Official business style of speech: brief description. Linguistic means that form an official business style The main linguistic means of an official business style

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OFFICIAL BUSINESS STYLE

The main area in which the official business style of the Russian literary language functions is administrative and legal activity. This style satisfies the need of society for documenting various acts of state, social, political, economic life, business relations between the state and organizations, as well as between members of society in the official sphere of their communication. Texts of this style represent a huge variety of genres: charter, law, order, instruction, contract, instruction, complaint, recipe, various kinds of statements, as well as many business genres (for example, explanatory note, autobiography, questionnaire, statistical report, etc.). The expression of legal will in business documents determines the properties, main features of business speech and the social and organizational use of language. Genres of official business style perform informational, prescriptive, and ascertaining functions in various fields of activity. Therefore, the main form of implementation of this style is written. Official business style is also called administrative , since it serves the sphere of official, business relations, areas of law and public policy. Its other name is business speech



- indicates that this style is the most ancient of book styles, its origins are in the business speech of the era of the Kievan state, in which legal documents (agreements, “Russian Truth”, various charters) were created already in the 10th century. The formal business style stands out among other book styles extralinguistic features

: stability, isolation, standard.

Each text of this style has the character of a document, which is built according to a certain stable form and includes a number of permanent content elements (details). Details can be: name of the document, author of the document, addressee, owner, date, signature, etc.

Linguistic means that form official business style

Among the linguistic features of the style, its lexical means have the greatest prominence. The official business style is characterized by the widespread use of thematically determined special words and terms (legal, diplomatic, military, accounting, sports).

The desire for brevity determines the use of abbreviations, complex abbreviated names of government bodies, institutions, organizations, societies, parties, etc.: Airborne Forces, Ministry of Emergency Situations, Research Institutes, LDPR, CIS, Russian Federation, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health.

Business texts are distinguished by the use of words and expressions that are not accepted in other styles: above, below, above, proper, outgoing, recipient, notification, registration, reside, withdraw, preventive measure, deed, punishability, cassation appeal. Regular use of such words and expressions that do not have synonyms contributes to the accuracy of speech, preventing misinterpretation.

Outdated vocabulary is used: this, this, such, which, although it is declining.

The phraseology also has the same stylistic connotation: report, inventory number, personnel, exercise control, make a decision, diplomatic immunity.

Many commonly used vocabulary words, when used in an official business style, are semantically specialized and develop meanings inherent in the general semantic orientation, for example, guilt, punishment, action, attract, violate, date, protection.

A striking lexical and phraseological feature of the style is the use of cliches (common expressions with a faded lexical meaning and erased expressiveness) and cliches (speech stereotypes that retain their semantics, and in many cases, expressiveness), for example, bring to your attention, attach to the application, in accordance with the above, draw attention to, ensure compliance. Stamps and cliches in an official business style are fully justified: they facilitate the selection of speech means, save time when creating a text, and contribute to the accuracy and unambiguity of the expression of thoughts.

Morphological means that serve the official business style are in many ways characteristic of book styles in general. Specific features include the predominance of nominal forms over verbal ones.

Nouns denoting positions are usually used in the masculine form: accountant, director, laboratory assistant, postman, controller, investigator and etc.

The high frequency of verbal nouns is a consequence of the consolidation of stable figures of speech (synonymous with verbal expressions): the procedure for drawing up and executing a transportation plan, in order to improve the procedure for collecting taxes, abuse of authority. In such figures of speech, a “chain” of genitive case forms of nouns often appears: clarification of the conditions for committing a crime; checking compliance with passport regulations, which gives the phrase heaviness and sometimes makes it difficult to perceive such phrases.

Adjectives and participles in business speech are often used in the meaning of nouns: sick, injured, victim, vacationer, the undersigned. Productive short forms of adjectives: must, must, obligatory, necessary, accountable, jurisdictional, responsible. Addressing them is dictated by the prescriptive nature of business speech: Calling experts is mandatory to establish the cause of death(Criminal Procedure Code).

The selection of pronouns in business speech is indicative: personal pronouns are not used here me, you, he, she, they(due to the complete lack of individualization of speech, specificity, accuracy of the statement). Instead of demonstrative pronouns this, that, such and so on. words used given, present, corresponding, known, specified, above etc. Indefinite pronouns are not used at all in business speech someone, some, something and so on.

