Distinctive linguistic features of fiction book blurbs

Abstract

Blurb is created to help the reader to answer the question why he should spend his time and money on this book, what it will give to him and if he needs this book at all. The aim of this research is to analyse and define distinctive linguistic features of fiction book blurbs such as novels, short stories, poems. This aim will be achieved by these objectives – analysing vocabulary, study stylistic devices which are used in book blurbs. To pursue this aim qualitative approach will be used to determine lexical properties blurbs. The comparative approach will be used to compare chosen books and linguistic features which these books contain. Main sources of this research will be 50 blurbs of different fiction books. The results demonstrate that fiction book blurbs are structured into three main moves but not all blurbs include these moves. Some of them include only one move, some – all of them. The blurbs consist of various stylistic devices and formal vocabulary.