The-Stylistic-Features-of-legal-documents1

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1、TheStylisticFeaturesofLegalDocumentsI.Register Whats your impression about Legal Documents?RegisterLegalEnglishisEnglishusedinlawandotherlegaldocuments.Thelawisasetofenforcedrulesunderwhichasocietyisgoverned.Thelawestablishes the rulesthatdefineapersonsrightsandobligations.Italsosets penalties forpe

2、oplewhoviolatetheserules.RegisterFOD1.1 Field of discourse FODreferstothetypeofsocialactivityinwhichlanguageplaysapart.SolegaldocumentsFODisthatthereareregulationsclarifyingtheobligationsandrightsofthepartiesinvolvedinaparticularlegalsubjectfield.Register1.2 The classification of legal documentsThel

3、egaldocumentscanbeclassifiedintomanycategories,suchasdecree(法令),agreement(协议),contract(合同),treaty(契约),judgment(判决)，ruling(裁定)andsoon.RegisterLaw public law private lawThe private lawisalsocalledcivillawwhichdeterminesapersonslegalrightsandobligationsinmanykindsofactivitiesthatinvolveotherpeople.The

4、public lawinvolvesthegovernmentdirectly.Itdefinesapersonsrightsandobligationsinrelationtothegovernment.ThetortlawRegisterThe private lawTheinheritancelawThecontractThecommerciallawThefamilylawThepropertylawThecorporationlawRegisterpublic lawTheinternationallawThecriminallawThe administrative lawThec

5、onstitutionallawRegister2.MODLegalEnglishisoftenmostpresentedinthewritten form,anditisprobablythemostarchaicandformalofallthevarietiesofthelanguageanditiscertainlyoneofthemoststylisticallydistinctivevarietiesofEnglish.Itisold fashionedbecauseitdrawsuponatime-honoredandwell-triedtraditionofusagewhich

6、hasevolvedinthehandsoflawyers,andwhichtheyknowfromexperiencedoesthejobtheywantittodotostatefactsandagreementsabouttheminanextremelypreciseway.Soitisobviousofthemodeoflegaldocumentsthatitemployshighlyformalwrittenlanguagetoclarifytherightsandobligationsindetail.Register3.TODAstothetenor,thedraftsofle

7、galtextwhoonbehalfofthewillofthesupremepowerofthestategoverningthebehaviorsofthepartiesconcernedintherelatedlegaleventsandintherangewherethelawareapplicable.RegisterTheenforcementoftheirobligationsThetermsofpunishmentforTheviolationofthelawandtheevasionoftheirobligations.ConcernswiththeGuaranteeofpe

8、oplesrights010203thelegalEnglishhasthefunctionsof:II.Linguistic Description Semantic Features 1.Linguistic DescriptionFormalnessImpersonal:impartial4Precise12Solemn/authoritative31)Characters:Conservative5Linguistic Description1.1.Precision（精确）（精确）Precisionshouldbetheprimaryrequirementofthelegislati

9、vewriting,whichallowsofnoambiguityininterpretingthedocuments.Theimportanceandseriousnessattachedtolegaldocumentsmakeitessentialtoavoidinaccuratewordsoruncleardefinitionsinlegallanguage.TheprecisionoflegalEnglishisrealizedbytheuseofcorrectwords,technicaltermsandsentencepatternsfreefromloopholesandamb

10、iguities.Nolaworadministrativeorlocalrulesandregulationsshall contravenetheconstitution.(一切法律、行政法规和地方法规都不得同宪法相抵触)Linguistic DescriptionE.G.FormalnessisanotherstylisticfeatureoflegalEnglish.Lawsorregulations,formulatedbyStateorganstoregulatepeoplesbehavior,areauthoritative.Inordertoshowtheirauthority

11、,thelanguageusedshouldbeformalandfreefromcolloquialwordsorexpressions.TheemploymentofOldorMiddleEnglishwordsorwordsofLatinorFrenchoriginsandlongandcomplexsentencescontributestotheformalnessoflegalEnglish.Linguistic Description1.2.Formalness（正式）（正式）Unlikethelanguageoftheadvertisementwhichemploysitscr