Syntactic features official business style reflect the impersonal nature of speech: Complaints are submitted to the prosecutor; Cargo transportation is carried out. In this regard, passive constructions are widely used, which allow one to abstract from specific performers and focus on the actions themselves: The competition included...; 10 patients were admitted; 120 applications registered; The order fulfillment period is extended subject to... .

Syntactic constructions in official speech are full of clichéd phrases with denominative prepositions: for the purpose of, in connection with, through, on the basis of and etc. ( in order to improve the structure; in connection with these complications; through cooperation and mutual assistance; based on the decision made). These syntactic clichés are a specific feature of the official business style. The use of such syntactic constructions is necessary to express typical situations. They make it easier and simpler to compile standard texts.

Business style syntax is characterized by a strict and specific word order in a sentence. This is caused by the requirement of logic, consistency, and accuracy of presentation of thoughts in business texts.

The official business style, to a greater extent than any other, is characterized by stylistic homogeneity. This excludes emotionally expressive means. Standardization of form and language resources makes it impossible to express the individual characteristics of the author.

Business documents appeared in Rus' after the introduction in the 10th century. writing. The first written documents recorded in the chronicle are the texts of treaties between the Russians and the Greeks in 907, 911, 944 and 971. And in the 11th century. The first set of laws of Kievan Rus, “Russian Truth”, appears - an original monument of writing, which makes it possible to judge the development of the system of legal and socio-political terminology at that time. In the language of “Russkaya Pravda” it is already possible to highlight the peculiarities of word usage and organization of speech, which relate to the characteristic features of business style. This is high terminology, the predominance of composition over subordination in complex sentences, the presence of complex constructions with coordinating conjunctions “and”, “yes”, “the same”, as well as non-union chains. Of all types of complex sentences, the most widely used are constructions with a subordinate conditional (with the conjunction even - if): In “Russian Truth”, terms are already used that indicate the development of legal relations in Ancient Rus': head (killed), golovnik (killer), poslukh ( witness), vira (fine), extracted (property), veno vopikoe (bride price), kuna (money). Legal terms represent the most important lexical layer of the language of ancient documents.

After “Russkaya Pravda,” the oldest document is considered to be “The Charter of Grand Duke Mstislav Volodimirovich and his son Vsevolod of 1130.” The initial formula of this letter “Se az” ... (“Here I am”) from now on becomes an obligatory element (requisite) of ancient Russian letters: “Behold, the great prince Vsevolod gave to St. George (Yuryev Monastery) the Terpug churchyard of Lyakhovichi with land, and with people, and with horses, and forest, and boards, and traps on the catch..." (from the "Charter of Grand Duke Vsevolod Mstislavovich to the Yuryev Monastery 1125-1137"). The letters ended with a special formula, which indicated who witnessed the transaction and who sealed the letter with his signature.

And in the “General Regulations” of Peter’s Collegiums, a complete system of documentation standards was given. “General forms”, i.e. document forms provided for design standards, etiquette standards for addressing the addressee indicating rank, title, rank, uniform standards for naming and self-designation. The vocabulary of business language is increasingly moving away from colloquial, living speech; a huge number of foreign words (province, act, run, appeal, etc.) and terms penetrate into it.

In the 19th century, when the formation of a codified literary language was largely completed, its functional varieties - styles - began to actively form. Documents of official correspondence were obtained in the 19th century. the widest distribution and in quantitative terms significantly surpassed other types of business texts. They were written on official letterhead and included a certain set of details. Since 1811, after the adoption of the “General Establishment of Ministries”, the characteristic features of the clerical style were actively formed: formal-logical organization of the text, impersonal nature of the statement, syntactic cumbersomeness, nominal character of speech, morphological and lexical uniformity (prevalence of the nominative and genitive cases), standardization . As a result of the reform of office work (rules for the preparation of documentation), the need arose to reform the clerical style, which began to be conceptualized as a task of national importance.

