Course number
Course title
Credit points
Total hours
Course level
COURSE TEACHERS
No.
1 Galdia, Marcus
COURSE ABSTRACT
Name
RL101
Comparative Law and Comparative Legal Linguistics
2 (LV) 3 (ECTS)
24
Masters
Academic degree
Dr.phil., Dr.iur.
Academic position
This course introduces students into main aspects and issues discussed in the legal linguistics towards the background of the comparative law. It canvasses these issues from the comparative legallinguistic perspective and enables the students to understand also legal-linguistic aspects relevant for particular languages such as English, French, German, or Spanish. Through the work on case materials and statutes the students will acquire practical skills in dealing with the multilingual legal terminology and legal translation. The practical work on legal-linguistic materials will also strengthen their ability in legal interpretation and argumentation. Finally, the students will learn how to implement their theoretical knowledge in institutional settings, especially in European institutions and international organizations.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Comparative Law and Comparative Legal Linguistics sets out to provide students with information concerning the dominant legal systems and the main legal languages as well as problems identified in the legal-comparative and legal-linguistic research, especially the distinctive features of the legal language. It focuses particularly on the dominant legal systems, i.e. the civil law and the common law.
It analysis Legal English and compares it with Legal French, Legal Spanish, and Legal German. In order to assess the legal language from the historical perspective, it includes also Legal Latin and reflects upon its role in the development of the legal terminology. Legal terminology is scrutinized in the legal lexicology and the legal lexicography that form a particular part of Comparative Legal
Linguistics. Finally, aspects of language use, such as legal argumentation, legal interpretation, and legal translation display pragmatic perspectives of the legal language. Additionally, a view upon the linguistic aspects of the emerging Global Law provides fundamental knowledge for practical future application of Comparative Legal Linguistics.
GRADING CRITERIA
Criteria Weighting
Class participation
Exam
20%
80%

COURSE PLAN – MAIN SUBJECTS
1. Introduction into Legal Linguistics
Legal Linguistics or Law and Language - Forensic Linguistics - Legal Linguistics and Legal Science -
Legal Linguistics and General Linguistics
Case to prepare for class: Frigaliment v. B.N.S.
Other materials: Excerpts from Chinese Constitution
Reading assignment: Mattila 1-14
Recommended reading: Galdia 73-89
2. Legal Linguistics and Comparative Law
Legal Culture and Comparative Law – Civil Law and Common Law -
Other Legal Families in the World - Approaches to Legal Linguistics –
USA – France – Germany –Scandinavia- Russia- China - Japan
Case to prepare for class: OHG v. Kolodny
Other materials: Excerpts from Japanese Constitution
Reading assignment: Mattila 15-39
Recommended reading: Galdia 66-73
3. Comparative Legal Linguistics - Synchronic aspects
General Legal Linguistics and Comparative Legal Linguistics -
Monolingual Corpus and Multilingual Corpus - Tertium Comparationis
Case to prepare for class: Mark Realty, Inc. v. Rogness
Other materials: Contract-related statutory provisions
Reading assignment: Mattila 41-72
Recommended reading: Galdia 338-339
4. Comparative Legal Linguistics - Diachronic aspects
History of Legal Languages - Language Change –
Attempts at Modernization of Legal Languages
Cases to prepare for class: Plessy v. Fergusson; Brown v. Board of Education
Other materials: Sale contract from Mesopotamia; Ancient Greek tort provisions (not included in the case compendium)
Reading assignment: Mattila 87-106
Recommended reading: Galdia 109-110
5. Legal Language
Characteristic Features of Language Used in Law - Spoken and Written Legal Language -
Legal-linguistic Speech Acts - Legal Language and Ordinary Language
Case to prepare for class: Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition
Other materials: Italian massime di giurisprudenza; French instruction on counting paragraphs
