Ellipsis as a Specific Communicative Marker in A.P. Chekhov's Novella "Steppe"

The article is devoted to a special punctuation mark, an ellipsis, in A.P. Chekhov’s novella “The Steppe”. The ellipsis in the novella is included in the narrative speech and the speech of the characters, performing different functions in these speech structures.
In narrative speech, the ellipsis is at the end of sentences that are in the middle or at the end of a paragraph. Middle sentences allow prefacing the content of subsequent sentences, which can clarify, and summarize the previous information in the text. Sentences with an ellipsis at the end of a paragraph relate to the reader’s potential subsequent activity linked to the comprehension of the previous
text fragment. In both cases, the ellipsis is not a sign of the completion of the content of the sentence or paragraph. Not only does communication occur at the textual level, but it also extends to the author-reader level.
The use of ellipsis in characters’ speech not only brings a natural conversational tone to the communication but also adds a personal touch to the character’s identity beyond mere speech.