In the 20th century the unification of documents becomes irreversible. New rules for maintaining official documentation were developed: in 1918, a unified form of business letter forms was introduced. In the 20s of the twentieth century. Work began on creating new standards for business writing, and stencil texts appeared.

Among book styles, the official business style is the most clearly defined. It serves legal and administrative activities when communicating in government agencies, in court, during business and diplomatic negotiations: business speech provides the sphere of official business relations and functions in the field of law and politics. The official business style is implemented in the texts of laws, decrees, orders, instructions, contracts, agreements, orders, acts, in business correspondence of institutions, as well as in legal certificates, etc. Despite the fact that this style is subject to serious changes under the influence of socio-historical changes in society, it stands out among other functional varieties of the language due to its stability, traditionality, isolation and standardization.

The authors of the textbook “Culture of Russian Speech” note: “Business style is a set of linguistic means, the function of which is to serve the sphere of official business relations, i.e. relations that arise between state bodies, between or within organizations, between organizations and individuals in the process of their production, economic, and legal activities.” And further: “The breadth of this sphere allows us to distinguish at least three substyles (varieties) of business style: 1) the actual official business style (clerical); 2) legal (the language of laws and decrees); 3) diplomatic."

Standardization of business speech (primarily the language of mass standard documentation) is one of the most noticeable features of the official business style. The standardization process is developing mainly in two directions: a) the widespread use of ready-made, already established verbal formulas, stencils, stamps (for example, standard syntactic models with denominate prepositions in order, in connection with, in accordance with, etc., which is quite is natural, since it greatly simplifies and facilitates the process of compiling standard texts of business papers), b) in the frequent repetition of the same words, forms, phrases, structures, in the desire for uniformity in the ways of expressing thoughts in similar situations, in the refusal to use expressive means of language .

The process of standardization of business speech is closely related to the process of phraseologization. This can be seen in examples of the use of verbonominants (verb-nominal phrases) in numerous documentation, which in business language become a universal means and are often used instead of the actual verb forms parallel to them: provide assistance (instead of help), repair (instead of repair), carry out an investigation (instead of investigating), etc. Verbonominants widely penetrate into business language due to the fact that in some cases their use becomes mandatory (there is no other way to say it): to allow a marriage, to commit a crime, to perform duties, to take a position, to assign responsibility. Their meaning may not coincide with the meaning of the verbs parallel to them: the combination conduct competition is not identical to the verb compete. Verbonominants not only name the action, but also express certain additional semantic shades and accurately qualify certain phenomena. For example, hit-and-run is a terminological phrase that is the official name for a certain type of road accident.

Other features of the official business style (besides standardization) are accuracy, imperativeness, objectivity and documentation, specificity, formality, and conciseness.

The linguistic means of the official business style form a relatively closed system, the basis of which is specific units of three levels: lexical, morphological and syntactic.

At the lexical level, in addition to commonly used and neutral words, we can distinguish: a) words and phrases used mainly in official documents and fixed in administrative and clerical speech (proper, due, above, undersigned, failure to fulfill, forward, bearer, guarantor, protect rights and freedom, ensure equality, etc.); b) terms, professionalisms and phrases of a terminological nature, which is determined by the content of official documents (the most common terms are legal, diplomatic, accounting: act, collection, legislation, respondent, recall (ambassador), ratify, applicant, etc.).

Many of the words with the coloring of an official business style form antonymic pairs: plaintiff ¾ defendant, democracy ¾ dictatorship, punished ¾ acquitted, aggravating ¾ mitigating (circumstances), etc.

In connection with the streamlining of the approach to terminology, two concepts began to be distinguished: “vocabulary with the coloring of an official business style” and “clericalism”. The first name reflects the place of the corresponding words in the system of general literary language, their functional and stylistic coloring. For example, lexical units recipient (this) or due, non-subordinate, undersigned, compensation, appeal, collection, discovery, superior, etc. in business documents should be considered functionally colored. The second name, “clericalisms,” can refer to the same lexical units, but only when they are unintentionally used in a text with a different stylistic overtones, for example, in a journalistic or conversational style, i.e. in cases of functionally unjustified transfer. For example, in N. Kislik’s poem we read: “I am writing to you, ¾ everything to you. I have loaded the communication service to capacity...”. The phrase “communication service” can be attributed to clericalism (though it performs a certain stylistic function in a given literary text). In the lexical system of the official business style, it is not clericalisms that function, but words with the coloring of the official business style. A specific feature of the lexical system of the official business style is also the presence in it of archaisms and historicisms, often used in the nominative function (for example, in the texts of diplomatic documents - assurance of respect, this, such, that, His Majesty, His Excellency, sir, etc. ). This style completely lacks slang, colloquial words, dialectisms, and words with an emotionally expressive connotation. Often used here are complex abbreviations for elephants, abbreviated names of various organizations and institutions (ZhREO, ZhES, research institutes, Central Design Bureau, KTS, Labor Code, student council, trade union committee, workshop, etc.).