12、aftsmanshiptoarousethepotentialconsumersstrongdesiretobuyacertainproductorservice,thelanguageofthelawfocusesonassertingadeterrentforce.InordertocreateanatmosphereofSolemnity,thedraftsmanoflawstendstousemanynarrativesentencesandimperativesentences,andavoidsUsingdescriptivemodifierstoIndicatetheobject

13、ivityandthebindingforceofrulesandregulations.Linguistic Description1.3.Impassiveness（冷漠）（冷漠）Linguistic Description1.4.Impersonal writingToachieveimpartiality,whichisoneofthemostimportantfeaturesoflaw,thelanguageusedshouldbeimpersonalandobjective.Wordswithanemotionalimpactaretobeavoidedinlegallanguag

14、eandtheextensiveuseofpassivevoicealsoindicatestheimpassivefeatureoflegalEnglish.Linguistic Description1.5.Conservative（保守，严谨）（保守，严谨）Consequently,thecomposersoflegaldocumentsmusttakethegreatestpainstoensurethatitsaysexactlywhathewantstosayandatthesametimegivesnoopportunityformisinterpretation.Theyhav

15、etopayspecialattentiontotheprecisionofwording,andtheavoidanceofmisunderstandingaswellasambiguity,andforthispurpose,theyoftenciteconventionalformulasandusemodelexamples.Thereluctancetoadoptnewanduntestedmodesofexpressioncontributestothelinguisticconservatismoflegallanguage.Linguistic DescriptionItisw

16、ellknownthatfeaturesatonelevelwillreinforcefeaturesatotherlevels.ItisalsotrueoflegalEnglish.Therareuseofpronouns,theavoidanceofemotiveadjectives,thefrequentuseofcoordinationatthelexicallevel,andtheemploymentofcomplete,major,declarativesentences,thefrequentuseofcomplexnominalgroupsatthesyntacticlevel

17、,allcontributetotheconveyingoftheexactmeaning,theavoidanceofpersonalfeelingsandambiguity.Linguistic DescriptionInordertoachieveexactnessofreferenceandtogetridofanypossiblemisinterpretationormisunderstanding,extremelydetailedexpressionsarepreferredinlegalEnglish.II.Linguistic Description Lexical Feat

18、ures 2.Linguistic DescriptionCommon words in legal senseCommon words in legal senseArchaisms Archaisms Loan wordsLoan words-Vote.Reduplication of synonyms or Reduplication of synonyms or near-synonymsnear-synonymsTechnical termsTechnical terms Official wordsOfficial wordsLinguistic Description2.1 Lo

19、an wordsWordsofdifferentoriginsmayyielddifferentstylisticeffects.BorrowedwordsfromFrench andLatinarebigwordsandliterarywordsandareconsideredmoreelegantandrefined.AtextloadedwithLatinateorFrenchwordsmayseemratherformal,serious or dignified.So,LatinateorFrenchwordsareappropriatetowritingsonmore seriou

20、s topics.Linguistic DescriptionBesides,theseborrowedwordsorphrasesfromFrenchandLatinpossessunivocity(单义性)oflegalsenseandarequitesuitablefortheaccuracyandprecisenessoflegalEnglishtexts,whichistheotherimportantreasonthatpersonnelinlegalfieldprefertothem.(Re:Univocitymeansthatawordalwayshasthesamemeani

21、ng.Aunivocalwordisunambiguousandprecise.)Linguistic Description2.1.1.Words with Latin originLatinfirstpermeatedintoEnglishin597AD，andIntermingledbylargeamountwithEnglishinthefieldoflaw,inthearchaismperiodofthe14thand15thAD(Li，2003:17).Andsincethen，lotsofEnglishwordswithLatinsourcesremaininlegalEngli

