Derek Offord - Using Russian - A Guide to Contemporary Usage

2. Within the territory of the Russian Federation advertisements shall be in Russian and, at the discretion of the advertisers, additionally in the state languages of the republics and the native languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation. This provision shall not extend to radio broadcasting, television broadcasting and printed works that are exclusively in the state languages of the republics, the native languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation, or foreign languages, or to registered trade marks (service marks) .

3. It is not permitted to advertise products or to advertise the advertiser himself if the activity in which he is engaged requires special permission (a licence) and that permission (the licence) has not been obtained, or to advertise products which it is prohibited to produce or sell under the laws of the Russian Federation .

If the activity of the advertiser is subject to licensing the number of the licence and the name of the body which issued the licence must be shown in the advertisement .

4. The advertisement of products which are liable to compulsory certification must be accompanied by the sign ‘liable to compulsory certification’ .

5. The use in an advertisement of things to which there are exclusive rights (intellectual property) is permitted in accordance with the provisions laid down by the laws of the Russian Federation .

6. An advertisement must not provoke citizens to violence or aggression or cause panic or incite dangerous actions which might damage the health of physical persons or threaten their safety .

This text is drawn from a recent law passed by the Russian parliament on advertising. It is the first of two texts presented here to illustrate the formal, written register that is used in official, legal and business documents. It exemplifies language used in a dry, unemotional way for the purpose of setting out laws, regulations, codes of practice, duties, 51

2

Passages illustrating register

obligations and rights, or for recording binding treaties, agreements, understandings, contracts and so forth. The great precision for which authors of texts written in this register must strive (exemplified in this document by the frequent recourse to parenthetical definitions (8, 11, 13, 15, 27, 30, 41) necessitates grammatical accuracy. At the same

time the requirement that ideas be expressed in such a way that

misunderstandings or differences of interpretation cannot arise tends to produce inelegant sentences which are intended to be read rather than heard and whose sense may not be clear until the reader reaches the

end of them (see the second sentence in clause 1 and the first sentence in clause 3).

Authors of this sort of document generally follow a well-established pattern (e.g., in this text, the division of the statute into ‘articles’ and the sub-division of articles into clauses). They observe certain

conventions and utilise certain formulae. They eschew those resources of the language which convey emotional nuance (e.g. modal particles, interjections and diminutives) and which are deployed in social

intercourse (or even in the high register that is used for persuasive purposes (see 2.10 below)). They also eschew the non-literal use of language and the rhetorical or stylistic devices (e.g. metaphor, simile) which may characterise texts produced by imaginative writers who are striving for aesthetic impact (devices which may also be encountered in the academic register (see 2.5 above)).

Leaving aside linguistic features that are notable by their absence, we may say that the principal positive feature characteristic of the high register in general that is found in this text is the free use of participles of all descriptions, especially present and past active participles and present passive participles, all of which are sparingly used in lower registers, e.g.

r present active participles: подлeжa´щих (37), угрожa´ющим (45);

r past active participle: вы´дaвшeго (36);

r present passive participles: рaспознaвaéмa (1), испо´льзуeмого (4), осущeствляéмыe (24);

r past passive participles (which, however, do not belong so exclusively in the high register): полу´чeно (30), зaпрeщённых (31), укa´зaны (35).

Features of high register evident in this text that are particularly associated with those sub-divisions of high register which have

informative rather than persuasive purpose (i.e. the sub-divisions

classified here as R3a and R3b) include the following.

r

word-formation

Predilection for verbal nouns, especially with the suffix -ниe:

примeнe´ниe (2), прeдстaвлe´ниe (3), рaспрострaнe´ниe (4),

испо´льзовaниe (5), обрaщe´ниe (6), формировa´ниe (9), поддeржa´ниe

(9), сообщe´ниe (10), рaзмeщe´ниe (17), рeaлизa´ция (31),

лицeнзи´ровaниe (34).

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2.8

R3b: official/business style (commercial)

syntax

r Use of reflexive imperfectives in a passive sense, giving the text an impersonal flavour: нe допускaéтся (11), рaспрострaня´ются (13; see

also 19, 22), повторя´ться (14), зaпрeщaéтся (16), сопровождa´ться

(38).

r ‘Threading’ of nouns in the genitive case: нeрeклa´много хaрa´ктeрa цeлeнaпрa´влeнного обрaщe´ния внимa´ния потрeби´тeлeй рeклa´мы

(7), in which there are no fewer than five nouns in succession in the genitive case. The sequence is made even more cumbersome than a

sequence of this length normally would be by the fact that the first noun in the genitive (хaрa´ктeрa) relates to the noun проду´кция but the last four nouns (обрaщe´ния, внимa´ния, потрeби´тeлeй, рeклa´мы) relate to the noun испо´льзовaниe with which the sentence begins.

r Use of the prepositional phrase в соотвe´тствии с (32), which also has a very formal flavour.

There are various other formal words or turns of phrase in the text that are characteristic of the official sub-division of the high register, e.g.

нeзaви´симо от (3), нaдлeжa´щий (10), соотвe´тствeнно (14), по

усмотрe´нию (20), дополни´тeльно (20), подлeжи´т . . . сeртификa´ции

(37), в поря´дкe, прeдусмо´трeнном . . . (41–2).

2.8

R3b: official/business style (commercial)

дOГOBO´P № ПК-1290

ку´пли-продa´жи вeксeлe´й

Caнкт-Пeтeрбу´рг

‘5’ ноября´ 2004 г.

1. ПPEдME

´ T дOГOBO´PA

5

1.1. ПPOдABE´цпродaёт вeксeля´, укa´зaнныe в п. 1.2. нaстоя´щeго

догово´рa, явля´ющиeся eго´ со´бствeнностью, нe нaходя´щиeся в зaло´гe и нe состоя´щиe под aрe´стом, a БAHКприобрeтaéт их в со´бствeнность

и обязуéтся оплaти´ть их сто´имость.

1.2.Oбъe´ктом ку´пли-продa´жи явля´ются простыé вeксeля´ . . .

10

2. цEHA

´ дOГOBO´PA

2.1. БAHКприобрeтaéт вeксeля´, укa´зaнныe в п. 1.2. по цeнe´ –