HIGH-CONTEXT COMMUNICATION IN UZBEK CULTURE AND ITS IMPACT ON ENGLISH PRAGMATIC PERFORMANCE

Abstract

This study examines the extent to which high-context communication patterns embedded in Uzbek culture influence the pragmatic performance of Uzbek learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Grounded in intercultural communication theory, particularly the distinction between high-context and low-context cultures proposed by Edward T. Hall, the research explores how culturally conditioned norms of indirectness, implicitness, relational sensitivity, and respect for hierarchy shape learners’ production and interpretation of English speech acts. Employing a mixed-methods research design that includes Discourse Completion Tasks (DCTs), role-play simulations, and semi-structured interviews, the study analyzes pragmatic realization patterns in requests, refusals, and apologies among Uzbek university students. The findings reveal substantial sociopragmatic transfer from Uzbek into English, which frequently results in overextended mitigation, heightened sensitivity to power relations, and communicative ambiguity in low-context English-speaking environments. The study argues that pragmatic divergence is not indicative of linguistic incompetence but rather reflects deeply rooted cultural communication styles, and it emphasizes the necessity of systematic and explicit pragmatics instruction within Uzbek EFL curricula.