Corpus-based Research on Variation in English Legal Discourse

“As the leitmotif of the current collection is variation in legal discourse, each chapter applies its own lens to specific linguistic items in a diverse spectrum of legal genres either cross-linguistically or diachronically. To this end, these endeavours not only successfully interpret the historicist dynamics of the individual legal genres, but also prompt social accountability towards law enforcement. In addition, the studies of temporal-spatial variations incorporate morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics, representing a holistic landscape of language evolution. In this sense, how legal language evolves is compatible with the evolution of language in general and to some extent can be generalised to variations in other genres. Last but not least, the excellent introduction and application of ‘ever more sophisticated computational tools’ has transcended the ‘original scope to encompass a much broader range of topics and methodologies’ (p. 17). Throughout the book, a variety of auto-annotated corpus tools, language processers and statistical computer software are deployed to cater for the objectives of each study. Readability is enhanced with clearly illustrated tables, diagrams and figures, as well as with updates on technical innovations in corpus linguistics.”

“Although the book covers difficult topics, it is written in a clear and concise language which makes it easy to understand. The editors made an excellent selection of contributions so that the volume coheres, it is informative and at times even amusing, particularly in its vivid final chapter, with actual examples of the language used by intoxicated persons in courtrooms. The volume can be recommended to anybody interested in legal language, but particularly to those involved in legal language research, because it encourages future corpora-based research on similar lines and could give young researchers valuable ideas about which direction to go.”

“Teresa Fanego, and Paula Rodríguez-Puente’s edited volume Corpus-Based Research on Variation in English Legal Discourse appears to be a timely publication. It shows readers a number of data-driven studies pertaining to independent areas of language variation in legal English discourse.[...]The book helps researchers master data-analytic techniques which include descriptive analysis, predictive analysis, and prescriptive analytics. Descriptive analysis enables researchers to describe basic data features in descriptive statistics and visualization, such as mean score and standard deviation.[...]In addition, the book provides an excellent foundation for either in-class instruction or self-study with an extensive account of corpus linguistics. Focusing on legal discourse, the book introduces a wide range of corpus resources of legal texts and explains in detail the statistical and quantitative methods in dealing with language data. Well-crafted examples and case studies in the chapters would greatly help readers better understand the contents of the book, and even general linguistics researchers would find it easy to follow.”

“The volume is of much value for researchers, teachers and graduate students in the disciplines of applied linguistics, professional discourse studies and English for Specific Purposes.”