Protection of personal space in dialogical discourse: pragmalinguistic analysis

The article examines methods of protecting personal space in English dialogical discourse. The research aims to uncover protective reactions to breaches of communicative distance and identify tactics and linguistic means for maintaining personal space in communication. The novelty of this study stems from an in-depth analysis of personal space protection methods in dialogical discourse. The research employed observation and description, discourse analysis, communicative and pragmatic methods, contextual analysis, and interpretative methods. Fictional texts and film episodes constituted the research materials. A typology of protective reactions to communicative distance breaches was developed, including: 1) rationally controlled reactions; 2) uncontrolled reactions; 3) pseudo-uncontrolled reactions. The author concludes that protective reactions serve not only to protect one's own personal space but also the privacy of a third party who may not be directly involved in the communicative event. This exploration of protective reactions to personal space violations holds significance for linguists, professionals in various fields, and anyone interested in communication issues.