Prielinksnio „dėl“ konstrukcijos administracinėje lietuvių kalboje

RASUOLĖ VLADARSKIENĖ Institute of the Lithuanian Language THE CONSTRUCTIONS OF THE PREPOSITION DĖL IN ADMINISTRATIVE LITHUANIAN KEYWORDS: administrative language, document titles, prepositions, syntax. Statistical data show that the preposition dėl is quite frequent in Lithuanian. In the Frequency Dictionary of Contemporary Written Lithuanian (in descending order of frequency) (Grumadienė, Žilinskienė 1997), it is the forty-first word (seventh among prepositions). In the texts from which the dictionary was compiled, 2,637 occurrences of this preposition were recorded in 782 samples. The prepositions dėl is more frequent than are iš, su, nuo, po, apie, už. The statistical data for administrative language are somewhat different: here, the most frequent preposition is dėl. On 2 October 2014, 327,555 documents were found in the database of legal acts of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, and 127,788 documents in the database of legal acts and other public documents of the European Union, “EUR-lex,” in which this preposition occurs, often more than once. The order of the other most frequent prepositions is similar both in the Frequency Dictionary of Contemporary Written Lithuanian and in the database of legal acts of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania: į occurs in 242,298 documents, iš in 176,533 documents, su in 168,894 documents, pagal in 162,718 documents, nuo in 152,767 documents, už in 128,514 documents, apie in 102,762 documents, and po in 87,746 documents; and in the “Eur-Lex” database: į occurs in 96,736 documents, iš in 90,732 documents, su in 90,709 documents, pagal in 85,325 documents, nuo in 61,572 documents, apie in 55,087 documents, po in 43,030 documents, and už in 41,532 documents. As can be seen, dėl is particularly widespread in administrative language, and its frequency of use in this domain differs from its frequency in the language as a whole. Therefore, constructions with this preposition can be considered a specific feature of administrative language. The question arises as to why the preposition dėl has become so frequent in this domain and which linguistic means it replaces. The aim of the article is, after discussing the meanings of the preposition dėl in dictionaries and other linguistic works, to examine the most characteristic instances of its use in administrative language, the reasons for the spread of constructions with the preposition dėl, and the competition they face. The object of the article is documents published in 2012–2014 in the “EUR-lex” database of European Union legal acts and other public documents. These documents are considered a variety of administrative Lithuanian, so it is likely that the changes observed here will spread throughout administrative language. BENDRINĖ KALBA | 87 (2014) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 RASUOLĖ VLADARSKIENĖ. Prielinksnio dėl konstrukcijos administracinėje lietuvių kalboje | 2 MEANINGS OF THE PREPOSITION DĖL DŽ6 states that the preposition dėl is used in Lithuanian: 1) to indicate a cause: I will not go because of the cold. They argued over trifles; 2) to indicate a purpose: To fight for freedom. Just in case (for that eventuality); 3) to indicate concession: You may go, as far as I am concerned; 4) to explain the meaning of a sentence: She is beautiful in appearance; dėl ko adv. for what reason, why: Why didn’t you come? dėl to adv. for that reason, therefore: I did not come because I was ill. The same meanings are also given in LKŽ8. These dictionaries do not mention a currently highly relevant meaning of the preposition in administrative language—that of expressing a characteristic. Jonas Šukys (1998: 379–385) prielinksnio dėl reikšmių nurodo daugiau – septynias: priežasčiai, paskirčiai, tikslui, nuolaidai, atžvilgiui, objektui, požymiui reikšti. Dar kitaip prielinksnio dėl reikšmės pateiktos KP S2 (39–40): prielinksnis dėl vartojamas reikšti priežasčiai, paprastai turinčiai dingsties, objektyvaus pagrindo (Dėl ligos negalėjau ateiti; Dėl kitų kalbų poveikio žodžio reikšmių sistema gali kisti) arba nuolaidos (Dėl kelių litų nieko nesakys) atspalvį; tikslui (Komandos lenktyniavo dėl nugalėtojo vardo); objektui su kalbėjimo, emocinio reagavimo ir pan. veiksmažodžiais (susitarti, derėtis; jaudintis, apgailestauti, rūpintis); požymiui (Byla dėl žalos atlyginimo, diskusijos dėl pranešimo); bendrajai dokumentų turinio sričiai (nutarimas „Dėl šilumos tiekimo rajono gyventojams“). Šiuose leidiniuose aptartas ir netaisyklingas prielinksnio dėl vartojimas. KancKP says that this preposition is most often used to express cause: Does not attend the meeting because of illness; I request to be relieved of my duties because of deteriorating health; it is also widely used to indicate the content of an object and matters related to it, and may express the cause, grounds, nature, or simply the subject area of the matter described: Agreed on joint work; Spoke about the draft resolution; Sued for damages. A review of the classification of the meanings of the preposition