Abstract
The article analyses the communicative function and linguistic form of Novgorod birchbark letter no. 497 (N497) within a pragmaphilological framework. By applying a function-to-form mapping and taking into account the graphic representation of the text, I propose a new reading, in which the messenger plays a central role in the communication chain and in which the spoken word continuously interacts with the production and interpretation of the written document. This makes N497 a ‘communicatively heterogeneous’ text, a recently identified category of birchbark letters which deserves special attention in the wider field of historical pragmatics.
Аннотация
Статья посвящена прагмафилологическому анализу коммуникативной функции и языковой формы новгородской берестяной грамоты № 497. Исходя из соответствия функции и формы и принимая во внимание графические характеристики грамоты, предлагается новая интерпретация документа с акцентом на своеобразный статус посыльного в коммуникативной цепи и устный фактор в берестяной переписке. Грамота № 497 является ‘коммуникативно неоднородным’ текстом, относясь к недавно выявленной категории берестяных грамот, которая заслуживает серьезного внимания как объект исторической прагматики.
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I am greatly indebted to Daniel E. Collins, The Ohio State University, Egbert Fortuin, Leiden University, and Alexey A. Gippius, Institut slavjanovedenija RAN, for commenting on earlier drafts of this article.
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Schaeken, J. Don’t shoot the messenger. A pragmaphilological approach to birchbark letter no. 497 from Novgorod. Russ Linguist 35, 1–11 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11185-010-9068-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11185-010-9068-1