Linguistic and culturological analysis of the Kyrgyz speech etiquette of greeting

Бюллетень науки и практики / Bulletin of Science and Practice

UDC 81’362:81’271.2                               

Greetings are one of the meaningful components of etiquette, which represent an ethical code of the polite behaviour that people demonstrate towards each other during communication or interface. In communication act politeness is represented in the form of ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviour in various situations, conditioned by the conventions and norms which, in its turn, have been observed and practiced by members of community, society, a social class, or a social group, in general. Greetings are so called “litmus paper” among participants of communication act on a primary level, which designates the degree of value recognition of human, although some conscious deviations from appropriate behaviour such as hypocrisy and sycophancy take place, as well. Ignorant behaviour towards the act of greeting may be interpreted as presence of strained relations and tension befallen between communicants: “ Саламатсызбы, кечинде кайда бара жатасыз?” – деген Чоронун үнүнөн чочуп кетти. Толгонай унчукпай баса берди. Чоро утурлай басып: “Амандык сурашса, амандашпаганыңыз эмне, киши ушунчалык мерез болобу?” – деген. (“Having heard Choro’s voice Tolgonai got frightened: “Hello, where are you going so late?” – she moved on though. “How can you be so ill-mannered toward the man asking about your wellness?” – Choro uttered” /tr. M. Kinalieva) [1].

Etiquette, as already noted above, provides a certain set of forms and rules used to greet a person or people in an explicitly specific way. Verbal norms of etiquette provide a certain opportunity for making a choice depending on situation. It is reasoned by the great variety of forms and methods of their implementation, sometimes, even difficult to describe. A nod, a bow, a handshake, a kiss, an “air kiss”, a simple “Good afternoon” or “Hello” can be performed and uttered in a variety of ways depending on objective and subjective circumstances, on the form of relationships between participants of communication act, that can undergo the influence of the historical and ethnographic factors. Hence, when the Mongol uses the following forms of greetings such as “ Как кочуете? Как зимуете? Как ваш скот?” (How is your (nomad) life? How was the winter season? Is your livestock safe?) – we can assume that these expressions have a strong reference related to Mongolian severe lifestyle in steppe valleys. It is known, that if a Chinese man, Japanese, or Indian bow to the leg as a sign of honor, Europeans simply shake hands. Europeans uplift a little their hats, when they greet someone, and slightly bow, while the Japanese have three types of bows performed for greeting: light (at an angle of 15 degrees), medium, and low. It is customary for people in Poland to kiss a lady’s hand during the greeting and farewell formalities. Whereas, in Turkey, when people meet each other at a long-awaited meeting, the younger men greet their elders (grandparents, parents, teachers) by kissing their hands, followed by a double hug and touching cheeks of each other as a sign of honor and respect. In England, a woman greets first a man on the street, as a rule, since she is given a priority to choose whether to publicly confirm or not her acquaintance with some man.

The Kyrgyz etiquette researcher A. Muratov stated that the Kyrgyz people always greet the very young or the older first, regardless of gender; a person on foot greets a person riding a horse, a single person should greet the two, a walking person greets a standing man, and a person who enters the room greets the ones sitting inside, whilst the person inside should quickly stand up and respond to the greetings of a person who enters the room. The exception works only for elderly people who are allowed to preserve their position or occupation, and not to stand up due to their respectful age and deferential status [2, p. 83-88]. This greeting tradition among Kyrgyz is described in the work by T.Kasymbekov “The Broken sword”: “А-а, каранын каны өзү го деп ?...” - деп болжоду дилинде датка: “Ассалоому алейкум...” – деп, кыраатын келтире салам айтты. Атчан жөөгө, бирөө экөөгө, басып келаткан жатканга салам айтмай кыргыз сылыктыгы (“Ah, is it him, the Khan himself?” – silently presumed datka, uttering: “My greetings…” He welcomed him with cadence in his voice. The Kyrgyz is known for polite behaviour when a man on foot salutes a horseman, the one greets the two others, and a visitor hails a settler (tr. M. Kinalieva) [3, p. 188].

The national and cultural specific features of greetings are manifested “in the tactics of achieving the initial communicative goal, and in essential functions of the selected utterances, within the features established in combination with other speech acts realized in a definite context, and in possibility of non-verbal behaviour emergence and in frequency of traits of a particular reaction, and gender belonging, age difference, role and the social status restrictions, as well” [4, p. 18].

