Totality of Means of Interaction with the Reader in the Footnotes of A.D. Cantemir to the Russian Translation of Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds

The article deals with functional totality of means of interaction with the reader in the footnotes by A.D. Cantemir to his Russian translation of Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds. The content, the language and the genre of the footnotes prove them to be addressed to the Russian reader. On the linguistic level, it is expressed by actualization of modus categories and metatextual means that do not only point at the addresser indirectly, but also highlight the reader’s figure in the footnotes’ text. Actualization of modus categories allows Cantemir to bring him closer to the reader in the same textual space and time, whereas metatextual units control the reader’s attention by structuring information. Interaction of these linguistic means within the text of footnotes provides interaction between Cantemir and the Russian reader: their common space and time increase the persuasive effect of explanations and examples introduced by metatextual means.