Linguistic Pecularities Of Contracts in English

Linguistic Pecularities Of Contracts in English

Contents

Introduction

4

Chapter 1. Contracts. General characteristics and types

7

1. English of documents’ writing

7

2. Theoretical problems of the language of documents

13

3. The structure of contract and its essential clauses

15

4. Types of contracts. Abbreviation

19

Chapter 2. Linguistic peculiarities of contract

23

2.1. Contract as a type of text and its stylistic characteristics

23

2.2. Grammatical peculiarities of contract

26

2.3. Lexical peculiarities of contract

32

Conclusion

38

References

42

Introduction

The interest to the problem of drawing up contracts is not

occasional. Nowadays more and more people are getting involved in the

world of business relationships. As a result of it, business people

need specialists possessing knowledge of the English language used for

writing documents.

Any serious deal should be struck with the help of contracts and

agreements. A written form of agreements is a guarantee that different

people, for example Buyers and Sellers, will cooperate in accordance

with a certain business strategy, and their interests will be taken

into consideration by their partners.

A contract makes clear such things as quantity and quality of

goods, their prices, delivery terms, order of payment, and other

terms. Contract serves to make a business operation smooth and logic.

It also proves seriousness of contracting parties and defines their

responsibilities before each other. An honest word of a businessman,

as well, should be reflected in a contract of a different kind. It is

called intentions agreement and is a manifestation of a wish to do

business. That is, every step and stage of a business deal should be

supported in a legal way, in an official form.

The chosen problem has appeared to be very urgent, because

linguistics lacks its precise description. There is a clear-cut

between formal and informal styles of English, but there is no strict

difference between spoken and written business English. Obviously,

businessmen do not communicate with their companions using intricate

phrases and bookish words. Still, they are obliged to use some formal

clichйs which may sound strange to non-business people, but are

essential for conducting business. Anyway, in the research we have

been trying to investigate the written part of business procedure, and

to analyse texts of contracts considering their specific

peculiarities.

Another thing to be mentioned is that there are very few scientific

researches devoted to the problem of drawing up business documents. As

a result of it, theory of writing business papers, on the one hand,

reflects highly subjective approaches. On the other hand, such

approaches are not unified in accordance with existing rules of formal

English which is also greatly influenced by informal English. Such

influence really exists, but there are no accepted criteria about what

changes should be taken into consideration. That is why people who

draw up contracts suffer quite understandable problems: How should

they do it to sound correct in the foreign language? To what degree

should they be formal in the text of contract, if even English-

speaking people meet difficulties of a special kind in drawing a line

between formal and informal English? However, these problems are side

problems of making up contracts here.

The object of the research, thus, is a contract as a part of a

business deal and a type of written business English. Its subject

comprises investigation of linguistic peculiarities of a contract

which make technique of its writing obligatory for people involved in

drawing up business documents.

The purpose of the research is to investigate peculiarities in

texts of contracts. It is performed through comprehension,

interpretation and analysis of contractual essential clauses, all of

them illustrated by examples from texts of contracts.

The solution of the aim claims for doing away with a number of

certain tasks, such as:

1. to point out main features of formal English as the language of

business correspondence;

2. to describe the structure of contract and to single out its main

clauses which are characteristic of this type of documents;

3. to expose peculiarities of contract dividing them into three

general groups of stylistic, grammatical and lexical peculiarities.

In order to solve these tasks the author of the research has used

methods of studying and analysis of theoretical literature and

practical manuals on the problem; the methods of observation,

description, means of syntactic and semantic analyses.

The research has been performed in four interrelated steps.

Analysis of literature on the problem has logically been the first

stage. After it, theoretical basis of the research has been compiled.

Then the author has picked up examples illustrating grammatical,

lexical and stylistic peculiarities of contracts. At last,

generalisation of results of the research and drawing up final

conclusions have been performed.

In fact, linguistic peculiarities of contracts in comparison with

their structure and functioning in the business world have not been

investigated thoroughly enough yet. There are either economic papers

on forms and types of contracts, or linguistic researches on stylistic

peculiarities of formal English. To state a connection between those

kinds of data and make links between them describing texts of

contracts and to analyse their distinguishing features are the main

factors of scientific novelty of the research.