In situations, where greetings play a key role and are the focal part of communication, the speech etiquette can be detached into formulas, clichés, good wishes, and even concerns. The formula is idiomatic, yet it is useful or has partially lost its originality in terms of its form and meaning. Addressing someone with the help of the formula requires a strictly defined answer from a recipient, and does not tolerate any options other than those customarily established earlier. For example, the phrase “Ассалоом алейкум!” entails the response “Алейкум ассалам!”; “Арыбаңыз!” entails the response “Бар болуңуз!”. The following piece taken from T. Sydykbekov’s work illustrates the case: “Арба, Темир балам, арба”, – деген бирөөнүн үнү өкүм чыгып калды. – “Арба, баатыр!” – деп кайталай берди. “Бар болуңуздар! – деп тигилердин жалпысына учурашты” (“Oh, here you are, Temir! How are you, my son?”, – sounded someone’s voice. – “Welcome, our hero!” – was repeatedly said in air. “Salute everybody! – he greeted all” (tr. M. Kinalieva)) [5, p. 84].

It is known, that the greeting formulas are more strictly associated with certain social situations, and significantly unalterable in terms of its sense [6]. The greeting formulas and clichés are interchangeable and embody the overall general meaning concerning the “health state”, “life” in general, and daily matters in a trivial sense”.

In the Kyrgyz language, the stylistically neutral and polite form of greetings is expressed by implicit and performative information about the state of health and well-being: Саламатсызбы? that corresponds to “Hello!” or “My greetings!”, Жакшысызбы? - “How are you?” in a sense “Is everything fine with you?”, Амансызбы? - “How are things?” “Hope you feel fine?”, Аман-эсенсизби? – literally means “Are you alive and well?” or “May good health envelop you” may also be functional; Кандайсыз? - “How are you?” or “How have you been?”

A distinctive feature of greetings in the Kyrgyz language lies in the interrogative nature of utterances, both - structurally and semantically. The health awareness, care and concerns about health state of the interlocutor have been deeply incorporated in the essence of phrases described above. Responses to the greetings given above may be optional: жакшы (good), дурус (well), жаман эмес (not bad), эптеп-септеп (so-so), Кудайга шүгүр (Thank goodness or Good heavens ) etc. All these greetings are used in both: simple and polite forms.

Саламатсызбы? which stands for “ Hello, how are you?” in the Kyrgyz language, entails the obligatory response Саламатчылык, that means “Hello, I am fine ”.

Stylistically neutral and polite greeting expressions can be used in both: informal and formal communications with reference to pronouns of neutral form - sen (you) and polite form -siz (You) which is expressed by affixation: -сыз (Саламатсызбы?), and -сыз (Саламатсызбы?) , correspondingly. Hence, Саламатсызбы? - Саламатчылык are more often used by interlocutors in situations where formal communication is expected. For example: “Окуучулар вздeрYнчв бир нерсени кызуу свз кылышып, кYЛYп-жайнап отурушкан экен, мени кврYШYп, текши ордуларышан турушту. “Саламатсызарбы?” - дедим мен аларга. - “Саламатсызбы, агай?” - дешти окуучулар хор менен ” (“All pupils were busy with intense discussions, all smiling and laughing. Having seen me they immediately stood up. “Hello everybody”, - I said, – “Hello, teacher!” – they unanimously replied in choir (tr. M. Kinalieva)) [7, p 28].

In the Kyrgyz grammar the simple form of address to someone is presented by grammatical endings of the personal pronoun сен (you) denoted by endings of singular form -сыз, and of plural form -гыла ; -сызар : Саламатсызбы? - How are you? - addressing to a person of same age, status, and Саламатсызарбы? - How are you? - addressing to all, Бар болгула! - in the meaning of “ Live long, all you are! ” It may also be expressed by lexically shortened forms of greeting expressions, such as: Салам! (shortened form of “ Саламатсызбы?” ), that corresponds to “Hi”, “Hey” or “Salute” in English; Аман ! (shortened form of Амансызбы? ) - corresponds to “How is your health (and all)?”. The following examples from literary works illustrate this case: “О, садагасы Салмоорбек бизди тосуп чыккан тура. Аманбы, Салмош?” - “Аман, Зарыл эжеке”, - деди акырын” (Oh, dearest Salmoorbek is coming across to welcome us. How are you, Salmosh? - “Everything is fine, auntie”, - he uttered quietly.) (tr. M. Kinalieva) [8, p. 15]; “Амансыщбыг Сукеш? Чындап эле жYз кeрYштYкпY? Сен экввбYздYн да жакшылыкка башыбыз жетет экен да!” - деп чоз-чоз арыш менен басып келип кучагын бардыгынча жайып кучактап калды” (How is your health, Sukesh? Did we meet, indeed? It is our good fortune to meet again, isn’t it? – he uttered, and making huge steps towards him with arms wide open, he tightly hugged him. (tr. M. Kinalieva) [9, p. 318].

