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Legal Language

Legal language is a specific language used by legal professionals that contains unusual features compared to everyday language. It utilizes foreign words and maxims from Latin and French, synonyms from multiple lexical sources, archaic words, and circumlocution through unnecessary words. Other characteristics include the use of modifiers, reciprocal words, nominalization of verbs into nouns, syntactic discontinuities, binomials and trinomials, capitalization, and specialized legal discourse with its own lexicon. Legal language plays a pivotal role in the law by communicating legal concepts and arrangements to connect law and the legal system as a means of communication.

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Yogita Khatri
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193 views3 pages

Legal Language

Legal language is a specific language used by legal professionals that contains unusual features compared to everyday language. It utilizes foreign words and maxims from Latin and French, synonyms from multiple lexical sources, archaic words, and circumlocution through unnecessary words. Other characteristics include the use of modifiers, reciprocal words, nominalization of verbs into nouns, syntactic discontinuities, binomials and trinomials, capitalization, and specialized legal discourse with its own lexicon. Legal language plays a pivotal role in the law by communicating legal concepts and arrangements to connect law and the legal system as a means of communication.

Uploaded by

Yogita Khatri
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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LEGAL LANGUAGE

 INTRODUCTION
According to PLATO, “Human language is a result of divine gift.” Language is a
powerful medium of symbols, meanings, communication and expressions. Though,
language is a medium of law but awareness regarding language is essential in the field of
law. Law is made by means of language and controlled by logic. So, language plays a
pivotal role in the lives of lawyers.
Legal Language :
Legal language is that language which is being used by the people (lawyers and other
legal professionals) engaged in legal profession.
The expression “legal language” means not merely a language. The use of adjective
‘legal’ shows that legal language is a specific language. It contains a number of unusual
features which are related to terminology, linguistic structure, linguistic conventions, and
punctuation. Due to its rich vocabulary, we find many problems in legal language like
‘ambiguity’, ‘multiple meaning’, and ‘doubtfulness in its contents’, etc. But Legal experts
give the clarity and simplicity in legal language during the course of their work.

 The main characteristics of Legal Language


 Use of Foreign Words/Maxim :
The development of legal English is closely connected with the history of Great
Britain and the legal tradition of which is based on common law. During the
history legal English was influenced by Latin and French.
For the reasons, Legal English employs a great deal of technical terminology
which is unfamiliar to lay men, for examples, waiver, restraint, res judicata,
caveat emptor, promissory estoppel, etc. Due to such usage of difficult words and
maxims, legal English sometimes seems to be difficult to understand.
EXAMPLE- Ab initio, locus standi, ad hoc, sine die etc.
 Synonymy:
Due to such French and Latin influence, English abounds in synonyms. At
least three lexical sources gave rise to a great number of synonyms existing
side-by side.
EXAMPLE- Assign – transfer; Breach – violation; Clause – provision –
paragraph – article
 Use of Archaic words:
Archaic or old words are being used less frequently than other terms, so they
became rather obscure in the course of time. Old words are used in legal
English primarily to avoid repeating names or phrases.
EXAMPLE - Hereat means (1) ‘at this place or point’ or (2) ‘on account of or
after this’. For example, ‘hereat the stream divided’
 Circumlocution:
Circumlocution comes from the Latin words circum, “circle,” and loqui, “to
speak.” So, circumlocution, an essential characteristic of legal language,
simply means “talking around.” Here, one unnecessarily uses large number of
words to express an idea though it can be expressed more clearly in fewer
words.
EXAMPLE-
Circumlocuted Expression Modern Equivalents
Adequate number of Enough
At the time when when
 Use of Modifiers:
The modifiers such as the same, the said, the aforesaid, the aforementioned,
etc. which are used in legal texts are interesting, because they are very
frequently used as adjectives to determine the noun, but not to replace them.
 Reciprocal words:
Legal English contains some words and titles, such as employer and
employee, addresser and addressee, lessor and lessee, in which the reciprocal
and opposite nature of relationship is indicated by the use of alternative
endings.
 Nominalization:
Grammatical expressions Noun
EXAMPLE – to apply = to make an application
 Syntactic discontinuities:
Interrupt natural flow of sentence by reserting added information
 Binomials : A pair of words linked by conjuctions or prepositions
 Trinomials : Three words commonly grouped as one set phrase
 Capitalization:
In legal language, capital forms of words are being used widely and
explicitly. Our Preamble (The Preamble of Indian Constitution) is a good
example of the use of capital letters: WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having
solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN, SOCIALIST,
SECULAR, DEMOCRATIC, REPUBLIC
 Specialized discourse :
Language used in professional and institutional settings. One distinguishing
feature of SD is its lexicon .

 CONCLUSION
Language is one of the most important discoveries. Language is the chief means of
communication. So, law and legal system is also an arrangement of communications.
Like language, law is a part of super genus. Like communication system of language,
there is communication system of law. The scope and extent of legal language is very
much wide, because the legal language deals with the common man but dealt by its
legal experts.

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