This module will focus on three specific themes in law and language studies:
1. Engagement with the relationship between law and language. Seminars within this theme will engage with the question ‘is law a language?’ and will focus on two main areas of philosophical interest: the use of language in law and the use of the philosophy of language to address problems of the nature of law.
2. Production of multilingual law: comparison of drafting law in the bi/multilingual jurisdictions of Canada, Switzerland and Belgium with that of the EU. NOTE: it is not necessary for students to have any knowledge of a language other than English to understand any part of this module. The module does not aim to analyse translation in any way.
3. Introduction to the emerging (sub)discipline of forensic linguistics (i.e. the techniques used by linguists to reveal evidence; the language used in legal interactions). This part of the course will focus on three elements: - Courtroom discourse: the nature of interaction in the courtroom, differing characteristics of examination and cross-examination of witnesses and persuasive techniques used in argumentation; - Legal-lay communication (texts which ‘communicate’ with the general public; solicitor-client counselling etc. - Authorship: texts, the authorship of which is disputed or unknown, figure in an increasingly significant number of cases (e.g. an anonymous threatening or ‘hate’ letter). Increasingly, forensic linguists are invited to provide expert evidence in court regarding authorship. This section of the module will introduce students to linguistic techniques for authorship identification. NOTE: no previous knowledge of linguistics is necessary.
The module is both research-led and research-based. Research-led in that it draws heavily on new and innovative research being undertaken in the field of law and language. Research-based in that students will be conducting research, both individually and in groups, on issues at the forefront of that field.
The module is structured around preparation for a law and language conference, at which students will present their work. Those conference presentations form part of the assessment for this module (see below). Students will be supported in the framing of an abstract and outline paper structure (part of the formative feedback). At and after the conference, students will receive questions and written feedback on their presentations which they must then address/incorporate in their final paper.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
Demonstrate a critical understanding of the philosophical debates surrounding the relationship between language and law, how multilingual law is produced in the EU and other jurisdictions and a basic understanding of the emerging (sub)field of forensic linguistics.
Demonstrate critical awareness of a wide range of social and contextual implications of the relationship between language and law.
Demonstrate ability to select and assess appropriate techniques of evaluation and to evaluate selected aspects of research on law and language critically
Demonstrate ability to select, integrate and present coherently and reflectively, orally and in writing, relevant legal and theoretical arguments relating to issues in law and language.