In the Kyrgyz speech etiquette, age is the most important indicator which conditions selection and choice of an appropriate greeting formulas with -зыз and -сыз in singular form and -зыздар and -сыздар in plural form, in situations when polite form of addressing is expected, and with -сын , or zero ending in simple singular form in regular occasions. Henceforward, the personal endings are used to address all elder people which corresponds to an archaic form “yours” in English, while those equal in age or younger may be saluted on “you” (often in an informal situation). According to the law of the vowel shift in the Kyrgyz language the initial affixes may have their variations as: -сыз (-сиз, -суз, -сYз); -зыз (-зиз, -зуз, -ЗYз); -сыз (-сиз, -суз, -сYз) - in singular form, and -сыздар (-сиздер, -суздар, -сYздвр); -зыздар (-зиздер, -зуздар, -зYздвр); -гыла (-гиле, -гула, -гYлв) in plural form.

The polite form of greeting is used when the Kyrgyz people intentionally demonstrate respect and honour when addressing to someone older or in a higher position, or when addressing unfamiliar people or strangers: “сиз” (You) not “сен” (you), that embodies respect and honor, with corresponding grammatical personal endings as illustrated in examples: -зыз and -сыз - in the singular form: Арыбазыз!, Саламатсызбы?; -зыздар; -сыздар - in the plural form: Арыбазыздар!, Саламатсыздарбы? The following expressions are frequently used to address and greet elder people: Ассалоом алейкум! Арыбазыз! КYYЛYCYзбY? ДемдYYCYзбY? For example: ‘“Арбазыз”, - деди ал аялга адегенде. Чоз энесинин айтканына караганда, Арстанбапта ушинтип саламдашыш керек эле. “Бар бол»”, - деди аял, ага карай басып”. (“My greetings to You”, - he addressed to a woman at the outset. For the reason that his grandmother used to tell him about greeting customs in Arstanbap. “Welcome”, - replied the woman approaching him (tr. M. Kinalieva)) [7, p. 171].

In the Kyrgyz language there is a great variety of greeting expressions used to address someone different in age and gender than of an addresser. They are used in the following situations:

• 1.    When addressing to elders:

Чоңойдуңбу? lit. “ Have you grown up?”/ “ Did you grow, didn’t you?”

The Kyrgyz speech etiquette of colloquial greetings of children by adults is also specific in comparison with other languages. As a rule, adults greet children with a phrase that carry the sense of some concern about the growth and wellbeing of children as a whole, about child development and growing up, or adolescence, as shown in the following example: “…бала-бакыраңар чоңоюп жатабы?” – деп учурашат таятам. Мен жөн эле кол бере берем” (“My grandfather usually greets people by saying “How are your kids? Are they grown up enough?” – But I usually salute people around with only handshake” (tr. M. Kinalieva)) [13, p. 35]. It is reasoned by the commonly accepted fact that as children grow up, they become more independent and help their parents with the housework. The Kyrgyz encourage children’s independence in every possible way, so from the very early age they are taught to behave like adults, for instance, they exchange handshakes with elders when meeting them, they do them favour providing them with some services and any kind of good turn, they pay the elders respect and attention, and do any housework around the house helping their parents and family members.

by a host party in situations of receiving respectful and honorable guests, whereas they are rarely used in everyday speech in typical situations.

It should be noted that, since the Kyrgyz language belongs to the agglutinative branch it is required, as a rule, to use affixation to denote any grammatical category needed to establish a proper syntagmatic relations, for example: politeness as a requisite marker of the speech etiquette, category of singularity and plurality (number), and word-changing suffix to make up a question form: Саламат + сыз + дар + бы? Саламат – derived from cалам , -сыз denotes politeness, -дар denotes plural form, -бы affix to form a question.

