The concept “Letter” and peculiarities of its verbalization in Russian epistolary text of the 19th-20th centuries

The article deals with the peculiarities of using the word letter, which is the concept having the same name, in letters of the Russian literature classics. The author proposes the method of describing the contents of the epistolary concept, which identifies its contextual surroundings and typical situations presented by the utterances with the key word. The article presents the typology of definitions that characterizes various parameters of letters, as well as typical situations that relate to speech genres as “a message” (on the circumstances of sending or receiving a letter, the reasons for creating or completing a letter, emotions of the author or the recipient caused by the content of a letter, etc.), “an expression of regret” (on the fact that a letter is no substitute for direct communication), “a request” (on a response letter to addresser), “a gratitude” (for a letter and for the content of a letter), “an apology” (for the delay in the response to a letter to the addressee and for the contents of a letter) and “a criticism” (of the contents of a letter). The results of the analysis of the typical situations allow to present a model concept of a letter on a frame basis. The author determines the ways to identify the evolution of the content of this concept for two centuries, as well as the methods for determining individual differences in copyright in its presentation.