GENDER AS A LINGUOPRAGMATIC FACTOR IN UZBEK AND FRENCH MEDICAL DISCOURSE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

This paper investigates gender as a linguopragmatic factor in Uzbek and French medical discourse. The study aims to identify how gender influences pragmatic strategies, speech acts, politeness patterns, forms of address, and modal expressions in doctor–patient interaction. Medical discourse is interpreted as an institutional discourse type characterized by role asymmetry, professional authority, and sociocultural regulation. The comparative analysis demonstrates that Uzbek medical communication tends to reflect culturally motivated closeness and relational politeness through kinship-based address forms, while French medical discourse is more institutionalized and relies on formal politeness strategies, including standardized address patterns and normative modality. The paper also discusses how gender stereotypes and sociocultural expectations affect communicative behavior in medical settings. The results highlight that gender differences in medical discourse are manifested not only in lexical and grammatical markers but also in pragmatic choices such as mitigation, empathy, reassurance, and directive speech acts.