Apriboto veiksmo laiko raiška Europos Sąjungos dokumentuose

RASUOLĖ VLADARSKIENĖ Institute of the Lithuanian Language THE EXPRESSION OF LIMITED ACTION TIME IN EUROPEAN UNION DOCUMENTS KEYWORDS: limited action time, prepositional constructions, administrative language. The concept of time is very important in administrative language, since it is often necessary to specify the beginning, end, duration, or sequence of regulated actions. Although the expression of time in standard Lithuanian is described in grammars (LKG 1976: 492–500; DLKG 1996: 540–542), monographs (Valiulytė 1998; Šukys 1998; Labutis 2001), and reference and instructional publications (Kalbos patarimai 2003; Celiešienė, Džežulskienė 2009), the problem of expressing the boundaries of a period in administrative language remains relevant, particularly when translating European Union (hereinafter, EU) documents into Lithuanian. A distinctive feature of these documents is the need to specify the time limits for carrying out a regulated action as precisely and clearly as possible; sometimes it is necessary to indicate not only the hour when an event begins or ends, but also the time zone, for example: Electronic application forms must be submitted online by 12 noon on the relevant final application submission date, Central European Time (Central European Summer Time) (Brussels time). European Commission call for proposals, OJ C 285, 2011 09 29. The aim of this article* is to examine, on the basis of Lithuanian translations of EU documents, the structure of constructions expressing limited action time and to discuss problematic cases of their use. Limited action time can be marked by adverbials of time or quantity and by corresponding subordinate clauses of time. In fact, the meanings of time and quantity in administrative language are very closely related when the restriction of an action's time or temporal relations are at issue. Limited time may indicate the beginning or end of an action, or the limits of its duration. * This article was prepared as part of the project “Research on the Language of European Union Documents,” funded by the State Commission of the Lithuanian Language under the “2011–2020 Programme for Research into the Functioning and Change of Standard Lithuanian, Dialects and Other Language Varieties.” 116 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 84 1. STRUCTURE OF CONSTRUCTIONS DENOTING THE TIME OF A LIMITED ACTION 1.1. Prepositional constructions The main way of expressing the time of a limited action in administrative language is through constructions with the prepositions until, from, after, before. Other prepositions mentioned in Lithuanian grammars (LKG 1976; DLKG 1996) are not characteristic of administrative language. Constructions with the prepositions until, from, after, before are used: a) with names of units of time (with names of time concepts denoting years, seasons, months, weeks, days): until summer, from autumn, from the day the activity ends, after a year, two weeks earlier, a year earlier; b) with words denoting the boundaries of time phases (words with an indefinite meaning must be clarified, or their more specific meaning must be apparent from the context): until the end of the year, until the end of the specified period, until the start of the activity, from the start of the deadline, before the end of the period; c) with names of time intervals having a general meaning (these must be clarified, or their more specific meaning must be apparent from the context): until the final deadline, after the initial stage, before the final stage, before the aforementioned period; d) with a specific date: until February 2011, until 15 January 2013, from 2008, after August 2010; e) with verbal nouns having a more specific meaning: after the inspection, after the oath, before the review; f) with names of natural phenomena: until the flood, after the drought, after the hurricane, before the earthquake; g) with words denoting particular events: until the accident, after the fire, after the incident, after the event, before the crisis, before the disaster; h) with names of processes: until the permit is granted, from the publication of the application, from the entry into force of this regulation, after the final deliberation; i) the prepositions until, from are used with adverbs denoting time: until now, from now on; j) the preposition before is used with gerunds or participles: before the regulation enters into force, before submitting proposals, before approving the decision, before concluding the contract. R. VLADARSKIENĖ. Apriboto veiksmo laiko raiška Europos Sąjungos dokumentuose 117 1.2. Comparative phrases with adverbs that have degrees of comparison Adverbs in the comparative degree (earlier, later, sooner) usually contrast the sequence in which two actions are performed, indicating which of them occurs first: The Committee of the Regions [...] believes that discussions on the future of European cohesion policy should take place s o o n e r t h a n discussions on the review of the European financial system. Prospective opinion of the Committee of the Regions, OL C 232, 2010 08 27. Sometimes a single adverb may also be used without specifying the action being compared; in that case, the comparison is understood to be with the time being discussed or referred to: However, such a reform would make the composition of the Grand