LEGAL LINGUISTICS: A SPECIALIZATION OF LAW
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Abstract
Legal linguistics is the study of legal language, encompasses a specific vocabulary used in a distinctly defined manner that is solely legal and often challenging for non-experts to comprehend. The drafting of legal texts in one or multiple languages thus poses significant difficulties, especially concerning the choice of terms employed by national legislators and drafters of international texts (conventions, international treaties). This is due to the fact that different versions of the text need to express the same meaning as the original. As a result, law and language are inherently connected, as legal language requires a particular vocabulary.
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References
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
/ LEGAL TEXTS
The Algerian Civil Code.
/ CASE LAW
Supreme Court, Criminal Chamber, Judgment of October 22, 2008, Review of the Supreme Court, 2008, No. 1, p. 305. "Considering that, under Article 335 of the Penal Code, written in French, violence is a constitutive element of the offense of indecent assault with violence, contrary to the original text in Arabic, which erroneously referred to indecent assault 'without violence.'"
/ THESES AND DISSERTATIONS
- Sereno D. Inacio, The Utility of Comparative Terminology in Resolving Difficulties in Legal Translation from Spanish and Portuguese to French, Master’s Thesis, Lumière University Lyon 2, Applied Foreign Languages, 2010.
/ BOOKS
- Ballian, P., Definition in Law: An Essay in Legal Linguistics, Contribution to the Study of Linguistics, Dalloz, Bibliothèque de la Justice Collection, 2012.
- Babadji, R., Bilingual Disarray: Notes on Bilingualism in Algeria, Law and Society, 1990, No. 15.
- Batiffol, Henri, Observations on the Specificity of Legal Vocabulary, Toulouse, 1978.
- Cornu, Gérard, Legal Linguistics, Montchrestien, 1990.
- Cornu, G., General Bibliographical Indications, Legal Linguistics, Montchrestien, 1990, No. 13.
- Chomsky, N., Reflections on Language, 1975.
- Chomsky, N., Rules and Representations, 1980.
- Gemar, J.-L., Art, Methods, and Techniques of Translation: Comments Inspired by Susan Sarcevic’s Book, New Approaches to Legal Translation.
- Grawitz, M., Methods of Social Sciences, 11th ed., Dalloz, Précis Collection, 2001.
- Groffier, E., Reed, D., Legal Lexicography, Yvon Blais (Québec), 1990.
- Jestaz, Ph., The Law, Dalloz, 7th ed., 1991.
- Lerat, P., Sourioux, J.-L., French Legal Language as a Specialized Language, Bruyant (Brussels), 1995.
- Turi, G., Linguistic Law and Linguistic Rights, Les Cahiers de Droit, 1991.
/ LEGAL JOURNALS
- Capitant, Henri, Legal Vocabulary, PUF, Paris, 1930.
- Chatillon, Stéphane, Law and Language, Article, International Review of Comparative Law (RIDC), 2002, No. 54.
- Cornu, G., Legal Vocabulary, 10th ed., PUF, Quadrige Collection, 2014.
- Didier, Emmanuel, Language Law and Legal Languages in Canada, Doctoral Thesis, Paris 1, 1984 – Common Law in French in Canada, RIDC, 1991.
- Gémar, J.-L., From Legal Translation to Jurilinguistics: The Quest for Equivalence, PUM (University of Montreal Press), Vol. 60, No. 3.
- Jutras, Daniel, Stating the Unstatable: Law Between Languages and Traditions, International Review of Comparative Law, 2000, No. 2. Translation inevitably passes through the cultural filter of different languages and legal traditions.
/ CONFERENCES AND CONGRESSES
- Benmohamed, Imane, Translational Legal Terminology: The Case of Maghreb Countries, International Conference, Perpignan, April 2-3, 2012.
- Benadji, Chérif, Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Algiers 1, Legal Terminology: An Auxiliary Science of Law, International Conference, Perpignan, April 2012.
- Denis Tallon, The Choice of Words in Light of Translation Constraints: The Example of the European Principles of Contract Law and the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts. Nicolas Molfessis (ed.), The Words of the Law, Economica, 1999, p. 31.
- Jayme, Erik, Language and Law, 15th International Congress of Comparative Law, Bristol, 1988, Bruyant, Brussels, 1999, pp. 65 and 141.
- Khiar, Ghenima Lahlou, Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Algiers 1, Legal Bilingualism in Algeria and the Effectiveness of Legal Rules, International Conference, Perpignan, April 2012.