dėl in the publications mentioned above shows that J. Šukys, and later KP S2, distinguished the meanings of object and characteristic. KancKP notes that “This prepositional construction is often used with document titles or other deverbal nouns: lease agreement for an apartment (and apartment lease agreement), application for a pension, complaint concerning defamation, opinion on the project, on the report; comments on the resolution, discussion of the report, proposals for school construction.” KP S2 also specifically mentions that constructions with the preposition dėl are used to express the general subject area of documents. To clarify more precisely the use of constructions with the preposition dėl in administrative language, 50 documents from European Union institutions published in the “Eur-lex” database in 2013–2014 were examined. A total of 817 instances of the preposition dėl were found; its meanings were distributed as follows: 1. 154 constructions were used to express cause; for example: Because of this reduction, the entire programme may be at risk, OJ C 067, 2014 03 06; However, because of the strict application of competition policy, difficulties arise in laying the foundations for economic recovery and a strong and competitive economy, OJ C 067, 2014 03 06; Nevertheless, some Member States indicated that, as provided for in Article 2(3) of the decision concerning the description, they considered it impossible to provide more data because of national circumstances, EC Report COM/2014/536, 2014 09 01; The gap is widening primarily because of the economic and financial crisis in many Western countries, which are the main providers of aid, EC Report COM/2014/537, 2014 08 28; Natural disasters are becoming more frequent and complex worldwide and are having an ever greater impact; moreover, the situation is being exacerbated by climate change, rapid urbanisation and underdevelopment, EC Report COM/2014/537, 2014 08 28; BENDRINĖ KALBA | 87 (2014) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 RASUOLĖ VLADARSKIENĖ. Prie linksnio dėl konstrukcijos administracinėje lietuvių kalboje | 3 2. for purpose – 10, e.g.: Neighbouring countries and Kinshasa continue to compete over resources and control Joint Communication 52013JC0023, 2013 06 19; The number of unaccompanied minors who applied for international protection remained unchanged from 2012 – 12,425 applications were received EC Communication COM/2014/0288, 2014 05 22; Inclusionin the register may be requestedby any economic operator established in the Union OJ L 063, 2014 03 04; 3. for an object with verbs of speaking, emotional response, etc. – 49, e.g.: 2013 m. susitarta dėl peržiūrėtų civilinės saugos teisės aktų EK ataskaita COM/2014/537, 2014 08 28; Dėl šios pozicijos turi būti susitarta tarptautinėje konferencijoje 2015 m. EK ataskaita COM/2014/537, 2014 08 28; Žiniasklaidoje ir verslo pasaulyje daug spėliota dėl politikos priemonių, kurių reikia, kad naujoji Šanchajaus zona nuo pradžių užtikrintų didesnį RMB konvertabilumą Bendra ataskaita Europos Parlamentui ir Tarybai JOIN/2014/018 final, 2014 05 08; Komisija labai apgailestauja dėl lėtos mokesčių, kurie susigrąžinami ne pagal 2003 m. mokėjimo dalimis sistemą ir ne pagal 2009 m. mokesčio grąžinimo sistemą, surinkimo pažangos EK ataskaita COM/2014/0334, 2014 06 06; <...> valstybės narės susirūpino dėl reikalavimų jų oro vežėjams imtis papildomų saugumo priemonių dėl skrydžių į tam tikras trečiąsias šalis EK ataskaita COM/2014/0399, 2014 07 01; Taryba suteikė Europos Komisijai leidimą Europos Sąjungos vardu derėtis dėl žvejybos partnerystės susitarimo EK pasiūlymas COM/2014/0697, 2014 11 09; Europos Parlamentas <...> primena dėl tinkamo galiojančių socialinės ir užimtumo srities teisės aktų įgyvendinimo; apgailestauja dėl aukšto nelegalaus darbo lygio OL C 033 E, 2013 02 05; Susitariančioji institucija tuo pačiu metu, kai praneša dėl atmetimo, konkursą laimėjusiam asmeniui praneša apie sprendimą skirti sutartį Byla T-48/12, Teismų praktikos rinkinys 2014; Vėliau 13 valstybių narių grupė paragino Komisiją parengti pasiūlymus, pagal kuriuos valstybės narės galėtų laisvai spręsti dėl GMO auginimo EK komunikatas COM/2014/0570, 2014 09 10; 4. to the attribute – 335, e.g.: The Committee not only expresses concern about the creation of easy access for cross-border suppliers and SMEs, but also strongly urges that linguistic barriers be taken into account OJ C 67, 2014 03 06; in 2013 discussions continued on the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality principles EC report, 2014 08 05; <...