The phraseology of the official business style also has specific features. There are no figurative phrases, no phrases with reduced stylistic coloring, etc. But stylistically neutral and cross-style phraseological units are very widely represented (to have meaning, to play a role, to hold a position, scope of application, to cause damage, location, etc.). There is also a frequent use of expressions related to assessment, but devoid of any expressiveness: to be, to be at the level of something; bottleneck; common place, etc. In the official business style, standard figures of speech are frequent, stable in nature, containing denominative prepositions, indicating the nature of the motivation for actions such as in connection with the instruction, stay, order (Ministry, head office, management), in accordance with the achieved by agreement (agreement), in order to provide technical (material, production) assistance, etc. In the language of official documents, they perform the same function as stable combinations such as take note, take into account, bring to attention, etc. A characteristic feature of this style is the functioning of attributive-nominal phrases such as: conviction, writ of execution, disciplinary sanctions, acquittal, preliminary investigation, cassation appeal, higher authorities, established procedure.

It should also be noted the purely nominal nature of the official business style. The same noun in business texts can be repeated even in adjacent sentences and not be replaced by a pronoun. In colloquial speech or in a literary text, such use would be qualified as a tautology (unjustified repetition of the same word). In an official business style, such repetitions are functionally determined, since with their help it is possible to avoid misinterpretations. For example:

The territory of the Republic of Belarus is a natural condition of existence and the spatial limit of self-determination of the people, the basis of their well-being and sovereignty of the Republic of Belarus.

The territory of Belarus is united and inalienable.

The territory is divided into regions, districts, cities and other administrative-territorial units. The administrative-territorial division of the state is determined by legislation (Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, Art. 9).

In the official business style, nouns are widely used that name people on the basis of some action or relationship: adoptive parent, tenant, plaintiff, defendant, witness, tenant, applicant, etc. The use of nouns denoting positions and ranks in this style is possible only in the masculine form: police officer Lavrenova, witness Vilchinskaya, applicant Fedorova, etc.

Verbal nouns with -nie, -enie are widely represented in the official business style: execution, notification, offense, resolution, resolution (of disputes), subordination, division, etc.; Verbal nouns with the prefix non- are high-frequency: non-election, non-recognition, non-return, shortfall, non-fulfillment, etc.

A striking feature of the official business style is the use of denominate prepositions in it: by virtue of, for the purpose of, in part, on the subject, in the name of, in the course of, etc. (in accordance with the plan of scientific, technical and cultural cooperation; in order to improve the teaching of Russian language in universities; in case of failure by the administration to comply with the decision of the commission; higher authorities in the order of subordination; list No. 2 compared to list No. 1;

To indicate cause and effect, the preposition by with the dative case is used: for family reasons, for illness, for good reasons, etc.

To indicate a period, the prepositions from - to, and not from ¾ to: from 1983 to 1989 (and not: from 1983 to 1989) are usually used.

Numerals in official business style are written in numbers, with the exception of such monetary documents as bills, powers of attorney, receipts, etc.

A feature of the official business style is also the predominant use of the infinitive compared to other verbal forms. For example:

Everyone has the right to independently determine their attitude to religion, to profess any religion alone or jointly with others or not to profess any, to express and disseminate beliefs related to their attitude to religion, to participate in the performance of religious cults, rituals, and ceremonies not prohibited by law (Constitution of the Republic Belarus, art. 31).

