Specifics of informal congratulatory texts in contemporary ethnic festive culture of Kabardians and Balkars

The aim of the study is to identify the specifics of texts of informal congratulations in the ethnic festive culture of Kabardians and Balkars. In the article, the phenomenon of the holiday is understood as a unique way of reflecting the results of sociocultural changes, as a form of self-identification of a person, and the congratulatory word is considered as a special speech event associated with festive communication. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that, for the first time, a unique empirical material based on the analysis of informal congratulatory texts for two specific ethnic holidays of Kabardino-Balkaria – "Day of the Adyghe (Circassians)" and "Day of the Revival of the Balkar People" – is introduced into scientific circulation, which makes a certain contribution to understanding the role of informal congratulatory communication as an actual mechanism for constructing and expressing ethnic identity in a modern multicultural society. Study results: 1) the role of informal congratulations as an instrument of ethnic identification is established; 2) the ethno-cultural specifics of informal congratulations in the modern ethnic festive culture of Kabardians and Balkars are revealed: emphasis on pride in the title "Adyghe", motivation to observe адыгэ хабзэ (Adyghe Khabze), a triad of aspects (cognitive-emotional, motivational, axiological) – for texts for the holiday "Day of the Adyghe"; the dominance of the theme of deportation, cultural revival, historical memory – for texts for the holiday "Day of the Revival of the Balkar People"; 3) the functions of the texts are defined: ethnic (identity), hedonistic (involvement), emotive (expression); 4) stylistic features are described and free composition, hybridity of genres (epistolary + conversational), expressiveness, and the use of the native language are noted.