Chapter published in:
History of Linguistics 2017: Selected papers from the 14th International Conference on the History of the Language Sciences, (ICHoLS 14), Paris, 28 August – 1 SeptemberEdited by Émilie Aussant and Jean-Michel Fortis
[Studies in the History of the Language Sciences 127] 2020
► pp. 221–236
Linguists and lawyers
Douglas A. Kibbee | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The first article of the United Nations’ Universal
Declaration of Human Rights states that “all men are born free and
equal in dignity and rights”. It prohibits discrimination based on
language, among other criteria, and defines a number of areas in
which rights are guaranteed, including legal proceedings, education,
elections, health care, commerce and the workplace. Each of these
areas has a linguistic component, and every country addresses that
linguistic component according to national traditions. After a brief
history of the linguistic rights, the first part of this talk will
focus on how the legal system in the United States treats those who
do not speak English. In a second part we will examine issues within
the English language itself, how the legal system uses prescriptive
grammars and dictionaries to reach its decisions. While the examples
presented will focus on the United States, the issues are universal
and readers are encouraged to reflect on how the same issues are
addressed in other national contexts.
Keywords: law, lexicography, corpus linguistics, court interpreting, human rights, originalism
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Linguists as experts
- 2.1Translation and interpretation
- 2.2Understanding warnings
- 2.3Determining the need for an interpreter
- 3.Interpreting the Constitution and statutes
- 3.1Dictionaries and grammars
- 3.2Linguistic corpora
- 3.3Translations and originalism
- 3.4Originalism is a double-edged sword
- 4.Conclusion
-
Notes -
References -
Court cases
Published online: 20 May 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/sihols.127.15kib
https://doi.org/10.1075/sihols.127.15kib
References
Aprill, Ellen P.
Eggington, William G. & Troy Cox
González, Roseann Dueñas
González, Roseann Dueñas, Victoria F. Vásquez & Holly Mikkelson
Kibbee, Douglas A.
Kirchmeier, Jeffrey L. & Samuel A. Thumma
Lowth, Robert
Maggs, Gregory E.
Mikhail, John
2017 “The
Definition of ‘Emolument’ in English Language and Legal
Dictionaries, 1523–1806”. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2995693&download=yes, last
consulted 25 August, 2018. 
Mulligan, Christina, Michael Douma, Hans Lind & Brian Quinn
Phillips, James C., Daniel M. Ortner & Thomas R. Lee
Radmann, Jana
Solum, Lawrence B.
Court cases
District of
Columbia and State of Maryland v. Donald J.
Trump