PRAGMATIC MECHANISMS OF MANIPULATION IN UZBEK PROVERBS AND SAYINGS

Abstract

Proverbs and sayings are commonly perceived as concise expressions of collective wisdom; however, in everyday communication they also function as pragmatic instruments of influence. This article examines manipulation in proverbs and sayings from a pragmatic perspective, focusing on Uzbek proverbs as culturally embedded forms of indirect discourse. Using a qualitative, discourse-oriented approach, the study draws on speech act theory, Gricean pragmatics, and critical discourse analysis to explore how manipulation is realized through indirect speech acts, conversational implicature, and presupposition. The findings demonstrate that Uzbek proverbs rarely operate as neutral statements; instead, they perform advisory, corrective, and regulatory functions while maintaining an appearance of generality and cultural authority. Indirectness reduces resistance by framing evaluative judgments as shared wisdom rather than individual opinion, while presupposition embeds moral and social norms as taken-for-granted truths. Overall, the study highlights the manipulative potential of traditional discourse and contributes to the integration of pragmatics and paremiology.