parti

The language of the law

 The nature of legal language

PeterTiersma
LoyolaLawSchool,LosAngeles

Legallanguagesareinevitablyproductsofthehistoryofthenationorstatein
whichtheyareused,aswellasthepeculiardevelopmentsofthelegalsystemin
question.Intermsoffeatures,theytendtobecharacterizedbyminordiffer-
encesinspelling,pronunciation,andorthography;longandcomplexsentences,
oftencontainingconjoinedphrasesorlists,aswellaspassiveandnominal
constructions;andalargeanddistinctlexicon.Theprofessionhasdeveloped
distincttraditionsonhowitslanguageshouldbeinterpreted.Intermsofstyle,
thelanguageofthelawisoftenarchaic,formal,impersonal,andwordyor
redundant.Anditcanberelativelyprecise,orquitegeneralorvague,depending
onthestrategicobjectivesofthedrafter.

1. Introduction

Anyonewhostudiesforensiclinguistics,orlanguageandthelawmoregenerally,
isinevitablygoingtocomeintocontactwithlegallanguage.By“legallanguage,”
Imeanthedistinctmannerofspeakingandwritingthathasbeendevelopedby
justaboutanylegalsystemthroughouttheworld.Aprimaryconcernofmany
forensiclinguistsislegaldiscourse,particularlycourtroomproceedings.Inthis
setting,theprofessionalplayers(judgesandlawyers)typicallyusesomekindof
legallanguagetocommunicatewitheachother.Evenwhenmembersofthelay
publicareinvolvedasparties,experts,orjurors,theywillinevitablybeconfronted
withlegallanguage,whichinmanycaseswillcreateaneedforsomekindofex-
planationortranslation(aswhenjuryinstructionstrytoexplainlegalconcepts
inordinarylanguage).Evengreaterproblemsarisewhenlaypersonswhodonot
speaktheofficiallanguageofthecourtroombecomeintertwinedwiththelegal
system.Obviously,thiscallsfortranslationorinterpretation,butitisusuallynot
justamatterofconverting,letussay,EnglishintoChinese,butofconvertingle-
galEnglishintoordinaryChinese.Thus,anycourtinterpretermusthaveasolid
understandingofatleastonelegallanguage,andperhapsmorethanone.Finally,
 PeterTiersma

thoseforensiclinguistswhoconcernthemselvesmainlywiththeuseoflinguistic
expertisetosolvelegalissues(suchastheidentificationofaspeakerorwriter,or
aperson’snationality,byusinglinguisticcriteria)willalsoneedtohaveaworking
knowledgenotjustofthelegalsysteminquestion,butalsoitslanguage,inorder
tocompetentlycarryouttheirfunction.
InthischapterIwillbediscussingprimarilyEnglishlegallanguage,which
ismyprimaryspecialty.MostoftheobservationsthatIwillbemakingapplyto
otherlegallanguagesaswell,andfromtimetotimethispointwillbemadeex-
plicitbymeansofspecificexamples.Wewillbeginourdiscussionbyexamining
thebackgroundorhistoryoflegallanguage,andthenproceedtodiscussitsmost
prominentfeatures.

2. History

Everylanguageisaproductofitshistory,andmorespecifically,aproductofthe
historyofthepeoplewhospeakit.Legallanguageisnotjustaproductoftheso-
cietyorjurisdictioninwhichitisused,butalsoofthelegalprofessionthatspeaks
and writes it. Legal English is a good example. Its story involves Anglo-Saxon
mercenaries, Latin-speaking missionaries, Scandinavian raiders, and Norman
invaders,allofwhomlefttheirmarknotonlyonEngland,butonitslanguage.
English legal language was therefore heavily influenced the forces that shaped
theEnglishnationingeneral.But,inaddition,itwasformedbythedistinctex-
periencesoftheprofession.ThediscussionthatfollowsisbasedonBaker(1990),
Mellinkoff(1963),andTiersma(1999).