> Member States could discuss with the Commission their relocation needs within the European Union and their intentions regarding such relocation in the future EC Communication COM/2014/0288, 2014 05 22; Public consultations provided debates on elections reform a clearer structure and direction Joint Report to the European Parliament and the Council JOIN/2014/018 final, 2014 05 08; 5. to the general document-content domain in document titles – 273, e.g.: Agreement between the European Parliament and the European Commission on the Transparency Register for organisations and self-employed individuals engaged in EU policy-making and implementation; Commission report to the European Parliament and the Council on the European Union’s borrowing and lending activities in 2013; Publication of an application pursuant to Article 50(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council regarding quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs; Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 871/2014 of 11 August 2014 regarding the reduction of fishing quotas for certain fish stocks in 2014 in view of overfishing in the previous year; Council Directive on consular protection for Union citizens abroad; Council Decision on the start of automated exchange of vehicle registration data with Lithuania; Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the sound level of motor vehicles; Commission Communication on a common European BENDRINĖ KALBA | 87 (2014) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 RASUOLĖ VLADARSKIENĖ. Prielinksnio dėl konstrukcijos administracinėje lietuvių kalboje | 4 development of the railway area; White Paper on deposit-guarantee schemes; Green Paper on the European Citizens’ Initiative; Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council on key competences for lifelong learning; Council resolution on the European strategy for multilingualism; Council conclusions on European cooperation in education and training; Commission staff working document on monitoring and consultation on smart regulation for SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises). Although relatively few instances of the use of constructions with the preposition due to have been examined, their semantic tendencies are clear. Almost three quarters of the cases are used to denote a characteristic or a general area of document content; it is therefore necessary to establish why constructions with the preposition due to are so apt for these meanings. REASONS FOR THE PREVALENCE OF CONSTRUCTIONS WITH THE PREPOSITION DĖL AND THEIR COMPETITORS It is likely that the prevalence of constructions with the preposition due to in administrative language has been caused not only by linguistic but also by non-linguistic (legal-regulatory) factors. The linguistic factors behind the prevalence of this preposition should be considered more important. As for expressing a characteristic through constructions with the preposition due to, it should be noted that they generally include deverbal nouns that can be derived from verbs used with this preposition: doubt about (cf. doubt about); regret over (cf. regret); negotiations on (cf. negotiate over), competition for (cf. compete for); concern about (cf. worry about); agreement on (cf. agree on). For example: <...> moreover, doubts arose about the procedures used to formalise these actions, appropriateness EC communication COM/2014/0700 final, 2014 10 08; the Commission expressed regret over the decision not to follow a sound procedure EC report COM/2014/037, 2014 01 22; with regard to the first three projects, commercial negotiations on gas supplies ended without result EC report, COM/2014/0669, 2014 10 28; <...> it must be ensured that the entire life cycle of such products is sustainable and that competition for land or water OJ L 354, 2013 12 28; <...> expressed concern about abuse in price-setting during the changeover to the euro EC report COM/2014/0706, 2014 11 21; at the end of 2013, a political agreement on the regulation establishing the EU Aid Volunteers initiative Commission report COM/2014/537, 2014 08 28. This structure of constructions has, by analogy, also been applied in cases where a noun is derived from a verb that is not used with the preposition due to, for example: The EU, together with the Member States, helped address all major global crises, in particular taking action in response to the crisis in Syria EC report COM/2014/537, 2014 08 28; or when the noun is non-deverbal, for example: The main cases in which problems arose in relation to the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality EC report, 2014 08 05; Public consultations gave debates on electoral reform a clearer structure and direction Joint Report JOIN/2014/018, 2014 05 08; <...> various smaller rallies concerning BENDRINĖ KALBA | 87 (2014) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 RASUOLĖ VLADARSKIENĖ. Prielinksnio dėl konstrukcijos administracinėje lietuvių kalboje | 5 political, social and economic issues Joint Report JOIN/2014/018, 2014 05 08; arguments on subsidiarity EC, 2014 08 05. Administracinės lietuvių kalbos specialistas Pranas Kniūkšta (2005: 150) gana griežtai skyrė prielinksnių dėl ir apie reikšmes ir rekomendavo jų nepainioti. KancKP patariama prielinksnio apie nevartoti mąstomam ar kalbamam objektui nusakyti, jei reiškiamas ne tik jo turinys, bet ir priežastis ar kiti šalutiniai dalykai, o nurodant tik patį kalbamąjį objektą be jokių pašalinių dalykų, reikėtų vartoti prielinksnį apie, pvz.: Kalbėjo apie darbo planą. Pateikė informaciją apie atliktą darbą. Taigi prielinksnis apie labiau tinka, kai kalbama apie