COMPARATIVE LEGAL LINGUISTICS (Lecturer: Prof. dr. Lelija Sočanac)
The course will present legal linguistics as a new and rapidly growing discipline, which examines the
development, characteristics and usage of legal language. Basically, studies in this discipline may concern
vocabulary (terminology), syntax (the study of sentence structure), discourse (the study of text above the
sentence level), and semantics (the study of meaning). Moreover, legal linguistic studies include legal semiotics
(symbols of power and judicial rituals), legal stylistics, sociolinguistics of law (e.g. language of the courtroom)
and issues of legal interpretation as a complex phenomenon in which semantic and syntactic arguments play an
important part.
Legal linguistic research requires support from legal science, which shows the meaning of legal terms. At the
same time, legal theory, legal informatics, legal sociology and history of law assume fundamental importance
from the standpoint of legal linguistics.. In the development of legal language, the history of language and
history of law are fused, and it is impossible to understand the circumstances in which legal language is used
without knowing sociological and historical data. Moreover, comparative law studies produce information that
helps to understand the interactive links between the various languages used for legal purposes. Legal linguistics
also studies language policy and planning, especially involving linguistic rights and protection of minority
languages.
In the introductory part, the course will discuss the concept of legal language, its genres and functions. It will go
on to examine characteristics of legal language, namely: 1) precision vs. vagueness with respect to definitions in
legislation, court decisions and private documents, 2) information (over)load, 3) universality and abstract quality,
4) systemic character, 5) structure and formalism in legal texts, 6) use of acronyms, 7) sentence complexity, 8)
archaisms and solemnity.
The next topic covers legal terminology and its formation. In the central part of the course, the most important
legal languages will be discussed: legal Latin and its heritage, legal German, French and English and their
history, characteristics, and international importance. Finally, the course will discuss the rivalry of legal
languages and systems in the international arena, terminological interaction between legal languages, and
problems of legal translation, especially within the framework of multilingual language policies of the European
Union.
Obligatory reading:
Mattila, Heikki E.S., Comparative Legal Linguistics .- Burlington: Ashgate, 2006
Additional reading:
Bhatia, Vijay K. et al. (eds.), Multilingual and Multicultural Contexts of Legislation : an International
Perspective .- Peter Lang, 2003.
Bhatia et al. (eds), Legal Discourse in Multilingual and Multicultural Contexts .- Peter Lang, 2003
Bhatia, F (ed.), Vagueness in Normative Texts .- Peter Lang, 2005
Gotti, Maurizio, Giannoni D. (eds.) New Trends in Specialized Discourse Analysis .- Peter Lang, 2006
Guby, Helen, English legal terminology : legal concepts in language .- Den Haag: Boom Juridische
uitgevers, 2004.
Wagner, Anne; Cacciaguidi-Fahy (eds) Legal language and the Search for Clarity .- Peter Lang, 2006