Volume 19, Nº 1 (41) (2024)
General Problems of the Speech Genres Theory
On the problem of integral description of speech genres
Resumo
The article formulates the subject and tasks of the future speech-genre discipline – the integral description of speech genres – which, in the author’s opinion, claims to be central to the general theory of speech genres. The main sources of the theory of speech genres integrality include the high level of a speech genre as a speech and language unit, the complex, multidimensional and multicomponent nature of the theory of speech genres, the multidisciplinarity of the theory of speech genres (it draws on data from almost all the humanities and partly non-humanities). The integral description of speech genres will include the following parameters: the cultural and historical context of the speech genre; typological characteristics of speech genre (including their place in various typologies); speech-genre variantology and recurrence, including new technogenic and Internet derivatives from primary, traditional genres; representation in the corps. The integral description of speech genres and its parameters are discussed in connection with the division of linguistics (partly – other sciences, for example, literary criticism). It is shown that the majority of divisions of linguistics that are significant for the integral description of speech genres go back to Saussure’s idea of opposing internal and external linguistics, and the main tasks of the theory of speech genres correspond to those three “eternal” problems of linguistics formulated by V. M. Alpatov: “How is language structured?”, “How does language function?” and “How does language develop?” The author discusses directions of the most important genre studies, from which the integral description of speech genres should be “composed”, and the criteria used for their selection: 1) the model is already integral (multi-component and interdisciplinary); 2) universal (applicable to many languages and national cultures, in different historical periods); 3) based on this model, the largest number of studies was carried out. The first criterion is met by the model of T. V. Shmeleva, the second – by the universalist model of A. Wierzbicka, the third – by traditional speech-genre models: lexical, syntactic and pragmatic. In conclusion, the author discusses the unresolved problems of speech genres, which can be logically solved on the basis of the integral description of speech genres: typology (integral bases for the classification of speech genres claim to be more reliable), variantology, applied and experimental aspects (vocabulary representation of speech genres and corpus aspect, including the analysis of key phrases of speech genres).
Speech genres. 2024;19(1 (41)):6-22
6-22
Literary genre in the mind of the reader: Empirical approach
Resumo
From a cognitive point of view, literary genres do not exist regardless of their perception; they should be embodied in the reader’s mind. The purpose of cognitive genre study is to consider genre as a form of mental representation. According to our hypothesis, this representation combines figurative and propositional ways of encoding information. There is no doubt that the reconstruction of the mental representation of the genre in the mind of the reader requires an experimental study. This article publishes the results of a pilot experiment conducted among university students of pedagogical specialties of the Faculty of Psychological, Pedagogical and Special Education of Saratov University and school students of Saratov. The experimental data show that the representation of the genre in the mind of the reader can be based on the cluster model which suggests that the readers define a number of features by which they identify the genre. The prototype model of the genre is no less relevant: belonging of a particular work to a particular genre is determined in the mind of the reader by its similarity with the best genre model – a standard (or a prototype). The number of such standards is not very large. As a rule, this status is acquired by works that are included in the school literary canon. In the reader’s mind, genre classes are not formations with clear boundaries; rather, they are more likely to be built on the principle of “family resemblance”. The cognitive model of a genre in the mind of the reader has certain features of a field. Conducting cognitive genre research, i.e. identifying ways of representing the genre in the mind of a reader requires the development of a special questionnaire that takes into account the level of the ordinary (naive) reader who is not a philologist.
Speech genres. 2024;19(1 (41)):23-28
23-28
Genre quantification: The functioning of “brief” and “short” in the position of definitions of genre names
Resumo
The relevance of the study of the quantitative dimension of genres, in particular genres of small format and short implementations of genres in general, has increased due to the need to “compress” information of various types in modern communications, insufficient knowledge of the patterns of functioning of short and abbreviated texts/discourses, attention to the quantitative aspects of speech in terms of their value. The problematic situation is defined by the author as a contradiction between the ascertainment of the prototypical nature of texts of small volume, rather complete descriptions of a number of small-format genres, on the one hand, and the lack of clarification of the factors that allow or do not allow the genre to function in a short (short, incomplete, abbreviated) mode. The purpose of the study is to identify and describe the circumstances that determine the external differentiation and internal variability of genres based on the quantitative characteristics of “brief” and “short”. It is a corpus research, the data about genres was formed on the corpus basis, the names of which formed the right contexts of the adjectives “brief” and “short” in the main body of the Russian National Corpus. It has been established that as “brief” are defined the realizations of genres that involve a written form, expansion, a rational strategy of text generation, standard content. “Short” versions are attributed to oral genres in which the subject of speech is free to choose the strategy and semantic content of the text. Brief forms can form institutionally fixed variants of genres, independent genres and represent individual realizations of the genre. The attitude of speech subjects to the choice of a short form depends on many pragmatic factors, it is rather approved than condemned.
