PERFORMING LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS IN GERMAN LEGISLATIVE TEXTS

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22190/JTESAP1904505B

Abstract

The article deals with the functions of legislative texts in German, describes the models of language functions in the context of pragmatic theory, and distinguishes basic, communicative, and specific pragmatic functions of the legal language. The aim of the study is to identify the specific functions of the language and to analyze the peculiarities of their manifestation in the texts of laws in German. The taxonomical and pragmatic methods along with the method of functional analysis were used to create the methodological basis for identifying the specific features of these functions in the texts of laws. As a result of the research, specific language functions were revealed - the functions of nomination, message, communication and influence in German legislative texts. The authors came to the conclusion that the functions of message and influence are more brightly demonstrated in the texts and they are implemented in the text of the law with the help of multilevel linguistic means and their combinations.

Author Biographies

  • Elena Yurevna Balashova, Saratov State Legal Academy

    Elena Balashova is Professor of Linguistics and Head of Foreign Languages Department at Saratov State Legal Academy. Her work centers on using corpus tools in teaching legal English and developing corpus technologies in teaching activities and research. Her major research interests focus on discourse analysis and genre study of legislative texts and legal documents. She has 81 articles in journals and the books of conference materials and 2 monographs in the sphere of cognitive semantics and corpus linguistics. Her doctoral research is dedicated to conceptual and linguocultural analysis of religious discourse in Russian and English languages. She was awarded doctoral degree in Saratov State University in 2016.

  • Olga Vladimirovna Nagoga, Saratov State Legal Academy

    Olga Nagoga is the Associate Professor of Foreign Languages Department at Saratov State Legal Academy. She graduated from the Saratov State University in 2000. Since 2001 Olga has been working at the Saratov State Legal Academy.  In 2004 she submitted her dissertation «Law as a Genre in Modern German Language». Her research interests are connected with the sphere of functional stylistics, pragmatics and discourse analysis. She published 2 monographs dedicated to the study of external factors and language means that form the genre of law in modern German. She has been working at the Dean’s office of Prosecution Faculty in Saratov State Legal Academy as Research Coordinator since 2008.

  • Elena Anatolyevna Makshantseva, Saratov State legal Academy

    Elena Makshantseva is the Associate Professor of Foreign Languages Department at Saratov State Legal Academy. The main goal of her work is improving students’ skills of speaking, reading and translating original English legal texts. Her research interests belong to the sphere of legal terminology: the structure of the terminological meaning, in particular the possibility of functioning complex legal terms both in discourse and language. She has 32 articles in journals and books of conference materials, 2 monographs centered on legal terminology and the history of its development in Russian and English languages. Her dissertation was focused on analysis of semantic structure of legal terms and their axiological connotations.

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Published

2019-12-24

Issue

Vol. 7, No 4, 2019

Section

Petersburg