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Vol. 3 No. 13 (2026)
Philology

Articles

LINGUISTIC MEANS OF EMOTIONAL UNDERSTANDING AND EMPATHY IN COMMUNICATION: ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE PHENOMENON OF KYŌKAN (共感) AND AIZUCHI (相槌) IN THE JAPANESE LANGUAGE

DOI 10.63294/isja/vol3iss13/259 Google Scholar Google Scholar Pages 79-91

Published 2026-09-29

Authors
Sabirova Yulduzxon Abdulla qizi
Affiliation
Alfraganus universiteti Filologiya fakulteti, Tillarni oʻqitish markazi o‘qituvchis
Alfraganus — Vol. 3, Issue 13 (2026), Philology
PDF (Uzbek)

Abstract

This article analyzes the phenomena of kyōkan (共感) and aizuchi (相槌), which play an important role in the manifestation of emotional understanding and empathy in the process of communication in the Japanese language, from a linguistic-pragmatic point of view. The main goal of the study is to determine how empathy is expressed in Japanese not only through lexical or grammatical units, but also through discursive strategies, active participation of the listener, response signals that support the conversation, and cultural communicative norms. The study was carried out based on qualitative analysis, integrating theories of modern pragmatics, discourse analysis, conversational linguistics, and Japanese linguistics. Natural dialogues in Japanese, linguistic corpora, and scientific literature were analyzed as research materials. The analysis shows that while kyōkan is a conceptual model of understanding and supporting the emotional state of the interlocutor, aizuchi is a pragmatic expression of this empathetic attitude in real communication. Aizuchi units not only indicate listening, but also ensure the continuity of the conversation, strengthen communicative cooperation, reduce social distance, and increase mutual trust. At the same time, it was found that kyōkan and aizuchi are inextricably linked to the Japanese society-specific wa (cohesion), omoiyari (consideration of others' feelings), enryo (self-restraint), and uchi-soto relationships. The results of the study show that the linguistic expression of empathy in Japanese is a multi-layered pragmatic phenomenon. The conclusions obtained are of scientific and practical importance in the development of Japanese language pragmatics, intercultural communication, discourse linguistics, and the methodology of teaching Japanese as a foreign language.

Keywords

empathy, kyōkan, aizuchi, pragmatics, discourse analysis, Japanese language, communication, emotional understanding, omoiyari

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