Condolences in Polish. Definition – pragmatic context – genological pattern Cover Image

Kondolencje w polszczyźnie. Definicja – kontekst pragmatyczny – wzorzec gatunkowy
Condolences in Polish. Definition – pragmatic context – genological pattern

Author(s): Marta Rogalska
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Sociolinguistics, Philology, Stylistics
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Sklodowskiej
Keywords: condolences; mourning; polite speech acts; text genre

Summary/Abstract: The article concerns the Polish lexeme kondolencje ‘condolences’, both as a speech act and a genre. In the first part of the article, definitions of the lexeme in synchronic an diachronic dictionaries of Polish are discussed. The usual defining procedure is to focus on the Latin element con- ‘together with’ and, in recent dictionaries, the concept of ‘expressing sympathy and sorrow’. Another dimension of condolences is the pragmatic information, i.e. condolences as a polite speech act. Finally, condolences are viewed as a genre, with particular emphasis on changes in its written patterns and the influence of new channels of communication on the form and meaning of condolences.

  • Issue Year: 27/2015
  • Issue No: 27
  • Page Range: 185-200
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: Polish