Of the conjugated ones here, the forms of verbs most often used are the present tense, the so-called “present instructions”: If the defense attorney is unable to appear within this period, the investigator takes the measures provided for in part 3 of Article 47 of this Code (Fundamentals of Criminal Proceedings). The meaning of this form is to indicate the action that the law requires to be performed, i.e. on what should be done.

The imperative nature of speech, which presupposes subsequent obligatory actions of the addressee, requires completeness and accuracy of expression in this style. This largely explains the complexity of the syntax of official business speech, which reflects the tendency towards detail and classification, towards consideration in the unity of the stating and prescriptive sides, cause-and-effect and conditional-effect relationships.

The syntactic features of the style under consideration are closely related to lexical and morphological ones. High-frequency constructions are with denominal prepositions:

For the purpose of reviewing the progress made by States Parties in fulfilling the obligations undertaken in accordance with this Convention, a Committee on the Rights of the Child shall be established which shall perform the functions provided for below.

The initial elections to the Committee shall be held no later than six months from the date of entry into force of this Convention (Convention on the Rights of the Child, Art. 43).

It is not uncommon to use constructions containing an infinitive with the meaning of must, for example: Decisions made by the meeting must be announced to everyone working at the enterprise. Simple sentences with homogeneous members are widespread, the number of which sometimes reaches ten or more: Training in higher educational institutions is carried out on the basis of the achievements of modern science and technology, in conditions of close integration of the educational process with the scientific, practical (creative) activities of students and teachers. For this purpose, research institutions, laboratories, educational, production and research enterprises, design, engineering and technological bureaus, workshops, other enterprises and organizations specialized in training specialists are created in higher educational institutions or at them (Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Education in Republic of Belarus”, Art. 20).

In the official business style, compared to others, the use of passive constructions increases significantly. For example:

It should be borne in mind that these changes are made only to the birth certificate (in both copies). A new birth certificate is issued (the old one is destroyed) (Commentary to the Code on Marriage and Family of the Republic of Belarus).

Complex sentences (especially with subordinate clauses) are widespread in the style under consideration. For example:

The judge does not have the right to accept an application to establish paternity if a certain person is indicated as the father in the child’s birth record. The application is refused on the basis of clause 9 of Art. 125 Civil Procedure Code of the Republic of Belarus.

If the birth of a child has not yet been registered with the registry office, then the application is refused on the basis of clause 9 of Art. 125 Civil Procedure Code of the Republic of Belarus (Comments to the Code on Marriage and Family of the Republic of Belarus).

Word order is often used in which the rheme of the preceding sentence becomes the theme of the subsequent one, which contributes to a special logical cohesion of statements in a coherent text. For example: The Executive Committee issues a warrant for the occupation of residential premises. The order specifies its validity period. During this period, the order must be submitted to the house management (from the instructions).

In simple sentences, it is common to: a) place the subject before the predicate; b) definitions ¾ before the word being defined; c) circumstances ¾ closer to the word being defined; d) introductory words ¾ at the beginning of the sentence (see examples above).

The complexity of the syntax of the official business style is most often created due to specific distributors in phrases and the abundance of homogeneous members in the listed series:

States Parties recognize the important role of the media and ensure that the child has access to information and materials from a variety of national and international sources, especially those aimed at promoting social, spiritual and moral well-being, as well as healthy physical and mental health. mental development of the child. To this end, participating States:

a) encourage the media to disseminate information and materials that are socially and culturally beneficial to the child, and in the spirit of Article 29;

b) encourage international cooperation in the preparation, exchange and dissemination of such information and materials from various cultural, national and international sources;

c) encourage the production and distribution of children's literature;

d) encourage the media to pay special attention to the linguistic needs of a child belonging to a minority group or indigenous population (Convention on the Rights of the Child, Art. 17).

In official business documents, coordinating conjunctions are most often found, for example:

Students of higher education institutions and students of secondary special and vocational educational institutions have the right to enter into contracts with enterprises and organizations in the manner determined by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus. Contracts may provide for partial or full payment of the cost of training, payment of scholarships and other conditions, as well as obligations of students or students (Law “On Education in the Republic of Belarus”, Article 30).

A feature of the syntax of this style is also the predominant use of indirect speech. Direct speech is resorted to only when legislative acts and other documents are quoted verbatim.

