Search results for ""author peter m. tiersma""
The University of Chicago Press Legal Language
Why is legal language so different from ordinary English? Statutes, judicial opinions, contracts, deeds and wills profoundly affect our daily lives, but their language tends to be convoluted, antiquated and often nearly impossible for the public to understand. So where did the "lessees" and "tortfeasors" come from and are they necessarily here to stay? This history of legal language slices through the polysyllabic thicket of legalese. It shows to what extent legalese is simply a product of its past, when Anglo-Saxon mercenaries, Latin-speaking missionaries, Scandinavian raiders and Norman invaders all left their marks on the language that lawyers use today. Peter Tiersma suggests, however, that history alone provides an inadequate explanation for the peculiarities of legal language. He considers how lawyers cling to their foreign-sounding language because it convinces laypeople that the legal system is far too complex to navigate without professional assistance. Obscurity, Tiersma suggests, can also be strategic (as when an insurance company prints oppressive legal terms in small type on the back of a policy), as can clarity (if lawyers need to persuade a jury of their client's innocence, they speak and write with newfound ease). All these issues are wrapped up in the legal language that continues to evolve and shape our culture. This text demonstrates that arcane vocabulary is not an inevitable feature of our legal system and Tiersma concludes with a call for simplification. It brings the verbiage of leases, employment agreements and other consumer documents out of the shadows.
£27.87
The University of Chicago Press Speaking of Crime: The Language of Criminal Justice
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 impeachment trial of Bill Clinton to the JonBenét Ramsey case, that provide real-life examples of how language functions in arrests, investigations, interrogations, confessions, and trials. In a clear and accessible style, Solan and Tiersma show how recent advances in the study of language can aid in understanding how legal problems arise and how they might be solved.With compelling discussions current issues and controversies, this book is a provocative state-of-the-art survey that will be of enormous value to legal scholars and professionals throughout the criminal justice system.
£27.87
