a brief study of the linguistic characters in contractual english

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毕业论文ABriefStudyoftheLinguisticCharactersinContractualEnglish1.Introduction12.TheDefinitionofContractandContractualEnglish22.1TheDefinitionofContract22.2TheDefinitionofContractualEnglish33.TheLinguisticFeaturesofContractualEnglish43.1TheLexicalFeatures43.1.1Formality43.1.2Archaism63.1.3Accuracy73.1.4ParallelismofSynonymsandNear-Synonyms73.1.5ModalAuxiliaries103.1.6TerminologicalVocabulary123.1.7Avoidanceofpronouns133.2TheSyntacticFeatures143.2.1LongandComplicatedSentences143.2.2FlexibleSentenceStructure163.2.2.1AdverbialClause163.2.2.2Attributiveclause173.2.2.3NominalStructure193.2.2.4PrepositionalPhrases213.3OtherfeaturesofContractualEnglish233.3.1PassiveSentences233.3.2SimplePresentTense243.3.3Words-and-Numeralsapproachusedtoconveynumbers253.3.4TheCapitalizationofSomeNounsinContract254.Conclusion26References281.IntroductionSincetheadoptionofthepolicytopromotereformandopeningtotheoutsideworld,anincreasingnumberofcompaniesandfactorieshasparticipatedintheforeigntradebusiness.AfterChina’sentrytotheWorldTradeOrganization(WTO)in2001,-29- 毕业论文Chinahasbeenenjoyingrapiddevelopmentofforeigntradewithcountriesaroundtheworld.WhendoingbusinesswithindividualsorotherorganizationsfromEnglishspeakingornon-Englishspeakingcountries,contractswritteninEnglishareusuallysignedamongallpartiesinvolvedinthedealinordertoensurethefulfillmentofobligationandtheenjoymentofrightswhichareindicatedinthecontract.Thus,Englishcontractshavebecomeanindispensablepartoftoday’sbusinesslife.WilliamMurrayoncesaid,“Mostofthedisputesintheworldarisefromwords.”(Net.1.)Hiscommentinformsusthatlanguageisakeyissuefullofsensitivities.Thoughtherehavealreadybeensomebooks,suchasInvestigatingEnglishStylewrittenbyDavidCrystalandDerekDavy,TheElementsofLegalStylewrittenbyBryan,A.Garner,IntroductiontoEnglishStylisticseditedbyWangZuoliang,DingWangdao,dedicatedtothesubjectwhichisthesameastheauthor’s,yetinsufficientpracticalusehasbeenaddressed.TheauthorofthispaperwilldirectthisdissertationtogivethereadersanoverallaccountofthelinguisticfeaturesofcontractualEnglish,soastooffersomeguidelinestocontractdraftersandcontract-draftinglearners.2.TheDefinitionofContractandContractualEnglish2.1TheDefinitionofContractInLawDictionary,StevenH.Giftsdefinesthewordcontractas“apromise,orasetofpromises,forbreachofwhichthelawgivesremedy,ortheperformanceof-29- 毕业论文whichthelawinsomewayrecognizeasaduty”(杨英,2005).L.B.CurzondefinescontractinhisADictionaryofLawas“alegallybindingagreement”(杨英,2005).InContractLawofthePeople’sRepublicofChinaadoptedin1999,contractisdefinedin2ndArticleas“anagreementbetweennaturalpersons,legalpersonsorotherorganizationswithequalstanding,forthepurposeofestablishing,altering,ordischargingarelationshipofcivilrightsandobligations”(杨英,2005).2.2TheDefinitionofContractualEnglishEachbusinessorcorporationtendstodevelopitsownjargon(Net.2).BeforediscussingwhatisContractualEnglish,akeynotionmustbesetupthattheEnglishlanguage,spokeninmanycountries,hasvarietiesasaresultofregiondivision,vocationdivisionandsciencedivision.Thesevarietiesoverlaponeanotherinlinguisticsmainly.LikescientificandtechnologicalEnglish,medicalEnglish,commercialEnglish,financialEnglish,advertisingEnglish,andsoon,legalEnglishalsooverlapswithalltheseEnglishvarietiesandthosenotcitedinthispaper.Yet,onethingmustbepointedoutisthatlegalEnglishisacategoryofappliedlinguistics,whichisprofessionalEnglishwithlegalprofessionaltechnicalfeatures.ContractualEnglishiscommonlyregardedasacategoryoflegalEnglish,whichisusedtodraftcontractsnotonlybetweenEnglish-speakingcountries,butalsobetweenEnglish-speakingcountriesandnon-English-speakingcountries.