22、sh.affirm(断言断言)veto(否决否决)appeal(上诉上诉)immune(免除的免除的)offence(犯罪犯罪)verdict(裁决裁决)injury(伤害伤害)litigant(诉讼人诉讼人)legal(合法的合法的)register(注册注册)custody(拘留拘留)orbiter(仲裁人仲裁人)suppress(镇压镇压)testimony(证词证词)detention(拘留拘留)negotiate(谈判谈判)homicide(杀人杀人)Convict(宣告宣告)declaration(宣言宣言)prosecute(对对起诉起诉)compensate(补偿补偿)appe

23、llate(受理上诉的受理上诉的)Linguistic DescriptionE.G.Linguistic DescriptionTherearealsoLatinwordsretainedinthelegislative texts.HereisalistofLatinwordsbasictolegislativetexts:Jusretentiouis(留置权)perstripes(代位继承)obligationsolitarian(连带债务)confidejussio(共同保证)Linguistic Description2.1.2.Words with France originSin

24、ce1154，BritainhadbeenreinedbyFranceintheHouseofPlantagenetandFrenchbecamethe official language，widely used in palace,courts and schools.LotsofEnglishwordswithFrenchoriginsarereservedinthelegislativetextstoday.bill(法案)petition(请愿)suit(诉讼)summon(传票)plea(抗辩)eyre(巡回法庭)inquest(审讯)defendant(被告)assize(巡回审判

25、)attorney(律师)complaint(控告)advocate(辩护者)plaintiff(原告)judge(审判员，法官)bar(法庭，审判台)hueandcry(通缉令)indictment(告发，控告)Linguistic DescriptionE.G.Linguistic DescriptionCommonwords，formalwordsandinformalwordsareusednotfortheircommonmeaning，butfortheirspecialmeaning.2.2.Common words in legal sensearticle(Law)apart

26、ofalaworlegalagreementthatdealswithaparticularpoint:Article one of the constitution guarantees freedom of religion.Athing,especiallyoneofagroupofthings=item:She only took a few articles of clothing with her.Apieceofwritingaboutaparticularsubjectinanewspaperormagazine An article on environmental issu

27、esLinguistic DescriptionE.G.Linguistic Description(Grammar)awordusedbeforeanountoshowwhetherthenounreferstoaparticularexampleofsomethingortoageneralexampleofsomething.InEnglish,theiscalledthedefinitearticleandaandanarecalledtheindefinitearticle.Action:lawsuit诉讼 Apprehend:takeintocustody拘押 Appeal:the

28、transferofacasefromalowertoahighercourtforanewhearing上诉 Assign:transfer(property,rights,orinterests)fromonetoanother转让Bill:adraftofaproposedlawpresentedforapprovaltoalegislativebodyLinguistic DescriptionE.G.Linguistic DescriptionArchaismsrefertothewordsandphrasesofOldandMiddleEnglishwhichhavelongsin

29、cepassedoutingeneralEnglishoftoday,especiallyinspokenEnglish.Thesewordshelpensuretheaccuracyandformalityoflegaltexts.ThearchaismswidelyusedinlegalEnglisharegenerallyformedbythethreeAdverbs(here,thereandwhere)addingsomeprepositionssuchasabout,after,at,before,by,for,from,in,of,on,to,under,withetc.2.3.

30、Archaisms(古词古词)Linguistic DescriptionArchaisms beginning with“here”Archaisms beginning with“here”Archaisms beginning with“where”Archaisms beginning with“where”other archaisms other archaisms Archaisms beginning with“there”Archaisms beginning with“there”Linguistic DescriptionFrequentuseofarchaismsinl

31、egalEnglishtextsisdeterminedbythenatureoflaw.Lawisthesymbolofpowerandisextremelyserious,whichmeansthatonceformulatedandthenapprovedbytheauthority,lawscannotbealteredasonepleasesandshouldhavestabilityandpersistency.Archaismsaretheproductofthestabilityandpersistencyoflaw.Thesearchaismscolortextsoflega

