Court interpreting and classical rhetoric

Abstract

This case study is based on a transcript of an authentic criminal proceeding in a Belgian Assize Court, where Dutch is the official language and the Frenchspeaking defendant receives simultaneous whispered interpretation of the prosecutor's closing speech. Examining six excerpts from the speech, which is addressed to the judges and the lay jury, the analysis compares the Dutch original with the French interpretation. The specific focus of the study is the Aristotelian concept of ethos, i.e. the image the speaker seeks to convey of himself by foregrounding his professional expertise, integrity and goodwill towards the audience. Since the rhetorical devices he uses for this purpose are often absent from the interpretation in the extracts analysed, the strategic persuasiveness of his speech is weakened. This means that the defendant is likely to gain an incomplete, misleading perception of his own case. In the light of the examples presented here, the authors argue that the theory of classical rhetoric affords a useful framework for exploring interpreter-mediated legal monologues in a dialogical perspective.

Visual Rhetoric in Election Posters

“…Conversely, from a rhetorical perspective, this study argues that the representational meaning resonates with the 'ethos' in the classical rhetorical theory as both are concerned with establishing identity and self-image, as will be evident in the data analysis. The term 'visual pathos' is coined to capture this interconnectedness, drawing on Gallez and Reynders (2015) who postulate that the construction of ethos is not limited to discursive characteristics but can encompass para verbal and non-verbal elements such as physical appearance, body language and gestures. Thus, modern accounts of rhetoric aim to accurately define what ethos is composed of, how it is shaped in discourse, and what linguistic and nonlinguistic resources are available for its administration.…”