-29- 毕业论文3.TheLinguisticFeaturesofContractualEnglishAccuracy,precision,sobrietyinlanguagearethethreemostimportantcharacteristicsinanykindofcontract.Aestheticandgorgeouswordsshouldbeavoidedindraftingacontract.BelowarethelinguisticfeaturesofContractualEnglish,whichwillbediscussedintermsoflexicon,syntax.3.1TheLexicalFeaturesWhendraftingacontract,thedraftermustbearsevenbasicrequirementsofthewordswritteninthecontractinthemind:formality,archaism,accuracy,parallelismofsynonymsandnear-synonyms,modalauxiliaries,terminologicalvocabulary,andavoidanceofpronouns.3.1.1FormalityItistheformalityofstylethatdistinguishesContractualEnglishfromtheordinaryEnglishwrittenorspokenindailylife.AccordingtohisfamoustheoryinthebookTheFiveClocks,MartinsJoosclassifiedthestyleofEnglishlanguageintofivelevels:“thefrozenstyle”,“theformalstyle”,“theconsultativestyle”,“thecasualstyle”,“theintimatestyle”(1961).Itisthefrozenstyle,thehighestdegreeofformality,-29- 毕业论文thattowhichtheContractualEnglishbelongs.ThereareagreatnumberofformalwordsinContractualEnglish.Hereisonlyaproportionlistedasfollow:OrdinaryWordsFormalWordsaboutwithregardtoaroundapproximatelybeforepriortobegin/startcommence/initiateendterminateexplainconstruefinishcompleteincaseofineventoftellinform/notifyuseemploy(李丽,2005)Theformalityalsocanbeseeninsentences,forexample:①.ThisContractshallbegovernedbyandconstruedinaccordancewiththelawsofChina(Net3).②.TheAgreementshallcommenceonthisdayandautomaticallyterminateuponthebankruptcyorinsolvencyofeitherofthepartieshereto(张惠清,2007).③.Theterm“Effectivedate”meansthedateonwhichthisAgreementisdulyexecutedbythepartieshereto(Net3).-29- 毕业论文TheformalityofContractualEnglishnowrevealsitselfbytheabovewordsandsentencesinasense.Thephenomenathatpeoplearenotfamiliarwiththeformalvocabularyismainlyduetopeoplelearnthemeaningsofthewordand,therefore,usethesewordsthattheyfrequentlyencounterintheirdailylife.Onlyaftercontractdraftersgetacquaintancewiththeformalvocabularycantheyemploythesewordsindraftingcontractswithoutsomanydifficultiesasthenormalpeopledo.3.1.2ArchaismArchaismsareold-fashionedwordswhichpointtoanotherpartofthetextinwhichtheyarefound,ortoanotherplaceortime(Gibbons,2003:41).Usually,theyaretheOldandMiddleEnglishwords.TheformeristhelanguageexistingbeforetheNormanConquestanddownto1100A.D.,whilethelattercoverstheperiodfrom1100A.D.toabout1500A.D..Unlikeotherkindsoflanguage,ContractualEnglishstillretainitsstylethathasalmostbeendroppedoutbypresent-day’sdailylanguage.ContractualEnglishrefusestochangeitsstyleinthatitisabranchoflegalEnglish,assaidabove,whichisconservative.HiltunenpointedoutinhisChaptersonLegalEnglish:AspectsPastandPresentoftheLanguageoftheLaw(1990)that“Languagechangescontinually,butthelanguageofthelawisconservative,tendingtoresistchangeandchanging”.Lawyerstendtoholdthebeliefthatarchaismsenableclearerandlessambiguousmeaningandcarrygreaterweightandauthoritytothelanguageitself(Gibbons,2003).-29- 毕业论文Suchkindofold-fashionedEnglishwordsareusuallyacompoundcomposedofanadverbandoneprepositionortwo.Forexample,hereto,hereinafter,therein,thereas,whereas,whereof.Thecommonlyseenadverbsarehere,thereandwhere,whilethefrequentlyusedprepositionsareafter,at,by,from,in,of,to,under,upon,andwith.Thesecompoundwordsofarchaismdocausepeopledifficulttounderstandtheexactmeaning.3.1.3AccuracyAcontractdraftershouldbearinthemindanytime,anywherethatallprovisionsandtermsmustbestatedwithonehundredpercentofaccuracy,avoidingtoarousinganydisputesduetounclearnessand/orambiguityinlanguage.Perspicuityoflanguageshouldbeputfirstpriorityindraftingacontract.Onewaytoachievethatresultistouseaccuratewords.Thedraftershouldhaveaperfectcommandofthesubtlediversitiesbetweenthewordanditssynonymsand/ornear-synonyms.Theotherwayistorepeatthewords,suchasthenounsormodifiers,avoidinggettingtiredofrepetitionandtheusageofpronounsandomission.3.1.4ParallelismofSynonymsandNear-SynonymsThefourthlinguisticfeatureofContractualEnglishistheparallelismofsynonymsandnear-synonyms,byconnectingtwopartswiththeconjunctionsof“and”and“or”.Theusageofparallelismofsynonymsandnear-synonymsisintenttomakethelanguagemoreprecise,moreaccurate,andmorecomplete,andtoreducethe-29- 