konkretesnius, o prielinksnis dėl – apie bendresnius, abstraktesnius dalykus, kurie dažnai žymimi veiksmažodžių abstraktais, ypač su priesaga –imas (–ymas). Nors prielinksnių apie ir dėl reikšmės ir skiriasi, tačiau prielinksnio dėl konstrukcijos yra dažnesnės, nes jomis galima nusakyti daugiau prasmės atspalvių, pvz.: customer survey on service quality; cf. the rapid Eurobarometer survey on Europeans’ satisfaction with rail transport services EC report COM/2014/0353, 2014 06 16; but survey on the pilot project (cf. on the pilot project); This amendment followed a group survey on the size of the forms used (cf. on the size of the forms used); An opinion is presented on official ERIC applications; an opinion on the reliability of financial statements; an opinion on the Commission’s financial management (cf. on the Commission’s financial management), Stakeholders can now submit their opinion on the planning of consultations on the “Your Voice in Europe” website; comments on the provisions of the ERIC Regulation devoted to legal aspects ; comments on the European Public Prosecutor’s Office’s preliminary financial statements (cf. on preliminary financial statements); collecting data on prescriptions and the use of antimicrobial substances; collecting data on the use of antibiotics; may give a false impression of the product’s origin; a misleading impression as to the origin of the goods would be created. Thus, constructions with the preposition dėl, which have become established in administrative language, are beginning to compete with conventional means of expression and gradually displace them; such competitors would include not only constructions with the similarly meaning preposition apie, but also expressions with other prepositions, for example: attitude dėl disability (cf. attitude towards disability); attitude dėl payment appropriations (cf. attitude towards payment appropriations); general attitude dėl customs policy (cf. attitude towards customs policy); long-term attitude dėl new, recurrent and exotic diseases (cf. attitude towards new, recurrent and exotic diseases); political attitude dėl the International Telecommunication Union (cf. attitude towards the International Telecommunication Union). To express a characteristic of a construction with the preposition dėl, when describing the content of certain actions, it may also compete with genitive (1), instrumental (2), or infinitive (3) constructions, for example: (1) A broad and comprehensive study on the use of children’s fingerprints has not yet been carried out (cf. a study of the use of children’s fingerprints); The contested decision was adopted while conducting an investigation into anti-competitive practices (cf. an investigation into anti-competitive practices); An assessment was carried out on assets, conduct, position, activity, work, commitments, programme (cf. assessment of assets, conduct, position, activity, work, commitments, programme); BENDRINĖ KALBA | 87 (2014) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 RASUOLĖ VLADARSKIENĖ. Prie linksnio dėl konstrukcijos administracinėje lietuvių kalboje | 6 (2) The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority – expressed concern about the planned reform (cf. planned reform); Stakeholders expressed concern about the reasons for adopting the decision (cf. formulation of the reasons for adopting the decision); (3) Obligations in respect of the provision of regular air services (cf. to provide regular air services); obligations in respect of the permanent cessation of fishing (cf. to cease fishing permanently); The Parties notify each other of their intentions regarding extension of the Agreement (cf. to extend the Agreement) for a period of five years; In the overall assessment of the circumstances of such a transaction, account must be taken of the intention expressed by the parties regarding the transaction’s VAT treatment (cf. to subject the transaction to VAT). As a non-linguistic reason for the prevalence of the preposition regarding, one may point to the legal regulation of document titles: the structure of the titles of the main types of Lithuanian documents is regulated by legal instruments (the Law on the Basics of Lawmaking of the Republic of Lithuania, the Recommendations for Drafting Legal Acts, approved by the Minister of Justice, and the Rules for Drafting Documents, approved by the Chief Archivist of Lithuania). They stipulate that in the titles of most legal acts, the regulated area is indicated by constructions with the preposition „dėl“, thus forming the headings of resolutions, decisions, orders, decrees, ordinances and letters: On Agricultural Product Prices (resolution); On the Award of Bonuses (order); On the Spelling of Personal Names (letter); some laws are also titled in this way (Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Legal Status of Aliens1). It is precisely on the basis of this document-title structure, quite common in Lithuania, that titles of translated documents of European Union institutions have also begun to be formed2, where constructions with the preposition regarding are