Translation Course Kulikova I.V. Lecture 9 Functional styles

Translation Course Kulikova I.V. Lecture 9 Functional styles of language

Functional style - a system of interrelated language means, which serves a definite aim in communication.

Functional styles are: official, scientific, publicist, newspaper bell-lettres.

Official style Business documents Legal documents Diplomatic documents Military documents

Official style The communicative aim -to reach an agreement between 2 parties in an undertaking: a) the state and the citizen, or citizen and citizen (jurisdiction); b) a society and its members (statute or ordinance); c) two or more enterprises or bodies (business correspondence or contracts); d) two or more governments (pacts, treaties); e) a person in authority and a subordinate (orders, regulations, authoritative directions); f) the board or presidium and the assembly or general meeting (procedures acts, minutes).

Official style Vocabulary Language – formal, matter-of-fact(сухой) . Bookish words and phrases: plausible (=possible) благовидный hereinafter (=below) в дальнейшем whatsoever (=at all) ни при каких обстоятельствах to endeavour (=to try) прилагать усилия to proceed (=to go) приступать inquire (to ask) запрашивать

Official style Vocabulary Special terminology to satisfy market demands plenipotentiary(полномочный представитель) court’s judgment to lodge a complaint (подать жалобу)

Official style Vocabulary Abbreviations, contractions MP - member of Parliament Gvt- government Ltd – limited Co – company POTUS - President of the United States VPOTUS - Vice President of the United States

Official style Syntax non-finite forms (Gerund, Participle, Infinitive) in order to achieve cooperation solving the problems complex structures with them we expect this to take place the conditions being violated

Official style Composition Preamble, Main text body, Concluding part.

Official style Composition The preamble - statement explaining what the agreement is about and stating its parties. e.g. The States concluding this Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, hereinafter referred to as the Parties to the Treaty, have agreed as follows…

Official style Composition The main text body - numbered articles of the conditions on which the parties reach the agreement. Article 1. Each nuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty undertakes not to transfer to any recipient whatsoever nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices or control over such weapons or explosive devices directly, or indirectly.

Official style Composition The concluding part: the signatures of the duly authorized people that have signed the document; the amount of copies of the document; the date (more often than not, stated by words, not by figures); the place

Official style Composition The concluding part: eg In witness whereof the undersigned, duly authorized, have signed this Treaty. Done in triplicate, at the cities of Washington, London and Moscow, this first day of July one thousand nine hundred sixty-eight.

Scientific style articles, brochures, monographs, dissertations, other scientific and academic publications.

Scientific style The communicative aim - to prove a hypothesis, to create a new concept, to disclose the internal laws of existence, development, relations between different phenomena, etc. Language - objective, precise, unemotional.

Scientific style Vocabulary Words associated with professional communication: carbon dioxide germ (патогенный микроорганизм) relativity theory Learned words: homogenious - гомогенный, divergent - дивергентный

Scientific style Vocabulary Latin words videlicet (viz)- а именно, то есть habeas corpus - предписание о представлении арестованного в суд ibidem - там же, в том же месте

Scientific style Syntax Extended attributive phrases the greenhouse effect fossil fuel (ископаемое топливо)burning the World Peace Conference

Scientific style Syntax Passive voice constructions Then acid was taken. It should be pointed out… It must not be assumed…

Scientific style Syntax Non-finite forms The measures suggested are worth considering (= It is necessary to think about what we have suggested). Quotations “Why is scientology the fastest growing religion of 21st century?” –asked L. Ron Hubbard.

Scientific style Composition Article composition title, author’s affiliation, abstract (annotation), introduction, body, conclusion, acknowledgements, appendix.

Scientific style Composition Foot-notes(сноски) – notes at the bottom of the page. References (ссылки) – notes in the text and after the text.

Newspaper style The main aim - to inform, instruct, to entertain.

Newspaper style Types of materials brief news items and communiqués (an official statement or announcement), press reports (parliamentary, of court proceedings, etc.), articles purely informational in character, advertisements and announcements.

Newspaper style Vocabulary Special political and economic terms stability, elections, anti-terror war Non-term political words officials, hostages, kidnappers, protest, breakdown Bookish words war hysteria, escalation of war, overwhelming majority, a storm of applause

Newspaper style Vocabulary Newspaper cliches public opinion, free markets, long-term agreements Abbreviations WTO (World Trade Organization), EEC (European Economic Community), CNN (Cable News Network)

Newspaper style Vocabulary Neologisms cybersickness (a feeling of illness caused by using a computer for long periods of time) genetically modified (GM) stagephoning

Newspaper style Vocabulary Foreign words carte blanche (= complete freedom; from French); glitch (= a small fault in working of something; from German) помеха, «глюк»(sl) macho (= a man who is always trying to show that he is strong, brave; from Spanish)

Newspaper style Syntax Complex sentences with a developed system of clauses Although Mayfield denied any connection he insisted his passport had expired last October and he hadn’ t been out of the country in years, he was detained as a material witness in a grand-jury investigation while the FBI tries to build its case (Newsweek, 2004). (6 clauses)

Newspaper style Syntax Specific word order: the “five-w-and-h-pattern” rule (who-what-why-how-where-when). A neighbour’s peep through a letterbox led to the finding of a woman dead from gas and two others semiconscious in a block of council flats in Eccles New Road, Salford, Lancs., yesterday.

Newspaper style Syntax Syntactic constructions (infinitives, participial, gerundial); Demands from Washington are likely to worsen Blair’ s relationship with serving generals. Attributive noun groups the national income and expenditure figures, government anti -terror policies

Newspaper style Advertisements and Announcements Headings: births, marriages, deaths, in memoriam, business offers, personal etc. Telegram-like style: absence of articles, punctuation marks, short sentences.

Newspaper style Advertisements and Announcements ROBUST(крепкий), friendly student, not entirely unintelligent, seeks Christmas vacation job. No wife, will travel, walk, ride or drive and undertake any domestic, agricultural or industrial activity. Will bidders for this curiously normal chap please write Box C. 835, The Times, E.C. 5.

Newspaper style Headlines Main aim – to inform briefly what the text that follows is about and /or show the reporter’s or the paper’s attitude to the facts reported.

Newspaper style Headlines Full declarative sentences Allies Now Look To London Interrogative sentences Do You Love War? Elliptical sentences Initial report not expected until June; Still in danger; Will win.

Newspaper style Headlines Nominative sentences Gloomy Sunday Phrases with verbals Keeping Prices Down. Questions in the form of statements: The Worse the Better? Sentences with direct speech: Prince Richard says: "I was not in trouble”

This is our last lecture in the course. Thank you