毕业论文ambiguity.Asisoftenthecase,thesecondpartoftheparallelismistoreaffirmandcomplementthefirstpart.Ifthereisanydisputeorargumentamongallpartiesconcerned,thereduplicationofsynonymsandnear-synonymscanbehelpfultotheunderstandingoftheprecisemeaningofacertainwordandtosolvethedispute.Anotherreasonfortheconjoiningofsynonymsandnear-synonymsisthattheyareofacertainrhetoricalvalue.Theymayprovideafeelingofeleganceorsignificancetowhatwesay,asCharlesDickens,inDavidCopperfield,recognized:Inthetakingoflegaloaths,forexample,deponentsseemtoenjoythemselvesmightilywhentheycometoseveralgoodwordsinsuccession,fortheexpressionofoneidea;as,thattheyutterlydetest,abominate,andabjure,andsoforth…[W]earefondofhavingalargesuperfluousestablishmentofwordstowaituponusongreatoccasions;wethinkitlooksimportant,andsoundswell(PeterTiersma,LegalLanguage,1999:64).ThefollowingparagraphisexcerptedfromanAmericanpropertytransfercontract:FORVALUERECEIVED,theundersigneddoesherebysell,transfer,andsetoverto__________allhisright,titleandinterestinandtoacertaincontractdated______,19_____byandbetweentheundersignedand_______,acopyofwhichisannexedhereto.Inthislongsentence,itcanbeeasilyfoundthat“sell,transfer,andsetover”and“right,titleandinterest”aretwogroupsofsynonymsandnear-synonyms,while“in-29- 毕业论文andtoacertaincontract”and“byandbetween”aretwogroupsofrelevantwords.Moreover,someoftheparallelismofsynonyms,near-synonymsandrelevantwordsarefixedstructureincontracts.Forexample:①ThisagreementismadeandenteredintobyandbetweenPartyAandPartyB(Net3).②Theagreementshallbeandremaininfullforceandeffectinallrespects(Net3).③ThecompanyherebyreleasesanddischargesPartyAfromfurtherperformanceofanyduties,obligationsorliabilitiesundertheamendedagreement(Net3).④Thefindingofthearbitratorastothevalueofthepartnershipshallbefinalandbindinguponthepartners,theirheirs,successors,andassigns(Net3).Asisnoted,madeandenteredinto,byandbetween,infullforceandeffect,releasesanddischarges,duties,obligationsorliabilities,finalandbindingarethefixedexpressionsusedincontracts.Moresynonymsandnear-synonymsaresuggested:nouns:powerandauthority,kindandnature,etc;verbs:alterandchange,bindandobligate,etc;adjectives:soleandexclusive,finalandconclusive,etc;subordinateconjunctions:whenandas,etc;prepositions:overandabove,fromandafter,etc(杨一秋,2003).-29- 毕业论文3.1.5ModalAuxiliariesOncethecontractissignedbyalltherelevantparties,towhomthelegalforce,whichisputintoenforcement,bearsrestriction.Therefore,thewordsmustbestrictlyselectedindraftingcontracts,especiallythemodalauxiliaries,whichneedthoroughconsideration.Threecommonlyseenmodalauxiliariesare:shall,mayandshallnot.Eachofthemcarriesdifferentmeanings,andindicatesdifferentforces.FrederickBowers(1989)classifiestheillusionaryforcesoflegislativeprovisionsinto:1)Imperativelanguage——“shall”impliesanobligationtodoanact;2)Facultativelanguage——“may”confersaright,privilegeorpower;3)Prohibitivelanguage——“shallnot”imposesanobligationtoabstainfromdoinganact.AccordingtoBowers,“shall”,“may”,“shallnot”arethemostcommonlegalperformativeverbsandactwiththeillocutionaryforcesofobligation(“shall”),permission(“may”)andprohibition(“shallnot”).1)Theword“shall”(old-fashionedandformal)is,accordingtoLongmanDictionaryofContemporaryEnglish,usedinofficialdocumentstoshowalaw,command,obligationandcompulsion.