Some syntactic complexity of the official business style is compensated for by clichés and standardization. Sometimes mastering them requires special training. If it is necessary to use clichés on a large scale, printed forms and certain forms are used, which are given in special reference books.

In addition to all these features, the style in question also has some other characteristics. For example, the heading and paragraph division of texts, as well as the so-called details (permanent elements): title of the document, indication of the addressee and author, statement of the essence of the case, date and signature of the author (person or organization), etc., play an important role. The person preparing this or that document needs to know the amount of details, their relationship and sequence of presentation. This forms the form of the document. Below are examples of some business papers.

To the Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov

Professor Smirnov A.I.

Associate Professor of the Department of Computer Science Melnikov F.I.

Sometimes, after reading the next contract, you understand why it is customary to use specially trained people to work with them. This happens due to the peculiarities of the official business style, making it difficult to understand. But this manner of presentation also has its advantages, otherwise its use would have been abandoned long ago.

Signs of an official business style of speech

Of course, for us, the main indicators of the officiality of a document are the seal of the organization and the signature of the person in charge, but when it comes to the style of speech, completely different signs come to the fore.

  1. Objectivity, information content and reliability.
  2. The absence of words that can be interpreted in two ways.
  3. Impeccable construction of phrases and documents from a legal point of view.
  4. Conciseness of wording, the desire for maximum brevity, the use of complex sentences with frequent use of complex conjunctions and verbal nouns.
  5. Neutrality of presentation, lack of emotional coloring, preference for direct word order, almost complete neglect of individualization of style.
  6. The use of speech cliches when constructing phrases.
  7. Using standard phrases to describe typical situations.
  8. Logic of presentation, its narrative character.

All these features of the official business style of speech make it the most closed and stable among all book styles. Time brings its changes to this language, but the main points - phraseological units, specific speech and syntactic turns - remain unchanged. In other styles of speech, the use of cliches has long been considered a disadvantage, but in formal conversations they are welcome. Actually, this kind of templated text, combined with a lack of emotional coloring and a large number of enumerations, which are also a sign of the official style, is what makes documents so difficult to read and.

The purpose of the formal business style of speech

At first glance, all this linguistic inertia and conservatism were invented to emphasize the isolation of business from other spheres of life. As a result, the average person gets a headache from trying to understand all the intricacies, and is forced to pay money to specialists.

On the one hand, this is true, a number of specialists (document specialists, lawyers, archivists) are partly translators from official business speech to colloquial speech, understandable to the majority of the population. But you shouldn’t look for the tenacious clutches of a global conspiracy here, because on the other hand, the official business style of speech is designed to minimize the likelihood of errors and simplify work with various kinds of documentation. In colloquial speech, we often use expressions with strong emotional overtones, love ambiguity, often use argot and do not disdain irony. Can you imagine what, for example, a supply agreement written in colloquial language would look like? On compliance with delivery deadlines, liability for violation of the agreement and the conformity of the delivered goods ordered could be forgotten. That is, a special style of presentation for official papers was created to exclude the possibility of speculation and different interpretations of information depending on the education of the people working with them. And to speed up work with various kinds of documents, drafting standards have been invented. Everything is regulated: from the location of the details to the order in which the address is written on the envelope. This allows you to quickly find the information you need without revising the entire document. For example, an accountant paying for the rental of premises is only interested in the terms of payment, details and duration of the contract. The clear structure of the document allows you to quickly access this information; otherwise, the time for processing the contract would greatly increase.

Official business style is a style that serves the legal and administrative and public spheres of activity. It is used when writing documents, business papers and letters in government agencies, courts, as well as in various types of business oral communication.

Among book styles, the official business style stands out for its relative stability and isolation. Over time, it naturally undergoes some changes, but many of its features: historically established genres, specific vocabulary, morphology, syntactic phrases - give it a generally conservative character.

The official business style is characterized by dryness, the absence of emotionally charged words, conciseness, and compactness of presentation.

In official papers, the set of linguistic means used is predetermined. The most striking feature of the official business style is linguistic cliches, or so-called cliches. A document is not expected to show the individuality of its author; on the contrary, the more clichéd a document is, the more convenient it is to use.