Speech genres. 2024;19(1 (41)):29-37
29-37
Studies of individual genres
Open talk in the oral discourse of reproductive medicine: Peculiarities of professional refraction
Resumo
The object of the study in this article is the materials of medical counseling by a reproductive psychologist with oocyte donors who were patients of one of the reproductive centers in Yekaterinburg. Reproductive medicine has institutionalized germ cell donation, but the medical procedure of donation (voluntary donation of oocytes by a healthy woman) is not immune to possible risks and medical consequences, so the talk of a psychologist is mandatory for female gamete donors, is part of the donation program and involves discussion of topics closed to the general audience. The linguistic relevance of the conducted study is determined by the novelty of the analyzed material, which fits into the genre of a frank conversation. The situation of psychological counseling assumes maximum openness of the donor, which is one of the conditions of successful donation. The article considers the variation of the genre in its professional refraction based on the prototypical situation of open talk and reveals the set of speech tactics used by the psychologist in the course of the conversation. To initiate a frank conversation the confidant uses metacommunicative constructions, allowing them to invite the confidant to a frank conversation. The modal focus on the confidant is accomplished through the tactics of acknowledging the personal importance of the speech partner and their moral support. Interpretive tactics of concretization, paraphrasing, inductive generalization, as a rule, construct a medial part of the frank conversation, performing the function of controlling its course. The conversational manner of selfexpression of the interlocutors demonstrates the weakening of speech control over the situation and the relaxed nature of communication. The choice of the thematic repertoire relevant to a frank conversation shows the predominance of the sphere of thematic secrecy, the sub-sphere of “thematic taboos”: first sexual experiences and psychological trauma (abortions, the death of loved ones, severe, incurable illness, etc.).
Speech genres. 2024;19(1 (41)):38-46
38-46
Motivational speech: Specifics of the speech genre functioning
Resumo
The study aims to describe the speech genre of “motivational speech” in English-speaking motivational discourse. The relevance and scientific novelty of the research are determined by the need to construct the definition of motivational discourse, to clarify its discursive intention and strategy, and to study and describe its genre specificity. The article distinguishes between the concepts of motivation and impact and their respective discourses based on the addressee type (particularlyaddressable, targeting a specific communication partner, and generally addressable, oriented towards an abstract addressee), as well as based on the subject types that depend on the individual’s chosen “achievement motivation” strategy – either striving for success or avoiding failure. The analysis of motivational speeches demonstrated their thematic heterogeneity and varying degrees of formalization, ranging from rigid and soft formalization genres to free genres. The study identified eight main types of motivational speeches differentiated according to their basic intention and addressee concept, and determined their compositional structure. Furthermore, the research established characteristic features of this genre, such as the incorporation of storytelling, humor, different types of evidential information, emotive lexis and syntax, as well as the use of the so called “inclusive language”.
Speech genres. 2024;19(1 (41)):47-55
47-55
“It is evident that …”: Boosting as a strategy employed to express author’s commitment to the truth of a proposition (a corpus-based analysis of research article abstracts)
Resumo
The article analyzes linguistic means used for boosting which is considered a crucial metadiscourse strategy regularly employed in the genre of research article abstracts. The study aims at identifying the types of booster and the frequency of occurrence of boosting markers in Russian-language research article abstracts in the field of soft and hard sciences. The study makes an attempt to reveal differences in the use of these metadiscourse patterns and suggest reasons for the uneven distribution of boosters in the two corpora. The study is based on the assumption that disciplinary conventions affect the choice of rhetorical strategies. The study draws on a corpus of 180 research article abstracts published in 12 soft and hard science journals. The theoretical basis of the study is the taxonomy of metadiscourse markers proposed by Hyland. The findings showed that soft science authors used boosting markers much less frequently than their hard science counterparts. Differences were also revealed in terms of the types of boosting. The results of the analysis confirmed the assumption that boosting as a metadiscourse strategy is determined by disciplinary conventions. The results obtained can be used both by teachers of academic writing and academic writing course designers and become an avenue for further research into metadiscourse as an important rhetorical strategy.