“Shall”,usedincontract(s),istoconveythemeaningthatwhatistobetheobligatoryconsequenceofalegaldecisionratherthansimplyasasymbolofthefuturetense,andcanthusbeparaphrasedas“have/hastheobligationto”.Oneexampleiscitedbelowtobettercertifytheauthor’sopinion:-29- 毕业论文TheL/Cshallreachtheseller30daysbeforetheshipment(陈建平2000).Inthissentence,“shall”denotesthecompulsiveobligationofthebuyer,which,therefore,inreturn,reflectsthefactthatacontractisalegaldocument.Inlegaldocuments,manyverbalgroupsareofthetype:“shall”+verbor“shall”+be+pastparticiple.Typicalexamplewouldbequotedasfollows:①Withinthevalidityperiodofthetechnologytransferagreement,PartyBshallprovidethejointventurecompanywiththeimprovementofthetechnologyandtheimprovedinformationandtechnologicalmaterialsintime,andshallnotchargeseparatefees(莫再树2003).②PaymentshallbeeffectedwithinsevendaysafterreceiptoftheshippingdocumentsstipulatedunderClause10ofthiscontract(廖瑛，莫再树2005).2)Permission:“may”confersaright,privilegeorpowerInviewofsemantics,theword“may”conveysthemeaningofpermission,benefit,rightorprivilegeandisusedtopermitanactionortogivesomeonetherightstodoanactionwithoutanyintervention.AccordingtoLongmanDictionaryofContemporaryEnglish,“may”meanstogivepermissiontoperformortoallowtoperforminganact.Thefollowingistoexemplifythepoint:TheliquidationcommitteemayengagetheservicesofaccountantsandregisteredinChinaforpurposeofrenderingadvicetotheBoard(胡庚申等，2004).3)Prohibition:“shallnot”imposesanobligationtoabstainfromdoinganact-29- 毕业论文“Shallnot”isnottoperformanactionandisfrequentlyusedincontracts.Otherformsthatcarrysimilarmeaningare:maynot,neither…may.Withinthevalidityperiodofthetechnologytransferagreement,PartyBshallprovidethejointventurecompanywiththeimprovementofthetechnologyandtheimprovedinformationandtechnologicalmaterialsintime,andshallnotchargeseparatefees(莫再树2003).Inthisexample,PartyBisputintoapositionoffulfillingaspecificobligation.“Shallnot”expressesandindicatescompulsionandprohibition.3.1.6TerminologicalVocabularyLikeotherindustries,legalEnglishhasestablishedawholeglossaryofitsownstandardvocabularyandwideapplications,amongwhichlegaltermsoccupyaprominentposition.AsabranchoflegalEnglish,contractualEnglishalsocontainsalargenumberofwordsthatarenotusedatallinordinaryspeech.Themeaningofterminologicalwordsinthecontractshasbeenstabilized,clarified,singleandprecise.ThisstrikingfeatureofcontractualEnglishisexclusivetootherfieldsandmakescontractualEnglishhardtounderstand.Forexample:TheLicensorshalldiscloseanddelivertotheLicenseetheLicensor’sknow-howaspromptlyaspracticableaftertheeffectivedateofthisAgreement(莫再树,2003).Peoplemaybecomeconfusedinthattheword“know-how”doesnotmakesensetothem.Inthiscase,“know-how”indicatesexclusivelytheproduction,employment,-29- 毕业论文andsaleofthespecifiedcharteredmerchandise,aswellasalltechnologicalinformation,design,productioncriterionandothermaterialsthatfailtofallintherangeofpatent.3.1.7AvoidanceofpronounsAnotherlexicalfeatureofContractualEnglishistheavoidanceofpronouns.Inpeople’sdailyspeechandwriting,aparticipantwillbeintroducedforthefirsttimebyclearreference,especiallybythenameofapersonoraspecifiedsubjecttootherparticipantsinvolvedintheconversationorwriting,suchasBillGates,NASA,theDeclarationofIndependence,etc..Aslongasthepersonorthesubjectisknownandcleartoallparticipants,peopleprefertouseapronountoidentifythepersonandthesubject.However,incontracts,pronounsareseldomused.Thereasonisthatprecisionandunambiguityarepriortoanythingelse.Ifnot,disputeswouldarouseduetotheuncleardirectioncausedbypronouns,sometimesitmayevencausegreatlossestoallpartiesconcernedinthecontract.Forexample:TheAuthorshallbearthecostofanynecessaryfeesfortextualandillustrativepermissionnutthePublishersagreetopaysuchfeesontheAuthor’sbehalfuptoanagreedmaximumamountandmaydeductthesamefromanysumsthatmaybecomeduetotheAuthorunderthisAgreement(夏康明,2003).Inthisexample,everytimetheauthorofthebookismentionedinthecontract,-29- 