widely used to describe the content of an object and matters related to it, and may denote the nature of the subject described or simply the area covered. It should also be noted that in administrative Lithuanian, efforts have been made to distinguish the wording of document headings from descriptions of documents, and to regulate document titles more strictly. However, where the official title of a document is not given and one merely says what the document discusses, synonymous constructions may be used, for example, resolution “On the Write-Off of State Long-Term Tangible Assets” and resolution to write off state long-term tangible assets. This encourages diversity of expression. In translated documents of the institutions of the European Union, the opposite tendency is emerging: constructions with the preposition regarding are beginning to displace synonymous or near-synonymous linguistic means from usage. Document titles constitute just one clearly defined area of usage, where greater regulation is possible, including the recommendation of more suitable variants. Constructions with the preposition regarding often compete with other types of document-title structure. Where there is a choice, given that the most usual form in Lithuania for the titles of documents adopted by legal acts is the genitive construction (as established in the aforementioned documents governing document drafting), the genitive construction should be the primary means of expression, for example: Declaration regarding the internal management and control systems of each of these delegations (|| declaration of the internal management and control systems of each of these delegations); Guidelines on state aid in the agricultural sector (|| Guidelines on state aid in the agricultural sector); European plan tocombat poverty and social exclusion (|| European plan to combat poverty and social exclusion); No application for recovery was submitted (|| recovery application); Thematic programme for the environment and sustainable management of natural resources (|| Thematic programme for the environment and sustainable management of natural resources); The project sets out new rules on Europe 1 Apie Lietuvoje rengiamų dokumentų pavadinimų struktūrą plačiau žr. Vladarskienė 2005. 2 For a more detailed discussion of the structure of titles of translated European Union documents, see Murinienė 2008. BENDRINĖ KALBA | 87 (2014) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 RASUOLĖ VLADARSKIENĖ. Prielinksnio dėl konstrukcijos administracinėje lietuvių kalboje | 7 financing of political parties and political foundations (‖ rules on the financing of European political parties and political foundations). Sometimes it would be better to use an infinitive, for example: Application for repayment of the customs duty paid (‖ to repay the customs duty paid) is considered duly substantiated; or constructions with the preposition about (in the titles of notes), for example: The proposal for a regulation is accompanied by a financial statement on planned budget appropriations (‖ about planned budget appropriations) to finance the initial GMES actions. Several constructions with the preposition regarding may also occur in the same document title, for example: Commission communication on consultations on fishing opportunities; European Parliament decision on the interinstitutional agreement between the European Parliament and the Commission on the establishment of a joint transparency register; European Central Bank opinion on the proposal for a Regulation on money market funds. When ambiguity may arise because of the position of the genitive or the use of several genitives, constructions with the preposition because of are unavoidable, e.g.: Europeanstrategy for a better internet for children; Europeanplan for the automotive industry; the projections in the Stability Programme for 2012–2013 are broadly in line with the Commission services’ spring 2012 forecast for the pace and composition of economic growth and developments in the labour market OJ C 219, 2012 07 24. CONCLUSIONS LKŽ5 and DŽ6 indicate that the preposition dėl is used in Lithuanian to denote cause, purpose, and concession, and to emphasize the idea of a sentence. The semantics of this preposition are discussed in greater detail by J. Šukys and in KP S2; here, the meanings of a characteristic and of a general subject area in document titles are distinguished. Statistical data show that dėl is the most frequent preposition in administrative language. An examination of its constructions in 50 European Union documents revealed that three quarters of the instances denote a characteristic or a general subject area in document titles. The prevalence of constructions with the preposition dėl in administrative language is attributable to linguistic causes: 1) analogy with constructions involving nouns derived from verbs used with the preposition dėl; 2) the broader meaning of the preposition dėl enables it to compete successfully with prepositions of more specific meanings (apie, į), genitive and instrumental case constructions, and infinitive