The practical significance of the research is in possible

application of its results in practice by people who are interested in

drawing up contracts and in the way of doing it correctly. It can be

also be of an interest for people studying problems of style in

English and functional usage of formal and informal styles. The

results of the research can be taken into consideration by students

and instructors of English and English stylistics. As well they can be

used as material for special courses on business English for students

of linguistic and economic departments.

The examples for analysis have been selected by the method of

overwhelming excerption from texts of contracts dated different years.

This fact can be a basis for comparison of linguistic devices used in

them. In order to make analysis of examples more precise, the author

has used data not only of linguistic, but those ones of economic

dictionaries as well.

The structure of the research includes introduction, two chapters,

seven paragraphs, conclusion and references. The total volume of the

research is 43 pages.

Chapter 1. Contracts. Their general characteristics and types

1. English of documents’ writing

A document in its any appearance has always been an important part

of business doing. Business contracts are impossible without

correspondence all over the world. It does not matter, whether you

communicate with your partner on the phone (orally) or through telexes

(in writing). All decisions and terms must be confirmed by documents.

All business papers, both correspondence (letters), telexes,

enquiries, offers, claims (complaints) and contracts (agreements) are

normally associated with striking business deals and their procedure.

Such documents are made up and signed “by a judicious authority and

are of legal importance” [5, P.7]. As a result of it, business

documents are written in accordance with some officially accepted

forms, common for everybody who wants to do business.

The official business language is sometimes called officialese and

differs from other kinds of the English language, mostly because of

specific character of its functional usage, which can be illustrated

in classical terms of style, its predestination, and main features.

A functional style of a language is characterised by the greater or

less typification of its constituents and supra-phrasal units, in

which the choice and arrangement of interdependent linguistic means

are calculated to secure the purpose of communication [3, P.312].

The style of official documents is divided into sub-styles of the

language of business documents, legal documents, diplomacy, and

military documents. The aim of the style of official documents is to

state conditions binding two parties in an undertaking and to reach

agreement between them.

General features of the style of English of documents’ writing are

the following:

1) conventionality of expression;

2) absence of emotiveness;

3) encoded character of the language system (including

abbreviations);

4) general syntactical mode of combining several pronouncements

into one sentence [3, P.316].

The syntactical pattern of business correspondence style is made up

from compositional patterns of variants of this style which have their

own designs. The form of a document itself is informative, because it

tells something about the matter dealt with. From the viewpoint of its

stylistic structure, the whole document is one sentence. It looks like

separate, shaped clauses often divided by commas or semicolons, and

not by full stops, often numbered. Every predicate construction begins

with a capital letter in the form of a participial or an infinitive

construction.

e.g. 3. Claims

3.1. In case of non-confirmity of the quality of the goods

actually delivered by Sellers with the contract specification, any

claim concerning the quality of the goods may be presented within two

months of the date of delivery;

3.2. No claim to be considered by Sellers after expiration of the

above period;

3.3. No claim presented for one lot of the goods shall be regarded

by Buyers as a reason for rejecting any other lot or lots of the goods

to be delivered under the present contract;

3.4. ……… [6, P.202].

This structurally illogical way of combining definite ideas has its

sense. It serves to show the equality of the items and similar

dependence of participial and infinitive constructions or predicate

constructions.

One of the most striking features of this style is usage of words

in their logical dictionary meaning. There is no room for contextual

meanings or for any kind of simultaneous realisation of two meanings.

Words with emotive meanings are not to be found there either [3,

P.31].

Every type of business documents has its own set phrases and

clichйs which may sound strange in colloquial English, e.g. invoice,

book value, currency clause, promissory note, assets, etc. If a person

wants to avoid misunderstanding, he / she should use glossary of

commercial terms, and vice versa.

Indeed, there are many differences in the vocabulary of formal and

informal business correspondence. Much vocabulary of formal English is

of the French, Latin and Greek origin. They are often translated into

informal language by replacing them by words or phrases of the Anglo-

Saxon origin.

e.g. Formal style Informal style

commence begin, start

conclude end, finish, stop

prolong, continue go on

Let us compare examples where these words are used in different

styles.

e.g. I am informing you that the meeting will commence at 4 p.m.

