Diakonova І. Generic and Discursive Peculiarities of the Communicative Situation of Flirt.

The present thesis focuses on the study of communicative and pragmatic features of flirt in modern discourse. Flirting has been analyzed within the framework of linguistic theories of speech genres, gender linguistics and pragmatics. In a broader sense, nowadays the word flirt, leaving aside the connotation, which is most associated with the relationship between the two sexes, indicates a mixture of attitudes and devices, which is used to enable oneself to come out of anonymity and to get noticed and chosen. In this sense flirt can be seen in all social spheres and contexts. It may occur in both formal and informal situations, in interpersonal discourse as well as in business, political, publicistic, advertising discourses. Flirtatious communication then has much to do with creating and keeping up an image that must be suitably attractive to obtain what is desired. Flirt varies across cultures due to different modes of social etiquette. If the norms of social etiquette are broken, miscommunication may occur.