“No” and “net” as response tokens in English and Russian business discourse: In search of a functional equivalence

The literature on English suggests that turn-initial no fulfils a variety of discourse-pragmatic functions beyond its use as a negative response to polar questions. We cannot assume that the same range or distribution of functions is realised by its nearest Russian equivalent, net . Hence, investigating the contrasts and similarities in the nomenclature and distribution of functions of no and net should pose an important research problem for various discourses, and especially for business discourse with its focus on goal-orientation and productive interpersonal relations requiring adequate interlingual interaction. The study examines how no and net occur in two corpora of spoken business/professional discourse in order to establish their functional comparability and reveal the differences in their use. The article draws on data from the Cambridge and Nottingham Spoken Business English Corpus and the Russian National Corpus analysed using a combination of corpus linguistics, conversation analysis and discourse analytical approaches. Study results show some overlap between the functions of the response particles in English and Russian, and some differences. The findings suggest that no / net display a number of functions connected with conversational continuity, topic management, turn-taking and hedging. The distribution and functions of no/net in the English and Russian data are similar, with the Russian data showing a preference for floor-grabbing no -initiated turns. Translation equivalence is not always fully applicable between no and net . A mixed methodology generates results which suggest that fruitful insights can be gained from English and Russian corpus data. The issues of the use of no and нет in English and Russian business discourses can be further investigated using the suggested data and conclusions.

PECULIARITIES OF TRANSLATION OF TEXTS OF GERMAN-SPEAKING OFFICIAL AND BUSINESS DISCOURSE

The purpose of our article was to analyze the peculiarities of the translation of texts of German-language official business discourse. The object of our research is international agreements between Ukraine and Germany (German and Ukrainian), and the subject is the peculiarities of their translation. It should be noted that the documents of interstate nature on the legal basis of relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and Ukraine, which are posted on the website of the Embassy of Ukraine in Germany (Botschaft der Ukraine in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland) and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kyiv Києві (Botschaft der Bundesrepublik Deutschland Kiew). In our study, we used general scientific methods (induction and deduction, analysis and synthesis), methods of linguistic analysis, such as communicative-pragmatic and interpretive analysis of the text, as well as contrastive translation analysis, which is considered the main method of comparing the original text and translated text. The article describes the lexical, grammatical and stylistic features of the texts of international agreements, taking into account the specifics of the official business style in the German and Ukrainian language pictures of the world. The texts of the analyzed agreements are the sphere of concentration of nationally marked vocabulary and features of the socio-political state of the country. The level of translation of formal agreements implies the preservation of the stylistic features of the original text as much as possible. The study found that current trends in the translation of official business discourse, including international agreements, show that the typological features of the German and Ukrainian languages impose restrictions on the use of translation transformations such as tracing, preferring lexical-semantic transformations (concretization) and grammatical substitutions (replacement of grammatical category, replacement of grammatical form, syntactic transformations of sentence structure). At the same time, for the transfer of non-equivalent vocabulary there is an increasing tendency to use the nominations established for the practice of translation and international communication in the framework of equivalent translation, transliteration, to a lesser extent - transcription. Within the framework of text units, complex transformations are often more obvious when translated into Ukrainian. Key words: official business discourse, German-Ukrainian international agreements, professional translation, translation strategies.

Quantitative Distribution of Verbal Structures with Reference to the Authorship Factor in Legal Stylistics