(formal)

I’d like to remind you that the meeting will begin at 4p.m.

(informal)

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]

To be tactful is to avoid causing offence or distress in

correspondence. Sometimes it means disguising or covering up the

truth. In such a case, the use of imperatives should be polite:

e.g. Would you like to stipulate details of the contract?

Let us compare some more examples:

e.g. I suggest that we postponed signing of the contract till

tomorrow. (tactful)

Could I suggest that we postponed signing of the contract till

tomorrow. (tentative and more tactful)

In other cases tentativeness is not connected with tact, but is

simply an indication of the speaker’s reluctance to commit himself /

herself on a given question. To use of might is characteristic of

business correspondence, because it is a more tentative way of

expressing possibility than may. Let us compare two sentences:

e.g. It may have been an error in a business deal.

It might have been an error in a business deal.

In the second sentence might presupposes a greater degree of

uncertainty and sounds more tactful than may.

Texts of business documents are specific and aimed at a definite

purpose. In order to make one’s business work and work effectively, a

person should possess knowledge of language standards in business

letters. Skilful application of this knowledge is somehow determined

by standards of documents’ writing. If a document is written in an

accepted way, it will be assessed by specialists. A unified business

text takes up less time and work to compile in comparison with private

letters.

Since a writer of a business letter has a unified form in front of

him / her, this person follows a set pattern while doing it. All the

writer’s attention is focused on major information and data which

represent the subject of the document. In this way, an addressee can

decode the subject-matter faster, because a document is written in the

standardised form.

Moreover, if business documents are drawn up in a unified and, to

some extent, simplified way, it takes less money spending and saves

time of the dealing sides, and shortens the time of business procedure

as well. A special branch of English linguistics, - business English,

- is devoted to the purpose of simplifying of business making.

Written business English has got certain traits and problems of its

usage, not only for foreigners, but for English-speaking business

people.

2. Theoretical problems of the language of documents

Knowledge of drawing up business correspondence is equal to

communicating with people in a businesslike manner [7, P.4]. A person

should know rules of documents’ writing to make one’s business

effective and profitable. All of them are united under the notion of

style.

A style of the language is a system of interrelated language means

which serve a definite aim in communication [3, P.33]. As has already

been written, the style can be formal (business written English) and

informal (spoken English). The difference of formal and informal

English is a matter of style and attitude of people to each other.

However, it is not an easy matter to draw an exact line between formal

and informal English [8, P.28], and that is the first, and the most

important thing to be clarified in this paper.

English of business correspondence possesses some important

qualities, common for formal style of English as well.

The language of business correspondence is very bookish and is

remarkable for the usage of larger and more exact vocabulary, in

comparison with informal style of communication. Sentences in

documents are longer and their clauses are grammatically fitted

together more carefully, which means a lot of practise for a person

who draws up a contract. It is generally considered and expected that

real business people, experts in their field of activity, should enjoy

the preciseness and careful grammatical construction. It does not

mean, of course, that business people must communicate orally in

formal business style.

Formal business correspondence should be more impersonal. It should

not emphasise the individuality of the writer, and takes little

account of the personal qualities of people who are going to make use

of it. Thus, the speaker should not refer directly to himself or his

readers, but avoid the pronouns I, we, you, and it may also be of a

difficulty for a person.

One more problem is that formal English lacks force and vividness.

The fact that it is formal implies its great dependence on arbitrary

conventions, rather than on natural speech habits [8, P.29]. That is

why it is so hard for non-business people to keep concentrating their

attention on contents of documents all the time, as their attention is

diverted by intricate language use. Some of them will find their long

and complicated sentences rather confusing. Words of formal English

may sound nice, but their meaning is often hard to get through. Very

often a person must read something all over again to make sure what it

means.

e.g. This stipulation being of the essence of the contract, default

by the buyers shall entitle the Sellers to load and ship the

goods as convenient to themselves to any of the ports named in

this contract and Buyers shall take delivery accordingly.

