THE PRAGMATIC FEATURES OF ENGLISH PROVERBS EXPRESSING POLITENESS

Abstract

This article examines the pragmatic features of English proverbs that express politeness and speech etiquette. In the framework of linguistic pragmatics, proverbs serve not only as fixed verbal units but also as communicative strategies that regulate interpersonal relations, mitigate speech acts, soften criticism and convey ethical norms. Using descriptive, contextual and discourse-pragmatic methods, the study explores how politeness-related proverbs function in real communication and how they reflect key Anglo-Saxon cultural values such as indirectness, self-restraint, respect for autonomy and conflict avoidance. The results show that English politeness proverbs perform multiple functions including face-saving, indirect advising, positive and negative politeness strategies and the mitigation of conversational tension. The findings reveal that such proverbs play a significant role in shaping communicative behavior and cultural expectations.