The functional-semantic field of imperativity in German railway discourse technical documentation texts

The research aims to identify the constituents of the functional-semantic field of imperativity that function within the technical documentation genre of German railway discourse. The article investigates the modes of expressing imperative mood characteristic of technical documentation, establishes their place within the field’s structure, and identifies features related to indicating the addressee of an action. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that, for the first time, the most productive and frequent means of expressing imperative mood in the professional discourse of the German language have been identified, along with the distinctive features of their functioning in comparison to general language usage. The research concludes that the primary linguistic means for expressing imperative mood in technical documentation texts are those that, in general German usage, belong to the periphery of the functional-semantic field of imperativity. These include the processual passive and stative combined with modal verbs of permission/prohibition and obligation, their competitive forms, as well as impersonal infinitive and substantive clauses. Furthermore, it was established that in synonymous imperative constructions, the indication of the addressee can be both explicit and implicit.