(Extract from a standard form of contract for the sale of timber

through broker in the U.K.) [6, P.229]

Another chief problem to remember about business correspondence is

that it will be read by busy people who usually have no interest in

either one’s personality or his / her problems [8, P.280]. Bearing in

mind that one should not waste anybody’s time and try to gain anything

by impressing your employers, a person uses formal English to avoid

unnecessary details about matters handled, replacing them by strict

routine. To be as clear and brief as possible without sacrificing

clarity is a common trait of any business document.

e.g. The time of delivery of the Turbine Plant against the

above contract expires on the 1st July.

Please inform us by return of post of the progress of

manufacture of the Turbine [6, P.260].

Anyway, in some important business correspondence we may find

deviations from what is called official English of the business world.

For example, if a person wants to get a job or to sign a contract, to

make a sale or to ask somebody for special advice, he / she is likely

to want to make a definite impression on the interlocutor, like in the

example:

e.g. So I spent my green years first in East Germany that

influenced on me greatly (they say I look like a German, joke),

then we moved to live in Siberia where I played an ice hockey,

entered the Secondary School and fell in love with British rock

music. [4, P.35]

This person was applying for a journalist and tried to show his

writing skills.

It does not mean, however, that a person in charge will be much

concerned about one’s personality without knowing a way of using it.

If a person is starting business correspondence on an important

matter, the first thing to do is to consider it all carefully from the

other person’s probable viewpoint, and to go on making business in the

same way.

These are some of the most frequent problems in the theory of

business correspondence which can concern a person who is likely to

get involved in a business undertaking.

3. The structure of contracts and their essential clauses

Contract is a business document presenting an agreement for the

delivery of goods, services, etc., approved and signed by both the

Buyer (exporter) and the Seller (importer) [5, P.131]. By law

contracts are made in writing. When striking a deal, standard

contracts are widely used. Standard contracts are not a must. Some

articles can be altered and supplemented [10, P.12].

The following items are of the greatest importance in any contract:

- contract No.;

- place and date of signing;

- names of the Sides which signed the contract;

- subject of the contract;

- quality of goods;

- price (per unit and total price);

- destination;

- delivery time;

- requirements for packing and marking;

- payment terms;

- conditions of submission and acceptance of goods;

- transport conditions; warranty conditions and sanctions;

- arbitration conditions;

- force majeure;

- judicial addresses of the Sides;

- signatures of the seller and the buyer.

All appendices form an integral part of contract. Contract is drawn

up in accordance with the established form, often on special printed

forms filled in with basic information by one-time writing. Sometimes,

when a transaction is small in volume, a contract may be concluded by

telex [5, P.131].

Now the most significant clauses of contract should be regarded.

The subject-section names the product for sale or purchase. It also

indicates the unit of measure employed in foreign trade for specific

commodities.

The quality of machines and equipment is to be conformed with the

technical specification of the contract. The quality of raw materials

and foodstuffs is determined by standards, samples, and description.

The price stated in a contract may be firm, fixed or sliding. Firm

prices are not subject to change in the course of the fulfilment of

the contract. Fixed price governs in the market on the day of delivery

or for a given period. Sliding prices are quoted for machinery and

equipment which require a long period of delivery.

There are some kinds of payment. A cheque is a written order to a

Bank given and signed by someone who has money deposited there to pay

a certain amount mentioned in the cheque to a person named on it. In

the place of the cheque system Banks provide an international system

of bank transfers. A draft is another order to pay. It is made out by

an exporter and presented to the importer. It is also called a bill of

exchange. A sight draft is a bill which is paid immediately on

presentation. A bill is to be paid at a later date is called a term

draft. There are 30-day, 69-, 90- and 120-day drafts. The payment is

guaranteed with a letter of credit or a revolving letter of credit.

Transport and delivery terms. The so-called door-to-door

(multimodal) transport is wide-spread in shipping now. It involves a

transfer of the goods from one kind of transport to another. The main

carrier often prefers to assume through responsibility for the cargo

he caries. In a through movement of the gods a combined transport

document is issued instead of a traditional Bill of Lading.

Packing goods for export is a highly specialised job. If the goods

are improperly packed and marked, the carrier will refuse to accept

them, or will make qualifications about the unsatisfactory condition

of packing in the bill of lading. Packing can be external (crate, bag)

or internal (box, packet, flask, etc.), in which the goods are sold.

In case of consumer goods packing had a double function. On one hand,

it is for protection. On the other hand – it serves to advertise a

product and attract a customer.

