Styl – dyskurs – komunikacja urzędowa w badaniach diachronicznych (na przykładzie górnośląskich ksiąg kancelaryjnych z XVI–XVIII wieku)

Abstract

The aim of this article is to show a new perspective in diachronic research on communication in the legal and official sphere. Until now, research has focused on the style of texts related to this field of communication, but any analysis has been selective. The introduction of the category of discourse into historical linguistics allows for a more comprehensive view of the source material through the prism of the communication rituals in force at a given period and the principles of constructing texts with specific pragmatic aims and stylistic properties. The subject of the analysis is the records in the official town registers of the early 17 th century concerning real estate purchase and sale transactions. Taking into account the continuity of the officialese discourse, the author shows how texts documenting property changes were formulated at that time and proves that certain structural and stylistic elements continue in the contract genre today. A broader study of the history of the discourse would make it possible to show the formation of new genre forms from pre-existing officialese expressions set in particular time, in a different legal system and communication patterns.