Business and Legal Language: A Guide to Types, Documents, and Features

Posted on Oct 3, 2024 in Law & Jurisprudence

Business Language

Business language is a formal written record with legal implications. It commits the sender to the written word through a signature, demanding objectivity, clarity, conciseness, and appropriateness for the recipient. Its scope encompasses administration and management across private and public sectors, including business correspondence, labor and social relations, and interactions between companies and various administrative bodies.

Types of Documents

Private Sector

These documents pertain to commercial, labor, and administrative procedures, as well as informational and social relations. They cover business relationships with customers, suppliers, and government entities (municipal, district, provincial, regional, and state). Key examples within business correspondence include the business letter and its variants (e.g., letter of request for budget, budget transmittal letter, requisition letter, letter of transmittal order, order returned letter, letter of complaint order), along with documents like the packing slip, invoice, and proof of sale.

Public Sector

These documents relate to interactions between institutions and citizens, as well as between public and private entities. Characteristic documents include: the official letter, the certificate, the office memorandum, the application, the declaration, and the public circular or notice.

Business and Professional Documents

These documents concern labor relations in both private and public sectors, covering employee-company interactions and inter-company correspondence regarding labor relations. Examples include: the job application letter, curriculum vitae, employment contracts, the dismissal letter, letter of reference request, the report, and the memo.

Classification by Sender-Receiver Relationship

Documents can be classified based on the sender-receiver relationship:

  • Citizen-issued: Official letter, curriculum vitae, application, statement (to the Administration), job application, budget request, requisition letter, order complaint letter.
  • Administration-issued: Certificate, office memorandum, public notice, circular, report, memorandum, contract.
  • Business and labor-issued: Most business letters (e.g., letter, request for quotation, budget transmittal letter, budget, requisition letter, transmittal order, return letter, complaint letter), employment contract, termination letter, reference request letter, report, memorandum, and circular.

Business Language and Its Features

Business language is used in all documents exchanged between government and citizens. While the administration often uses specific forms, a particular vocabulary and set of formulas are employed when direct contact with the public is necessary.

Features of Administrative Language

The objective of administrative language is to objectively report facts or issue orders to citizens. Key features include:

  • Stereotyped formulas for address (e.g., Excellency, Honorable, Reverend) and text layout.
  • Lexical features:
    • Precise, technical vocabulary.
    • Lexical paraphrases (e.g., “by responding” instead of “replying”).
    • Latin expressions (e.g., surplus, intestate).
    • Ornate grammatical turns (e.g., “all of which is requested…”).
    • References to laws, decrees, and resolutions.
  • Morphological features:
    • Predominance of abstract nouns.
    • Use of the third person singular.
    • Words ending in -ant (e.g., applicant, sender).
    • Frequent use of gerunds (e.g., requesting, obtaining).
  • Syntactic features:
    • Impersonal or passive sentences (e.g., “is called”).
    • Passive sentences without the agent.
    • Long paragraphs with relative and subordinate clauses.
    • Impersonal constructions with “it.”

Typical Administrative Language Documents

Administrative documents can be categorized as:

  1. Citizen to Administration
  2. Administration to Citizen
  3. Workplace/Professional

The Instance (Formal Request)

This document is used to request something from the administration. It’s an argumentative essay with supporting arguments presented in exhibits, leading to the requested benefit. It consists of:

  • Header: Greeting and applicant details (full name, ID, address, contact information, marital status, occupation, etc.).
  • Body: Contains the text with supporting arguments, divided into “Exposes” (reasons for the request) and “Requests” (the specific benefit sought).
  • Closure: Farewell formula, date, signature, and footer (address and title of the recipient authority).

The Appeal

Similar to the formal request, the appeal is used when a request has been denied. It’s addressed to a higher authority.

