The problem of defining the genre of memoirs

the article is devoted to the issue of memoir genre identification within the framework of M.M. Bakhtin's theory of speech genres. The introduction substantiates the difficulty of defining memoirs as a secondary speech genre that combines documentary elements, personal narrative, and artistic components. Their multi-component structure is emphasized, uniting objective historical facts with the subjective authorial element and multiple communicative purposes. The materials and methods section examines various scientific approaches to the classification of memoirs and their relation to autobiography, diaries, letters, and other documentary genres. The author analyzes the debate on positioning memoirs between artistic and documentary literature, adopting as a working concept the view of them as a synthesis of these two domains. The main results of the study, presented in the discussion section, reveal the role of the category of emotiveness as a key genre-forming factor. Based on the military memoirs of G.K. Zhukov, F. Paulyus, and S. de Gaulle, a comparative linguistic analysis was conducted, identifying the specific emotional tone of each author (patriotic, tragic, and inspiring, respectively) and its connection to the national-historical context. Tables demonstrate the use of syntactic devices (exclamations, rhetorical questions, inversions) to enhance emotional impact and fulfill pragmatic functions such as mobilization, reflection, or the formation of national identity. It has been proven that emotiveness functions as a tool of the author's self-identification and the establishment of a communicative link with the reader. The conclusions confirm that the memoir genre is characterized by a complex interweaving of a documentary foundation and an emotional-evaluative component. The category of emotiveness defines the uniqueness of the authorial style, transforming the text into a multidimensional communicative space where the reader becomes a participant in historical reflection. The study contributes to the theory of speech genres, emphasizing the need to consider emotional strategy when analyzing memoir prose.

memoirs, genre, emotivity, speech genres, Mikhail Bakhtin, military memoirs, Zhukov, Paulus, de Gaulle, linguistic analysis, literary analysis, emotions in the text, secondary genre, communicative function