毕业论文“Author”isusedtosubstitutethepronoun“he/she”inordertoavoidanypossibledifferentinterpretationorunderstandingoftheparticipantinlaterdaysifanydisputewouldbearoused.Tothateffect,thedrafterpreferstouseofthenoun-“Author”repeatedlyratherthanthepronountoclarifytheobligationsandresponsibilitiesbetweentwoparties.3.2TheSyntacticFeaturesSyntaxreferstotherulesgoverningthewaywordsarecombinedtoformsentencesinalanguage,orsimply,thestudyoftheformationofsentences.(胡壮麟，2001：115)ComplexityandflexibilityaretwokeysyntacticcharacteristicsofEnglishcontracts,accompaniedwithpassivesentences,simplepresenttense,words-and-numeralsapproach,andcapitalization.Inthissection,thesyntacticfeatureswillbediscussedasfollows.3.2.1LongandComplicatedSentencesAsEnglishcontractisaformallegaldocument,contractdraftersshouldfirstputtheirfocusonaccuracy,correctnessandunambiguous,avoidingmisunderstandingandmisusebyallmeans.Intheinterestthateffect,theonlypossiblewayistoarrangealltheinformationintotheformofcomplexsentences,capableofstandingalonebymeansofanarrayofsubordinatedevices.Sometimesoneortwosentencescanbearrangedintooneparagraph.Forexample:Ifanybankatanytimeshallobtaintotalorpartialpaymentofany-29- 毕业论文amountpayablehereunderotherthanpursuanttoSection3．3orSectionl1．3orSection14．4orbydistributionbytheAgentpursuanttoSection12．1，suchbankshallforthwithpaytotheAgenttheamountsoobtained，andtheAgentshallapplyanddistributesuchamountpursuanttotheprovisionsofSection12．1asifsuchamountwereapaymentmadebytheBorrower；provided，however，that，ifanyBankatanytimeshallobtaintotalorpartialpaymentofanyamountpayablehereunderbyexercisingarightofsetoff，banker’lienofcounterclaim，suchbankshallforthwithpurchasefromtheotherBank’ssuchparticipationsintheloansmadebysuchotherbanksasshallbenecessarytocausesuchpurchasingBanktosharesuchamountratablywithsuchotherBanks；andprovidedfurther，however，that，ifalloranyportionofsuchamountisthereafterrecoveredfromsuchpurchasingBank，thepurchaseshallberescindedandthepurchasepricerestoredtotheextentofsuchrecovery，butwithsuchadjustmentsofincreaseasshallbeequitable．(夏康明,2000)Suchkindofpracticeiswidelyobservedandmaintainedforthefollowingreasons:1)Duetotheformerlackofpunctuation,traditionally,theentiretextofastatuteisformulatedintoonesentence.2)Moreover,legaldocumentsusedtobehand-writteninonecompactmass.Thereasonforunbrokenlinesbymarginmayleavenospaceforafraudulentaddition.InEnglishcontracts,sentencesusuallyrunthroughawholeparagraphandevena-29- 毕业论文wholearticleorprovision,inordertoavoidunnecessaryrepetitionsorconfusingcross-referencesledbyaseriesofshortsentences.Forbetterunderstandingofcontracts,itisnecessarytofindout,first,themainclauseofthelongandcomplicatedsentence,thenallsubordinatesentencesandmodifiers.Itisonlybydoingsothatcancontract-readersgetacomprehensiveandaccurateunderstandingwithoutbeingconfusedormisledbytheseeminglyunreadable,inseparablestructure.3.2.2FlexibleSentenceStructureFollowingthefeaturejustmentionedabove,thesecondsyntacticfeaturecanbesummarizedasflexibility.IftheEnglishisnotaflexiblelanguage,therewouldnotbesomanyadverbialclausesandattributiveclauses,whicharekeycomponentstothesentences.Withouttheseadverbialclausesandattributiveclauses,terms,conditions,provisions,obligations,rights,andsoonandforth,cannotbeprecisely,definitely,explicitly,comprehensivelyandall-roundlystated,declaredordenoted,thus,itwouldcauseobligationunfulfilled.3.2.2.1AdverbialClauseAdverbialclausesareemployedtoensureallthepartiesconcernedwillexercisetherightsandfulfilltheobligationsagreedandstatedinthecontract.Conditionaladverbialclauseismostcommonlyused,whichadoptsthetypicalstructureof:IfX,-29- 毕业论文thenYshall/may/mustdoZ;orIfX,thenYshall/may/mustnotdoZ.Forexample:Shouldthegoodsbefound,ontheirarrivalatdestination,tobedifferentfromthesample,ifbythatdifferencetheircharacterisnotaltered,ortheyaremerchantableconditionthoughinferiorinqualitytothesample,theBuyershalltakedeliveryofthegoodsonconditionthatareasonableallowanceistobemadeonthecontractpricebysubsequentnegotiations。