Chamber even more diverse t h a n b e f o r e (currently five of the thirteen members are permanent, whereas after the reform only two of the fifteen would remain). EC opinion COM(2011) 596, 2011 09 30. The action being compared may be described by a subordinate clause: A member shall not disclose the decision of the arbitration panel or any part thereof e a r l i e r t h a n it is made public under this Agreement. EC proposal COM/2010/326, 2010 06 22; The Chair shall convene the Board of Directors e a r l i e r t h a n scheduled if requested by one third of the members entitled to vote. Decision of the Board of Governors, OL L 266, 2011 10 11. Comparative constructions specifying a particular date have become widespread in translations of EU documents, where the possible duration of an action is limited by indicating the earliest or latest possible time at which it may be performed: However, an agreement on the choice of applicable law concluded b e f o r e 2 1 J u n e 2 0 1 2 shall also be valid if it meets the conditions laid down in Articles 6 and 7. Council Regulation (EU) No 1259/2010 of 20 December 2010, OL L 343, 2010 12 29; N o l a t e r t h a n 1 N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 6, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee a report on the application of this Directive, taking account of developments in the digital market. Directive 2011/77/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 September 2011, OL L 265, 2011 10 11; Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 78/2008 provides that the Commission shall submit a final report on the implementation of the permanent monitoring measures [...] n o l a t e r t h a n 3 1 J u l y 2 0 1 3. EC report COM/2011/639, 2011 10 10; Member States shall ensure that the relevant parties carry out a safety assessment of all systems in use referred to in points (b), (c) and (d) of Article 2(1) b y 5 F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5 a t t h e l a t e s t. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1207/2011 of 22 November 2011, OL L 305, 2011 11 23. 118 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 84 In these cases, prepositional constructions with until would be more usual; constructions with an adverb were apparently chosen because the intention is to emphasise that the specified limits of the time of the action must under no circumstances be exceeded. 1.3. Participial and half-participial constructions Participial and half-participial constructions can express various circumstantial meanings (time, condition, cause, concession). The limited time of an action is most clearly indicated by circumstantial word groups that use participles denoting the boundaries of various time phases together with nouns denoting more general notions of time or specific units of time, or that introduce subordinate clauses: The terms of office of the other six judges shall end s i x y e a r s a f t e r the entry into force of this Regulation, following the second partial replacement of the judges of the General Court. EC opinion COM(2011) 596, 2011 09 30; If an application to extend the period during which the customs authorities are required to apply surveillance measures is submitted l e s s t h a n 3 0 w o r k i n g d a y s before the expiry of the validity of that decision, the competent customs authority may refuse to extend that period. EC proposal COM/2011/285, 2011 05 24; Such an option should become available a f t e r t h e e x p i r y o f t h e r e a s o n a b l e p e r i o d allowed for the phonogram producer to carry out both of these acts related to use. Directive 2011/77/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, OL L 265, 2011 10 11; Unless expressly provided otherwise in the contract, an assignment or transfer agreement [...] shall be deemed to take effect a t t h e t i m e w h e n, under Article 3(1) as applicable on 30 October 2011, the performer would no longer be protected. Directive 2011/77/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, OL L 265, 2011 10 11. 1.4. Subordinate clauses The time limits of an action may be indicated by subordinate clauses that specify adverbs of time or words denoting notions of time with an indefinite meaning: Some performers are paid an advance against royalties, while payments are received o n l y w h e n the phonogram producer has recouped the advance paid and made the deductions provided for in the contract. Directive 2011/77/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, OL L 265, 2011 10 11; In order to ensure that these obstacles are removed, all these works, protected f r o m t h e d a t e o n w h i c h Member States are required to transpose this Directive, should be subject to a uniform, harmonised term of protection in all Member States. Directive 2011/77/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, OL L 265, 2011 10 11. R. VLADARSKIENĖ. Apriboto veiksmo laiko raiška Europos Sąjungos dokumentuose 119 This form of expression makes it possible to specify temporal relations precisely, but makes the sentence longer and is therefore not always suitable for the particularly long sentences found in EU documents. 