A functional style is a variety of language suited to a particular sphere of communication, purpose and situation. We express the same thought differently in a chat with a friend, in an application, in a research article and in a poem: Ertaga kelolmayman (“I can’t come tomorrow” — to a friend), Ertangi mashg‘ulotda ishtirok eta olmasligimni ma’lum qilaman (“I hereby inform you that I shall be unable to attend tomorrow’s session” — in an official letter). Style affects word choice, sentence structure and even punctuation. Uzbek linguistics distinguishes five main styles: colloquial, official, scientific, journalistic and literary. Exam tasks ask you to identify the style of a passage and to find a word that does not fit the style.
§1. Colloquial style (so‘zlashuv uslubi)
Sphere: everyday informal communication — family, friends, the street. Purpose: exchanging thoughts and expressing feelings. Features:
Incomplete sentences, question and answer, dialogue: — Qayerga? — Bozorga.
Emotional words, interjections and particles: voy, ey, -ku, -da, -a.
Affectionate and diminutive suffixes: qizim, bolajon, uyginam.
Dialect words and contracted forms: ketvotman for ketyapman.
Free word order: Keldimi o‘sha bola?
Plenty of idioms and proverbs: ko‘ngli tog‘dek ko‘tarildi.
Colloquial style lives mainly in speech; in writing it appears in personal letters, messages and chats
In conversation gestures, tone and the situation fill in a great deal, so even short sentences are clear.
§2. Official (business) style (rasmiy uslub)
Sphere: government, law, communication between institutions. Genres: law, decree, order, application, explanatory note, power of attorney, minutes. Features:
Precision and a single possible meaning; no emotion.
Set phrases (clichés): ruxsat berishingizni so‘rayman, ma’lum qilamiz, quyidagilar tasdiqlansin, nazorat ... zimmasiga yuklatilsin.
Third-person imperative-optative forms: tayinlansin, ijro etilsin.
Terms, formal details (date, signature, number), a standard layout.
Complete sentences and neutral word order (predicate at the end).
Official style avoids figurative words, colloquialisms and affectionate forms
Every word of an official text may have legal consequences, so it must leave no room for a double reading.
§3. Scientific style (ilmiy uslub)
Sphere: science and education. Genres: textbook, monograph, research article, report, dissertation, lecture. Features:
Terms: fotosintez, kesim, valentlik, integral.
Definitions and evidence: Ot — narsa va hodisani ataydigan so‘z turkumi.
Logical sequence and linking words: birinchidan, demak, shunday qilib, xulosa qilib aytganda.
Long, often complex sentences; the passive: aniqlangan, isbotlangan.
The authorial biz (“we”): Biz quyidagi xulosaga keldik.
Little emotion or imagery; many tables, formulae and quotations.
The popular-science variety is written more simply for a wide readership: terms are explained and examples come from everyday life. Being simpler does not make it colloquial.
§4. Journalistic style (publitsistik uslub)
Sphere: mass media — newspapers, magazines, television, radio, online outlets, public speaking. Genres: article, news item, report, interview, feature, satirical column, speech. Features:
Two functions: informing and persuading (calling to action, convincing).
Rhetorical questions and exclamations: Farzandlarimiz kelajagi bizga befarqmi?
Striking headlines and evaluative words.
Events are real and rely on exact facts, dates and figures.
Journalism is the style of “today”: it reports a current event and expresses an attitude towards it
Worked example
Navoiy viloyatida yangi to‘qimachilik korxonasi ishga tushirildi. Unda 500 dan ortiq yoshlar ish bilan ta’minlandi. Bu — hududlarni rivojlantirish dasturining amaldagi natijasidir! — identify the style.
The topic is a real event with an exact figure (500).
Social vocabulary: hududlarni rivojlantirish dasturi (“the regional development programme”).
Evaluation and emotion: the exclamation mark and amaldagi natijasi (“a real result”).
The aims of informing and persuading are combined.
Answer: journalistic style (a news item).
