ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF LAW
SESSION : 2019-20
TUTORIAL ASSIGNMENT
SUBJECT : LEGAL LANGUAGE 2
TOPIC : HISTORICAL BACKGROUND TO LEGAL
LANGUAGE
SUBMITTED BY
NAME : RUPESH KUMAR SINGH
CLASS : B.A. LL.B (2ND SEM.) SECTION : ‘A’
ROLL NO. : 19BALLB004
ENROLL NO. : GJ9731
SUBMIITED TO
NAME : DR. ZEBA AZMAT
(ASSISTANT PROFESSOR)
DEPARTMENT OF LAW
SYNOPSIS
INTRODUCTION
THE HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF
LEGAL ENGLISH
SOURCES OF LEGAL ENGLISH
CONTEMPORARY LEGAL ENGLISH
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
QUESTION : “Legal Language is the veneration and product of it’s history.”Discuss.
Historical Background To English Legal
Language
ABSTRACT : This paper attempts to describe the development of Legal English
throughout its history. It maintains that Legal English is the result of history and
political –social processes ongoing in the given historical period. This language
is basically a reflection of the social and political conditions of the given
historical period, and each period has left its mark on the current form of the
language at issue. Legal Language, the we know it today, has gone through
centuries of development and has been shaped by many internal and external
forces. This paper looks at the past and present of legal English.
INTRODUCTION
English is the main language of law, international business, and general global communication. It is
certainly considered the main legal language in the European Union. Legal English is globalized and
widely accepted. It is used by lawyers and other professionals in the field of law. Legal language is a
language of very specific characteristics regarding its terminology, structure, grammar, punctuation,
and other conventions. The development of Legal English has been molded together with the history
of Great Britain and its legislation and common law. For many centuries English has been the
official language of British population, but French and Latin languages have had major influence on
legal English. Many archaic linguistic forms still used in legal English today are the result of just
such circumstance. Legal English, language that is such an important part of people’s existence,
specifically in times when dealing with difficult situations, is one that is not always easy to
understand by common citizens.
THE HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF LEGAL ENGLISH
The English language, as P. Tiersma (The Nature of Legal language)1 suggests, has gone through
centuries of development. It has been shaped by history, principally by major political, societal, and
industrial events. Legal English as a variety of the English language is no exception. Legal English is
indeed the result of the history and political-social process going on at the time. It reflects the
influence of Anglo-Saxon mercenaries, Latin speaking missionaries, Scandinavian and Norman war
tribes, all of which left a race not of only on England and its political order but also on the language
of its law. For instance, some of the examples are Old Norwegian words such as gift, loan, sale and
trust. Also, the word law derived from an Oll Norse noun log, which meant “something laid or fixed”
Prior to the Roman invasion in 55 BC, the inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic dialect. Latin made
little impression until St. Augustine arrived in AD 597 to spread Christianity. Latin words are
regularly used in English, particularly in professional language. In the Legal profession, Latin
phrases like inter alia (among others) and per se (in itself) remain in current use.
The begginings of the English language date back around 450 AD when the Angles, Saxon and
Jutes (Germanic tribes) invaded the British Isles from mainland northern Europe. The language
they brought with them forms the basis of what is known as Old English. This gives us the 100
most commonly used words in the English language (words like God, man, woman, child, love,
live, go, at, to). Besides vocabulary, an Anglo-Saxon characteristic that left traces in legal English
is alliteration. As opposed to rhyme, where the ends of words are phonetically the same, alliteration
requires that words begin with the same sound. Anglo-Saxon poetry strove to have two or three
words in each line alliterate. Alliteration is not only poetic, but makes phrases easier to remember,
an important feature in a largely preliterate society.
The Anglo-Saxons used not only Old English as a legal language, but also Latin. Although Latin
was introduced to England during the Roman occupation around the time of Christ, it became a
major force only after the arrival of Christian missionaries in 597. The terms clerk (someone who
can write) and cleric or clergy (priest) derive from the same Latin term. For centuries, English
courts recognized a type of immunity for the clergy; to avoid the gallows, you simply had to read a
verse from the Bible (sometimes called the "neck verse"). Latin was important for English law
mainly as the language of court records. The practice of using Latin ‘versus’ in case names (for
"against") harks back to these times. English lawyers and judges were also prone to express sayings
or maxims about the law in Latin. An example that has survived is caveat emptor.