1.5. Complex constructions To describe precisely the temporal relationships of actions regulated by EU documents, and to avoid ambiguity or uncertainty, the temporal boundaries of actions are specified using various complex constructions formed from the simpler-structure combinations already discussed: The results must be sent to the Commission by email no later than five working days before the end of the month, according to the schedule to be provided in the grant agreement. Call for proposals (2011/C 330/08), 2011 11 12; The competent authority shall inform the competent authorities of other Member States and the Commission no later than two weeks before the authorisation is granted of the reasons why, in its opinion, the specific authorisation should be granted. EC proposal COM(2011) 542, 2011 08 31; After consulting the parties to the dispute, the WTO Director-General must inform both parties of the conciliator(s) appointed no later than 20 days after receipt of such a request. EC proposal COM/2011/725, 2011 11 10. 2. MEANINGS OF PREPOSITIONAL CONSTRUCTIONS Grammar of Contemporary Lithuanian divides bounded action time into the time of the beginning or end of an action, time bounded on both sides, earlier or later action time, and simultaneity of actions (DLKG 540–542). In her monograph Syntactic Synonyms of Contemporary Lithuanian, Elena Valiulytė first distinguishes the meanings of coinciding and non-coinciding time as the highest semantic opposition, based on whether the occurrence/non-occurrence of an action coincides with the time interval indicated by the syntactic form (Valiulytė 1998: 190). The linguist presents a similar semantic system of syntactic forms of non-coinciding time to that in Grammar of Contemporary Lithuanian, but here also includes approximate time (which is not characteristic of administrative language). When examining the expression of temporal boundaries in EU documents, it is useful to distinguish constructions denoting: time preceding or following an action, the time of the beginning or end of an action; when used in the same sentence, these constructions describe temporal boundaries on both sides. 120 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 84 Anterior action time, i.e. an action taking place before a particular reference moment or event, is denoted by constructions with the preposition prieš (before) (LKŽ 2005; DLKŽ 2006). Jonas Šukys (1998: 481) defines this action time by noting that it is either a specifically defined time when the thing or event in question emerged or began to exist, or an indefinite, usually short period of time before the reference moment. Both cases are characteristic of the language of EU documents: these concern not only things that have already happened, but also regulated actions, and thus a possible sequence of events is modelled: A natural or legal person, entity or organisation intending to perform a related obligation shall notify the competent authority of the Member State in which it is established about the activity or transaction at least b e f o r e 7 w o r k i n g d a y s. ET Regulation (EU) No 878/2011, OL L 228, 2011 09 03; Most NRAs [national regulatory authorities] c a r r y o u t n a t i o n a l c o n s u l t a t i o n s b e f o r e c o n s u l t a t i o n s w i t h the Commi-ssion. EC Communication KOM/2006/0028, 2006 02 06. Subsequent action time, i.e. a time, period of time or event after which something happens, is denoted by constructions with the preposition po (after). Such constructions are particularly characteristic of administrative language also because they can be used with nouns of various meanings (names for time concepts, units of time, processes, natural phenomena or spontaneous events), and can denote both a sequence of specific actions that have already taken place and the relationship between regulated actions: After these consultations, the two organisations drew up a remedial action plan. EC Implementing Regulation No 1197/2011, OL L 303/14, 2011 11 22; In June, following consultations with civil society and a f t e r d i a l o g u e with the European Parliament, the 2007–2010 strategy was adopted. EC report to the Council and the European Parliament, KOM(2008) 379, 2008 06 23; A f t e r t h e i n i t i a l s t a g e, a study found that the level of cooperation by Russia had been assessed incorrectly. EC proposal for an ET Regulation, KOM(2008) 34, 2008 01 28. Time boundaries are denoted by constructions with the prepositions nuo (from) and iki (until). The preposition iki denotes the starting time of an action, i.e. the time from which the action begins, whereas nuo indicates the time up to which the action continues, i.e. the endpoint of the action. Used together, these constructions indicate the time boundaries at both ends: If a period calculated in days must be calculated f r o m t h e m o m e n t t h e e v e n t o r a c t i o n b e g i n s, the day on which that event or action occurred is considered not to be included in the period in question. Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council di- R. VLADARSKIENĖ. Apriboto veiksmo laiko raiška Europos Sąjungos dokumentuose 121 rective 2011/83/EU OL L 304, 2011 11 22; A legal act may be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and enter into force before the end of that period if the Council has informed the Commission that it does not intend to object. EC proposal COM/2011/121/2, 2011 10 03; From 2008 to 2013, this activity is carried out pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 78/2008. EC report to the European Parliament and the Council, COM/2011/639, 2011 10 10. A question that is continually raised concerns the meaning of the construction with the preposition iki (until), which indicates the end of a period: is the moment up to which the action takes place included in the period? In fact, this construction can be interpreted in two ways: a) the noun in the construction may denote a period of time before which an action takes place (Elena Valiulytė (1998: 315) considers this its primary meaning), e.g., returned before Christmas; b) the construction iki (ligi) may indicate a time that an action reaches or even spans in its entirety, e.g., it snowed until late in the evening, waited until twelve o’clock. It is precisely because this time boundary can be interpreted in two ways that the clarifying words inclusive, including are widespread in Lithuanian administrative language (KancKP 2007). In EU documents, the beginning and end of time limits are determined in accordance with a Council of Europe regulation, whose provisions are also reflected in the provisions of the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania: “A time limit shall begin at zero hours and zero minutes on the day following the calendar date or event that defines the beginning of the time limit, unless otherwise provided by law. <...> Where a time limit is set for performing an action, that action must be performed by zero hours and zero minutes on the twenty-fourth hour of the final day of the time limit.” (LR CK I knyga, IV dalis, VI skyrius). Thus, in administrative language, including EU documents, the constructions with the preposition iki referring to specific dates also include the regulated action; therefore, if the instruction is: submit the documents by 10 October, this means that the documents may still be submitted on 10 October. 3. PROBLEMATIC USE OF PREPOSITIONAL CONSTRUCTIONS When translating EU documents into Lithuanian, problems arise with the use of prepositional constructions denoting temporal relations; most uncertainties concern prepositional constructions with deverbal nouns. 122 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 84 As can be seen from the analysis of the structure and semantics of the expression of bounded action time, there are two pairs of prepositional constructions: earlier and later time are denoted by the prepositions before and after, while the temporal limits of an action are denoted by from and until. In the Language Advice (KP S2: 72–73; 82), combinations of the prepositions after and before with deverbal nouns bearing the suffix -imas (-ymas) are considered inadvisable (Before printing, the proof must be read carefully (–Before printing); After completing art school (–Having completed art school), he was assigned to work in Kaunas). The use of the prepositions from–until with deverbal nouns is not evaluated negatively. The use of until with genitive forms of abstract verbs to express time is considered a secondary variant of the norm (He began working until the school’s completion // until finishing school), whereas the use of the preposition from with abstract nouns is not defined. Administrative language is generally characterised by an abundance of abstract deverbal nouns, and when translating from English this form of expression becomes very common, even where actions can be translated using verbs. The prevalence of deverbal nouns in EU document translations may be encouraged by a desire to convey the original meaning as accurately as possible; unfortunately, accuracy is sometimes understood too simplistically—as translating using the same forms of expression. A review of a large number of EU document translations shows that constructions with the preposition before are more frequent with converbs and half-participles: Greece was experiencing serious difficulties with financial stability even before Regulation (EU) No 407/2010 entered into force. Commission proposal, COM(2011) 482, 2011 08 01; Before goods are released for free circulation, the inspection results are reported to customs. Commission Regulation (EU) No 284/2011, OJ L 077, 2011 03 23; The Court of Auditors recommends [...] that the Commission assess the key elements of rural development programmes more rigorously before approving them. Special Report No 7/2011 of the Court of Auditors, 2011 09 22. Constructions with deverbal nouns bearing the suffix -imas, which the Language Advice (KP S2) recommends avoiding, are used less frequently. They can easily be replaced by converb or half-participle constructions: The Act amending the Law on the Protection of Minors against the Detrimental Effects of Public Information, adopted by the Seimas of Lithuania on 14 July 2009, has not yet entered into force and must be reconsidered before it enters into force (–upon entry into force). European Parliament resolution of 17 September 2009 (2010/C 224 E/04), 2010 08 19; Audits by the Court of Auditors in the Member States visited also identified shortcomings in checks before goods were released (–before the release of goods) for free circulation. Court of Auditors report (2011/C 326/01), OJ C 326, 2011 11 10. R. VLADARSKIENĖ. Apriboto veiksmo laiko raiška Europos Sąjungos dokumentuose 123 Translations of EU documents do not always follow the recommendation in Kalbos patarimų to avoid using the genitive case of verbal nouns with the suffix –imas in a phrase with