32、lEnglishwithseriousnessandantiqueness,whichmakethesetextshighlyformal.Simultaneously,theymakelegalEnglishtextslogicallywell-organized,whichisconductivetotheaccurateexpressionofmeanings.Linguistic DescriptionAlargenumberofsynonymsornear-synonymsareusedinlegallanguage.Twosynonymsortwowordswithclosemea

33、ningcanbeconnectedby“and”or“or”tocomplementeachother.Theuseofsynonymshelpsmakethedenotationclearerandmoreprecise.Generallyspeaking，synonymscannotbereplacedbyeachotherinlegalEnglish.2.4.Synonymsornear-synonyms Linguistic DescriptionLotsoflegaltechnicaltermsareusedinlegislativetextsoutoftherequirement

34、forthecorrectnessandclearnessofthelegalconcept.Andthereareusuallytwokindsoftechnicaltermsinlegislativelanguage:thefirsttypeistechnical termsemployedtoexpresstheconceptofcommon-corelanguageindailylife;thesecondtypeiscommon-core vocabulary in daily lifeborrowedtodefinespecificlegalmeaningsinlegallangu

35、age2.5 Technical termsTheformerincludeswordslike:tort(侵权)subrogation(代位权)certiorari(上级法院向下级法院或准司法机构调取案卷的令状)，whilethelattercontainsthewordslike:average(海损)minor(未成年人)omission(不作为)review(复审)limitation(诉讼实效)precedent(判例，先例)affirmance(上级法院维持对下级法院的判决)Linguistic DescriptionE.G.Linguistic DescriptionColloq

36、uiallanguageisseldomusedinlegislativetexts，andaggregationofbigwordsandwrittenlanguageisoneofthecharacteristicsoflegislativetexts.2.6 Official words Terminated-endpurchase-buyRender-makeproceed-gorequest-taskprior-earlierdesist-stopemploy-useamiable-friendlypresent-givedemonstrate-showcommence-beginL

37、inguistic DescriptionE.G.Linguistic DescriptionThewordsontheleftsideofthesegroupsareofficialwordsusedinlegislativetexts，whilethewordsontherightsideofthesegroupshavingexactmeaningswiththewordsontheleft，butbeingmorecolloquialandinformalwordsusedmoreindailylanguage.Syntactical&Grammatical FeaturesLingu

38、istic Description3.Linguistic DescriptionAsfarassentencetypeisconcerned,legaldocumentstendtoemploylong,complexdeclarativesentences.Withinthesentences,thereareusuallymoreclauses,morepostmodifiersincomplexnominalgroups,andmoreadverbialmodifiers,becauselegaldocumentstendtodefinetermsandconditions,right

39、sandobligationsmostpreciselyandthoroughlywithoutleavinganyloopholes,soastoachieveexactnessofexpression,toavoidanyambiguityorpossiblemisinterpretation.3.1 The Employment of Long Complicated Sentences NOWTHEREFORE,thepartiesagreeasfollows:Assignorherebyirrevocablyassigns,conveysandotherwisetransfersto

40、Devco,anditsrespectivesuccessors,licensees,andassignees,allright,titleandinterestworldwideinandtotheworkandallpropertyrightstherein,including,withoutlimitation,allcopyrights,trademarks,designpatents,tradesecretrights,moralrights,andallcontractandlicensingrights,andallclaimsandcausesofaction,inrespec

41、ttoanyoftheforegoing,whethernowknownorhereaftertobecomeknown(ZhouLing,2006:86).Linguistic DescriptionE.G.Linguistic DescriptionBesides,inmanycases,oneparagraphonlyconsistsofonesentence,whichhasaverycomplexstructure,havingmanysubordinateclausesandmodifiersinordertogivedetailed,preciseandadequatedefin

42、ition,descriptionandexplanation.Thisis“one-sentencerule”andtheone-sentencestructureThepeopleintheirwisdomhavegivenappellantboardtheexclusivepowertodetermineunderwhatcircumstancesitisorisnotcontrarytopublicwelfareandmoralstoissuealiquorlicense.Linguistic DescriptionE.G.Linguistic Description3.2 The f

