Characteristics of Legal English

Chapter 3 Characteristics of Legal English

Legal English differs from standard English in a number of ways. The most important of these differences are as follows:

Extensive use of words and phrase derived from French and Latin

Legal English stems from Latin and French. Sometimes foreign phrases are used instead of English phrases(e. g. inter alia instead of among others) , unusual pronouns are employed (the same, the aforesaid, etc) ,and unusual set phrases are to be found ( null and void, all and sun­dry).

Legal terms of art

Legal terms of art are technical words and phrases that have precise and fixed legal mean­ings and which cannot usually be replaced by other words. Some of these will be familiar to the layperson(e. g. patent, share, royalty) . Others are generally only known to lawyers (e. g. bail­ment , abatement).

Legal jargon

Terms of art should be differentiated from legal jargon. Legal jargon comprises words used by lawyers, which are difficult for non - lawyers to understand. Jargon words range from near - slang to almost technically precise words. Well - known examples of jargon include boilerplate

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also includes certain obscure words which have highly specialised meanings and are therefore not often encountered except in legal documents. Examples include emoluments (a person’s earnings, including salaries, fees, wages, profits and benefits in kind) and provenance (the origin or early history of something). Jargon words should be replaced by plain language equivalents wherever possible.

Legal meaning may differ from the general meaning

There is also a small group of words that have one meaning as a legal term of art and an­other meaning in ordinary English. One example is the word distress, which as a legal term of art

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refers to the seizure of goods as security for the performance of an obligation. In ordinary Eng­lish it means anxiety,pain or exhaustion.

Words may be used in apparently peculiar contexts

A number of words and phrases,which are used in ordinary English,are also used in legal . English but in unusual contexts. Examples include furnish,prefer, hold.

Lack of punctuation

One of the most unusual aspects of old - fashioned legal drafting - particularly in convey­ances and deeds - is the almost complete lack of punctuation. This arose from a widespread belief among lawyers and judges that punctuation was unimportant and potentially confusing, and that the meaning of legal documents should be gathered solely from the words used and the context in which they were used. In modem legal drafting,punctuation is( or should be)used for the same reason as it is used in ordinary writing - to give clarification about meaning.

Use of doublets and triplets

There is a curious historical tendency in legal English to string together two or three words to convey what is usually a single legal concept. Examples of this include null and void ,fit and proper .perform and discharge, dispute, controversy or claim, and promise, agree and covenant. Such constructions must be treated with caution, since sometimes the words used suggest, for practical purposes, exactly the same thing {null and void) ;and sometimes they don’t ( dispute, controversy or claim).

Unusual word order

At times,the word order used in legal documents appears distinctly strange;for example," the provisions for termination hereinafter appearing. " There is no single clear reason explaining this phenomenon, although the influence of French grammatical structures is certainly a contrib­uting factor.

Use of unfamiliar pro - forms

For example,the same,the said,the aforementioned etc. The use of such terms in legal texts is interesting since very frequently they do not replace the noun - which is the whole purpose of pro - forms - but are used as adjectives to modify the noun. For example;"the said John

Part One Basics of Legal English 5 ------------------- —

Here - , there - and where - words

Words like hereof, thereof, and whereof (and further derivatives, including -at, - in, - af­ter, -before, - with, - by, - above, - on, - upon etc)are not often used in ordinary English. They are used in legal English primarily as a way of avoiding the repetition of names of things in the document - very often, the document itself. For example, the parties hereto instead of the parties to this contract.

-er, - or,and -ee name endings

Legal English contains a large number of names and titles, such as employer and employ­ee , or lessor and lessee, in which the reciprocal and opposite nature of the relationship is indi­cated by the use of alternative endings. This practice derives from Latin.

Use of phrasal verbs

Phrasal verbs play a large role in legal English, and are often used in a quasitechnical sense. For example,parties enter into contracts,put down deposits,serve [ documents ] upon other parties, write off debts, and so on.