Situational and Morphological Analysis of Foreign Trade Contracts Based on Register Theory

Abstract

Register theory, one of the significant theories in systematic-functional grammar, can date back to Contextualism and finally formed the systematic Register framework by famous linguist Halliday M.A.K. This theory has blazed the trail in the linguistic research. Register consists of three parts: field, tenor and mode, every language has its specific Register system, which changes along with different time, place, environment, objects and purposes. Foreign trade English, deriving from the specific language context of international business, possesses its own language features. Based on this background, the paper analyzes foreign trade contract, one type of foreign trade English, from the two aspects including situational and morphological features. The thesis uses the method of enumerating the real Foreign Trade Contract cases and it aims to find the relations between situational prediction and morphological reflections.

The thesis can be divided into three parts. The first part introduces the features of Foreign Trade Contract from its forms and functions. The second part presents the Register Theory from the three aspects of development, definition and function. The third part takes some real cases as examples and analyzes their situational and morphological characteristics. 

This thesis finds the relationship between situational prediction and morphological reflection, plus, the powerful predictive function of Register Theory can be widely used in contract writing. The proficient use of this function can help the expressions more appropriate and effective.

Key Words: Register Theory, Foreign Trade Contracts, Morphological Analysis