constructions. A non-linguistic cause is also important, namely legal regulation: constructions with the preposition dėl, as an appropriate way of expressing the titles of many legal acts (resolutions, decisions, orders, decrees, and other instruments), are specified in legislation governing the preparation of documents. Constructions with the preposition dėl that denote a characteristic or specify a general subject area in document titles should be regarded as secondary variants of the norm when they displace conventional forms of expression. BENDRINĖ KALBA | 87 (2014) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 RASUOLĖ VLADARSKIENĖ. Prielinksnio del konstrukcijos administracinėje lietuvių kalboje | 8 REFERENCES AND SOURCES DŽ6 2011: Dictionary of Contemporary Lithuanian. Editor-in-chief S. Keinys. Sixth edition (third electronic edition), Vilnius: Institute of the Lithuanian Language, 2011. Available online: http://dz.lki.lt. EUR-lex – European Union database of legal acts and other public documents, “EUR-lex”. Available online: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/lt/index.htm. Grumadienė L., Žilinskienė V. 1997. Dažninis dabartinės rašomosios lietuvių kalbos žodynas: (mažėjančio dažnio tvarka), Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas. KancKP 2007: Kanceliarinės kalbos patarimai. Sud. P. Kniūkšta, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas, internetinis leidimas. Prieiga internete: http://lkz.mch.mii.lt/Kanceliarinis. Kniūkšta P. 2005: Administracinė kalba ir jos vartosena, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas. KP S2: Language Advice. Book 2. Syntax: 2. The Use of Prepositions and Postpositions. Compiled by R. Miliūnaitė, text by A. Pupkis and J. Šukys, editor-in-chief A. Pupkis, Vilnius: Institute of Science and Encyclopaedia Publishing, 2003. Law on the Basics of Lawmaking of the Republic of Lithuania, 18 September 2012, No. XI-2220. – Valstybės žinios, 2012 09 22, No. 110-5564. Order of the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania “On the Approval of Recommendations for Drafting Legal Acts”, 23 December 2013, No. 1R-298. – Valstybės žinios, 2013 12 28, No. 137-6952. Order of the Chief Archivist of Lithuania “On the Approval of the Rules for Document Preparation”, 4 July 2011, No. V-117. – Valstybės žinios, 2011 07 15, No. 88-4229; Valstybės žinios, 2013 10 05, No. 105-5186. LKŽe 2005: Lietuvių kalbos žodynas 1–20 (elektroninis variantas). Vyr. red. G. Naktinienė, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas. Prieiga internete: www.lkz.lt. Murrinienė L. 2008: Verstinių Europos Sąjungos teisės aktų ir kitų dokumentų pavadinimų tipai. – Kalbos kultūra 81, 170–184. Šukys J. 1998: Lietuvių kalbos linksniai ir prielinksniai: vartosena ir normos, Kaunas: Šviesa. Vladarskienė R. 2005: Dokumentų pavadinimų darymo polinkiai. – Kalbos kultūra 78, 79–89. Received 2014 12 09 BENDRINĖ KALBA | 87 (2014) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 RASUOLĖ VLADARSKIENĖ. Prielinksnio dėl konstrukcijos administracinėje lietuvių kalboje | 9 CONSTRUCTIONS WITH THE PREPOSITION DĖL IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE LITHUANIAN LANGUAGE Summary The Lithuanian Language Dictionary (Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language) and the Dictionary of Contemporary Lithuanian (Modern Lithuanian Dictionary) indicate that in Lithuanian the preposition dėl is used to express cause, purpose, and concession, and to emphasize the thought of a sentence. These dictionaries do not mention the meanings of attribute and general subject matter that are characteristic of administrative language. Statistical data show that dėl is the most frequent preposition in the administrative language. The research of the use of constructions with this preposition in 50 European Union documents showed that about three quarters of occurrences in document titles signify an attribute or general content area. The spread of constructions with the preposition dėl in the administrative language has been determined by linguistic conditions: 1) analogy with verbal noun phrases with the preposition dėl; 2) a wider meaning of the preposition dėl enables it to successfully compete with prepositions having a more specific meaning (apie, į), genitival and instrumental phrases, infinitival constructions. Non-linguistic (that of legal regulation) condition is also important – the legislation regulating the preparation of documents suggests a construction with the preposition dėl as a proper expression to be used in titles of many legal acts (rulings, decisions, orders, decrees, etc.). Constructions with the preposition dėl signifying an attribute or general content area in document titles, in cases when they eliminate the usual expression variants from usage, are considered as secondary variants of the norm. KEYWORDS: prepositions, administrative language, syntax, word meanings, document titles. RASUOLĖ VLADARSKIENĖ Lietuvos kalbos institutas Petro Vileišio g. 5, LT-10308 Vilnius [email protected] BENDRINĖ KALBA | 87 (2014) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204