Rights Metaphors Across Hybrid Legal Languages, Such as Euro English and Legal Chinese

Abstract

This paper focuses on two legal languages such as the legal English developed by the European Union institutions (Euro English) and the legal Chinese of Mainland China, to study whether the mental representations and the embodied simulation created by the conceptual metaphors for the same Western concept, right, differ in any significant ways. By analysing the data contained in two large corpora, this study has found that, despite the common origin of the concept right in the two legal languages, they conceptualise it in a significantly different fashion. Finally, the findings of this study are read through the theoretical framework proposed for this special issue—hybridity and the Third Space. While it is somewhat straightforward to conceive of Euro English as a hybrid language, owing to the multilingual and supranational setting where it is used, this study has found that the Chinese legal language, too, is a hybrid language exhibiting linguistic features that intersect different belief systems.

Tinjauan atas Relasi Bahasa dan Pikiran serta Implikasinya Terhadap Penerapan Teori Metafora Konseptual

“…Pada bagian pendahuluan, telah disebutkan beberapa kajian yang menerapkan teori Metafora Konseptual. Kajian-kajian tersebut berupaya menelaah metafora konseptual yang terdapat dalam berbagai topik, seperti pandemi (Doquin de Saint Preux & Masid Blanco, 2021; Wicke & Bolognesi, 2020), politik (Keating, 2021), dan hukum (Mannoni, 2021). Penerapan teori Metafora Konseptual terhadap topik-topik tersebut dipengaruhi atau bahkan berasal dari suatu aliran yang telah lebih dahulu ada dalam linguistik, yaitu Analisis Wacana Kritis .…”

“…Kajian semacam itu mengandaikan bahwa bahasa menggambarkan pikiran penuturnya. Pada masa yang lebih kontemporer, kajian serupa juga masih dilakukan, misalnya terhadap wacana pandemi di Twitter (Doquin de Saint Preux & Masid Blanco, 2021;Wicke & Bolognesi, 2020), hukum (Mannoni, 2021) dan pemilihan presiden Amerika Serikat pada 2016 (Keating, 2021). Dengan menggunakan teori Metafora Konseptual, kajian semacam itu mengandaikan bahwa bahasa menyembunyikan struktur metaforis pikiran penuturnya .…”

The Multiplicity of Third Space of Communication in Law

“…While it is somewhat straightforward to conceive of Euro English as a hybrid language, owing to its supranational role in a multilingual context, the Chinese legal language, too, is revealed to be a hybrid and a Third Space. [36] The leitmotif of the papers in this Special Issue, namely the differences in conceptualization of terms in legal cultures, is highlighted and the risks of misunderstanding are fully exposed. The notion of languaculture [37, p.60] and communication shock [38] are sometimes forgotten in interlingual communication in legal settings.…”

“…Sierocka [40], similarly to Mannoni [36], focuses on the conceptualization of a single notion, that is to say lawyer. The differences between legal systems and cultures affect not only the process of translation or interpretation, but also the application of law, especially in globalized and internationalized spaces.…”

“…The risk of meaning distortions in translation cannot be eliminated, which is also caused by the existence of faux-amis [41], which are seemingly similar terms, usually having the same etymology (another aspect of etymology and Third Space has been described by Mannoni [36]) but different meanings resulting from the development of legal systems and the evolution of legal concepts [42] to mention only the terms notary and prosecutor in the EU legal systems. Legal translators need to navigate the maze of legal concepts and conceptualizations through the prism of history, culture, politics, mentality and many other factors affecting the development of languages and legal systems.…”