English
Legal English
Plain English: you can explain in a simple way
Legal English:
- Variations
- can be clear and confusing
- precise and flexible
reflects the legal system in a given country
the united states & United Kingdom use the common law in Belgium we have the civil
law difference in communication
Legal professions
Barrister Solicitor
Barrister: A lawyer who can plead or argue a case in one of the higher courts
Solicitor: They have passed the same examinations as a Barrister, but they do all the
research and prepare legal documents
Stages in a lawyer’s life
Applicant: an applicant to a law school
Undergraduate: someone who obtained their bachelor’s degree
Graduate: has obtained their master’s degree
Postgraduate: someone who has obtained their doctoral degree
Qc:
- Queens Counsel
- unique to Britain
- a matter of status and prestige
- in the past they had a lot of free advantages, these days they don’t have that much
anymore
- advantages:
1. distinctive uniform: silk gown over their court coat
2. rights to press the court first
3. rights to sit in the front row
4. fees are justified because they have to deal with more complex cases
Nominalisations
- you will use the noun as a proper verb
- why?: it’s more abstract, formal and objective
Legal English: language and the law
, ARCHAIC TERMS
hereinafter, thereof, whereby, aforesaid ancient scripts
to provide notification of, to ensure identification NOMINALISATIONS
noun instead of a verb
FORMAL WORDS
Commence( to start), retain (to keep), terminate, grant
ad hoc, per se, infra, et al. LATIN PHRASES
peace and quiet / null and void / way, shape or form
DOUBLETS/TRIPLETS
strengthen our argument
due to the fact that, visible to the eye, in the event of WORDY PHRASES
Prepositions in legal English ( VBK)
1. To accuse sb of = iemand beschuldigen van brandstichting
2. To be liable for (legally obligated)= aansprakelijk zijn voor schulden
To be liable to = to be susceptible to => He’s liable to heart disease
3. To sentence sb to= om de verdachte te veroordelen tot
4. To claim damages for = om schadevergoeding te eisen voor geestelijk leed
5. To be entitled to= recht op financiële compensatie
6. To bring a case to court= om een zaak voor de rechter te brengen
7. To be guilty of= schuldig zijn aan een misdrijf
8. To fine sb for= om een bestuurder te beboeten voor te hard rijden
9. To charge sb with= om een verdachte aan te klagen voor een overtreding
10. To appeal sth / to appeal against sth (Br.)= om in beroep te gaan tegen de
bevindingen van een rechtbank
Reported speech (p91)
,Diffrence:
1. Direct speech = what someone actually says (“I’ll call you!”)
2. Reported speech = report what someone said (He said he would call me.)
speech taking plave in the future, but you refer back to the. Past
Changes to sentence:
1. The change of tense
Bv: “I am making cupcakes.”
=> “She said she was making cupcakes.”
2. Pronouns
Bv:“We’ll phone later!”
=> “They said they would phone later!”
3. Possessive adjectives:
Bv:“I gave her my book.”
=> “He said he gave her his book.”
4. Time & Place:
Bv: “I went there yesterday.”
=> “She said she had been there the day before / on Monday /...”
Questions and orders
• When did she finish her tasks?
=> He asked when she had finished her tasks.
• Do you like peanut butter?
=> He asked me if I liked peanut butter.
• Sit down!
=> He told me to sit down.
• Could you sit down, please?
=> He asked me to sit down.
!! Some modals turn into another modal or don’t change at all. Make sure you check all
exceptions in your syllabus!
How is it used?
Backshifting: the tense of the verb is moved back one tense
, for example: “I am making cupcakes” (present continuous) => She said she was
making cupcakes. (past continuous)
! Think about pronouns and adverbs of time and place: “We’ll phone later.” => They
said they’d phone later. / “I went there yesterday.” => He said he had been there the
day before.
If it’s still true, you can choose to use the same tense: “I love chocolate!” => She said
she loved chocolate. OR She said she loves chocolate.
News literacy: alternative facts, fake news and blatant lies
Diffrence Tabloid and newspaper
TABLOIDS NEWSPAPER
They like to zero in on sensational topics Serious information, in depth coverage
Bv: love island (diepgaand onderzoek)
Subjective give their opinion objective
Puns and slang creative in language Sober tone
informal Formal register
Subscriber counts?