GoodsmustnotbereturnedexceptbypermissionoftheSeller(夏康明,2000).Itcanbeclearlynotedthattherearefourconditionaladverbialclausesinthefirstsentence,namelyrespectively:①Shouldthegoodbefound…;②ifbythatdifferencetheircharacterisnotaltered…;③iftheyareinmerchantablecondition…;④onconditionalthatareasonableallowanceistobemade…Englishcontractischaracterizedbytheabundantuseofconditionaladverbialclauses.Otherconjunctionscapableofconnectingthemainclauseandtheconditionaladverbialclauseare:where,incase,intheeventthat,so/aslongas,unless,andsoon.Inversionisanothermarkerofconditionaladverbialclause,byputting“Should”atthebeginningoftheadverbialclause,indicatingmoreorlessthesamemeaningas“incase”or“ineventof”.-29- 毕业论文3.2.2.2AttributiveclauseInanEnglishsentence,anunlimitednumberofattributiveclausesmayfollowthewordbeingmodified.ThesameistrueandpracticableinEnglishcontracts.Consequently,thereisnocorrespondencebetweenthesentencestructureandsomeefficientwayswillbedevelopedtotackletheprobleminthetranslationofEnglishattributiveclauses.Theattributiveclauses,sometimes,maycausesomedifficultiesinunderstanding.Forexample:TheContractorshal1,inaccordancewiththerequirementoftheEngineer，affordallreasonableopportunitiesforcarryingouttheirworktoanyothercontractorswhoareemployedbytheEmployerandtheirworkmenandtotheworkmenoftheEmployerandofanyotherdulyconstitutedauthoritieswhomaybeemployedintheexecutiononorneartheSiteofanyworkwhichisnotincludedintheContractorofanycontractwhichtheEmployermayenterintoinconnectionwithorancillarytotheworks；if，however，theContractorshall，onthewrittenrequestoftheEngineerortheEngineer’sRepresentative，makeavailabletoanysuchothercontractor，ortotheEmployeroranysuchauthority，anyroadsorwaysforthemaintenanceofwhichtheContractorisresponsible，orpermittheusebyanysuchoftheContractor’sscaffoldingorotherplantonthesite，orprovideanyotherserviceofwhatsoevernatureforanysuch，theEmployershallpaytotheContractorinrespectofsuchuseorservicesuchsumorsumsasshall，intheopinionoftheEngineer，bereasonable(夏康明,2000).-29- 毕业论文Thislongsentenceiscomposedofnineclauses,amongwhichsixareattributiveclauses,namelyrespectively:①anyothercontractorswhoareemployedby…;②anyotherdulyconstitutedauthoritieswhomaybeemployedin…;③anyworkwhichisnotincludedin…;④thecontractorofanycontractwhichtheEmployermayenterintoin…;⑤themaintenanceofwhichtheContractorisresponsible…;⑥suchsumorsumsasshall…beresponsible.Thelong,tediousandcomplicatedsentencestructureistheconsequenceoftheexistenceofabundantattributiveclauses.Inviewofpreciseness,accuracyandexplicitness,theconcisionofsentenceis,therefore,putintotothesecondplaceinthedrafter’smind.Thecontract-readersshould,first,pickuptheantecedentthatistobedeterminedandmodified;second,makeacleardistinctionbetweentheantecedentsandothersentenceelement.Onlybythiscanthereaderunderstandthetermsandprovisionspreciselyandaccurately.3.2.2.3NominalStructureAbstractnominalphrases,withalargenumberofpre-modifiersorpost-modifiers,areusedintentionallytosubstitutetheverbs,bothofwhichareofthesameorigin,andtoconveythelogicalrelationshipwiththeverbs,forthepurposeofformality,concision,preciseness,andobjectiveness.Followingaresometypesof-29- 毕业论文nominalstructures:1)Connectthesubjectandtheobjectby“of”①ThattheL/CcomplieswithwhatisstipulatedintheContractisofvitalimportance.