Burenko T. Cognitive-pragmatic characteristics of the speech act of apology in the English XVI–XXI century discourse

The object of research is the utterance of apology in the English 16th-21th century discourse in the cognitive-pragmatic aspect. The purpose of the work is to define cognitive-pragmalinguistic characteristics of the speech act (SA) of apology and regularities of its historical variation in the English 16th-21th century discourse. The research is based on the use of methods of intentional analysis for the establishment of types and varieties of the SA; semantic interpretation and cognitive modelling, the method of lexicographic definitions and component analysis for the description of the verbalized concept APOLOGY; diachronic comparison for the exposure of historical invariant and variants of the SA of apology; quantitative methods for the establishment of the randomness degree of fluctuation frequency diachronically found. The scientific novelty of this work lies in the fact that for the first time: on the basis of integrative linguo-cognitive and pragmatic study of apology in the English discourse the pragmatic status of the SA of apology is defined as hybrid SA; corrective and preventive subtypes of the SA of apology and pragmasemantic variants of the former are determined in the English discourse; functional, conventional, social-psychologic descriptions of the SA of apology are found out synchronic and diachronic aspect; the linguo-cognitive model of the concept APOLOGY is built; the historic variation of separate subtypes and pragmasemantic variants of the SA of apology is described and their diachronic invariant and variants are singled out in the English 16th-21th century discourse. Theoretical value of the work is defined by its contribution to the development of cognitive-pragmatic studies, linguo-cognitiuistics, pragmalinguistics, historical pragmalin-guistics and politeness theory. Practical value of the results and conclusions consist in the possibility of their use in lecture courses of theoretical grammar of English ("Pragmatics of the sentence"), history of English ("Syntax" and "Vocabulary of Early New English period"), special courses in pragmalinguistics, cognitive linguistics, culture of speech, in subsequent studies of students and graduate students.