43、requent Use of Basic Sentence StructuresLinguistic Description Subject toFor the purpose(s)ofShall Basic sentence structures Where-clauseProvided that Linguistic DescriptionAnothertypicalsyntacticfeatureoflegalEnglishisthefrequentuseofthebasicsentencestructuresofIf,sb.shalldosth.,orProvidedthat,sb.s

44、halldosth,orWhereas,sb.shalldosth.,etc.Inthesestructures,thefirstpartindicatesthecondition,andthesecondpart,therightsorobligations.Besidesthese,thereisoftenalonginterruptedmovementbetweenthemodalverb(shall)andthemainverbinlegaldocuments.EverybillwhichshallhavepassedtheHouseofRepresentativesandtheSen

45、ate,shall,beforeitbecomealaw,bepresentedtothePresidentoftheUnitedStates;ifheapproveheshallsignit,butifnotheshall returnit,withhisobjectionstothatHouseinwhichitshallhaveoriginated,whoshall entertheobjectionsatlargeontheirjournal,andproceedtoreconsiderit.Linguistic DescriptionE.G.Linguistic Descriptio

46、nUseofnominalizationisanothersyntacticfeatureoflegalEnglish.OneofthesalientfeaturesofdifferencebetweenChineseandEnglishistheirdifferentpreferenceforverbsandnounsrespectively.Englishpreferencefornominalizationisalsoembodiedinlegaltexts.Byusingit,thesubjectofthesentencecanbeomittedandthesentenceisgive

47、naformalstyle.3.3 The application ofnominalization1)发生严重亏损，一方不履行合同和章程规定的义务、不可抗力等，可提前终止合同。Incaseofheavylosses，failureofapartytofulfilltheobligationsprescribedbythecontractorthearticlesofassociation，orforcemajeure，thecontractmaybeTerminated.2)李明在中国居住期间没有受过刑事制裁。LiMinghasnorecordofcommittingoffencesagai

48、nstthecriminallawduringhisresidenceinChina.Linguistic DescriptionE.G.3)国家提倡劳动者参加社会义务劳动，开展劳动竞赛和合理化建议活动。Thestateshalladvocatetheparticipationoflaborersinsocialvoluntarylaborandthedevelopmentoftheirlaborcompetitionsandactivitiesofforwardingrationalproposals.Linguistic DescriptionE.G.Linguistic Descript

49、ionIntheabovethreeexamples,“case,losses,failure,record,residence,participation,development”arekeywordsofthenounphrasestheyarein.ThesewordsareusedinplaceofverbsequivalenttotheChineseversions:“occur，lose，donot，bedone，reside，participate,develop”withthesuccessofexpressingboththemeaningofactionandstate.L

50、inguistic DescriptionThedistinctivenessoflegalEnglishisalsomarkedbyitshighfrequencyofpassivevoicesentences.AndthesamefunctionholdstrueforlegalEnglish.Moreimportantly,thepassivevoiceisadoptedheretoshowobjectivityaswellastopermitthedeletionofreferencetotheparticipantassociatedwiththeaction.Asamatterof

51、fact,passivevoicesentencesarelikeathreadpermeatingthewholelegaldocument,thelanguageofwhichispredeterminedbyitsstyle,thatis,tobepreciseandobjective.3.4 The Use of Passive ConstructionsLinguistic DescriptionItissometimesclaimedthatlegallanguagehasanunusualamountofnegation.Theprofessionsfavoringofthene

52、gativemayberelatedtotheage-oldnotionthatwhateverisnotexplicitlyforbiddenispermissible.Itiseasiertotellpeoplewhattheycannotdo,ratherthanwhattheycan.Thelawisprimarilyaboutwhatpeoplecannotdo.3.5 The Use of Negative SentencesLinguistic DescriptionThebasicnegativesentencepatterninlegalEnglishisindicatedb

