GREETING CARDS IN CONTEMPORARY RUSSIAN CULTURE: ETIQUETTE NORMS AND COMMUNICATIVE PRACTICES
IN THE AGE OF THE VISUAL

Liliya Likhacheva¹*, Maria Kapkan^2
1 Prof. Dr., Ural Federal University, Russia, likhacheva08@rambler.ru
² Assoc. Prof. Dr., Ural Federal University, Russia, mnemozina9@gmail.com
*Corresponding author

Abstract

This paper analyzes the transformation of etiquette rules and communicative practices of usage of greeting cards in contemporary Russian culture. Although etiquette norms are conservative, they are influenced by new technologies and cultural tendencies. The shift towards the visual determines the changes of etiquette and social interactions in situations of congratulation. In particular, this fact makes an impact on written forms of congratulations. One of them is the printed greeting card. This kind of congratulating forms has become less popular in recent years but is still widely used in different situations. The paper aims to investigate the changes of greeting card use in the age of the visual. It is likely that nowadays in the congratulating practice an emphasis shifts from creating a text to choosing an image; as a result, the text loses its main and determinant role in congratulations and is interpreted only as a part of the image. This hypothesis is tested by a questionnaire based on a multistage sample. The results show how cards are used, what factors define a choice between creating and buying greeting cards, how verbal and pictorial elements of a greeting card correlate with the social status of a sender and a receiver. The leading approach in the study of this problem is the systematic methodological principle, which allows to take into account a variety of factors and to exclude one-sidedness. The materials of the article can be interesting for a wide range of readers dealing with the problems of actual Russian etiquette and designing and using greeting cards.

Keywords: greeting card, congratulation, etiquette, communication, contemporary Russian culture.