1
Tiersma P. (1999) : The Nature of Legal Language. [http://www.languageandlaw.org/NATURE.HTM]
The Vikings began to raid the northeast of Engalnd from Scandinavia from the eight century
onwards. At a later date, a significant number of Vikings settled in this area, beginning with them
their own linguistic contribution (which can be seen for example in the numerous place names in the
northeast of England and Scotland) ending in –by or –thorpe, -wick, -ham and in words such as egg,
husband, law, take, knife). The English borrowed from these Scandinavians the most important legal
word in the English language: the word law itself. Law derives from the Norse word for "lay" and
thus means "that which is laid down."
William, Duke of Normandy, claimed the English throne and conquered England in 1066, invaded
from northern France and conqured England. Words such as court, parliament, justice, sovereign and
marriage come from this period. In the beginning, the Normans wrote legal documents in Latin, not
French. Around 1275, however, statutes in French began to appear. By 1310 almost all acts of
Parliament were in that language. A similar evolution took place with the idiom of the courts. At
least by the reign of Edward I, towards the end of the thirteenth century, French had become the
language of the royal courts.
Later, the English helped themselves initially to further words form French, such as chauffer,
burgeoise, elite. As the British empire expanded, further opportunities to borrow words arose –words
such as taboo and pukka came into from that period. Because it was the main language of the
profession for so many centuries, French has had a tremendous influence on legal language. A vast
amount of legal vocabulary is French in origin, including such basic words as appeal, attorney,
bailiff, bar, claim, complaint, counsel, court, defendant, demurrer, evidence, indictment, judge,
judgment, jury, justice, party, plaintiff, plea, plead, sentence, sue, suit, summon, verdict and voir
dire.
The result of which this multiplicity of languistic influences is a rich and diverse language with a
complex grammar and many synonyms. For example, a coming together of two or more peoplr could
be a meeting or gathering (Old English) , assignation or encounter (old French), a rendesvouz, rally,
or reunion ( French), a caucus (Algonquin), pow-wow (Narragensett) or a tryst (Old French).
Speaking by R. Haigh’s words (2011)2, if we use the analogy with a computer, English is a
“Hardware” that gives the sentence a grammatical structure, while French-Latin terminology is a
“Software” that is a carrier of the legal meaning.
2
Haigh, R. (2011). The Origins of Legal English, http://forum-legal.blogspot.co- m/2011/01/origins-of-legal-english.html
SOURCES OF LEGAL ENGLISH
Legal English reflects the mixture of languages that has produced the English language generally.
However, modern legal; English owes a pareticular debt to French and Latin. Following the Norman
invasion of England in 1066, French became the official language of England, although most
ordinary people still spoke English. For a period of nearly 300 years, French was the language of
Legal proceedings, with the result that many words in the current legal use have their roots in this
period. These include property, estate, chattel, lease, executor, and tenant.
During this period Latin remained the language of formal records and statutes. However, since only
the learned were fluent in Latin, it never became the language of legal pleadings or debate.
Therefore, for several centuries following the Norman invasion three languages were used in
England. English remained the spoken language of the majority of the population, but almost all
writing was done in french or Latin. English was not used in legal matters.
Since the court procedures were in the French language, the uneducated English people did not
understand the process. As a result of this in 1362, the Statute of Pleadings was enacted (in French).
It stated that all legal proceedings should be in English, but records in Latin. In words of Ormrod
(2003: 750)3, it was a statute that is one of the best-known, but least-understood, statements on the
use of the vernacular in medieval England. The legislation required that English, rather than French,
should be the compulsory language of oral communication in all royal and seigniorial courts in the
land. Nonetheless, the use of French in legal pleadings continued in 17 th century in some areas of the
law. In this later period, new branches of – partricular –commercial law began to develop entirely in
English and remain relatively free of french –based terminology.