FOTO TOEVOEGEN
- Which newspaper you read shapes your opinion and your worldview
- It’s bad that there are more readers of a tabloid than a newspaper
Legal English
Plain English: you can explain in a simple way
Legal English:
- Variations
- can be clear and confusing
- precise and flexible
reflects the legal system in a given country
the united states & United Kingdom use the common law in Belgium we have the civil
law difference in communication
Legal professions
Barrister Solicitor
Barrister: A lawyer who can plead or argue a case in one of the higher courts
Solicitor: They have passed the same examinations as a Barrister, but they do all the
research and prepare legal documents
Stages in a lawyer’s life
Applicant: an applicant to a law school
Undergraduate: someone who obtained their bachelor’s degree
Graduate: has obtained their master’s degree
Postgraduate: someone who has obtained their doctoral degree
Qc:
- Queens Counsel
- unique to Britain
- a matter of status and prestige
- in the past they had a lot of free advantages, these days they don’t have that much
anymore
- advantages:
1. distinctive uniform: silk gown over their court coat
2. rights to press the court first
3. rights to sit in the front row
4. fees are justified because they have to deal with more complex cases
Nominalisations
- you will use the noun as a proper verb
- why?: it’s more abstract, formal and objective
Legal English: language and the law
, ARCHAIC TERMS
hereinafter, thereof, whereby, aforesaid ancient scripts
to provide notification of, to ensure identification NOMINALISATIONS
noun instead of a verb
FORMAL WORDS
Commence( to start), retain (to keep), terminate, grant
ad hoc, per se, infra, et al. LATIN PHRASES
peace and quiet / null and void / way, shape or form
DOUBLETS/TRIPLETS
strengthen our argument
due to the fact that, visible to the eye, in the event of WORDY PHRASES
Prepositions in legal English ( VBK)
1. To accuse sb of = iemand beschuldigen van brandstichting
2. To be liable for (legally obligated)= aansprakelijk zijn voor schulden
To be liable to = to be susceptible to => He’s liable to heart disease
3. To sentence sb to= om de verdachte te veroordelen tot
4. To claim damages for = om schadevergoeding te eisen voor geestelijk leed
5. To be entitled to= recht op financiële compensatie
6. To bring a case to court= om een zaak voor de rechter te brengen
7. To be guilty of= schuldig zijn aan een misdrijf
8. To fine sb for= om een bestuurder te beboeten voor te hard rijden
9. To charge sb with= om een verdachte aan te klagen voor een overtreding
10. To appeal sth / to appeal against sth (Br.)= om in beroep te gaan tegen de
bevindingen van een rechtbank
Reported speech (p91)
,Diffrence:
1. Direct speech = what someone actually says (“I’ll call you!”)
2. Reported speech = report what someone said (He said he would call me.)
speech taking plave in the future, but you refer back to the. Past
Changes to sentence:
1. The change of tense
Bv: “I am making cupcakes.”
=> “She said she was making cupcakes.”
2. Pronouns
Bv:“We’ll phone later!”
=> “They said they would phone later!”
3. Possessive adjectives:
Bv:“I gave her my book.”
=> “He said he gave her his book.”
4. Time & Place:
Bv: “I went there yesterday.”
=> “She said she had been there the day before / on Monday /...”
Questions and orders
• When did she finish her tasks?
=> He asked when she had finished her tasks.
• Do you like peanut butter?
=> He asked me if I liked peanut butter.
• Sit down!
=> He told me to sit down.
• Could you sit down, please?
=> He asked me to sit down.
!! Some modals turn into another modal or don’t change at all. Make sure you check all
exceptions in your syllabus!
How is it used?
Backshifting: the tense of the verb is moved back one tense
, for example: “I am making cupcakes” (present continuous) => She said she was
making cupcakes. (past continuous)
! Think about pronouns and adverbs of time and place: “We’ll phone later.” => They
said they’d phone later. / “I went there yesterday.” => He said he had been there the
day before.
If it’s still true, you can choose to use the same tense: “I love chocolate!” => She said
she loved chocolate. OR She said she loves chocolate.
News literacy: alternative facts, fake news and blatant lies
Diffrence Tabloid and newspaper
TABLOIDS NEWSPAPER
They like to zero in on sensational topics Serious information, in depth coverage
Bv: love island (diepgaand onderzoek)
Subjective give their opinion objective
Puns and slang creative in language Sober tone
informal Formal register
Subscriber counts?
FOTO TOEVOEGEN
- Which newspaper you read shapes your opinion and your worldview
- It’s bad that there are more readers of a tabloid than a newspaper
