| Abstract [eng] |
This master's thesis examines the expression of instruction in the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany and in the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania. After reviewing the available literature, it was found that only a few works analyse the expression of instruction in constitutions and legal texts in general from a linguistic point of view. For this reason, it was decided to study this topic in the thesis. The aim of this thesis is to examine the linguistic features used to express instruction in the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany and in the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and to determine the similarities and differences in the expression. The analysis has showed that the following linguistic features are used to express instruction in both constitutions: the necessity or prohibition to do something is indicated by the modal verbs sollen ‘shall’, müssen ‘must’, können + Negation ‘can not’, dürfen + Negation ‘may not’ in German and privalėti ‘must’, turėti ‘shall’, neturėti ‘shall not’ and negalėti ‘can not’ in the Lithuanian language. To express instruction in the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany is also used the construction werden-Passiv in the present tense, and in the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania – the passive construction with the passive participle of the present tense. In both constitutions, prohibition is also expressed by the verb verbieten ‘to forbid’ in German and drausti ‘to forbid’ in Lithuanian language. Among other linguistic features, the present tense can also express a generalized, neutral instruction. Some of expressions of instruction are used only in the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, for example the verb bedürfen ‘to require’, the passive construction sein + zu + infinitive or the construction expressing active instruction haben + zu + infinitive. The obligation to do something is also indicated by the participle form of the verb verpflichten ‘to oblige’ and obliegen ‘be incumbent upon’. For the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania these expressions of instruction are not common. Infinitive and the imperative emphasizing the instruction are not used either in the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany or in the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania. A more detailed analysis of one of the expressions of instruction in the constitutions or other legal texts could provide additional insights into administrative language. This work is only a small part of future research, but it can help to gain more knowledge about the expression of instruction in the German and Lithuanian constitutions. |