Marking should be in indelible paint with recognised kind of marks.

The cases in which the equipment is packed are to be marked on three

sides: on the top of the case and two non-opposite sides. The marking

shall be clearly made with indelible paint in the languages of the

dealing sides.

Insurance of goods. The export trade is subject to many risks.

Ships may sink or collide; consignment may be lost or damaged. All

sensible business people now insure goods for the full value. The idea

of insurance is to obtain indemnity in case of damage or loss.

Insurance is against risk. While goods are in a warehouse, the

insurance covers the risk of fire, burglary, etc. as soon as the goods

are in transit they are insured against pilferage, damage by water,

breakage or leakage. The insured is better protected if his goods are

insured against all risks. The goods may be also covered against

general and particular loss or damage.

Force majeure is a force against which you cannot act or fight.

Every contract has a force majeure clause. It usually includes natural

disasters such as an earthquake, flood, fire, etc. It can also include

such contingencies as war, embargo, sanctions. Along with this there

are some other circumstances beyond the Sellers’ control. The Seller

may find himself in a situation when he can’t fulfil his obligation

under the contract. When negotiating a contract a list of

contingencies must be agreed on and put into the contract.

When a manager makes up a contract he must not think only of his

one-side interest. He must think in terms of common interest with his

counterpart. Only then will he prove loyal to his partner. In case of

a contingency the Seller must notify the Buyers of a force majeure

right away. If it is done in due time the Buyer may take immediate

action to protect his interest.

A force majeure must be a proven fact. The Seller is to submit to

the Buyer a written confirmation issued by the Chamber of Commerce to

this effect. The duration of a force majeure is, as a rule, 4 or 6

months. After that the Buyer has a right to cancel the contract. The

Seller in this case has no right to claim any compensation for his

losses.

Claims and sanctions. A contract defines rights and obligations of

the parties involved. Most often the Buyer makes quality and quantity

claims on the Seller. The cause for complaint may be poor quality,

breakage, damage, short weight, leakage, etc. The Buyer must write a

statement of claim and mail it to the Seller together with the

supporting documents: Bill of Lading, Airway and Railway Bill, Survey

Report, Quality Certificate are documentary evidence. Drawings,

photos, samples are enclosed as proofs of claims. The date of a

complaint is the date on which it is mailed.

Claims can be lodged during a certain period of time, which is

usually fixed in a contract. During the claim period the Seller is to

enquire into the case and communicate his reply. He either meets the

claim or declines it. If a claim has a legitimate ground behind it the

parties try to settle it amicably. The Seller in turn is entitled to

make a claim on his counterpart if the Buyer fails to meet his

contractual obligations. The Seller may inflict penalties on the Buyer

if there is a default in payment. Financially, legitimate claims are

in large part settled by debit or credit notes [10, P. 12 – 28].

4. Types of contracts. Abbreviations

In order to speed up the preparation of contract documents and to

minimise possibility of errors in them, a unified standardised form of

contract documents, the Master Pattern for Contract Documents, has

been developed. It establishes principles and regulations for the

construction of standardised forms of documents used in foreign trade,

like Supplement to contract, Order and Order confirmation.

Supplement to contract is a business document which is an integral

part of the contract, containing amendments or additions to the

previously agreed contract conditions. The supplement should also be

agreed on and signed by both the exporter and the importer.

Order is a business document presenting the importer’s offer for

dealing which contains specific conditions of a future transaction.

Order Confirmation is a business document presenting the exporter’s

message containing unclaused acceptance of the order conditions. The

Master pattern has also been accepted as a basis for standardised

forms of enquiries and offers, used at pre-contract stages of dealing

[5, P.131 – 132].

Different firms and organisations trading regularly, work out

standardised forms of contracts for typical deals. Such standardised

contracts are printed and include typical rights and duties of the

contracting sides in selling and buying some goods and services. There

are special columns for the names of the Buyer and Seller, names of

goods, their quantity, prices and delivery terms. In case of declining

or adding some terms, people use supplementary columns in a contract

form.

