Legal Language (Hardcover)

by Peter M. Tiersma (Author) "The history of legal English begins in ancient Britain and develops as successive waves of invaders-Anglo-Saxons, Scandinavians, Norman French-left their marks not only on the..." (more)
Key Phrases: declaratory definitions, plain legal language, written legal language, United States, New York, Norman Conquest (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Tiersma (Loyola Law Sch.) has written an interesting descriptive history of how Anglo-American "legalese" developed and continues to thrive as we move into the 21st century. He begins by tracing the roots of legalistic terminology back to Celtic times and then details its expansion during the Anglo-Saxon era as certain words were refined to minimize confusion and emphasize clarity. At the same time, this boom in terminology set the legal profession apart from all others, thereby underscoring its social importance. Tiersma contends that this dual nature of legal language profoundly affects the legal profession to this day. To drive home this theme, he thoroughly examines several facets of legal communication, such as anachronistic language, the wording of state and federal statutes, and even lawyer Johnnie Cochran's oral defense of O.J. Simpson. A scholarly effort that will perhaps be valued more by linguists than by lawyers; recommended for larger public and academic libraries.ASteven Anderson, Gordon Feinblatt Rothman Hoffberger & Hollander, Towson, MD
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description
Why is legal language so different from ordinary English? Statutes, judicial opinions, contracts, deeds, and wills profoundly affect our daily lives, but their language tends to be convoluted, antiquated, and often nearly impossible for the public to understand. So where did the lessees and tortfeasors come from, and are they necessarily here to stay?

Peter Tiersma's lively history of legal language slices through the polysyllabic thicket of legalese. He shows to what extent legalese is simply a product of its past, when Anglo-Saxon mercenaries, Latin-speaking missionaries, Scandinavian raiders, and Norman invaders all left their marks on the language that lawyers use today. Tiersma suggests, however, that history alone provides an inadequate explanation for the peculiarities of legal language. He considers how lawyers cling to their foreign-sounding language because it convinces laypeople that the legal system is far too complex to navigate without professional assistance. Obscurity, Tiersma suggests, can also be strategic (as when an insurance company prints oppressive legal terms in small type on the back of a policy), as can clarity (if lawyers need to persuade a jury of their client's innocence, they speak and write with newfound ease). All these issues are wrapped up in the legal language that continues to evolve and shape our culture.

Legal Language makes for fascinating reading. Its demonstration that arcane vocabulary is not an inevitable feature of our legal system makes Tiersma's concluding call for simplification powerful and timely, and it brings the verbiage of leases, employment agreements, and other consumer documents out of the shadows.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 328 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (February 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226803023
• ISBN-13: 978-0226803029
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,415,048 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thoughtful, linguistic perspective on legal language., July 9, 2002

By	Wayne Schiess (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Legal Language (Paperback)

I'm a teacher of legal writing, and I want all my students to read this book--and every lawyer, too. It offers insights into legal language that I have not seen anywhere else: how lawyers use language to set themselves apart; how statutes employ archaisms to present an air of authority; how jury instructions confuse jurors.

It also presents the many reasons that legal language came to be the way it is, while avoiding simplistic explanations. And though it discusses many ways that legal language fails us, it gives just as many ways to improve it.

Most important, the book takes legal language seriously, calling it a "sublanguage" of English and "a set of linguistic features that are superimposed on everyday speech." At the same time, it recognizes that lawyers who care about communicating will have to make difficult decisions about what parts of legal language to keep and what parts to abandon.

5 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful demystification of the club, February 1, 1999

By A Customer

Mr. Tiersma's book is a wonderful shibboleth into the miasmatic and confusing world of the legal lexicon. A superlative source for clear prose. Wait, I thought that it was lawyers who used confusing language.