Epistolary Discourse of Media-Linguistic Personalities (Based on the Letters of I. Omarov and Sh. Murtaza)

Abstract

In our linguistics, up to the present time, more scientific works have been devoted to the study of the language of poets and writers, whereas in recent years more attention has been given to research focused on the epistolary discourse of individual writers as well as figures of society and culture. A letter is a special epistolary genre of speech. It is known that it is sent with the purpose of conveying certain information to the addressee, informing them, or maintaining mutual relations. The article analyzes the linguistic features and style of letters, as well as the relationships between addressee and addresser. Through letters exchanged in the
press, the social issues of writers are examined, and specific evidence and ideas expressing the voice of the people are presented. The purpose of the article is to specify the linguistic features of the epistolary discourse of outstanding figures of culture and society, eminent citizens of Kazakhstan Ilyas Omarov and Sherkhan Murtaza, who can be recognized as media-linguistic personalities, and to determine the functional, communicative, and pragmatic functions of linguistic units in their idiostyle. It is important to note that the epistolary genre also reveals the connection and interpersonal relations between author and addressee. Through epistolary discourse, one can see how letter texts reflect a specific time (era). The friendly letters of cultural figures to each other are documents of their epoch. From the communicative-pragmatic and linguo-cultural perspectives, the linguistic material is considered in a comprehensive manner. Through the epistolary style, the informational significance of letters is revealed, while the author’s linguistic usage and the culture of language in the texts are clarified. The author’s skill in persuading the reader, ability to understand personality psychology and interpersonal relations, experience in influencing through information, knowledge of the historical background of each issue raised, and ability to convince and argue are demonstrated. The specific features
of communicants’ relationships, their idiostyle, and their linguistic personality traits are identified. Through the letters of Sh. Murtaza and I. Omarov, we observe their essence as educated, intelligent individuals, as well as the effective application of both friendly and business-like relations. The article employs the communicative-functional analysis method: the texts of the letters are examined, and their lexical-semantic features are determined. In the letter texts, one can observe analysis of socio-political situations, the inclusion of various opinions, and the use of simple vocabulary and elements of spoken colloquial language. In addition, the use
of communication-related clichés such as greetings, expressions of gratitude, good wishes, and apologies reflects respect toward the addressee and contributes to building trust. Through letters, public figures express their thoughts with maximum openness, reveal their inner world in depth, and profoundly reflect on the issues occurring in society. Thus, we have every reason to state that the letter is a unique genre capable of combining information ranging from conversational to scientific style.