FEATURES OF THE FORMATION OF PHATIC METACOMMUNICATION

Abstract

The article examines phatic metacommunication as an essential dimension of linguistic interaction that maintains sociocultural alignment among interlocutors. In the context of globalization and intensified intercultural contact, understanding the mechanisms of phatic acts becomes particularly salient, especially in exchanges among members of different linguocultural communities.

The aim of the study is to identify the features of the formation and functioning of phatic metacommunication and to describe its links with cultural norms, sociopragmatic strategies, and practices of speech etiquette.

The tasks include clarifying the conceptual field; systematizing the means by which phatic acts are realized across languages; and developing recommendations for language pedagogy and translation.

The methodological framework combines discourse-pragmatic analysis, comparative description, qualitative coding of corpus and illustrative data, and the modelling of communicative situations.

The study’s novelty lies not only in its comprehensive treatment at the interface of language and culture, pragmatics and sociolinguistics, but also in the refinement of the conceptual apparatus and in modelling the discursive, sociopragmatic, and linguocultural parameters of the phatic function.

Its practical significance is reflected in the systematization of relevant situations for teaching intercultural communication, the development of methodological guidelines for curricula and trainings, and the enhancement of standards of politeness and mutual understanding in professional and digital communication.

The empirical base comprises Japanese aizuchi and ritual formulas; religiously marked expressions and expressive speech in Arabic discourse; and stable etiquette structures and hospitality practices in Eastern and Turkic languages. The typology of phatic etiquette forms is refined; variability conditioned by cultural models is demonstrated; and the role of phatic strategies in ensuring stable and reliable interaction in multicultural discourse is substantiated. The results are applicable to the training of translators, university instructors, and specialists in international communication, as well as to projects aimed at developing intercultural competence.