②(NominalStructure)ThecomplianceoftheL/CwiththestipulationsoftheContractisofvitalimportance.2)Connecttheverbandtheobjectby“of”①OneofthemostimportantfactorsisthatproceedsaretransmittedfromtheBuyertotheSellerintransactionsmoothly.②(NominalStructure)OneofthemostimportantfactorsisthesmoothtransmissionofproceedsfromtheBuyertotheSellerintransactions.3)Connectthephrasewith“by”bytheuseof“of”,andtransformthesubordinateclauseintoanominalphrase①Thebothpartiesfulfilledthecontractsatisfactorilywillbethebasisforthedevelopmentofbusinessandfurthercooperation.②(NominalStructure)Thesatisfactoryfulfillmentofthecontractbybothpartieswillbethebasisforthedevelopmentofbusinessandfurthercooperation.4)Transformthepassivestructureintoanoun①IthasbeenagreedthatPartyBmayusethetrademarksownedbyPartyAforthesaleoftheWashingMachinescoveredhereinwithinthevalidity.②(NominalStructure)AnagreementhasbeenmadethatPartyBmas-29- 毕业论文yusethetrademarksownedbyPartyAforthesaleoftheWashingMachinescoveredhereinwithinthevalidities5)Transformtheverbintoanoun,theadverbialintoanadjective①Thequality，quantity，conditionand/orweightofthegoodsorderedbythebuyershallstrictlyconformtotheContractstipulations.②(NominalStructure)Thequality，quantity，conditionand/orweightofthegoodsorderedbythebuyershallbeinstrict/exactconformitywiththeContractstipulations(莫再树，2003)3.2.2.4PrepositionalPhrasesContract-draftersfrequentlyadoptandwritealargenumberofprepositionphrasesinthecontractinordertoensurethepreciseness,accuracy,unambiguityandcorrectunderstandingofthetermsandprovisionsinthecontract.Theseprepositionphrases,whichcanbeusedasadverbials,attributivesorpredicatives,arefreetobepositionedinmanycases.Oneprepositionphraseconsistsofasingleprepositionoracompoundpreposition(intheformofPreposition+Noun+Preposition).Someexamplesofcompoundprepositionswillbelistedbelow:SinglePrepositionsCompoundPrepositionsbybyvirtueofbymeansofunder/accordingtoinlinewith-29- 毕业论文inagreementwithinconformitywithinlightofinaccordancewithabout/concerningwith/inrespecttowithregardtowithreferencetotowithaviewtowiththeobjecttoduring/ininpursuanceofinthecourseofforonaccountofasaresultofinrespectofforthepurposeofifintheeventthataftersubsequenttobeforepriorto(吴坚敏,2006)Nextisalongsentence,whichiscommonlyseenintheControversyinthecontract,andmostlycomposedofcompoundprepositions:Anycontroversyunderthiscontractorarisingbetweenthepartiesor-29- 毕业论文outoforforbreachoforinrelatingtothisContractshallbedeterminedbyarbitrationtobeheldintheCityofNewYorkpursuanttothearbitrationlawoftheStateofNewYorkandundertherulesoftheAmericanArbitrationAssociation，theawardmadeuponsucharbitrationshallbefinalandbindinguponbothparties(夏康明,2000).Comparativelyspeaking,compoundprepositionsreadmoreformallyandpowerfullythansingleprepositions,andareasfrequentlyusedasadverbialclausesandasattributiveclauses.3.3OtherfeaturesofContractualEnglish3.3.1PassiveSentencesTherearetwovoicesinEnglish-activeandpassive.Activevoiceemphasizesdirectness,concisenessandforce,which,onthecontrary,wouldbedeemphasizedbypassivevoice.Passivevoiceis,therefore,usedinEnglishcontractswhenthedoerisnotknowntothepublicorthereceiverofanactionneedstobeclarified.Thiscanbeillustratedinthefollowingexample:Anirrevocable,withoutresource,confirmed,divisible,partialandtransshipmentallowedletterofcreditpayableagainstdraftatsightshallbeopenedinfavouroftheSellersthroughabankacceptabletotheSellers(夏康明,2000).Inthisexample,theconsequenceofopeningaL/Cisofvitalimportance.ItistheSellersthatmatterinreceivingtheL/C,andtherefore,theuseofpassiveofvoice-29- 