As the printed word became more common place, some writers made a deliberate effort to adopt
words derived form Latin, with the aim of making their text appear more sophisticated. Some legal
words taken form Latin in this way are adjacent, frustate, inferior, legal, quiet and subscribe. Some
writers also started to use a Latin word order. This led to an ornate style, deliberately used to impress
rather than inform. Even today, Latin grammar is responsible for some of the ornateness and unusual
word order of legal documents. It also lies behind the frequent use of shall constructions in legal
documents.
English was adopted for different kinds of legal documents at different times. Wills began to be
written in English in about 1400. Statutes were written in Latin until 1300, in French until 1485, in
English and French for few years, and in English alone form 1489. According to the Proceedings in
Courts of Justice Act, 1730 Latin was replaced by English. As a result new branches of law such as
commercial law began to develop entirely in English. It is safe to say that the centuries of influence
of other languages on English has left a major mark on the contemporary language. According to
Holdsworth (1956: 14)4, one cannot become a professional in the legal field “without the knowledge
of the authentic books of the law in their genuine language (French & Latin).”
3
Ormrod, W. M. (2003): The Use of English: Language, Law, and Political Culture in Fourteenth-Century England.
Speculum, 78, pp 750-787.
4
Holdsworth, W. S. (1956): History of English Law, vol. 1 (7th ed.), p. 14
CONTEMPORARY LEGAL ENGLISH
Contemporary legal English can be subdivided into many subvarieties according to the area of the
law practiced. Maley mentions judicial legal language, which is a language of judicial decisions that
are filed as reports; courtroom language, which is used by judges, counsel, court officials, witnesses,
and other participants; language used in legal documents, such as contracts, regulations, deeds, wills,
or statutes; and the language used between professionals in the legal field and between a professional
in the legal field and a client. As characterized by Maley (1994: 13)5, each area “has a characteristic
flavor” and it “differs according to the situation in which it is used”.
Each subgroup of legal English has its own characteristics, vocabulary, and multiple typical features.
However, regardless of which subgroup of legal English is considered, legal English in general
follows very strict rules regarding its style, tone, morphology, level of formality, and grammatical
structures in both its oral and written form. It is expected that these rules be applied under any
circumstances, whether in original legal documents or their translated versions.
One of the obligatory aspects of legal English is its preciseness. Hunt (2002:114)6 declares that
"ambiguity is the most serious disease of language and nowhere is the absence of this disease more
important than in legislation". In other words, general language can and often is vague, but in legal
language, ambiguity is decidedly detrimental, as it can lead to negative consequences. Hunt argues
that preciseness is closely related to clarity. He defines precise language as "that which is
unambiguous and capable of only bearing the meaning intended by its author".
5
Maley, Y. (1994): The language of the law. In Gibbons, John (ed.) Language and the law. London: Longman.
6
Hunt, B. (2002): Plain Language in Legislative Drafting: An Achievable Objective or a Laudable Ideal? Statute Law
Review 24, pp. 112-124.
CONCLUSION
Lack of knowledge in the field of legal language does not excuse one from liability. It is widely
accepted that every person is to know what the law is; and if he/she does not, he/she must make true
efforts to learn the law. The same goes for the complex phenomenon that is legal language. Legal
language, in all its complexity and splendor, is here to serve as a communication tool in everyday
law-related situations. It is not, as much as we would like it to be that way, just a language of
lawyers; common people face it regularly as well.
Looking into the history of legal English, one can gain understanding of the complexity of certain
legal expressions. Globalization of legal English may, however, need lead to making this language
more accessible to everyone. That is what language is, always fluid, always malleable, always there
to express the ideas of the very people who shape it.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Marcela Shiflett, “Development of Legal English”, 4 Novelty Journals pp. 108-110, (2017).
Rupert Haigh, Legal English ( Routledge-Cavendish Publication, New York, 2nd edition,
2009).
Peter Tiersma, The Nature of Legal Language , available at,
http://www.languageandlaw.org/NATURE.HTM, (last accesed on May 16, 2020).