There are stylistically sublime greetings in the Kyrgyz speech etiquette that are used on the occasion of a visit of honorable guests or during some ceremonial celebrations: Кош келиңиздер! Куш келипсиздер! means “ Welcome!”/ “You are all welcome!” If the expression “ Kuş kelipsider!” ( “Welcome!”) is used , it entails the response Кошубак болуңуз! that corresponds to “Thank you!” / “Bless you! ” or Кудай кошубак кылсын! – “May God bless you!” The stylistically sublime response Кошубак болуңуз! Кудай кошубак кылсын! is rarely used [14, p. 36-37].

From semantic point of view, in the Kyrgyz language there is a great variety of greeting expressions in etiquette. The richness of the Kyrgyz language in etiquette greeting formulas used in speech on various occasions - clichés, may also be seen in the form of questions used, as a rule, to learn about wellness of a person in the situation of initial contact or meeting: Саламатсызбы! – means “Hello! Good day!”, Кандайсыз? – means “How are you? How are things? How is it going?”; Жакшысызбы? – means “ How have you been? Are you ok?”; Амансызбы? / Аманбы? – means “ Are you save and sound?” In addition to this, for instance, Салам! that corresponds to “ Hi”, “Hiya”, “Howdy”, “Hey” in English, is a friendly greeting expression widely used among youth of equal status relationships.

In the Kyrgyz language, greetings and good wishes include set formulas, clichés, that denote intentions of wishing the interlocutor physical, spiritual and social well-being: health, salvation of the soul, peace, happiness and delight. For example: Арыбаңыз!, Бар бол! – “Live long!”, “God bless you”, Ассалоом алейкум! – “Peace to your home!”, Алейкум ассалам! – “I wish peace to your home, too”, Кутмандуу таңыңыздар/күнүңүздөр/кечиңиздер менен! – which stands for “Good morning/day/afternoon/evening!”

Moreover, expressions of congratulations can be used as greetings and good wishes, since they likewise embody the core meaning of salutations, precisely, at the beginning of conversation when the initial contact takes place. The purpose of congratulatory greetings is to evoke a positive reaction of the interlocutor in relation to the speaker, and create a special favorable atmosphere of politeness and goodwill in communication [15]. Therefore, congratulatory expressions and good wishes can be used on the special occasions and various holidays: Майрамың/ыз менен куттуктайм! stands for “Congratulations! I congratulate you / You on…holiday!”, Жаңы жылың/ыз менен куттуктайм! stands for “Wishing you/You a Happy New Year!”, Жаңы жылың/ыз менен! corresponds to “Happy New Year to you / You!” Englishmen usually use a shorter form “Happy New Year!”; Туулган күнүң/үз куттуу болсун! – “ Happy birthday to you/You!”. On special occasions related to religious holidays, for instance, the Kyrgyz people greet each other with congratulatory expressions, such as : Айт маарек болсун! (“Ramadan Mubarak!”, “Kurban Mubarak!”) – “Happy holiday!”, which entails the response Бирге болсун! – “The same to you” or “Happy holiday to you too” .

The greeting expressions and congratulations used by the Kyrgyz language speakers merits a special consideration for the reason of situatedness or cultural embeddedness, in other words, such expressions should be used only on special occasions chasing a definite purpose, in particular. For example:

• a)    on the occasion of marriage: Куш бооң бек болсун! corresponds to English expression “As you tie the knot … ” The prominent ethnographer A. Murzakmetov interprets this greeting in a sense as per bride is compared to bird as follows: “Comparing a girl with a bird is typical for Kyrgyz people. Hence, the evidences are found in the Kyrgyz folk songs, where a girl is compared to a swan, dove, duck, etc. The Kyrgyz hunters - bird hunters, exclusively, tied the haul falcons tightly with leather fastenings, to prevent them escape and fly away. And then, gradually, tamed them steadily to falconry with affection and care. Since hunting was a purely male activity, this is from where the congratulation for the groom Куш бооң бек болсун! has emerged, which means “So, a bird has fallen into your trap. Let the bonds be strong so that the bird (bride) cannot fly away from you”. Consequently, this is a genuine expression of good wishes for happy and strong marriage [14, p. 37]. There is another illustration of its practical usage in common life-situations: “Куш боо бек болсун, Малик!” – деди Камчы биринчи болуп” (“Congratulations on tying the knot, Malik!” – said Kamchy the very first (tr. M. Kinalieva)) [7, p. 149];

