Executive Documents in the Functional Styles System of the Russian Language

Abstract

This article determines the role of executive documents in the system of functional styles of the Russian language. She also describes linguists’ viewpoints on intra-style differentiation within the official style. Additionally, the article provides a typology of documents worked out in the theory of documentation and the practice of records management, as well as a number of classifications of written legal acts employed in legal science. The analysis of various conceptions allows the author to conclude that the written executive discourse is not congruent with any of the sub-styles of the official style singled out by scholars. On this basis, the author suggests that to denote the texts under consideration, the term ‘executive discourse’ should be used, which is defined as a specific kind of language used in the cognitive communicative activity of executive officials performing functions established by law (state administration, law-making, law enforcement, control and supervision over implementation of laws, etc.), determined by the interaction of the executive power representatives with various subjects and expressed in an integral system of genres. Various genre forms belong to the executive discourse (decree, order, direction, regulations, bylaws, statutes, letter of response to a citizen’s appeal, special-purpose programme, press-release, review, etc.), some of which form the core of the official style and some are hybrid entities. The fact that there is a specific communicative field with texts functioning in it is proved by the analysis of the material selected.

Keywords

• функциональная стилистика
• официально-деловой стиль
• внутристилевая дифференциация
• деловой текст
• документ
• дискурс исполнительной власти.