Phraseological Profiling of English and Polish Judicial Eurolects Through Pattern Grammar: An Exploratory Corpus-Based Study

Abstract This paper explores the applicability of a Pattern Grammar approach to corpus-based analysis of the phraseological profiles of English and Polish judicial Eurolects. The study uses two parallel corpora of Advocates General’s (AGs’) opinions and Court of Justice (CJ) judgments, alongside two reference corpora of UK Supreme Court and Polish Constitutional Tribunal judgments. It focuses on the Polish equivalents of two grammar patterns (GPs): it v-link ADJ to-inf (e.g., it is necessary to) and it v-link ADJ that (e.g., it is important that), examining their distribution and functional usage. The aim is to assess whether similar lexico-grammatical patterns occur in the Polish judicial Eurolect and whether they overlap with those found in comparable texts. The adjectives used in both patterns convey shared discourse functions, predominantly desirability and validity; however, the corresponding realizations of the GPs are unevenly distributed across six broad semantic categories. In Polish, equivalent constructions are realized through a diverse range of syntagmatic patterns (e.g., v-link ADJ (VN), ADV (v-inf) or MODV (v-inf)). The findings show how AGs and, especially, CJ judges use these patterns to construct authority and convey objectivity. The data also reveal significant internal variation within both Eurolects and divergence from comparable judicial texts. These differences are attributed to the distinct communicative purposes of AGs’ opinions and CJ judgments, which shape their respective phraseological profiles. This exploratory study demonstrates the value of Pattern Grammar for cross-linguistic research and highlights its potential as a complementary tool for analyzing formulaicity and recurrent lexico-grammatical constructions in legal language.