Reading assignment: Mattila 106-136
Recommended reading: Galdia 89-96
6. Legal English
English Law and its Language - American Law and its Language -
Other common law jurisdictions and their legal-linguistic particularities
(Canada, Australia, India, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Singapore)
Case to prepare for class: Hynes v. New York Central Railroad
Other materials: Old English sample
Reading assignment: Mattila 304-343
Recommended reading: Galdia 260-263
2

7. Legal English in European and International Institutions
International English - Linguistic Aspects of the Law of the European Union -
Legal English in Other International Organizations
Case: In re Standesamt Niebüll
Other materials: Tort-related statutory provisions
Reading assignment: Mattila 344-351
Recommended reading: Beveridge, in Mattila (2002): Legal English 55-79
8. Legal French and Legal German
Influence of Latin upon French Legal Language -
Influence of Latin and French upon German Legal Language
Cases to prepare for class: Blum v. Lassus (in French) ; OLG Hamburg 3.3.2006 (in German)
Other materials: Structure of French and German court decisions
Reading assignment: Mattila 238-272; 203-235
Recommended reading: Berteloot, in Mattila (2002): Legal French 81-99; Arntz, in Mattila (2002):
The Roman Heritage in German Legal Language 33-54
9. Legal Spanish and Legal Italian
Influence of Latin upon Italian and Spanish Legal Language -
Influence of French upon Laws and Languages in South-America
Case to prepare for class: Previfort v. Banco de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (in Spanish)
Other materials: Structure of Spanish and Italian court decisions
Reading assignment: Mattila 273-304
Recommended reading: Las Siete Partidas (comments in English or Spanish) available online
10. Legal Latin
Roman Law - Greek and Latin Rhetoric – Latin in Contemporary Legal Texts -
Legal Logic - Legal Doctrine (Legal Dogmatics)
Case to prepare for class: In re Maldonado
Other materials: Valerius Probus’ De iuris notarum; Aulus Gellius on legal vocabulary (both in Latin)
Reading assignment: Mattila 161-201
Recommended reading: Galdia 284-292
11. Lesser Used Legal Languages
Related Legal Languages – Legal Russian - East Asian Legal Languages -
African Languages - Other Languages
Case to prepare for class: Min v. Mitsui Bussan
Other Materials: Promissory note in English and Hawaiian
Reading assignment: -
Recommended reading: Galdia 275-277
12. Legal Lexicology
Legal Concepts and Legal Terms – Semantic Approaches
Case to prepare for class: U.S. v. Haggar Apparel
Other materials: Contracts and torts-related provisions (continued)
Reading assignment: Mattila 137-160
Recommended reading: Galdia 99-100
3

13. Legal Lexicography
Legal Dictionaries – Legal Databases –
Legal Informatics and Comparative Legal Linguistics
Case to prepare for class: Rollerblade v. U.S.
Other materials: Contracts and torts-related provisions (continued)
Reading assignment: Mattila 23; 349
Recommended reading: Galdia 135-138
14. Legal Terminology in Context
Terminology in Context - Polysemy and Synonymy -
Formation and Modernization of Legal Terminology
Cases to prepare for class: Haggar Apparel and Rollerblade cases compared
Other Materials: Truth in Music Advertising Act
Reading assignment: Mattila 343-362
Recommended reading: Galdia 110-126
15. Legal Definitions
Diachronic and Doctrinal Aspects of Legal Defining –
Drafting Definitions – Applying Definitions
Case to prepare for class: Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad
Other materials: Examples of legal definitions
Reading assignment: Mattila 89-93
Recommended reading: Galdia 342-344
16. Textual Aspects of Law
Legal Texts - Law and Literature - Legal Style –
Text types: statutes, contracts - Structure of court decisions
Case to prepare for class: Torres v. Reardon
Other materials: Laurén in Mattila (2002): Iconism and Special Language 11-20
Reading assignment: Mattila 14; 43-44
Recommended reading: Galdia 247-270 and Galdia, Legal Discourses 265-339
17. Pragmatic Linguistics and Legal Linguistics
Legal Semiotics - Legal Pragmatics -
Theory of Communication - Linguistic Operations in Law
Case to prepare for class: Bronston v. U.S.
