Characteristics of English Legal Language

1. Extreme linguistic conversion of legal English: copied directly from "form books"(法典)

2. Unbroken format in early legal documents: no spaces provided (to avoid fadulent deletions and additions)

3. The use of graphological devices as a means of revealing structure, content and logical progression: eg. an important word capitalized or underlined.

4. The dearth of punctuation to prevent forgery.

5. Legal documents composed as one very long sentence - no question of sentence linkage, except:

- the repetition of lexical items.

- substitute words not tolerated: eg. he, she, it, they(pronoun reference); do; this, that(anaphora)

6. Legal English contains only complete major sentences: eg. statements, no question, occasional commands.

7. Legal sentences have an underlying logical structure: "if X, then Z shall be (do) Y" - "if X" = conditional/ concessive adverbial clauses:

eg: co-ordinated adverbials: on the expiration …… or on the previous death ……/ subject to any authorized endorsement …… and to the production……

8. Written legal English contains nominal group structures (eg: post-modification in the nominal groups):eg. any insstalment then remaining unpaid, hereinbefore reserved and agreed to be paid during the term.

9. Adjectives and intensifying adverbs are almost completely absent:

eg: splendid, wise, disgusting, happy(adjectives) ; very, rather(intensifying adverbs)

10. Nouns modified by structures of post-modification are "abstract": eg. declaration, conditions, termination, stipulation, possession

11. Verbal groups are of the type: modal auxiliary (shall) + be + past participle : shall is used to express what is to be the obligatory consequence of a legal decision, and not simply as a marker of future tense.

12. Preference for archai words and phrases:

eg: duly, deemed, expiration, terminated (words); term of years, upon the death of (collocations); made and signed, terms and conditions, able and willing (synonymns are coordianted: native English and borrowed French terms for the same referent)

13. There is a large French and Latin element in English legal vocabulary, eg: proposal, effect, society, asurance, insured, schedule, duly, signed, agreeing, policy, subject, rules, form, terms, conditions, date, entrace, accepted (French origins); bais, table, declaration, registered, stated, part (Latin origins)