• b)    greeting-congratulations on the newborn: Бешик боосу бек болсун! literally means “Let the cradle ropes be tight and strong”, that designates good wishes of strong health, bright future and prosperous long life for a newborn baby. It is deeply connected with the practice of putting a newly born baby in a cradle wounded with ropes, made of soft but knotted fabric, used to tie a child to prevent from falling down, and keep a child warm and hygienic, is widely practiced among the Turkic nomad people. The following piece is taken from J. Bokonbaev’s work: “Айыл азан-казан түшүп козголду. Шопоктун чакан боз үйүнүн ичи-тышы элге толуп чыкты.

• -    Бешик боосу бек болсун!

• -    Уулуңдун убайын көр!

• -    Өмүрүнө береке берсин!

Мынa ушундай куттуктоо сөздөрдү уккан сайын Шопоктун бүткөн бою эрип, көңүлү алып учуп, төбөсү көккө тийгендей көтөрүлөт. Адат боюнча бир карыя мойнун созуп, азан чакырып, Апайдын эркек төрөгөндүгүн маалымымдап “дүйшөмбүнүн” түнүндө төрөлгөндүктөн: “Aты Дүйшөнкул болсун!” – деди” ”. (“All villagers burst into happy commotion. They surrounded Shopok’s yurt, and it was filled by people inside-out, cheering:

• -    Congratulations on a new-born!

• -    Let the son be a blessing to his parents!

• -    We wish a long life to a baby-boy!

When Shopok heard such congratulations, he felt a strong excitement in his mind and body, as if he reached the good heavens. Traditionally, one of the elders voiced the praying – azan * – in the ear of a newborn, and since the baby was born on Monday ( Duishombu in Kyrgyz) night, he proclaimed: “His name is Duishonkul!” - announcing that Apay has given a birth to a baby-boy” (tr. M. Kinalieva)) [16, p. 56].

(*Azan a call for praying in Muslim confession; is pronounced during initial name giving ceremony for a new-born [12, p. 25]).

• c) greeting-congratulations on the house-warming party: Конушуңар жайлуу/куттуу болсун! stands for “ Welcome you to the neighborhood!”, “ Wishing you happiness and prosperity in your new home!” or “We wish you every happiness in your new home!”

Traditional mutual inquiries about well-being of each other, health in particular, and of all family members constitute an integral part of the greeting ceremony in the Kyrgyz speech etiquette. This procedure for inward bound into speech contact is called “ал-жай, аманчылыкты сурашуу”. It creates favorable grounds to establish successful conversation or contact, and promotes communicants to probe the situation, mood, and psychological atmosphere in which communication takes place. In the speech behavior of urban residents, the procedure of ал-жай, аманчылыкты сурашуу is performed superficially and hastily as a habit, apparently, in order to express politeness and fairly pay tribute to a long-term practiced tradition. But the presence of various greeting formulas in the Kyrgyz language indicates the importance of its role in the communicative behavior of the Kyrgyz people. Thus, the Kyrgyz speech etiquette of the greeting ал-жай, аманчылыкты сурашуу encompasses the general greetings and overall interest. The speech units of greeting such as Уул-кыздар жакшы жүрүшөбү? that literally means “Are your sons and daughters well?”, Келин-кепшиктин ден соолугу жакшыбы? which literally stands for “How are your daughters-in-law?” (generalized inquiry with reference to family values characteristic to Kyrgyz people to have many children), Мал-жан аманбы? – literally denotes “How is your livestock?” (with reference to nomad lifestyle of Kyrgyz); Айыл-апа, эл-журт аман-эсенби? – “Is everything all right with relatives and villagers?” are more often used in conversation by elder generation or rural residents, since the fact that the Kyrgyz community has its place in a collectivist culture may fairly serve as a reason.