53、y“shall not”or“may not”.Andthenegativesentencepattern“nothing(no)+shall/may”appearsofteninlegaldocuments，whichcanbeconsideredasakindofstrongnegation.Negativesincludenotjustwordslike“not”or“never”butanyelementswithnegativemeaning，liketheprefix“mis-”in“misunderstand”orevensemanticnegativeslike“deny”.A

54、napplicationmay not bemadebyapersonbeforetakingtheappropriateproceduralstep(ifany)toacknowledgethelegalproceedingsagainsthimorafterhehastakenanystepinthoseproceedingstoanswerthesubstantiveclaim.Linguistic DescriptionE.G.Linguistic DescriptionLong and Complicated SentencesNominalizationPassive Constr

55、uctionsThe Use of Negative SentencesDeclarative Sentences Simple Present TensePreference for Modal VerbsLinguistic DescriptionItis the most appropriate way to fulfill thefunctions of legal documents effectively.Meanwhile,it can give the reader animpressionofsolemnityandthenstrengthentheformalityofle

56、galEnglish3.6 The Use of Declarative Sentences3.6 The Use of Declarative SentencesLinguistic DescriptionTodescribethestateatpresentToexpresstheobjectivetruthandexistenceorscientificfactsToexpressregularactions 3.7 The Predomination of the Simple Present TenseLinguistic DescriptionIntermsoftimeofeffe

57、ctiveness,lawhastwoqualities:permanence and universality.permanence and universality.Permanencemeansthatonceformulatedandthenapprovedbytheauthority,lawcannotbealteredasonepleases.Universalitymeansthatonceformulatedandthenapprovedbytheauthority,lawshouldbeobservedbyallthemembersinthesocietyortheparti

58、esinvolved.Linguistic DescriptionItisthetwoqualitiesoflawthatmakelegaldocumentsseemtobeobjectiveexistenceorscientificprincipleswhichareuniversallyapplicableandnotlimitedtotime.Linguistic Description3.8 The Use of Auxiliary verbs“AnotherhighfrequentstructureinlegalEnglishisthatofmodalauxiliary(usuall

59、y+shall)+be+past participle,whichisoneofthemoststrikingcharacteristicsofEnglishlegallanguage”(Crystal&Davy,1969,pp.206-207).“Shall”underthiscircumstanceisinvariablyusedtoexpresswhatistobetheobligatoryconsequenceofalegaldecisionandnotsimplyasamarkeroffuturetense,whichisitsmainfunctioninothervarieties

60、.Linguistic DescriptionBetweentheauxiliaryandthelexicalverbthereissometimesaquiteremarkabledegreeofseparation:“ThegovernmentoftheHongKongSpecialAdministrativeRegionshall,onitsown,formulatemonetaryandfinancialpolicies”(Article70,The basic law).Linguistic DescriptionE.G.Linguistic DescriptionThesepara

61、tionisusuallycausedbyprepositionalphrasesasadverbialclausesindicatingtimeandplace.“Shall”and“may”areusedinasensethatbeyondtheiressentialmeanings.ThisphenomenonisconsideredasatypicalfeatureofEnglishlegallanguageandthemodalverbsespecially“shall”havebecomeanindispensablewordinthedraftingofEnglishlegald

62、ocuments.Other features about legal documentsLinguistic Description4.Linguistic DescriptionThisisbecausethechangeoradditionoromissionofpunctuationsmightchangethemeaningofthedocuments,andsoitmightaswelldowithoutthem.Whensometimespunctuationmarksareused,themostfrequentlyusedinlegaldocumentsarealwaysst

63、atements.Thesecondreasonisthatlegaldocumentsarenotwrittenforreadingaloud,andthereforethereisnoneedforpausesmarkedbypunctuations.4.1 Rare using of punctuation marksConclusion .ConclusionMConclusionand accurate in meaningwell-knit in structurestable in formconservative in toneformal in stylethe the stylisticallystylistically significant significant features features of legal of legal EnglishEThank You!