Study Stages and Theoretical Foundations of Legal Terminology in Linguistics

Abstract

An introduction to the broad and expanding field of language and law is provided in this chapter. It gives a general overview of the key topics in the field, organized under two overarching headings: the language of the legal system and the function of linguistic analysis in that system. The first section takes into account the analysis of texts like courtroom exchanges, police interrogations, and legal documents. The second section discusses how linguists are increasingly being called upon as expert witnesses in cases involving authorship analysis, linguistic crimes, and trademarks. The chapter as a whole sheds light on the crucial function that language plays in the administration of justice while also highlighting the numerous ways in which the justice system ironically perpetuates injustice through language. It demonstrates how crucial a contribution linguists can make by engaging with and critically analyzing the legal system.