Meaning And Power In The Language Of Law Hardcover

Janny H C Leung

Legal practitioners, linguists, anthropologists, philosophers and others have all explored fundamental challenges presented by language in formulating, interpreting and applying laws. Building on centuries of interaction between legal practice and jurisprudence, the modern field of 'law and language', or 'forensic linguistics', brings insights in linguistics and related fields to bear on topics including legal drafting and translation, statutory interpretation, expert evidence on language use and dynamics of courtroom interaction. This volume presents an interlocking series of research studies engaged with different legal jurisdictions and socio-political contexts as well as with the more abstract notion of 'law'. Together the chapters, written by international leaders in their fields, highlight recent directions in research and investigate in particular how law expresses yet also conceals power relations in its crafted use of words and in the gaps and silence between those words

1107112842

English

Cambridge University Press

2018

342

Janny H. C. Leung is Associate Professor of English at the University of Hong Kong. Her main research interest lies in interdisciplinary work between language and law, with a particular focus on bilingual and multilingual jurisdictions. Her recent books include Language and Law: A Resource Book for Students (2016), co-authored with Alan Durant, and a forthcoming monograph on multilingual jurisdictions.