the preposition po: Changes to the applicable law made after the conclusion of the contract (–after concluding the contract) do not affect its formal validity and may not adversely affect the rights of third parties. Decision No 78/2011 of the EEA Joint Committee, OJ L 262, 06.10.2011. A comparison of the use of constructions with the prepositions po and prieš in translations of EU documents shows that po is used much more often with verbal nouns bearing the suffix –imas. Several reasons can be discerned for the spread of this usage in translations of EU documents, where prestigious expression is sought and even secondary variants of the norm are often criticised as unsuitable. First, the constructions with the preposition prieš, which should be avoided when marking anterior time, can easily be replaced by adverbial participle or half-participle constructions, since the preposition indicating a time relationship is retained in both constructions. Constructions with the preposition po are different: in the version given here—an expanded adverbial modifier—the preposition marking a time boundary is no longer present. It should be noted that an expanded adverbial participle or half-participle modifier does not clearly express a boundary (point of reference); often, its precise meaning cannot even be determined from context. This is unsuitable for documents, however, since the precise time boundary of an action must be specified. A second reason why constructions with the preposition po that should be avoided compete with the recommended equivalents is that the genitive of concretised nouns bearing the suffix –imas can be used with the preposition po; the concretisation of these nouns is indicated by the modifiers used with them (e.g. primary, initial, final) or by the plural form: If several objections are submitted, it may be impossible to accept the registration application after initial examination of one or more such objections. Commission Regulation No 607/2009, OJ L 193, 24.07.2009; This obligation should apply where, after the Commission’s initial warning, the Member State’s conduct [...] continues to be negligent and potentially detrimental to the smooth functioning of economic and monetary union. Commission proposal, COM/2010/524, 29.09.2010; The conclusions reached by the majority of the judges after final deliberation determine the judgment of the Civil Service Tribunal.Consolidated version of the Rules of Procedure of the European Union Civil Service Tribunal of 25 July 2007, OJ C 177, 02.07.2010; However, when considering such a choice, following deliberations on proportionality and respect for the fundamental rights of citizens, there is a tendency to approve the types of messages to be included in the system. Commission communication, COM/2011/429, 13.07.2011. 124 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 84 Third, the use of the preposition po is supported by the fact that the following sentence has become established as a template in translations of EU documents: This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. Fourth, there is also an analogy with constructions using the prepositions iki and nuo, which can occur with abstract verbal nouns. The similarity is particularly apparent when such prepositions are used in the same sentence: This service will enable every EU company to participate in public procurement tenders in any Member State and will cover electronic public procurement procedures before and after the conclusion of the contract. Commission proposal, COM/2011/657, 19.10.2011. It may be too bold to claim that the reasons listed in support of the usage to be avoided provide sufficient grounds for justifying it. Suitable substitutes for the constructions with the preposition po that should be avoided can be found in those same translations of EU documents; constructions with the preposition nuo may sometimes be appropriate, and subordinate clauses may sometimes be used: Five years after (cf. following) the entry into force of this Regulation, the Commission shall submit a report on its implementation to the European Parliament and the Council. Commission proposal, COM/2010/119, 31.03.2010; Data shall be transmitted 48–24 hours before the scheduled flight and immediately after the boarding gates are closed. Commission communication, COM/2011/680, 25.10.2011. Another point is that, where particular precision is required, a construction consisting of a preposition and the genitive of an abstract verbal noun is not the most suitable form of expression because of its ambiguity. A verbal noun merely names an action; even with the prepositions iki, nuo, there is often a tendency to make the noun denoting the action more specific by adding words indicating time, such as day, date, moment: Assets in this category are classified as current assets if they are expected to be realised within 12 months of the balance sheet date. Commission communication (2011/C 332/01), OJ C 332, 14.11.2011; They [the amounts payable] shall be credited in the amount required from the moment the application is received. Commission communication, OJ C 332, 14.11.2011; The Court of First Instance held that it was necessary to R. VLADARSKIENĖ. Apriboto veiksmo laiko raiška Europos Sąjungos dokumentuose 125 take into account the circumstances that changed between the date of filing the opposition and the date of the