Official business style is the style of documents of different genres: international treaties, state acts, legal laws, regulations, charters, instructions, official correspondence, business papers, etc. But, despite the differences in content and variety of genres, the official business style as a whole is characterized by common and most important features. These include:

  • 1). accuracy, excluding the possibility of other interpretations;
  • 2). locale standard.

These traits find their expression:

  • a) in the selection of linguistic means (lexical, morphological and syntactic);
  • b) in the preparation of business documents.

Let's consider the features of official business style.

The main area in which the official business style operates is administrative and legal activity. This style satisfies the need of society for documenting various acts of state, social, political, economic life, business relations between the state and organizations, as well as between members of society in the official sphere of their communication.

Texts of official business style of speech represent a huge variety of genres: charter, law, order, regulation, contract, instruction, complaint, recipe, various kinds of statements, autobiography, explanatory note, questionnaire, statistical report, etc.

The expression of legal will in business documents determines the properties, main features of business speech and the social and organizational use of language. The genres of official business style perform informational, prescriptive, and ascertaining functions in various fields of activity, therefore the main form of implementation of this style is written.

Despite the differences in the content of individual genres and the degree of their complexity, official business speech has common stylistic features: accuracy of presentation, which does not allow the possibility of differences in interpretation; detail of presentation; stereotyping, standard presentation; the dutifully prescriptive nature of the presentation. To this we can add such features as formality, rigor of expression of thought, objectivity, logic - which is characteristic of scientific speech.

The function of social regulation, which plays the most important role in official business speech, imposes on the corresponding texts the requirement of unambiguous reading. In this regard, each text should be characterized by such accuracy in the presentation of information that would not allow the possibility of different interpretations. An official document will serve its purpose if its content is carefully thought out and its language is impeccable.

It is this goal that determines the standard design of many business documents (personnel records sheet, questionnaire, receipt for payment of housing and communal services, etc.).

Consider an example: “When studying any international agreement, and in particular an agreement on the elimination of double taxation, it is first necessary to clearly define its scope in two aspects:

  • - taxes covered by the agreement;
  • - territories covered by the agreement.”

Even in this short passage there are words and phrases with an official legal connotation (international agreement, double taxation, taxes), the phrase “needs to be determined” expressing the obligation, such features as the severity of expression of thought, impartial statement, complete impersonality of presentation.

The official business style is characterized by a tendency to reduce the number of meanings of words, up to narrow terminology. Therefore, texts of this style often provide precise definitions of the words and concepts used. Polysemy (polysemy), metaphorical use of words, use of words in figurative meanings are unacceptable, synonyms are used to an insignificant extent (as a rule, they belong to the same style).

Typical for business language are complex words formed from two or more words: tenant, employer, material and technical, above, below, etc. The formation of such words is explained by the desire of business language to accurately convey meaning and unambiguous interpretation. The same purpose is served by phrases of a “non-idiomatic” nature, for example, destination, higher education institution, tax return, joint-stock company, housing cooperative, etc. The uniformity of such phrases and their high repetition lead to the clichédness of the linguistic means used, which gives the texts of an official business style a standard character.

Official business speech reflects not individual, but social experience, as a result of which its vocabulary is extremely generalized in semantic terms, i.e. Everything that is sharply unique, concrete, and unique has been eliminated, and the typical has been brought to the fore.

Business speech is characterized by the use of verbal nouns (replenishing the budget, providing housing, serving the population, taking measures) and participles (given, indicated, above-named). Complex denominative prepositions are widely used (in part, along the line, on the subject, in order to avoid, upon reaching, upon returning).

Typically, a sentence contains a fairly large amount of information and is designed to be read again. Simple sentences are often complicated by homogeneous members, which is due to the need to exhaust the subject of the message. Passive structures are actively used; complex sentences with a subordinate clause: “The procedure for conducting the meeting and examining additional evidence, if it was presented, to the appellate instance is determined by the presiding officer. As a general rule, explanations from the persons participating in the case and their representatives are first heard. First, the person who filed the appeal and his representative speak. In the event of an appeal by both parties, the plaintiff will act first.”