2.1 TheAnglo-Saxonperiod

The English language can be said to have begun around 450 A.D., when boat-
loads of Angles, Jutes, Saxons and Frisians arrived from the Continent. These
Germanicinvadersspokecloselyrelatedlanguages,whichcametoformwhatwe
callAnglo-SaxonorOldEnglish.AlthoughtheAnglo-Saxonsseemtohavehad
nodistinctlegalprofession,theydiddevelopatypeoflegallanguage,remnants
ofwhichhavesurviveduntiltoday.Examplesincludewordslikebequeath, goods,
guilt, manslaughter, murder, oath, right, sheriff, steal, swear, theft, thief, ward, wit-
ness andwrit.
BecauseatthistimetheAnglo-Saxonswereilliterate(exceptfortheverylim-
ited use of a runic alphabet), they needed mnemonic devices to help them re-
memberthelaw.Themostcommonofsuchdeviceswererhymeandalliteration,
 Thenatureoflegallanguage 9

andwefindremnantsofeachintoday’slegallanguage.Onealliterativephrase
thathassurvivedisto have and to hold,whichisstillfoundinmanydeedsand
alsoinweddingvows.Numerousmodernwillscontainthephraserest, residue
and remainder,andcontractsoftenhaveahold harmlessclause.Anexampleof
rhymeisthemaxim,finders keeper, losers weepers, whichisawell-knownalbeit
notalwayscorrectstatementofthelaw.
The Anglo-Saxons used not only Old English as a legal language, but also
Latin.AlthoughLatinwasoriginallyintroducedtoEnglandduringtheRoman
occupationofBritain,itbecameamajorforceonlyafterthearrivalofChristian
missionariesin597.Beforelong,Latinwasthelanguagenotonlyofthechurch,
butofeducationandlearning.Theassociationbetweenliteracyandthechurch
becamesostrongthatthetwowerealmostsynonymous.Thetermsclerk(some-
onewhocanwrite)andclericorclergy(priest)derivefromthesameLatinroot.
Forcenturies,Englishcourtsrecognizedatypeofimmunityformembersofthe
clergy,whowereidentifiedbytheirabilitytoread.
Theintroductionofliteracyresultedinmanylegaltransactionsbeingmemo-
rialized,orperformed,inwriting.SeveraloftheearlyAnglo-Saxonkingscreated
writtencodesoflaw,forexample.Inaddition,althoughwritingwasseldomessen-
tialinthisperiod,dozensofearlyEnglishwrittenwillsanddeedssurvive.Some
ofthesedocumentsareinLatin,butasubstantialnumberareinOldEnglish.
NottooterriblylongaftertheyhadthemselvesinvadedEngland,theAnglo-
SaxonsfoundthemselvesunderattackfromanothergroupofGermanicwarriors:
theVikings.Eventually,alargegroupofVikingssettledinEnglandandgradually
assimilatedtotheexistingpopulation.TheyendedupspeakingEnglish,butinthe
processtheyinfluencedthelanguagebygivingitafairamountofScandinavian
vocabulary. In the legal sphere, their legacy includes the most important legal
wordin the English language: the wordlawitself. Law derives from the Norse
wordfor“lay”andthusmeans“thatwhichislaiddown.”

2.2 TheNormanConquestandtheintroductionofFrench

Thenextforeigninvasion,theNormanConquest,hadafarmoreprofoundand
lastingimpactonthelanguageofEnglishlawyers.TheNormanswereoriginally
VikingswhoconqueredtheregionofNormandyduringtheninthandtenthcen-
turies.Inthecourseofafewgenerations,theseVikingsbecameFrenchbothcul-
turallyandlinguistically;theNorthmenhadbecomeNormans.William,Dukeof
Normandy,claimedtheEnglishthroneandconqueredEnglandin1066.Before
long,theEnglish-speakingrulingclasswaslargelysupplantedbyonethatspoke
NormanFrench.
10 PeterTiersma

