Memoranda of Understanding (MoU): generic and syntactic aspects

This chapter focuses on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the academic setting, a genre that has hardly been studied so far. The MoU, also named Memorandum of Agreement (MoA), is a bilateral or multilateral agreement signed between institutions (universities, departments etc.) which – in consideration of its nature as a binding formal agreement – qualifies as one of many realizations of the (macro-)genre of contracts. In particular, the study presented here deals with Memoranda of Understanding signed for academic purposes by Anglophone universities (United Kingdom, U.S.A., Australia) with international partners, and has the ultimate purpose of verifying whether MoUs can actually be considered as a variation on the macro-genre of contracts. To this end, this study first of all identifies structural similarities and differences between the MoU and the macro-genre to which it can be thought to belong, i.e. the contract. Therefore it describes the generic structure of MoUs, the rhetorical moves they feature and the distinctive rhetorical patterns characterizing each of such moves, as well as their lexical and syntactic realizations. This makes it possible to pinpoint those aspects that this (micro-)genre shares with contracts, and identify and categorize those in which it differs from them. Then, from the rhetorical/cognitive level the analysis goes on to examine linguistic realizations, and makes recourse to comparison in order to ascertain which distinctive features the MoU shares with the standard contract. Findings highlight the variability that can be observed within the macro-genre of contracts, connected with the need to accommodate the different rhetorical and practical exigencies of the discourse communities involved. The analysis also provides an opportunity for considerations on variation within macrogenres, such as contracts, and the impact of hybridization. The methodological approach adopted in this work relies on the existing literature on contracts, so far not extensive and it makes use of genre theoretical and genre analytical tools developed in research on specialized discourse and professional communication, as this perspective offers a complementary analytical perspective focused on the textual realisation of the rhetorical moves identified.