Is the Banking Contract a Legal Contract? Linguistic-Pragmatic Study

Abstract

As is well known, banking contracts are essential for regulating the financial affairs of most individuals in modern society. This article discusses the unique linguistic and contextual characters of the text of the standard banking contract. I will show that its characteristics differ from those of "legal text" and the text of "legal contract". The theoretical basis for this work is based on the results of research that emphasize the involvement of the contextual and functional factors (communicative, cognitive, and referential) in designing a linguistic genre. The discussion will also be based on the conclusions of legal scholars as to the conceptual essence of "(legal) contract" and "(banking) contract", and the functions that "contract" come to fulfill as a social-legal instrument. The description of the linguistic and contextual characters is based on an analysis of test cases concerning issues that have a great impact on individuals and the property of the entire public. It is suggested that from the point of view of genre analysis, the anomalies observed in the texts of the banking contracts, the goals that the banks intend to achieve through them and the set of discourse participants built through them may change the boundaries of the "legal contract", and redefine its function as a social instrument in Israeli law.