ETIQUETTE FORMULAS OF ADDRESS IN THE LETTERS OF VASYL STEFANYK

Abstract

Summary. The article analyses address formulas in the letters of Vasyl Stefanyk. The material for the research includes Stefanyk’s epistles to writers, public figures, and relatives, published in the new edition of the writer’s works. The aim of the article is to identify the linguistic means used to express etiquette formulas of address in the epistolary works of V. Stefanyk, to characterize the structure of these units, and to analyse their functioning. The objective is achieved through general scientific and special research methods and techniques, including analysis and synthesis, linguistic observation, descriptive methods, semantic analysis, contextual and interpretative methods (for analysing address forms in the context of their pragmatic content), and others. The article isolates etiquette formulas of address, analyses their lexical composition, semantics, structure, and morphological features. It is noted that Stefanyk most often uses general nouns and the pronoun “You” when addressing the recipients. It is stated that these formulas of address are used in both high and neutral tonalities, reflect Stefanyk’s worldview, and always maintain a high degree of politeness. It is determined that among all etiquette formulas in the letters of the novelist, address forms are the most frequent since they perform the function of the first phrase: pure greeting formulas are not typical for Stefanyk’s letters. Instead, the author uses address constructions (for example, “Highly honoured Mr. Comrade!” (to M. Kotsiubynskyi, O. Makovei), “Highly honoured comrade!” (to M. Rudnytskyi, M. Pavlyk), “Mr. Comrade!” (to A. Shmyhelskyi), “Dear Mr. Comrade!” (to M. Shukhevych), “Dear sir!” (to M. Pavlyk, to I. Franko)). The formulas of address are used in the vocative case, with a few deviant cases. The choice of a particular etiquette formula is influenced by several factors, including the social role, the status of the interlocutors, and the significance of the environment in which the author of the letters was situated.