POLYFUNCTIONALITY OF THE LETTER AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF EPISTOLARY DISCOURSE (BASED ON THE MATERIALS OF GERMAN-LANGUAGE LETTERS OF PETITION OF THE XIXTH CENTURY)

Abstract

Epistolary discourse is a complex communicative phenomenon, which in addition to speech action includes the idea of the communication participants, their characteristics and communicative settings, knowledge of socially, psychologically and culturally significant conditions and circumstances of text composition, the processes of perception and interpretation of the message, as well as the functions performed by epistolary discourse. The article analyses the letter’s functional orientation as a representative of epistolary discourse, in general, and 19th century German language letters of petition, in particular. Identification of the functional possibilities of a particular type of discourse allows to highlight its specific features more clearly and create a holistic view of epistolary discourse as a special form of remote written communication.