Топик: Linguistic Pecularities Of Contracts in English

The meeting concluded with signing the contract. (formal)

The meeting ended with signing the contract. (informal)

Phrasal and prepositional verbs are characteristic of informal style, that is why they are not used in business correspondence. Their formal equivalents are used in official texts instead.

Formal style Informal style

discover find out

explode blow up

encounter come across

invent make up

investigate look into

e.g. In case of discovering discrepancy of quality and quantity of the product inform us immediately.

Spoken English is full of various vocabulary, both standard and slangy. We also have here different connectors, such as well, you see, a kind of which cannot be used in written business English, both logically and stylistically. They are logically excluded because of a little amount of information they convey. Business documents, on the contrary, convey a lot of information in almost any word. Thus, a person should be aware of these factors and not mix up colloquial and business English, drawing up a document.

Informal terms have emotive qualities which are not present in formal language. Formal language often insists on a greater deal of preciseness. But the problem is that there are not always proper equivalents in formal and informal English. The informal word job , for instance, has no formal equivalent. Instead of it, we have to look for a more restricted in usage and a more precise term, according to the context, among possible variants: employment, post (esp. Br.E.), position, appointment, vocation, etc. [16, P.12 – 13]

Business English is formal. We use it in business correspondence, official reports and regulations. Actually, it is always written. Exceptionally it is used in speech, for example, in formal public speeches. There are various degrees of formality, like in the examples:

e.g. After his father’s death , he had to change his job . (informal)

On the disease of his father, he was obliged to seek for alternative employment . (formal)

These sentences mean roughly the same idea, but would occur in different situations. The first sentence is fairly neutral (common core) style, while the second one is very formal, in fact stilted, and would only occur in a written business report.

In general, grammar rules of spoken sentences are rather simple and less constructed than grammar of written sentences, especially in agreements. It is more difficult to divide a spoken conversation into separate sentences, and connections between one clause and the other are less clear because the speaker relies more on the hearer’s understanding of the context and situation, as well as on his ability to interrupt if he fails to understand. The speaker is able to rely on features of intonation which tells us a great deal that cannot be reflected in written punctuation.

The grammar use in business correspondence is also different about the pronouns who and whom , and the place of prepositions:

e.g. She wanted a partner for her business in whom she could confide. (formal)

She longed for a partner (who ) she could confide in . (informal)

In what country was he born? (formal)

What country was he born in ? (informal)

Formal written language often goes impersonal style. That means that one doesn’t refer directly to himself / herself or to his / her readers, but avoids pronouns. Some of the common features of impersonal language are passive sentences beginning with the introductory word it and abstract nouns. The effect of the change into a passive construction is to reverse the focus from the subject to the object of speech.

Abstract nouns, especially amount words (majority, minority, amount ), specify more precisely the meaning of an utterance.

e.g. Announcement from the librarian

It has been noted with concern that the stock of books in the library has been declining alarmingly. Students are asked to remind themselves of the rules for the borrowing and return of books, and to bear in mind the needs of other students. Penalties for overdue books will in the future be strictly enforced . [16, P.13]

It is a very formal and impersonal message which could have been written in a more informal and less impersonal way, achieved by usage of phrasal verbs, contractions, colloquial phrases and other linguistic means:

Librarian’s message

The number of books in the library has been going down . Please make sure you know the rules for borrowing, and don’t forget that the library is for everyone’s convenience. So from now on, we’re going to enforce the rules strictly. You have been warned ! [16, P.13]