Chapter 1: Language of the law

Chapter 1: Language of the law. 

a) The Nature of Legal Language.

Legal language

Legal language is not a language of everyday use by a population. It is specialized language of legal norms and related discourses. Legal language is the language used in legal field. For example, while drafting, writing legal documents, practicing in the court with full of cohesion, jargons, ambiguity, convoluted words, archaic words, passive voice which are difficult to understand by the common man. 

Nature

By nature, legal language is unique. This uniqueness is based on 3 elements:

• Distinctiveness
• Traditionalism 
• Practicality

These three elements are related to the features of legal language as well. 

c)Features of legal language: 

1. Contextual (register)

It is related to register, which means contextual wage.

• Mode (written/ spoken)

  Legal language is largely written, but it is spoken in the courtroom. 

• Manner 

  The manner of the language of law is always formal. Its intended audience is legal experts rather than the general public. 

  But when there is interaction between the lawyers and ordinary witness; the language may be informal.

  Most of the things used inside courtroom is related to judge and other procedural manifest and resembles the ceremonial reflection.

  It has been registered as a traditional language because it has been used for so long.

• Field/scope

  The field/scope of legal language is public form but the audience are not public rather they are experts. 

2. Typographical stylistic 

1. The typographical features are designed to draw attention to key element of texts. 

• Layout/designing 

  The overall layout is distinctive. Traditional documents are printed in solid block with no indentation but more modern examples tend to be intended and sub-divided. 

• Type faces

  Variations in type face are used to reveal the structure of the content. Capitalization, underlining and variation in type face can emphasize important lexical items. 

• Punctuating style

  There is full stops at end of the sentence and semi colons, colons, and dashes at the beginning of sub section. 

3. Lexical 

The changing perspective of legal English vocabulary comprises archaic, technical, buzzwords and loan words and jargons as well as synonyms. However, some of them are unnecessary at times. 

Garner considers several types of words in legal prose: fancy words, vague words, timid phrases, euphemisms, empty dogmatisms and neologism. 

Legal words consist of ordinary and special words which are used in two different ways:

• Special way
• Ordinary way

• Colorful language 

  Colorful language decorates legalese. They are the ornaments of such languages. 

• Archaic words

  Archaic words are being used less frequently than other terms, so they become rather obscure in the course of time.

  The examples include adverb: herein after, verb: darraign, and noun: surrejoinder. 

• Synonyms 

  Due to French and Latin influence, English abounds in synonyms. At least three lexical sources given to a great number of synonyms existing side by side. 

  Synonyms of Latin/French words in legal English 

                                Judex- judge

                                Crimen- crime

                                 Lex- law

4. Syntactical grammatical feature 

• Complex, compound sentences
• Long modifying clause
• Less pronoun referencing/ repetition of noun for cohesion 
• Much use of abstract noun
• Use of passive voice
• Declarative mood 

Legal language is complex in nature because of the use of complex compound sentences. Having more clauses in a single sentence creates complexity in the language. 

The use of passive voice in legal language is seen at high ratio. Legal language is seen at high ratio. Legal language is object centric because object is more important than person in legal language. 

There is much use of abstract noun. Examples property. 

b) Function of legal language

1. Referential communicative function 

The primary function of any language is to communicate. So the function of legal language is to communicate legal doctrines, rules, theories, principles and legal information.

In order to refer something, we use 2 types of words like as follows:

• Denotative words

  Denotative words are those words whose meanings are fixed in the context having a set of meaning. For example; all the words given in the dictionary have denotative meaning.

• Connotative words

  Connotative words are metaphorically presented words. For example; these days’ politicians in Nepal are fighting for chairs. Here the word ‘chair’ connotes the metaphorical meaning.

   

  In language of law we do use denotative words. It is set language but not creative. We do not use metaphor in legal language. 

2. Conative function 

It is also deemed as persuasive function. It is something that persuades and convinces the subject to follow.

Legal language persuades the person to follow the law. Legal languages establish obligation and ensures rights. It also establishes punishment for those who do not follow the law. 

With this language of law also gives legal remedy. Expressive function also falls under this. 

It is typical and broader type of function of language of law.

3. Metalinguistic function 

It has its scope in the classroom where the law is taught and learnt. It operates in the interpretation of statutes made by the concerned authoritative bodies. 

Example legal Nepali by Nepal to interpret the acts written in Nepal.

When a language is used to communicate itself, it is metalinguistic function and also when it is used to describe itself. 

Legal language in criminal law class and in the legal English class are the meta-linguistic language. 

d) Types of Legal language. 

   Prepared and edited by Pushpa Thapa.