Since many legal disputes are battles over the meaning of a statute, contract, testimony, or the Constitution, judges must interpret language in order to decide why one proposed meaning overrides another. And in making their decisions about meaning appear authoritative and fair, judges often write about the nature of linguistic interpretation. In the first book to examine the linguistic analysis of law, Lawrence M. Solan shows that judges sometimes inaccurately portray the way we use language, creating inconsistencies in their decisions and threatening the fairness of the judicial system....
Since many legal disputes are battles over the meaning of a statute, contract, testimony, or the Constitution, judges must interpret language in order...
Why do so many people voluntarily consent to searches by have the police search their person or vehicle when they know that they are carrying contraband or evidence of illegal activity? Does everyone understand the Miranda warning? How well can people recognize a voice on tape? Can linguistic experts identify who wrote an anonymous threatening letter? Speaking of Crime answers these questions and examines the complex role of language within our criminal justice system. Lawrence M. Solan and Peter M. Tiersma compile numerous cases, ranging from the Lindbergh kidnapping to the...
Why do so many people voluntarily consent to searches by have the police search their person or vehicle when they know that they are carrying contraba...
Linguistic theory has seen a substantial shift in focus during the past decade. Whereas early research in generative grammar sought descriptive adequacy through the proliferation of transformational rules, recent efforts have concentrated on defining systems of principles that restrict the application of a greatly simplified sys tem of rules of grammar. These principles, because of their broad application within a particular language, and their appearance in a wide range of languages under investigation, are claimed to reflect innate cognitive structures often termed universal grammar....
Linguistic theory has seen a substantial shift in focus during the past decade. Whereas early research in generative grammar sought descriptive adequa...
This book provides a state-of-the-art account of past and current research in the interface between linguistics and law. It outlines the range of legal areas in which linguistics plays an increasing role and describes the tools and approaches used by linguists and lawyers in this vibrant new field. Through a combination of overview chapters, case studies, and theoretical descriptions, the volume addresses areas such as the history and structure of legal language, its meaning and interpretation, multilingualism and language rights, courtroom discourse, forensic identification, intellectual...
This book provides a state-of-the-art account of past and current research in the interface between linguistics and law. It outlines the range of lega...
Peter Meijes Tiersma Lawrence Solan Janet Ainsworth
Among the most prominent scholars of language and law is Peter Tiersma, a law professor at Loyola Law School with a doctorate in linguistics (co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Language and Law). Tiersma's significant body of work traverses a variety of legal and linguistic fields. This book offers a selection of twelve of Tiersma's most influential publications, divided into five thematic areas that are critical to both law and linguistics: Language and Law as a Field of Inquiry, Legal Language and its History, Language and Civil Liability, Language and Criminal Justice, and Jury...
Among the most prominent scholars of language and law is Peter Tiersma, a law professor at Loyola Law School with a doctorate in linguistics (co-edito...
