Russian legal-administrative documents from the early fourteenth through the mid-seventeenth century (Middle Russian) show extensive variation in expressing possessivity within the noun phrase. Possessor expressions can be conveyed by morphologically derived possessive adjectives, adnominal genitives, or by combinations of those constructions…

Analyzes classification of "legal language," clarifying terms such as "variety,""genre,""register," and "discourse," and related issues in languages for special purposes, particularly as they apply to professions. Argues that "genre," not "register," is the most appropriate term…