Zur Problematik des Textanfangs am Beispiel der Vertragstexte

The paper discusses the problems of the opening a text texts as exemplified by contracts. Twelve contracts were examined, including sales contracts, construction contracts, lease contracts, rental contracts and employment contracts. The contract was defined as a text type. Aspects such as a text’s subject matter, function and structure are particularly important for the determination of its opening and its delimitation from the remaining parts of the text. The article illustrates the ways in which these elements determine the opening of the text. The article also contains information on other studies on text openings.