The paper aims at describing the findings and conclusions formulated in the analysis of the authorship factor in legal discourse. It is hypothesised that verbal structures show systemically varied distribution across legal discourse and the relevant distinctions run through the authorship categories. When it comes to the aim of the research it draws on the tradition of sociolinguistic methodology targeting issues related to language variation which follows the basic assumptions of functional grammar. From the point of view of the material covered by the analysis it contributes to the research on legal discourse and specifically on its specialised domain referred to as corporate, company or business discourse. It provides additional empirical data pointing to the non-homogeneity of the legal style and formal distinctions originating from rich contextual background. The study is conducted on the material of a custom-designed corpus of English legal texts, classified as secondary genres. Methodologically, the study makes use of the tenets of supervised search of digitalised corpora and automatic data extraction based on discrete units, subsequent identification of recurring longer contiguous and/or non-contiguous sequences, if any, built around the axis of specific verbal structures and finally qualitative comparative analysis (characterisation) of the material. The discussion presents sample data and focuses on the most salient categories, both quantitatively and qualitatively. The inductive approach confirms the formal divergencies in the communicative situation covered by the analysis. The findings encapsulate patterns and tendencies in the quantitative distribution of verbal structures depending on the authorship category. It may be concluded that authorship is a factor delineating distinctions as regards (i) the repertoire of grammatical instruments exploited (verbal structures), which contributes to the specific stylistic profile of given authors. This shows that the thesis posed is verified positively and the study shows further, more detailed distinctions running through groups of subcategories distinguished within the authorship categories specified upon the start of the research.

Using Metadiscourse to Enhance Persuasiveness in Corporate Press Releases: A Corpus-Based Study

Previous studies have explored the genre characteristics and persuasive nature of press releases. However, systematic analyses of the metadiscursive devices for persuasive purposes are lacking for corporate press releases. Following a corpus-assisted approach, this study investigates the distribution patterns of different types of metadiscourse resources used to achieve persuasiveness in the corporate press release genre. A quantitative analysis of the corpus under study reveals the different frequencies of metadiscourse devices in corporate press releases, and comparisons are made across different genres with similar persuasive attempts. The factors underlying the similarities and differences in metadiscourse use across genres are also examined. A qualitative analysis supported with examples illustrates how different types of metadiscourse devices contribute to the rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos and help to enhance persuasiveness. Major findings and their implications for business discourse learners and researchers as well as business practitioners are presented. The article ends with its limitations and recommends avenues for further research in this line of inquiry.

Teaching written foreign language communication in a nonlinguistic university

The article discusses the problem of effective written foreign language communication teaching, substantiates the need to develop a methodology for teaching written foreign language communication in a nonlinguistic university. The relevance of the research is due to the high interest of employers in employees possessing foreign language business discourse skills. Business writing skills are one of the factors for a young specialist's success. The study of the issue of training competent specialists remains in the problem field of teaching written foreign language communication in a nonlinguistic university. The problem of teaching foreign language writing was touched upon, however, the task of teaching foreign language discourse remains relevant in a nonlinguistic university and requires resolution of the contradiction between the need for specialists with written foreign language communicative competence and the development of the issue of teaching written foreign language communication in a nonlinguistic university. The purpose of the research is to develop a methodology for the development of written foreign language communicative competence in a foreign language practical lessons in a nonlinguistic university. In the course of the research the literature on the topic has been analyzed, the methods of observation and comparison have been used, and a pedagogical experiment has been carried out. The research results are of practical importance. They can be used by foreign language teachers in a nonlinguistic university in teaching «Professional foreign language», «Business foreign language», «Foreign language for professional communication», «Foreign language for business professional communication», «Foreign language in the professional sphere», «Technical foreign language», «Foreign language in the field of professional activity», «Foreign language for the profile of training». The study has showed that teaching written business discourse will be more successful if the learning process is based on a communicative-cognitive approach, the content of educational materials is situational, and an effective control system is developed.

LINGUO-CULTUROLOGICAL RESEARCH OF THE ENGLISH AND RUSSIAN PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS IN BUSINESS DISCOURSE

In the present research work, the authors conducted a linguocultural study of English and Russian phraseological units, verbalizing business relationships and compared both linguocultures in the framework of national mental attitudes. Business communication, being the main sociocultural factor of a modern world, supports intercultural communication. In the research work the authors focused on phraseological units used in business communication. The research objective is to identify the types of metaphors in the English-language publicistic texts of economic orientation and to describe the specificity of their realization. The originality of the study is conditioned by the necessity to study the metaphor as an efficient mechanism of communication and a discourse-formative factor. The research findings allow the authors to identify the basic sources of metaphors and to reveal their modifications in economic discourse.