The Certificate

This document validates an event, achievement, or title. It includes:

  • Header: Letterhead and certifying authority’s details.
  • Body: Begins with “CERTIFIES” or “HEREBY CERTIFIES,” followed by the reason for certification.
  • Closure: Closing phrase, date, signature, seal, and endorsement.

The Office Memorandum

This is a response from a public institution to a request or another institution. It can be a notification, communication, or letter rogatory. It includes:

  • Header: Letterhead and reference (sender initials, department, subject, registration number).
  • Body: Begins with “I inform you that…” or “I communicate that…” followed by the argument and the communication’s core message.

The Circular and the Notice

  • Circular: Used for announcements within businesses or from the administration to citizens. The Municipal Notice is a variant used by the mayor.

The Business Letter

Used for commercial relations, it should be clear, organized, concise, precise, formal, courteous, interesting, and comprehensive. It includes:

  • Header: Letterhead, address, subject, references (S/Ref. and N/Ref.), date, and salutation.
  • Body: Introduction (catchphrase and reference to the subject) and text (concise statement of the matter).
  • Closure: Closing phrase, signature, signatory formula, postscript (P.S.), and annexes.

Curriculum Vitae

Used to present academic and professional credentials. It includes:

  • Header: Applicant’s data (name, ID, address, contact information, marital status, profession, etc.).
  • Body: Academic record, employment history, and other professional details (languages, interests, etc.).
  • Footer: Date, place of issue, signature, signatory formula, and attachments.

Legal Language

Used in legal texts and court cases, legal language aims for clarity. It’s categorized into legislative and judicial texts.

Legislative Texts

These texts regulate citizens’ lives and protect individual and group interests. Examples include laws, royal decrees, decrees, resolutions, constitutions, statutes, and internal regulations.

Judicial Texts

These texts address breaches of law and include claims, judgments, edicts, subpoenas, affidavits, testimonies, and wills.

Main Legislation

Law

A mandatory provision approved by higher state institutions. In Spain, laws are approved by Parliament and ratified by the King. They include:

  • Header: Title, sender (Head of State), law number, type of law, date, and ministry.
  • Enacting formula: “To all who see and hear this… the Parliament has approved and I hereby approve…”
  • Body: Preamble (background, motives, relation to other laws), articles (divided into titles, chapters, sections, and paragraphs), and additional provisions (special cases, derogations, transitional arrangements).
  • Enforcement: Entry into force date, mandatory formula, place and date of proclamation, and signatures.

Royal Decree

Complements aspects of the law. Made by the government and approved by the Council of Ministers. Structure similar to law, including header, preamble, processing formula, body, provisions, date, and signatures.

Decree Law

An urgent arrangement between Royal Decree and Law. Signed by the Prime Minister. Structure similar to Royal Decree.

Constitution

A compilation of essential laws and rights. The Spanish Constitution includes proclamation, royal greeting, preamble, body (articles divided into titles, chapters, sections, and paragraphs), provisions, request to citizens, date, and signatures.

Statute (e.g., Regional Statute, Workers’ Statute)

A document outlining rules for an organization. Similar structure to a constitution.

Main Legal Texts

Claim

A letter requesting a legal benefit. Includes header (greeting, applicant data, issue, authority, defendant data), body (facts, arguments, benefits sought), summonses, annexes, and signatures.

Judgment

A written judicial decision. Includes introduction, statement of facts, legal basis, and final decision.

Edict

A public document summoning individuals or entities involved in a lawsuit. Published in official gazettes and newspapers. Includes introduction, facts, legal basis, signature, and place of publication.

Citation

Similar to an edict but addressed to individuals.

Features of Legal Language

Legal language is often archaic, technical, distant, respectful, and conservative. Features include:

  • Morphosyntactic: Nominal style, abstract nouns, stereotypical adjectives, postponed pronouns, misuse of personal forms, indicative and subjunctive tenses, verbal periphrasis, passive sentences, impersonal sentences, long sentences.
  • Lexical: Latin expressions, legal jargon, archaisms.