Other materials: Definitions of pragmatic linguistics
Reading assignment: Mattila 13-14
Recommended reading: Galdia 27-52
18. Comparative Aspects in Pragmatic Legal Linguistics
Pragmatic Legal Linguistics - Comparing Language Use in Legal Cultures
Case to prepare for class: Bronston v. U.S. continued
Other materials: Letter of the U.S. Secretary of Education
Reading assignment: -
Recommended reading: Galdia 5-49
4

19. Legal Argumentation
Argumentation and Rhetoric –
Argumentation in the Legal Practice – Successful Legal Argumentation
Case to prepare for class: PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin
Other materials: French, Italian, German and international statutory provisions on interpretation
Reading assignment: -
Recommended reading: Galdia 156-188
20. Legal Interpretation
Interpreting statutes and precedents – Limits of Legal Interpretation –
Interpretation and Linguistic Manipulation
Case to prepare for class: PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin continues
Other materials: same as in class 19
Reading assignment: -
Recommended reading: Galdia 189-223
21. Legal Translation
Terminological Equivalence - Comparative Law and Legal Translation –
Translation Tools- Legal Metalanguage -
Avoiding Translation - Prospects of Legal Translation
Case to prepare for class: Falcoal, Inc. v. Kurumu
Other materials:-
Reading assignment: Mattila 22
Recommended reading: Galdia, Comparative Law and Legal Translation (available online);
Beaudoin, in Mattila (2002): Legal Translation in Canada 115-130; Galdia 224-237; Matulewska
(2013)
22. Linguistic Legislation
Linguistic Legislation - Linguistic Policy - International Standards
Case to prepare for class: Ramirez v. Plough
Other materials: OSCE Recommendations on Minority and Linguistic Rights
Reading assignment: Mattila 19-21
Recommended reading: Galdia 299-326
23. Linguistic Aspects of Global Law
International Law and Comparative Law –
Global Law and Legal Linguistics
Cases to prepare for class: MCC-Marble Ceramic Center v. Ceramica Nuova D’Agostino, SpA
Other materials: CISG and UCC provisions
Reading assignment: Mattila 257-259
Recommended reading: Galdia 271-282, Galdia Legal Discourses 364-374
24. Prospects of Legal-Linguistic Research
Monolingual and Multilingual Corpus Studies – Legal Discourse -
Towards a Unified Legal Linguistics - Legal Linguistics and Legal Theory
Reading assignment: Mattila 363-365
Recommended reading: Galdia 327-333 and Galdia Legal Discourses 65-112
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9
10
11
12
COURSE LITERATURE
1
2
No. Author, title, publisher
Mattila, H..E.S. (2013): Comparative Legal Linguistics, 2nd. ed (Aldershot: Ashgate) (quoted in the syllabus according to the first edition 2006)
Galdia, M., Cases and Materials for Comparative Law and Comparative Legal Linguistics
(available for students on-line)
3
4
5
Mattila, H.E.S. (2002): The Development of Legal Language (Helsinki: Kauppakaari)
Galdia, M. (2009): Legal Linguistics (Frankfurt/New York: P.Lang)
Galdia, M. (2014): Legal Discourses (Frankfurt/New York: P.Lang)
6
7
8
Cao, D. (2004): Chinese Law. A Language Perspective (Aldershot: Ashgate)
Tiersma, P. (1989): Legal Language (Chicago: Chicago University Press)
Cornu, G. (2005): Linguistique juridique, 3 ed. (Paris : Montchrestien)
Menski, W. (2006): Comparative Law in Global Context. The Legal Systems of Asia and
Africa, 2nd ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Domingo, R. (2010): The New Global Law (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Glenn, H.P. (2010): Legal Traditions of the World. Sustainable Diversity in Law, 4th ed.(New
York/London: Oxford University Press)
Matulewska, A. (2013): Legilinguistic Translatology. A Parametric Approach to Legal
Translation (Bern/Berlin: Lang)
6