Towards a Conceptualization of Legal English as a Lingua Franca?

Abstract

English is de facto reinforcing its role as the language of international legal communication. Indeed, while different national languages continue to play a crucial role in the definition, the execution, and the application of the law, English is increasingly employed by non-native legal professionals worldwide. Thus, this study focuses on the use of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) in legal settings and aims to offer considerations towards the conceptualization of Legal English as a Lingua Franca (LELF).
 
 As English is considered a global asset in legal communication, it is argued that a finer problematization of LELF is imperative. In this respect, the study also discusses whether it is possible to apply the concept of a lingua franca to legal language tout court or whether the distinctive features of legal discourse across systems make the definition of LELF inapplicable from a conceptual perspective. 
 
 This article also offers a reflection on the main concerns which arise regarding the widespread use of English in legal settings, especially in the light of the specificities of different legal systems, legal cultures and communities of practice. Thus, all stakeholders involved should adopt a more reflexive approach in order to go beyond the unproblematic acceptance of LELF across legal settings and to be more aware of the implications and consequences that its usage entails.

Is Machine Translation Reliable in the Legal Field? A Corpus-Based Critical Comparative Analysis for Teaching ESP at Tertiary Level

“…The contracts obtained may have English and non-English speakers involved and could be original source documents or official translations into English, accepted and validated by international lawyers or businesspeople. In either case, their language conforms to the international legal language in use and/or to Legal English as a Lingua Franca (Anesa, 2019). Monzó Nebot (2003), for example, uses both original and translated texts in legal translation training.…”

Peculiarities of the English Legal Text Discourse: The Issues of Interpretation and Translatability

“…The author proposes to consider two main distinctions -between descriptive and prescriptive uses of language, as well as sorting out internal and external interpretations of legal sentences. Anesa (2019) provides an attempt to consider the conceptualization of Legal English as a Lingua Franca as it is widely used by non-native legal professionals (and sometimes regular citizens) around the world in various settings. The study also discusses if Lingua Franca as a notion can be applied to legal language or it is inapplicable both from conceptual and pragmatic perspectives.…”

Skladenjski prevodni premiki pri prevajanju določb v mednarodnih sporazumih iz angleščine v slovenščino na primeru enostavčnih povedi

“…Kar se tiče angleščine kot pravnega jezika v mednarodnem pravu je treba poudariti, da v primeru mednarodnih pogodb, napisanih v angleščini, govorimo o angleščini, ki se uporablja v mednarodnem pravnem okolju kot lingva franka (Anesa, 2019). Torej ne gre za posamezno različico pravne angleščine, kot sta na primer britanska ali ameriška pravna angleščina, o čemer v kontekstu jezikovnih izzivov prevajanja gospodarskih pogodb v angleščini in nemščini podrobno razpravlja Kocbekova (2011: 133-134, 154).…”