1. COMPARATIVE LEGAL LINGUISTICS
INTRODUCTION

2. Lecturer Prof.dr.sc. Lelija Sočanac
Office hours: Monday – h, Gundulićeva 10, Room 5

3. LITERATURE
Mattila, Heikki E.S., Comparative Legal Linguistics .- Burlington: Ashgate, 2006.
Eades, Diana, Sociolinguistics and the legal process. Multilingual matters, 2010.
Mooney, Annabelle, Language and law. Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.

4. ADDITIONAL READING
Bhatia, Vijay K. et al. (eds.), Multilingual and Multicultural Contexts of Legislation : an International Perspective .- Peter Lang, 2003.
Bhatia et al. (eds), Legal Discourse in Multilingual and Multicultural Contexts .- Peter Lang, 2003
Bhatia, F (ed.), Vagueness in Normative Texts .- Peter Lang, 2005
Extra, Guus; Gorter, Durk, Multilingual Europe: Facts and policies. Mouton de Gruyter, 2008.
Gotti, Maurizio, Giannoni D. (eds.) New Trends in Specialized Discourse Analysis .- Peter Lang, 2006
Kniffka, Hannes. Working in language and law : A German perspective. Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
Olsson, John, Forensic Linguistics.- London: Continuum, 2008.
Olsson, John, Word Crime: Solving crime through forensic linguistics. London : Continuum, 2009.
Shuy, Roger W. Linguistics in the Courtroom: a practical guide. Oxford University Press, 2006.
Shuy, Roger W., Fighting over words: Language and civil law cases. Oxford University Press, 2008.
Shuy, Roger W. The language of defamation cases. Oxford University Press, 2010.
Shuy, Roger W. The language of perjury cases .- Oxford University Press, 2011.
Šarčević, Susan, New Approache to Legal Translation. Kluwer Law International 2000.
Wagner, Anne; Cacciaguidi-Fahy (eds.) Legal Language and the Search for Clarity.- Peter Lang, 2006

5. TIMETABLE TUESDAY 14.00-15.30, Gundulićeva 10, Lecture room IX.
6 March: Introduction to linguistics:
13 March: Introduction to phonetics, phonology, morphology
20 March: Introduction to semantics, pragmatics, discourse analysis
27 March. Introduction to legal linguistics
3 April: Characteristics and functions of legal language
17 April: Legal Terminology and Translation
24 April: The Heritage of Legal Latin
8 May Legal German
15 May: Legal French
22 May: Legal English
29 May: Language policy and planning:

6. Assesment One semester: 60 points
Attendance: 30 points (+10 for active participation)
Seminar paper: 10 points (+5 for excellence)
Presentation: 10 points (+5 for excellence)
Written exam: 15 points
Oral exam: 15 points

7. Suggested topics Legal languages Legal terminology Legal translation
Characteristics of legal discourse
Legal linguistics and the search for clarity
Language in the courtroom
Forensic linguistics
Language legislation
Linguistic human rights
Language policy and planning: official languages, minority languages

8. PREPARING YOUR PAPER 1. Collect as much material as you can
2. Organize your materials
3. Structure your paper:
1. Introduction
2. Elaboration
3. Conclusion
References

9. STRUCTURE Name TITLE Abstract
(A short summary of what you are going to write about)
1. Introduction.
1.1. Definition
1.2. Historical Background/ or Theoretical Background
1.3. Methodology
2. The main argument
3. Conclusion
References:
Oakland, John (2000), British Civilization : an Introduction .- 4th ed .- London; New York : Routledge.
SUMMARY

10. Quoting
“If the question is asked: ‘what is law in society?’ a common response would be ‘to maintain order”. (Partington 2006: 13)
References
Partington, Martin (2006), An Introduction to the English Legal System .- 3rd ed .- Oxford University Press.

11. PARAGRAPHING
A paragraph: several sentences contained in the topic (or key) sentence
The topic sentence: usually the first one, contains the main idea or topic
The other sentences support it by adding further information or examples
A paragraph should link logically with previous and following paragraphs

12. P-O-W-E-R
Produce (something worth saying)
Organize
Write
Edit
Refine

13. Presentations 2. Collect your materials 3. Organize your presentation
1. Think of your audience
2. Collect your materials
3. Organize your presentation

14. BEGINNING
Introduce yourself (Good morning/afternoon/evening. My name is...I’m going to speak to you today about...)
Make an impact – say something that will make the audience want to listen to you
Give a preview of the argument you are going to present

15. MIDDLE
Divide speech into a few manageable points (‘I’m going to make a couple of points today. Briefly, these are...’
Place them in a logical order
Demonstrate how each point contributes to the main theme of the presentation

16. END
Indicate that you have reached the end of your presentation (And finally...; In conclusion...)
Summarise the key points of your presentation (‘By way of summary...’)
End with a clear, decisive statement (‘The most important effect of all this is...’)

17. Structure
1) Beginning: start by saying what you are going to talk about (“Tell them what you’re going to tell them”)
2) Middle: most important points with good illustrative examples (“Tell them”)
3) End: sum up (“Tell them again what you’ve told them”)
4) Invite questions

18. Points to remember 1. Use simple and clear language
2. Check and practise the pronunciation of difficult words
3. Pay attention to your intonation
4. If possible, do not read (notes, keywords)
5. Use visual aids, or write on the blackboard
6. Don’t forget about your TIMING!!! (10 minutes)

19. CHECKLIST: Preparation
Consider your audience:
What are they interested in?
What do they need to know?
What is the best way of presenting it?

20. Power Point Check the equipment
DO NOT put too much text on a slide (no more than 6 lines)
Text large enough for everyone to see
Be careful about background colours and pictures

21. Throughout your presentation:
Project your voice so that everyone can hear you
Maintain eye contact with your audience
Use visual aids to illustrate your points
Avoid contradicting yourself
Do not use vague or trivial language
Do not assert that something is true without backing it up with evidence

22. Team presentations Choose who will lead the presentation
Divide your topics
Rehearse how each person will hand over to the next
Identify what each person will be doing while another is speaking

23. K-I-S-S
Keep It
Short and
Simple

24. Tempus reading room Trg m. Tita 3 (next to the bookshop)
Monday – Friday – 14.00h