Standardised forms of export and import deals differ greatly and it

makes them two general types of contracts [13, P.146]. Thus, there are

export and import contracts. They reflect different positions of

buyers and sellers in trading. Contracts in import trade are called

orders, and their submission warrancy, and delivery terms, as well as

sanctions are much harder towards the sellers than those ones in

export trade. Standardised forms of import contracts are sent to

potential buyers before getting commercial proposals and, actually,

before striking a deal. The languages of contracts are agreed upon on

the both sides. It goes without saying that information and style are

kept the same not depending on the language of contract.

As textual varieties, contracts are divided into administrative-

managerial, financial-economical, advertising, scientific-technical,

and artistic-publicational contracts(. Functional spheres of their

circulation can be easily guessed from names of contract types in this

classification, and are the subject of economic, rather than

linguistic, study.

Contracts may be differentiated by the subject of a deal. There are

export contracts for the sale of oil products, machinery tools, grain,

timber, the supply of goods, etc. Orders in import trade deal with

ordering and purchasing goods. They are often supported with requests,

remindings, verifications of different terms, guarantee and waving

inspection letters, and many others.

Goods in international trade are transported with the help of

multimodal (door-to-door) shipment. In contracts delivery and

acceptance terms are marked with the International Commercial Terms

(Incoterms) [10, P.16]. So, contracts can be classified in accordance

with the way of delivery. Most of Incoterms are represented as

abbreviations.

The usage of abbreviations, conventional symbols and contractions

is typical of all kinds of documents. Abbreviations are abundant, and

there are special dictionaries to decode them. They serve as signs of

the code supposed to be known only to the “initiated” [3, P.316].

On the whole, there are 14 official Incoterms of deliverance. They

denote:

1. The point of deliverance. EX Works means that the seller’s only

responsibility is to make the goods available at his premises.

EX Ship means that the seller shall make the goods available to

the buyer on board the ship at the destination named in the

sales contract. EX Quay means that the seller makes the goods

available to the buyer on the quay at the destination named in

the sales contract.

2. The way of deliverance. FOB means Free on Board. The goods are

placed on board a ship by the seller at a port of shipment named

in the sales contract. FAS means Free Alongside Ship. That means

that goods should be placed alongside the ship to fulfil the

seller’s obligations. FOR / FOT mean Free on Rail / Free on

Truck. Truck here relates to the railway wagons, and that makes

these abbreviations synonymous. FOB Airport is based on the same

main principle as the ordinary FOB term. The seller fulfils his

obligations by delivering the goods to the air carrier at the

airport of departure.

3. Payment terms. C & F means Cost and Fright. The seller must pay

the costs and fright necessary to bring the goods to the named

destination, but the risk of loss or damage to the goods is

transferred from the seller to the buyer when the goods pass the

ship’s rail in the port of shipment. CIF means Cost, Insurance

and Fright. This term is basically the same as C & F but with

the addition that the seller has to procure marine insurance

against the risk of loss or damage to the goods during the

carriage.

Thus, in Chapter 1 we have made an attempt to clarify some items of

the topic. They are the following:

The nature of the English of documents writing is determined by its

stylistic realisation in written English. The style of official

documents possesses its own features which are reflected in

standardised forms of different documents. They are peculiarities of

the vocabulary, grammar and syntactic constructions, which are the

subject of consideration in the practical part of this paper.

The main problem of writing contracts is embodied in the notion of

stylistic use. Formal style of business English is rather hard to

obtain and to follow. It remains mostly in written form, and its

peculiarities should be strictly observed. Some theoretical problems

of its functioning have already been considered. Nevertheless,

informal English influences it greatly, and even in routine papers we

may find deviations from the accepted form.

It can be explained by the fact that business is made by people,

and not robots. A person’s individuality, as well as emotions and

feelings, more and more often peer into a cool and logical world of

business, creating new problems and possibilities of business English

functioning in texts of contracts and other documents.

We have also defined contract as a typical realisation of formal

business English which possesses the same stylistic features and

follows the same goals as other kinds of business correspondence.

Contents of contract also have specific clauses, and they ensure

division of contracts into certain types in accordance with a side

initiating a deal, a sphere of making a deal, types of goods and their

delivery terms. Very often a way of deliverance is encoded with the

help of special abbreviations. Contracts also possess remarkable

linguistic features revealed in their texts, and they are the subject

of Chapter 2.

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