On the external dialogueness of Orthodox Internet preaching

Abstract

The article is dealing with the Internet sermon, an important and dynamically developing genre of the modern Orthodox tradition. The paper reveals the specifics of dialogueness as an essential feature of Orthodox preaching. It is proved that external dialogueness is a type of dialogueness of the genre of religious style and it also updates the addressing of the utterance. The specifics of the external dialogueness of Internet sermons are investigated on the material of the video blog “Batushka will answer”. It establishes the linguistic means by which the orientation of the Internet sermon to the addressee is realized. It is demonstrated that, along with the consistent rendition of constitutive language markers of external dialogueness for the genre, it is possible to modify individual means, in particular addresses and greetings, as well as to attract new ways of dialogization. It is proved that the use of classical means of external dialogueness in Internet preaching makes it possible to indicate the presence of a second participant in communication, to stimulate active perception of information, to convey the coexistence of hierarchy and symmetry inherent in the genre in the relationship of the addresser and the addressee. The author reveals that the use of new methods in organizing a priest’s dialogue with his audience weakens the semantics of motivation, levels the solemnly elevated register of communication familiar to this genre, adds intimacy to the linguistic space of religious communication and reduces its stylistic quality.