Linguistic Characteristics of Legal and Administrative Texts

Linguistic Form of Legal and Administrative Texts

Natural language forms the basis of legal and administrative texts, requiring clarity and precision. Consequently, the style is subordinated to the content and is characterized by formality, objectivity, and universality, leaving the issuer with little choice.

Its specific features include a high formal register, highly specialized content and structure, the weight of tradition, and the linguistic forms through which it manifests.

Morphosyntactic Features

• Nominal style: Used to highlight concepts. There is a tendency toward nominalization, substantivalism, and the deletion of the article. Preposed adjectives are often used to highlight the noun phrase.
• Complex sentence structure: Long sentences with subordinate clauses, quotations, references, and clarifications intended to maximize clarity. Some prepositions are replaced by complex phrases.
• Special use of verbs: Shows a tendency toward impersonality and objectivity. Gerunds, participles, and infinitives abound. It also manifests in numerous passive and impersonal constructions, along with an abundance of forms expressing obligation, such as periphrasis and imperatives.
• Expression of distance: Shown through the official use of the plural and the third person rather than the first person.

Lexical Features

At the lexical level, legal documents denote objective impartiality and a cultured tone due to the weight of legal tradition. Technicalities abound, many of which are abstract. Archaisms, buzzwords, clichés, and formulas of courtesy are frequent. An opposite trend to archaisms is the increasing use of acronyms.

Classes of Legal and Administrative Texts

These texts are divided into different classes according to the issuer:

• Legislative: Emanating from an authority that has the power to legislate (e.g., laws, proclamations, regulations).
• Judicial: Arising from the work of courts as a source or result of a process (e.g., sentences, appeals).
• Administrative: Where the issuer is either the administration or a citizen (e.g., contracts, affidavits, claims, certificates, resolutions, requests).