The Normans were accustomed to writing legal documents in Latin, not
French.So,theroleofLatinexpanded.Atthesametime,Englishwasregardedas
thelanguageofaconqueredpeople,andforseveralhundredyearslargelyfaded
awayasalegallanguage.
Latinremainedimportantforlegalpurposesuntiltheearlypartoftheeigh-
teenthcentury.Itwasusedalmostexclusivelyasthelanguageofcourtrecords.
ThepracticeofusingLatinversusincasenamesharksbacktothesetimes.Eng-
lishlawyersandjudgeswerealsopronetoexpresssayingsormaximsaboutthe
lawinLatin.Atonetime,thereweremanyhundredsofmaximsaboutthelaw,
virtuallyalloftheminLatin.JustaboutallthathassurvivedofLatininthelegal
sphereisasmallnumberofthesemaxims,suchascaveat emptor, whichhasin-
filtratedintogeneralknowledge,andafewsayingsregardinggeneralprinciples
oflawandlegalinterpretation,includingde minimis non curat lexandexpressio
unius est exclusio alterius.
ThefirstcenturyortwofollowingtheNormanConquestsawverylittlewrit-
tenlegislativeactivity,andtotheextenttherewasany,itwasdoneinLatin.But
starting with the thirteenth century, the volume of legislation (as well as other
legaldocumentation)startedtoincreasedramatically(Clanchy1993).Latinwas
stillwidelyusedforlegalpurposes,ofcourse.Butaround1275,statutesinFrench
begantoappear.By1310almostallactsofParliamentwereinthatlanguage.Dur-
ingthissametime,royalcourtswereestablishedandjudgeswereappointedwho
begantodispensejustice.Clerics,whohadpreviouslydonemostlegalwork,were
forbiddenbythechurchtodoso,andthereafteradistinctprofessionoflawyers
arose.TheprofessionallanguageoftheselegalprofessionalswasAnglo-French.
Oddly,theuseofFrenchintheEnglishlegalsystemgrewattheverytimethat
itsdeclineasalivinglanguageinEnglandwaswellunderway.Baker(1998)has
observedthatoutsidethelegalsphere,Anglo-Frenchwasinsteadydeclineafter
1300.Eventheroyalhousehold,thelastbastionofFrench,switchedtoEnglish
bytheearly1400s.YetlawyersclungtoFrenchastheirprofessionallanguagefor
anothercenturyortwo.
Unhappinessaboutthisstateofaffairsledtowhatmightbeconsideredthefirst
plainEnglishlaw.In1362ParliamentenactedtheStatuteofPleading,condemn-
ingFrenchas“unknowninthesaidRealm”andlamentingthatpartiesinalawsuit
“havenoKnowledgenorUnderstandingofthatwhichissaidforthemoragainst
thembytheirSerjeantsandotherPleaders.”Thestatuterequiredthathenceforth
all pleas be “pleaded, shewed, defended, answered, debated, and judged in the
EnglishTongue.”Ironically,thestatuteitselfwasinFrench!
Thelegalprofessionseemstohavelargelyignoredthisstatute.ActsofParlia-
mentdidfinallyswitchtoEnglisharound1480,butlegaltreatisesandreportsof
courtscasesremainedmostlyinFrenchthroughoutthesixteenthcenturyandthe
 Thenatureoflegallanguage 11

firsthalfoftheseventeenth.Complaintscontinuedtomount.WhenthePuritans
tookoverParliamentandabolishedthemonarchy,theypassedalawin1650that
requiredallcasereportsandbooksoflawtobe“intheEnglishTongueonly.”But
when the monarchy was restored, lawyers were once again free to use French,
althoughbythentheirFrenchwasseverelydegraded.
FrenchhadastrongimpactonmanyaspectsofmodernEnglish,especiallyin
termsofvocabulary.Butbecauseitwasthemainlanguageoftheprofessionforso
manycenturies,andespeciallyduringitsformativeperiod,itsinfluenceonlegal
languagehasbeenthatmuchgreater.Forexample,justaboutallthebasictermi-
nologyforcourtsandcourtproceedingsisFrenchinorigin,includingappeal, at-
torney, bailiff, bar, claim, complaint, counsel, court, defendant, demurrer, evidence,
indictment, judge, judgment, jury, justice, party, plaintiff, plea, plead, sentence, sue,
suit, summon, verdictandvoir dire.
Frenchinfluencecanalsobeseeninthesubstantialnumberoflegalphrases
consistingofadjectivesfollowingthenounthattheymodify,whichistheusual
Frenchwordorder.SeveralsuchcombinationsarestillcommoninlegalEnglish,
includingattorney general, court martial, fee simple absolute, letters testamentary,
malice aforethought,andsolicitor general.Also,LawFrenchallowedthecreation
ofworldsendingin-eetoindicatethepersonwhowastherecipientorobjectof
anaction(lessee:“thepersonleasedto”).Lawyers,eventoday,arecoiningnew
wordsonthispattern,includingasylee, condemnee, detainee, expellee,andtippee.
ParliamentfinallyendedtheuseofLatinandFrenchinlegalproceedingsin
1731.Bythen,however,itwasdeliveringmerelyacoupdegrâce.