Moreover, there is a saying Мал – боор эти менен тең (Lit. Cattle is as close as a member of family ) which incorporates the deep meaning of the value of cattle in livelihood of nomad people, and presented as a meaningful component or an indispensable part of a nomad family equal to its very existence. This explains the extensive usage of this greeting expression in ordinary speech by the Kyrgyz. The greetings, illustrated above, have a pronounced ethnocultural overtones and embody the value of kingship relations. Although, it is advisable to use their analogues in the target language, the English language in our case, in order to adequately render their meaning. For example: “ Амансыңарбы, аке. Кандай, айыл-апа?” (“Are you save and sound, uncle? How are villagers and all there?” (tr. M.Kinalieva)) [20, p. 255]; in expressions “ Мал-жан аманбы?” the historical path of the Kyrgyz nomads is reflected, hence, the well-being of man was connected with the well-being of livestock he owned, for instance: “Бечара көчмөндөр… Малынан ажыраган күнү эле кор болот тура” (“Poor nomads… As soon as they are deprived from livestock they find themselves in thickets of arbitrary” (tr. M.Kinalieva)) [21, p. 464]; “ <…> Өзүңөр кандай турасыңар, мал-баш аманбы? Күүлүсүзбү?” – “Э балам, жайлоодогу киши да жаман туруучу беле? Бардыгы жайында. Малыбыз аман, башыбыз эсен” (“<…> How is your family, and life, and everything? Are you in good health?” – “Oh, my dear son, a person dealing with life in pasture can’t be bad. Everything is all right. We are all safe and sound” (tr. M.Kinalieva)) [22, p. 70].

In the Kyrgyz speech etiquette, greeting expressions of personal address are preferably used more often, for instance: Асандын ден соолугу жакшыбы? means “How is Asan? How is his health?”

There is another cliché that provokes a strong ethnolinguistic interest “ Салам айтып ” жатат in sense that someone “Extends best regards”, or “ Салам айтты ” – “Extended his/her best regards” , which is usually uttered, most often, during visits at the moment of speech. The utterance envisages consistent gratitude in response to the attention paid to the interlocutor: “Kara neme capıldap sılık: “Олтуруңуз, келиңиз. Өмүрлүк жолдошуңуздан ысык салам! – ал дасторконду кечип кете тургансып эңкейип кош колун сунду, - колунан кармап кой деди эле” (“A poor man flattered around politely saying: “Have a seat, please. Let me extend the warmest regards from your good-half”, – he bowed too close to the laid table outspreading both arms – “he asked to exchange a handshake with you” (tr. M.Kinalieva)) [23, p. 114]. In the Kyrgyz etiquette, it is customary to thank someone for sending greetings in the form of good wishes: Саламат/та болсун! – literally means “Let them (those who extended his/her regards) be in good state” , corresponds to “Thank you” or “God bless” . In the Kyrgyz lingua-culture responses to etiquette questions, related to business and health, mainly incorporate positive content: эң жакшы - excellent , жакшы – good or very nice , жайынча - well, good, Kудайга шүгүр – Thanks to God, God bless , жаман эмес – not bad, жакшы эле – well enough or good enough.

In the work by M. Alybaev there is an episode where the etiquette is violated by one of the characters. When the main character Jentek was visited by Kenjebai, he was ridiculed by his wife Jiydeke. Jentek’s response purely sounded as complaining of feeling unwell when their guest asked about his well-being. Jiydeke ashamed him, since the customs and traditions of the Kyrgyz people do not give a way to a negative answer when talking about current state of health or business: [Кенжебай:] “Кандай, Жаке, жакшысызбы? – [Жантек:] - Жаманмын... Ии.. Ой...” – [Жийдеке:] “Киши алын сураганда “жакшымын” деп жооп берет дечү эле. Бул ким сураса деле “жаманмын” дейт, кээ бир кишинин ооруганы да курусун!” (“Hello, Jaké! How are you?” – asked Kenjebay. - “Very bad… Well… Uhm…” – uttered Jantek. “When someone asks about your health it is advisable to respond positively, at least, as “I am good”. He routinely answers that he feels bad no matter who asks. Damn you are, with your sickness! - remarked Jiydeke” (tr. M.Kinalieva)) [10, p.286].

According to the Kyrgyz speech etiquette, each interlocutor should be actively involved in mutual inquiry-based-communication, paying attention reciprocally to each other. Such stereotypical behavior of Kyrgyz people in a greeting situation seems to be insincere and kind of clandestineness to others. Such behavior is a standard behaviour among Kyrgyz people, which embraces politeness, patience and restraint. The following Kyrgyz proverb may serve as an evidence of restraint and patience, as well: Бирде жигит төө минет, бирде жигит жөө жүрөт, that literally means that “a man sometimes rides a camel (horse), and sometimes he has to walk on foot” (its analogue is You have good days, you have bad days ), that is to say, no matter whatever befalls on someone’s way, a man shouldn’t lose hope and despair, inasmuch as nothing is eternal, and good days will definitely come soon.