§5. Literary (artistic) style (badiiy uslub)
Sphere: imaginative literature — novel, short story, poem, drama. Features:
Imagery: simile, metaphor, personification, epithet: Oy kumush nurini sochdi.
The author draws on all the other styles: colloquial style in characters’ speech, the text of a document inside the story, and so on.
The main aim is aesthetic effect; fiction is allowed.
In verse — metre, rhyme, rhythm.
Journalism and literary style are both expressive, but in journalism the event is real and the aim is to influence society; in literary style the event may be invented and the aim is aesthetic pleasure
Worked example
Tong otdi. Qishloq ustiga oltin nur yoyildi, daraxtlar uyqudan uyg‘ondi. (“Dawn broke. Golden light spread over the village; the trees woke from their sleep.”) — identify the style.
There are no real facts, dates or figures — this is not news.
oltin nur is a metaphor and epithet; daraxtlar uyg‘ondi is personification.
The aim is to paint a scene and stir a sense of beauty in the reader.
Answer: literary style.
§6. Stylistic colouring and word choice
Words are either neutral (used in every style) or coloured:
positive, elevated: chehra, siymo, diyor, ona yurt;
negative: bashara, aft, turq;
bookish: ijro etmoq, istiqbol, sa’y-harakat;
colloquial: jo‘ra, ulfat, chiqib ketmoq.
The same request in different styles: Ruxsat berishingizni so‘rayman (official) — Ruxsat berasizmi? (colloquial) — Ijozat bersangiz (bookish, respectful). How to identify the style:
guess where and for whom the text was written (sphere);
determine the purpose: to inform, to order, to prove, to persuade or to give aesthetic pleasure;
look for typical features: terms — scientific; clichés — official; rhetorical questions and real facts — journalistic; imagery — literary; incomplete sentences and affectionate forms — colloquial.
Worked example
Direktorga ariza: Iltimos, menga ertaga darsdan qolishga ruxsat bering, jo‘ram to‘yi bor. — where is the stylistic error?
The text is an application, i.e. official style.
jo‘ram (“my mate”) is a colloquial word; to‘yi bor is informal too.
Official style needs set phrases and neutral words.
Correct: Do‘stimning to‘yida ishtirok etishim munosabati bilan ertaga darsga qatnashmasligimga ruxsat berishingizni so‘rayman.
§7. Spoken and written speech; how styles interact
Do not confuse style with the form of speech. Speech can be spoken or written, and each style can occur in either form:
colloquial style is mostly spoken, but it is written in chats;
scientific style is mostly written, but a lecture or a conference paper is spoken scientific speech;
journalistic style is written in newspapers and spoken on radio and television;
official style has spoken genres too: a report at a formal meeting, an official congratulation.
There is no solid wall between the styles. A popular-science article sits on the border of scientific and journalistic style; oratory is close to journalism; a literary work draws on all the styles.
Style depends on the sphere and purpose of a text; being spoken or written is the form of speech
So in the exam the conclusion “this text was spoken, therefore it is colloquial” may be wrong: identify the sphere and purpose first.
Check yourself
Fotosintez — o‘simliklarda yorug‘lik ta’sirida organik moddalar hosil bo‘lish jarayoni. Which style?
Mazkur buyruqning ijrosini nazorat qilish o‘rinbosar zimmasiga yuklatilsin. Which style?
Tong otdi. Qishloq ustiga oltin nur yoyildi. Which style?
— Choy ichasanmi? — Ha, bir piyola. Which style?
Which style is full of rhetorical questions and real facts?
Which of yuz, chehra, bashara is neutral?
Which style do the report and the interview belong to?
Which pronoun does the author of a scientific text use for themselves?
Common mistakes
Using colloquial or affectionate words in an official text.
Confusing journalistic and literary style: real facts and a social aim mean journalism.
Labelling a popular-science text colloquial because it is simply written.
Seeing a character’s speech in a literary text and calling the whole passage colloquial.
Drawing a conclusion from a single feature — consider the sphere and purpose as well.
Treating any bookish word as a sure sign of official style.