毕业论文makessignificantsensehere.ItistruethatpassivevoiceiscommonlyusedinEnglishcontracts,yetundersomecircumstances,usingpassivevoiceneedscarefulandthoroughconsiderationinthatifthepassivevoiceisusedinthesentencesinthetermsandprovisionsinvolvingobligations,responsibilitiesandrightsofthepartiesconcerned,itmayarouseambiguity,evenill-definedpowersandresponsibilities.3.3.2SimplePresentTenseAsfarastheTenseisconcerned,EnglishcontractusuallyadoptstheSimplePresentTensetoindicatetheobligations,responsibilitieshavebeenputenforcementafterthesigningofthecontract.Ashasbeendiscussedabovein3.1.5,“shall”impliesanobligationtodoanact,and“may”confersaright,privilegeorpower,while“shallnot”imposesanobligationtoabstainfromdoinganact.Thesentencesincontractwithsuchkindofmodalauxiliariesareexpressedinsimplepresenttense,neverstatingvaguelyabouttherights,responsibilitiesandobligationsofthepartiesthatshouldbefulfilledandenforced.Followingistoexemplifytheargument:Formanybusinesstransactedbetweengovernmentsofbothparties,PartyAmayhandlesuchdirectdealingsasauthorizedbyPartyA’sgovernmentwithoutbindinghimselftothisAgreement(莫再树,2003).Incontract,sometimesotherkindoftensescanbeusedoccasionallyaswell,whichisdeterminedaccordingtothecircumstances.Forexample:TheundersignedSellerandBuyerhavehelddiscussionsrelatingtothe-29- 毕业论文processingandassemblingofplastictoyproductsandhaveagreedtoclosefollowingtransactionsaccordingtothetermsandconditionssetforthasbelow(夏康明,2000).3.3.3Words-and-NumeralsapproachusedtoconveynumbersMostcontractdraftersusebothwordsandnumeralstoconveynumbers:forty(40)days;TenThousandFourHundredandTwenty-TwoDollars($10,422);fivepercent(5%);soonandsoforth.Suchkindofapproachwillcertainlyreducethechanceoferrors.Moreover,contractdraftersvaluetheeye-catchingnumeralsyetrecognizethattheyaremorevulnerabletotypographicerrorsthanthewordsare,andsodecidethatusingbothsystemswouldaffordtheimmediacyofnumeralswhileprovidinginsuranceagainstapotentiallydrasticmistake.3.3.4TheCapitalizationofSomeNounsinContractSomeinitialsarecapitalizedforthepurposeofconveyingsomethingisimportantandneedsthecontractreader’sgreatattention.Generallyspeaking,thosewordsusedtorefertotheparties,thetitleofanorganization,thecontract/agreement,theproduct,thetitleofalaw,regulationetc.arecapitalized.Specificexamplescanbeseenasfollows:PartyA;WorldTradeOrganization;Agreement;LicensedProduct;ContractLawofthePeople’sRepublicofChina;etc..-29- 毕业论文Samplesentence:ThisAgreementismadeandenteredintobyandbetweentheChinaNationalLightIndustrialProductsImportandExportCorporation,GuangdongBranch(hereinaftercalledSupplier)andABCCompany(hereinaftercalledDistributor)wherebySupplieragreestogranttoDistributortheexclusiverighttoselltheProductsintheTerritoryonthetermsandconditionsstipulatedasfollows:…4.ConclusionAfteritsmilestoneentrytotheWTO,Chinahasaccelerateditsparticipationintotheeconomicglobalization,whichinevitablyoffersstrongimpetustoflourishingcontractsdraftingandtranslation.Fordecades,contractdraftinghasunfortunatelybeenaccessibleonlytoasmallgroupofpeople.ItistruethatContractualEnglish,acategoryoflegallanguage,iscomplicatedandterminological,and,therefore,difficultforthelaymantounderstand.Fortheconvenienceofforeigntradebusinessmen,contract-draftinglearnersandcontractreaders,theauthorofthispapertriestomakeabriefstudyofthecharactersofContractualEnglish,basedonthetheoryputforwardbyHuZhuanglininhisLinguistic.ACourseBook.Inmodernsocieties,especiallyinEnglishspeakingcountries,anincreasing-29- 毕业论文amountofpeopleaskfortheuseofplainEnglishincontract.However,mostofthecontractsthatwecanreadtodaystillcarrythefeaturesofarchaicwords,synonymsandnear-synonyms,terminologicalvocabulary,longandcomplicatedsentences,alargeadoptionofadverbialclauseandattributiveclause,prepositionalphrases,etc.Itseemsthatgreatereffortsmustbemadetoachievethegoalthatcontractiswritteninplain,simple,clear,directlanguageandisunderstandablefornormalpeople.-29- 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