2.3 LegallanguageintheNewWorld

The English colonies in the Americas, which later became the United States,
werelargelypopulatedbypeoplefromBritainwhowerefamiliarwithEnglish
lawanditsidiom.Norsurprisingly,perhaps,whenthecoloniesbecameinde-
pendent, they retained not only the common law, but its language as well. It
shouldbepointedoutthatbythetimeoftheAmericanrevolution,Latinand
FrenchwerenolongerusedaslegallanguagesinEngland,althoughtheyboth
leftbehindvestiges(mostlywordsandmaxims)testifyingtotheirearlierdomi-
nance.Thus,neitherLatinnorFrenchwaseverusedbytheprofessioninthe
NewWorld.WhattheearlyAmericansinherited,oradopted,waslegalEnglish,
whichinthewordsofThomasJeffersonwascharacterizedbyverbosity,endless
tautologies,and“multipliedeffortsatcertaintybysaidsandaforesaids.”Jeffer-
sonandtheotherfoundersoftheUnitedStatesmighthavetakentheopportu-
nitytorevolutionizenotjustthejudicialsystemoftheiryoungcountry,butits
12 PeterTiersma

languageaswell.Butalthoughtherevolutionarieshadanegativeviewofmuch
Britishlegislation,theyviewedthecommonlawinamorepositivelight.And
becausethecommonlawwasexpressedintraditionallegalese,theadoptionof
common-lawprinciplesalmostinevitablyentailedtheadoptionofthelanguage
usedtoexpressthem.

2.4 Thehistoryofotherlegallanguages

Timeandspaceconstraintspreventusfromdiscussingthedevelopmentofother
legallanguagesinanydetail,butwecanmakesomeverygeneralobservations.
In much of Europe, especially in the west, Latin has had a pervasive influence
onmostlegallanguages.TosomeextentthisresultsfromtheuseofLatinined-
ucation and religion, but the primary cause is the great influence that Roman
law (especially Justinian’s Corpus Juris Civilis) had on European law. Justinian
wasaByzantineemperorinthesixthcentury.Hebroughttogetherexpertswho
werechargedwithcompilingallofRomanlawintoacodeandalsoadigest.The
languageoftheseworks,whichbecameessentialtotheteachingoflawduring
muchofthelatemiddleagesandbeyond,wasLatin(Buckland1966:39).Much
laterasimilarprojectwasundertakenbytheFrenchemperorNapoleon,whose
civilcodewasalsohighlyinfluentialinmuchofEuropeandpromotedtheuseof
FrenchinEuropeanlegallanguages.
Inmuchoftherestoftheworld,colonialismwasacriticalfactorinthedevel-
opmentoflegallanguages.Mostofthenationsthatbecameindependentduring
thepastcenturyadoptedcertainaspectsofthelegalsystem–andalsothelegal
languages–oftheirformerrulers.Thus,ajudgeinIndiaorMalaysiaislikelyto
eitheruseEnglishlegallanguageforprofessionalpurposes,ortousesomeEng-
lishterminologywhenwritinglegalHindiorMalay.JudgesinpartsofAfricawill
sometimesuseFrenchorPortugueseterms.Religioncanalsohaveanimpact,es-
peciallyinareastraditionallygovernedbyreligiouslaw,asiscommonwithfamily
law.Thus,inMuslimcountriesmanylegaltermsderivefromArabic,evenifthe
locallegallanguageisIndonesianorPersian.
Intheremainderofthischapterwewilldiscusssomeoftheprimaryfeatures
oflegallanguage.Onceagain,wewillconcentrateonEnglish,withoccasionalref-
erencestosimilaritiesordifferencesinotherlanguages.Giventhehistorythatwe
justreviewed,onewouldexpectthatthelanguageofthelawtendstobearchaic
andconservative.Tosomeextent,thisistrue.Butlegallanguagealsohasseveral
otherfeaturesthatdistinguishitfromordinaryspeechandwriting.