SEMANTIC AND CROSS-CULTURAL SPECIFICITIES OF FIRST-PERSON PRONOUNS IN POLITICAL SPEECHES (UZBEK–ENGLISH–FRENCH)

This article offers a comparative analysis of the semantic and indexical functions of first-person pronouns (“I/we”) in Uzbek, English, and French political discourse. Based on a corpus of presidential addresses and official speeches from 2020–2024, the study shows that “I” commonly indexes personal responsibility and proximity, while “we” signals solidarity, an institutional voice, and at times the strategic blurring of agency. The analysis identifies cross-linguistic differences linked to cultural norms and genre conventions (ceremonial political speech vs. formal bureaucratic text). Findings indicate that English and Uzbek speeches more strongly deploy “I” for affective alignment and the personalization of accountability, whereas French discourse more frequently favors an institutional “we” alongside a tendency to background or omit the explicit subject. The results illuminate leadership styles, strategies of legitimation, and audience mobilization.