In conversations where mutual interaction is expected, the expressions of response can include the counter-questions: Силер кандай жатасыңар? – “How are you indeed?”, Өзүңөр кандай? – How do you do? Өзүңөрдө эмне жаңылык бар?, Сиздерде кандай жаңылык? – “Do you have any news, indeed?”. The following example, taken from T. Sydykbekov’s work, exclusively illustrates this case: “Аманбы, Шамбет байке! Аманбы, Зарыл эжеке!” – “Аман, садагалар! Өзүңөр кандай? ” (“My greetings, uncle Aman! How is Zaryl auntie?” – “We are fine, my dearest! How are you, indeed?” (tr. M.Kinalieva)) [8, p.16];

The ritualized Kyrgyz greeting-awareness ал-жай, аманчылыкты сурашуу is commonly used in the introductory part of the traditional poetic genre aytysh ( Aytysh is a verbal improvisation competition of akyn-narrators; akyn – narrator) [12, p. 35, 42], in which narrators – singers-improvisers – compete with each other in eloquent verbal improvisation. For example:

Токтогул:

“Байымбет Молдо булбулум,

Бюллетень науки и практики / Bulletin of Science and Practice Т. 11. №4 2025

Баарыдан чыккан туйгунум, бала-чакаң аманбы ,

Басынып жүргөн кургурум?

Насылың саяк-тууганым, туугандан чыккан бууданым”

Байымбет:

“Айдалып кеткен Шыбырга,

Акын Током, аманбы?

Жалпы жарды-жарчыга,

Жакын Током аманбы?” [24, p. 182-183].

Toktogul:

“Bayimbet Moldo, you are like my nightingale,

The dearest one among all of others,

How is your family, how are your kids?

Timidly living under the yoke, my poor man.

My blood relative from sayak tribe,

Prosperous man among all of us thriving.”

Bayimbet:

“You were exiled to Shybyr,

My dearest Toko*, are you safe and sound?

To the thickens of destitute people, to all

My soul Tоко, is everything right around?”

*diminutive shortened form name Toktogul (tr. M.Kinalieva)

Kyrgyz people are more restrained in openly expressing emotions and demonstrating feelings. This explains the small number of expressions used in such situations: А, сенсиңби? А келип калдыңбы? Апей, сенсиңби? lit. meaning “Oh, is it you? Oh, it is you! Oh my God, it’s you!” , Кайда жүрөсүң? means “Where have you been to?”, Эмне көрүнбөйсүң? Көрүнбөйсүң го! means “Haven’t seen you! Haven’t seen you for long!”, Сени көрбөгөнүмө канча болду? means “Haven’t seen you for long!”, Сени көптөн бери көрө элекмин! means “Haven’t seen you for ages!”, Көптөн бери көрүшпөдүк го? means “Haven’t seen you for a long time!”, Сени бул жерден жолуктурам деп эч ойлободум means “I didn’t expect to see/meet you here”, as given in examples: “Марал аны кыйлага чейин карап турду да, анан: “Арыба, Малик!” - деп салам берди. Малик аны көрүп жадырап-жайнай түштү. “А-а, сенсиңби. Бар бол….” - деп өзүнчө жылмайып, бети-башын аарчып калды” (“Maral stared at him for a long time and greeted him by saying: “Welcome, Malik!” Having heard this, Malik bursted in smile: “Ah, is it you. Welcome…” – he smiled at once wiping his face” (tr. M.Kinalieva) [7, p. 147]; “О, айланайындар! Силерсиңерби? - деди Камбар күлүп күлбөй. – Кайдан?” (“Oh, my dearests! Is it you? – said Kambar forcing a smile in restraint, – Where are you coming from?” (tr. M.Kinalieva) [20, p. 286].

In cases when the meeting is unexpected or when close friends, relatives or those who are in friendly relations meet after a long separation, emotionally expressive expressions of happiness and surprise are usually used as a matter of fact.

