Genres of modern electronic correspondence: traditional and new approaches 

Abstract.

GENRES OF MODERN ELECTRONIC CORRESPONDENCE: TRADITIONAL AND NEW APPROACHES
      Anastasiia Troian

Postgraduate Student, Department of General and Applied Linguistics and Slavic Philology,
Vasyl’ Stus Donetsk National University, Vinnytsia, Ukraine.

Abstract
Background: Electronic correspondence occupies a central place in contemporary communication as a hybrid form combining features of the traditional epistolary genre with the innovations of the digital environment. The growing role of email in interpersonal, professional, educational, and legal contexts determines the need for its systematic linguistic and socio-cultural analysis.

Purpose: The study aims to outline the genre specificity of modern electronic correspondence by identifying its traditional features and new tendencies shaped by digital practices.

Results: Based on a corpus of over 200 emails drawn from interpersonal, professional, academic, and legal communication, the research reveals that electronic correspondence demonstrates genre continuity (composition, politeness formulas, adherence to language norms) and innovation (hybridity, brevity, multimodality, integration with social media practices, use of emojis, legal significance). Methodologically, the analysis employs descriptive, functional, comparative, component, discourse-analytic, and quantitative approaches. The findings show that electronic correspondence functions as a socially significant communicative genre that not only inherits the epistolary tradition but also adapts dynamically to the digital environment.

Discussion: Electronic correspondence should be regarded not merely as a technical tool for information exchange but as a multidimensional communicative phenomenon. It combines textual, discursive, and social dimensions, reflects shifts in communicative culture, and contributes to the development of an innovation-oriented society. The study enriches the theoretical understanding of genre hybridity and offers practical implications for stylistics, business and intercultural communication, and linguistic expertise of digital texts.

Keywords: electronic correspondence, genre, communication, Internet discourse, epistolary tradition, netiquette, digital culture

Vitae
Anastasiia Troian is a postgraduate student at the Department of General and Applied Linguistics and Slavic Philology, Vasyl’ Stus Donetsk National University. Her research interests include genre theory, digital communication, pragmatics, and the interaction of traditional and innovative features in modern discourse.

Correspondence: anastasiyka.ana@gmail.com

Article.

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