Speech genres. 2024;19(1 (41)):56-65
56-65
Internet Genres
Genre of a scientific article on the Internet: Structural and semiotic transformation
Resumo
The article discusses changes in scientific communication that are related to its transfer to a digital environment. The authors aim to reveal structural and semiotic transformations that the genre of scientific article undergoes in the context of transition from paper to a digital format. To this end, the characteristics of the genre in its traditional printed format are compared to the characteristics of scientific articles as they are presented in the electronic versions of journals. The results of the analysis demonstrate that these changes affected both genre features per se (e.g. the abstract has acquired a visual form) and the “genre shell”, i.e. an instrumental interface that facilitates the recipient’s interaction with the text. The transformation of the genre characteristics found in a scientific article requires that scholars expand their competencies, both cognitive and technical, since this factor predetermines the effectiveness of scientific communication. As for the recipient, the technological context of a scientific article on the Internet provides readers with additional opportunities for interacting with the text through the common use of affordances. Being “intermediaries” between the properties of the text and the reader’s capabilities, affordances are widely used in the procedures of meaning translation. At the same time, a scientific article becomes a typical Internet object that is subject to all actions taken to any other object in a digital environment. The authors conclude that the next research stage can cover the examination of the reader’s interaction with a scientific article on the Internet, as well as the influence of new genre features and affordances on the recipient’s perception and interpretation of the text.
Speech genres. 2024;19(1 (41)):66-78
66-78
Reader’s comment as a genre of the modern Russian blog sphere
Resumo
The paper deals with reader comments to blogs in Runet treated as a speech genre. The relevance of the topic lies in the fact that blogging is a common practice of public discussion concerning vital or interesting problems of present day life in Russia. The topics analyzed include social problems, historical issues, literature, ecology and technological progress. The aim of the article is to describe the types of comments to blogs. The constitutive impetus of the comments is the desire to keep free intercommunication with people who share the common interest. The commentators specify and correct the information, show their attitude to it and exercise their self-expression. Their reactions are mainly evaluating the facts reported in the blog, supporting or criticizing the blogger and demonstrating their Ego. The communicative distance usually corresponds to a colloquial mode of speech. However, the comments show that their authors often keep a professional level of knowledge of the facts spoken about. They demonstrate their interest when discussing the facts and various shades of irony when characterizing themselves.
Speech genres. 2024;19(1 (41)):79-89
79-89
Genres of New Cultural Fields
The discourse of technically mediated fraud: The genre “razvod” / “razvodilovo” (≈ “swindle” / “con game”) and its strategies
Resumo
The article examines fraudulent discourse – a special type of discourse, the purpose of which is to take possession of other people’s property and obtain benefits through deceit or breach of trust. The author differentiates the legal understanding of the phenomenon of “fraud” and its perception in the ordinary worldview. It is proved that the concept of fraudulent discourse should include a number of communicative acts qualified by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation as theft or extortion. The central genre of fraudulent discourse is the speech genre “swindle” / “con game”, based on the conscious and purposeful manipulative influence of the initiator of communication (fraudster) on the addressee (victim). Nowadays, the wide spread of remote communication determines the predominance of “swindle” using various technical means that provide synchronous or asynchronous interaction between the subjects of communication. The “swindle” / “con game” genre embodies the formulaicity of fraudulent discourse and is implemented through a limited number of strategies, each of which uses a stable set of means of influence. The main strategies are the appeal to fear, the appeal to luck and creation of the illusion of routine. As part of the fear appeal strategy, three tactics are distinguished, namely, the tactics of instilling fear for one’s prosperity and well-being, the tactics of instilling fear for the safety of a family member, and the tactics of instilling fear of public reprimand. The analysis is carried out by a continuous sampling method and is based on messages (more than 400 units) of potential victims or victims of technically mediated fraud, presented in the form of a narrative and posted on various communication resources in the media space.
Speech genres. 2024;19(1 (41)):90-103
90-103