Werbalne formuły grzecznościowe w epistolografii (od połowy XVIII do połowy XIX wieku)

Abstrakt

The study is based on Polish epistolography of highly educated people – artists and aristocrats – from the period from the mid 18^th century to the mid 19^th century. The scope of the study is limited to verbal expressions. The article discusses three of the most popular and most differentiated linguistic expressions: requests, thanks, and apologies.

The main goal of the study was to analyse changes in the formulation of polite expressions during the Enlightenment and Romanticism. An important question for the author was also whether the culture of these epochs simplified the Baroque (and Rococo) forms of polite expressions and to what extent they have been continued in the present-day language.

In the quoted examples, the recipient of the utterance is always given alongside the sender, since the type of relationship between the authors of the letters and their recipients essentially influenced changes in the tone of the letters, the choice of subject, formal modifications, and, consequently, the forms of polite expressions.

The presented material suggests that, compared with the previous period, many forms fell out of use, while many new forms, previously unknown, were created. The most fruitful period for the emergence of these new forms was the turn of the 18th century and the first half of the 19^th century.