The ethnocultural specificity of Kyrgyz speech etiquette is represented by phrases and expressions that are used instead of greetings and reflect traditional traits and customs of people:

• a)    greetings with good news: Сүйүнчү!*, lit. means “Good news!” ( *Сүйүнчү – is a custom of gift-giving (money or valuable present) for delivering good news of great significance) [12, 671].

In the Kyrgyz speech etiquette, it is customary to announce and spread good news among all relatives. For example, if a family has a new-born child the good news is shared to close and far relatives, as well: Сүйүнчү! Неберелүү болдуңуз! means “Good news! You are grannies now!” , that entails the response “Let it be! God blesses!”, Оозуңа май! lit. means “ Butter in your mouth!”,

Айтканың келсин! means “God Bless!”, “Let it come true!” In the Kyrgyz culture, the one who delivers the good news are given money or any other valuable gifts: Апа, сүйүнчү, келин келип калды <…> - Берем, берем. Азыр, айланайындар… (“My dearest mother, I have good news for you! Your daughter-in-law has already come. <…> What a lovely news! Here you are, my dears, here you are…” (tr. M.Kinalieva)) [17, p. 257].

• b)    expression of excuse and compliance by elders of the groom’s family after kidnapping a bride is as follows: Кулдугубуз бар!* that literally means “We are guilty and we are ready to atone for our guilt or we are indebted to you” [12, p. 442] . ( * In an ethnic sense it denotes that groom’s side visits bride’s house to get an agreement of her parents for marriage).

Such a greeting-notification is performed by groom’s side (related to both: a situation of a real kidnapping, and an imitation of kidnapping after engagement ceremony, when a girl (bride) leaves her parent’s home by her own consent to her the groom’s family. Not long ago, on the same day the groom’s side, consisting of several male relatives, elders, and honorable members of family, comes to the girl’s parents pronouncing: Кулдугубуз бар! (“We are ready to atone for our guilt”) that substitutes a greeting phrase, in order to excuse for “kidnapping” their daughter. The following example illustrates this cultural phenomenon: “Атамды машина жиберип, талаада комбайн чаап жүргөн жеринен алдырып келген көрүнөт. Мурун-кийин таанып билбесе да, Жайнак келатат болуп калганда Акылбек менен Кадыркул экөө бирдей орундарынан учуп туруп, атамдын алдынан утурулай басышыптыр. “Кулдугубуз бар, Жайнак аба!” – “Эмне кулдук?!” – Эч нерсе түшүнбөгөн атам селейип туруп калган имиш. Менин Майрамбекке турмушка чыкканымды айтышканда бир чай кайнам башын жерге салып, дудук болуп калыптыр” (“It seemed to me that my father was taken home from field where he was harvesting. Even though they didn’t know each other, Akylbek and Kadyrkul, both, stood up immediately having herad that Jainak was coming. “Kuldugubuz bar, dear Jainak aba*! (We are ready to atone for our guilt, Jainak aba!)” – What are you talking about?! – my father stood in astonishment for a while. Having heard that I was getting married with Mayrambek he remained silent for eternity... as if dumb and deaf” [22, p.185] (tr. M.Kinalieva)). (*Aba is used to address to elder men and honourable elders of family; it also expresses respect and denotes the kingship relations [12, p.17])

In the Kyrgyz language, there are expressions of condolences that tolerate the function of greetings at the difficult times, in other words these expressions endure both semantic functions: as greetings and as condolences. They are widely used to express moral support to bereaved people and to honor the memory of the deceased at the moment of speech: Арты кайрылуу (кайырдуу) болсун!, Кайрат кылыңыз!, “Сабыр кылыңыз!” corresponds to “ Our sincere condolences”, “Our deepest sympathy at this difficult time”, “Wishing you strength and comfort at this difficult time”.

We can make an assumption that the thorough linguistic analysis of the etiquette lexis used in the situations where greeting expressions were used, with reference to many related works and within the scope of this scientific paper has revealed and made known distinctive features and richness of the Kyrgyz greeting formulas. First and foremost, there is a rich variety of the Kyrgyz greeting formulas which may serve as a solid evidence of the originality and richness of the language. Secondly, there are special affixes used to designate precise linguistic function and demonstrate respect and politeness in the Kyrgyz language, such as - сыз, -ңыз. Thirdly, in the Kyrgyz linguistic culture, the criteria for using certain greeting formulas prevail and they are based on social status, title, age, and gender differences of the participants of the communication act.