In this passage, the first sentence is a complex sentence with a subordinate clause. The following sentences contain several participles (participating, submitting), a passive verb (being heard), and a complex denominative preposition (in the case). Strict logic and precision of presentation determine the sequence of actions in the presented situation. This text acts as a regulation and establishes the procedure for considering an appeal.

Official business style is the style of documents: international treaties, government acts, legal laws, regulations, charters, instructions, official correspondence, business papers, etc.

Despite the differences in content and variety of genres, the official business style is generally characterized by a number of common features. These include:

1) conciseness, compact presentation, economical use of language;

2) standard arrangement of material, frequent obligatory form (identity card, various kinds of diplomas, birth and marriage certificates, monetary documents, etc.), the use of clichés inherent in this style;

3) widespread use of terminology, names (legal, diplomatic, military, administrative, etc.), the presence of a special stock of vocabulary and phraseology (official, clerical), inclusion of complex abbreviations and abbreviations in the text;

4) frequent use of verbal nouns, denominative prepositions (based on, in relation to, in accordance with, in fact, by virtue of, for the purposes of, at the expense of, along the line, etc.), complex conjunctions (due to the fact that, due to the fact that, due to the fact that, due to the fact that, etc.), as well as various stable phrases that serve to connect parts of a complex sentence (in case ...; on the basis that ...; for the reason that ...; with that the condition that ...; in such a way that ...; the fact that ... etc.);

5) the narrative nature of the presentation, the use of nominative sentences with listing;

6) direct word order in a sentence as the predominant principle of its construction;

7) a tendency to use complex sentences that reflect the logical subordination of some facts to others;

8) almost complete absence of emotionally expressive speech means;

9) weak individualization of style.

11. Journalistic style of speech: purpose, genres, stylistic features and linguistic features.

The subject of journalism is life in society, economics, ecology - everything that concerns everyone.

The journalistic style is used in the socio-political sphere of activity. This is the language of newspapers, socio-political magazines, propaganda radio and television programs, commentaries on documentaries, the language of speeches at meetings, rallies, celebrations, etc. Journalistic style is speech activity in the field of politics in all the diversity of its meanings. The main means of journalistic style are designed not only for message, information, logical proof, but also for the emotional impact on the listener (audience).

Characteristic features of journalistic works are the relevance of the issue, political passion and imagery, sharpness and vividness of presentation. They are determined by the social purpose of journalism - by reporting facts, forming public opinion, and actively influencing the mind and feelings of a person.

Journalistic style is represented by many genres:

1. newspaper – essay, article, feuilleton, report;

2. television – analytical program, information message, live dialogue;

3. oratorical - speech at a rally, toast, debate;

4. communication – press conference, “no tie” meeting, teleconferences;

§2. Functions of journalistic style

One of the important features of the journalistic style is the combination within its framework of two functions of language: the message function (informative) and the influence function (expressive).

The information function is inherent in all styles of speech. Its specificity in the journalistic style lies in the subject and nature of the information, its sources and recipients. Thus, television programs, newspaper and magazine articles inform society about the most diverse aspects of its life: about parliamentary debates, about the economic programs of the government and parties, about incidents and crimes, about the state of the environment, about the everyday life of citizens.

The way of presenting information in a journalistic style also has its own distinctive features. Information in journalistic texts not only describes facts, but also reflects the assessment, opinions, and sentiments of the authors, and contains their comments and reflections. This distinguishes it, for example, from official business information. Another difference in the provision of information is due to the fact that the publicist strives to write selectively - first of all, about what is of interest to certain social groups, he highlights only those aspects of life that are important to his potential audience.

Informing citizens about the state of affairs in socially significant areas is accompanied in journalistic texts by the implementation of the second most important function of this style - the function of influence. The goal of the publicist is not only to talk about the state of affairs in society, but also to convince the audience of the need for a certain attitude towards the facts presented and the need for the desired behavior. Therefore, the journalistic style is characterized by open bias, polemicism, and emotionality (which is caused by the desire of the publicist to prove the correctness of his position).

In various journalistic genres, one of the two named functions can act as the leading one, while it is important that the influence function does not displace the information function: the promotion of ideas useful to society should be based on complete and reliable information to the audience.



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