decision on that opposition. Judgment of the Court of Justice (Fifth Chamber) of 11 June 2009. The construction with the preposition po can also be made more specific in this way: Where the Commission considers it necessary to request additional information, the six-month period shall begin on the day following receipt of the requested additional information. Amended Commission proposal COM/2011/742, 2011 11 09; These bodies shall issue a new certificate within five working days of the date of receipt of a complete application for re-issuance of the certificate. Commission proposal COM/2011/710, 2011 11 11. CONCLUSIONS In translations of EU documents, the time of a delimited action is expressed by constructions with prepositions (iki, nuo, prieš, po), comparative phrases, participial or half-participial constructions, subordinate clauses, and compound constructions. Constructions expressing the time of a delimited action are used to denote an earlier time of action (constructions with the preposition prieš), a later time of action (constructions with the preposition po), and temporal limits (constructions with the prepositions nuo (beginning) and iki (end)). In administrative language, a construction with the preposition iki specifying a particular date also includes the regulated action. Avoidable constructions with the preposition po followed by the genitive of abstract deverbal nouns can be replaced not only by participial or half-participial constructions with an indefinite meaning, but also by a construction with the preposition nuo, by subordinate clauses, or by making the abstract action more specific through the addition of qualifying words such as day (date, time). ABBREVIATIONS EEA – European Economic Area EC – European Commission CoE – Council of Europe EP – European Parliament OJ – Official Journal 126 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 84 LITERATŪRA DLKŽ 2006: Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas. Vyr. red. S. Keinys. 3-ias elektroninis leid., Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas. DLKG 2006: Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos gramatika. Red. Vytautas Ambrazas, Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas. KancKP 2007: Kanceliarinės kalbos patarimai. Sud. Pranas Kniūkšta. Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas, internetinis leidimas. Prieiga per internetą: http:// kanceliariniaipatarimai.lki.lt (žiūrėta 2011 10 10). Kniūkšta P. 2005: Administracinė kalba ir jos vartosena. Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas. Labutis V. 2002: Lietuvių kalbos sintaksė, Vilnius: Vilniaus universiteto leidykla. LKG 1976: Lietuvių kalbos gramatika 3. Sintaksė. Vyr. red. Kazys Ulvydas, Vilnius: Mokslas. LKŽ 2005: Lietuvių kalbos žodynas 1–20 (elektroninis variantas). Vyr. red. G. Naktinienė, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas. Prieiga per internetą: www.lkz.lt. LR CK: Lietuvos Respublikos civilinis kodeksas. Valstybės žinios, 2002 04 06, Nr. 36-1340. KP S1: Kalbos patarimai. Kn. 1. Sintaksė: 1. Linksnių vartojimas. Sud. Rita Miliūnaitė, teksto aut. Vitas Labutis, Aldonas Pupkis ir Jonas Šukys, vyr. red. Aldonas Pupkis. Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas, 2003. KP S2: Kalbos patarimai. Kn. 2. Sintaksė: 2. Prielinksnių ir polinksnių vartojimas. Sud. Rita Miliūnaitė, teksto aut. Aldonas Pupkis ir Jonas Šukys, vyr. red. Aldonas Pupkis. Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas, 2003. Šukys J. 1998: Lietuvių kalbos linksniai ir prielinksniai: vartosena ir normos, Kaunas: Šviesa. Valiulytė E. 1998: Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos sintaksiniai sinonimai, Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas. Župerka K. 1995: Kalbos priemonių konkurencija kaip lietuvių kalbos stilistikos objektas, Šiauliai: Šiaulių pedagoginis institutas. Gauta 2011 12 05 R. VLADARSKIENĖ. Apriboto veiksmo laiko raiška Europos Sąjungos dokumentuose 127 EXPRESSING LIMITED TIME OF ACTIVITY IN EUROPEAN UNION DOCUMENTS Summary The notion of time in administrative language is very important, since it often includes the beginning, end, duration or sequence of certain regulated activities. The paper aims at examining structures referring to a limited time of activity and discussing problematic cases. The investigation is based on EU documents translated into Lithuanian. EU documents translated into Lithuanian express limited time of activity by prepositional structures, where the prepositions prieš (‘before’), po (‘after’), nuo (‘since, from’), iki (‘until, to’) are employed, comparative expressions, participial and half-participial structures, elements of subordinate clauses and complex structures. Depending on the context, structures with the preposition po (‘after’) and the genitive case of abstract deverbal nouns should be replaced by gerundial or half-participial structures with an indefinite meaning; moreover, they could be also replaced by the structure with the preposition nuo (‘since, from’), elements of a subordinate clause or giving more details to the timing of an abstract activity by adding the words day(s) (moment). KEY WORDS: limited time of activity, prepositional structures, administrative language. RASUOLĖ VLADARSKIENĖ Lietuvių kalbos institutas P. Vileišio g. 5, LT-10308 Vilnius [email protected] 128 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 84