SEMANTICS AND PRAGMATICS OF BLURBS IN ANDREY KURKOV’S DIARY OF AN INVASION

Iryna Kovalchuk; Olga Ponomarenko

doi:10.23856/6810

Iryna Kovalchuk State Tax University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4740-4139
Olga Ponomarenko Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0634-208X

Keywords: paratextuality, communicative tactics, book cover, literary marketing, culturally embedded paratext

Abstract

This study investigates the semantic and pragmatic functions of blurbs on book covers of Andrey Kurkov’s Dairy of an Invasion (2023), with a specific focus on their role as a key element of communication between the Ukrainian author, a publisher, English-language potential readers and a core text. The research, based on Gérard Genette’s theory, examines the interplay between semantic content and pragmatic functions of such paratexts as blurbs, exploring how they voice author’s message, shape the reader’s attitude to the narrative and contribute to the understanding of the core text. Through the discourse analysis of the selected blurbs, this research interprets the shifts in meanings of lexical units taking into account political and cultural context in Ukraine after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In addition, the paper presents a classification of communicative tactics that are used within the core communicative strategy of building trust to the core text among English-speaking readers, jointly expressed by the author and publisher. The emphasis is made on the persuasive power of blurbs, which often blend informational, evaluative, and emotive elements to attract potential readers. The study concludes by underscoring the importance of blurbs as a form of culturally embedded paratext, capable of conveying authentic and culturally-marked texts in a cross-cultural context.

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