Q&A FORMAT PRAGMATICS IN ENGLISH AND UZBEK SCIENCE DISCOURSE

Abstract

The Question and Answer (Q&A) format is a pervasive, rhetorically powerful tool in popular science communication, employed to structure information delivery and maximize audience engagement. This comparative study examines the pragmatic functions and conventions of Q&A structures—both implicit (rhetorical questions) and explicit (FAQ sections, interviews)— in English and Uzbek popular science texts. English utilizes the Q&A format primarily as an Engagement Marker, simulating dialogue and preemptively addressing audience skepticism. Uzbek discourse, often reflecting a more didactic and authoritative rhetorical tradition, tends to use the Q&A format more for Knowledge Structuring, where the answer functions as a clear, unambiguous assertion of expert knowledge.