Stylistic Features of Russian and English Telegram Discourse

The Internet has given start to new types of communication systems and language contexts, one of which is Telegram discourse. The increasing popularity of this messenger makes it an urgent academic task to describe its language. The authors compared the stylistic features of Russian and English e-communication in Telegram publications. The article reviewed available definitions of the term Telegram discourse in modern media linguistics in order to define the features that make it different from the language of other online platforms. The Russian and English Telegram publications covered a wide variety of topics (psychology, lifestyle, literature, politics, journalism, art, cinema, TV shows, fashion, education, etc.) chosen by continuous sampling. The comparative study made it possible to define the universal aspects while revealing the language-specific stylistic peculiarities. The comparative stylistic analysis covered all linguistic levels, i.e., graphics, phonetics, syntax, vocabulary, and semantics. The research revealed language-related patterns in the use of stylistic devices and expressive means on phono-graphical, lexical, and syntactical levels. The phono-graphical level of Telegram texts was found rich in graphons, capitalization, multiplication, and onomatopoeia. The lexical level contained metaphors, allusions, irony, and idioms. The syntax was associated with gradation, parallel constructions, and rhetorical questions. In general, the expressive means and stylistic devices used in publicistic Telegram discourse was full of cliches. However, Russian and English Telegram stylistics differed on every level. The research results might be used in university courses of stylistics, Internet linguistics, lexicology, and foreign languages.