a socially unacceptable meaning. Metonymic understatement leads to distortion of the maxim of informativeness (completeness of information) and the maxim of identity (clarity), which in turn "contributes to the construction of deliberately ambiguous and inaccurate speech in order to euphemize the utterance" ^{[12, pp. 64-65]}. Comparing the meaning of the marker and the addressee's knowledge of the linguistic picture of the world makes it possible to explicate the omitted elements, which in turn contributes to the conclusion about the implied meaning in accordance with the general pragmatic orientation.

4. The results of the study

From the point of view of pragmatics, the use of euphemistic nominations is a kind of reaction to destructive processes in linguistic activity. It is aimed at leveling or bypassing the negative aspects that currently exist.

The study of the linguistic material allows us to conclude that euphemistic nominations in Uzbek and Russian have differential types of motivation. In the course of our research, we found that euphemization is based on the moral and social norms of a particular society. This confirms the fact that it is considered taboo in one culture, can be accepted in another as the norm, and that the use of euphemistic units is based on cultural values and beliefs. There is no doubt that language is influenced by culture, traditions, religion, geography and various social factors of society. In the course of a comparative analysis of various languages and cultures, linguistic elements characteristic of a certain national and cultural specificity are identified.

5. Conclusion

In an effort to expand the understanding of euphemistic nomination from a simple one-to-one lexical substitution, this article brought us to the concept of euphemism as a form of discursive maneuvering. In communicative and pragmatic functions, a euphemistic unit represents various strategies that perform the function of non-maximal manipulation of discursive space, through which the speaker tries to increase the symbolic distance between himself and the mentioned event on the one hand, and on the other, these expressions contribute to avoiding the use of obscene or obscene statements, reflect the level of culture and education of the interlocutor, and also contribute to social development. The analysis showed that euphemisms play an important role in communication, allowing you to communicate about difficult or unpleasant topics, while observing social norms and perceiving information more gently or delicately.

The strategies of euphemism found in the Uzbek language indicate that there are more ways of expressing euphemisms. The study also shows that there is no connection between the choice of euphemism strategy in the compared languages. Russian Russians and Uzbeks resort to taboos when dealing with death and lies, but almost never in the Russian language do they touch on sexual relations. The euphemistic language, as well as the language in general, is influenced by cultural and religious beliefs, lifestyle and norms of its speakers, especially in the Uzbek language, as we found when describing sexual relations and when addressing elders. Differential signs show that euphemisms can have different types and structures depending on language and cultural affiliation. They are able to reflect specific conceptualizations of forbidden reality and have their own unique meanings and uses. The universal signs of euphemistic nominations indicate that some euphemisms may be common to different cultures and linguistic communities. This is due to the general tendencies in society to use certain words or expressions to weaken the negative meaning.

Understanding the differential and universal features of euphemistic nominations contributes to understanding cultural differences and communication features. This study provides useful information for specialists in the field of intercultural communication, translation and foreign language teaching, helping to adapt communication to cultural peculiarities and avoid misunderstandings and conflicts.