Table of contents
List of figuresix
List of tablesx
List of abbreviationsxi
Introduction1
Chapter 1Terms, concepts and other conundrums7
1.1Introduction7
1.2From Google to a General Theory of Terminology8
1.2.1Wüster’s idealized vision of terminology11
1.2.2A terminological clarification12
1.3Different takes on terminology and terminology work14
1.4Logical and ontological relationships vs. legal reasoning16
1.4.1Logical relationships17
1.4.2Ontological relationships17
1.5The concept vs. term quandary18
1.5.1Legal vs. linguistic conceptualization20
1.6Recent terminology theories22
1.7Summary24
Chapter 2Investigating legal concepts, language and the law27
2.1Introduction27
2.2Researching specialized languages28
2.2.1Legal scholars and the study of language31
2.3The dichotomy between specialized and general language: The fiction of legal language32
2.4What language and the law have in common36
2.5Legal concepts39
2.5.1Types of legal concepts40
2.5.2Determinate and indeterminate legal concepts44
2.5.3Coping with indeterminate legal concepts in practice50
2.6Polysemous legal terms52
2.6.1Implications of the cognitive shift for resolving polysemy55
2.6.2Polysemy in the EU context56
2.7Summary58
Chapter 3(How) Do courts do things with words?61
3.1Introduction61
3.2The linguistic importance of case-law reasoning61
3.3Interpretation as a perennial source of legal difficulty62
3.4General methods of legal interpretation68
3.4.1Statutory interpretation methods implemented by U.S. Courts70
3.4.2The role of the context in legal interpretation or ‘anything goes’74
3.5Summary78
Chapter 4Understanding EU legal concepts79
4.1Introduction79
4.2Conceptual autonomy79
4.3Conceptualization of EU legal concepts80
4.3.1Difference in conceptualization80
4.3.2The CJEU’s case-to-case approach81
4.4Summary89
Chapter 5Multilingualism and EU legal concepts91
5.1Introduction91
5.2The multilingual character of EU law91
5.2.1The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties92
5.2.2Official and working language93
5.2.3Problems posed by multilingualism in practice94
5.2.4The CJEU’s approaches to reconciling divergent language versions95
5.3A summary of findings104
5.3.1What will the future bring?105
Chapter 6EU legal translation and challenges for the dictionary: Incorporating legal translation into dictionary making107
6.1Introduction107
6.2Legal translation108
6.2.1Legal texts110
6.2.2Equivalence: A mission impossible111
6.2.3Conceptual analysis as the comparative-law approach to legal translation112
6.3Some challenges posed by legal translation to the legal dictionary115
6.3.1Analysis of lexicographic treatment of legal terms119
6.3.2Coping with different types of equivalence in a legal dictionary125
6.4Choosing the right approach to legal translation in the EU context129
6.4.1Using functional equivalents when translating EU legal concepts131
6.5Practical guidelines for legal translators working in the EU132
6.6Summary134
Chapter 7Multilingual legal dictionaries: Towards a termontontological dictionary of EU law137
7.1Introduction137
7.2Reinventing the dictionary137
7.2.1The future of legal dictionaries: Going digital and cognitive140
7.3The role of theory in the making of dictionaries142
7.3.1Terminography142
7.3.2Domains143
7.4The role of definitions in a legal dictionary145
7.4.1Redefining the role of legal definitions148
7.4.2The problems of defining and categorizing EU legal concepts150
7.4.3Subject-field classification: Demarcation of EU law151
7.5Filling a gap in legal lexicography157
7.5.1Prototype giveth, terminography taketh158
7.5.2Teleological definitions160
7.6Integrating extralinguistic information into the dictionary163
7.6.1Parts of the ontological structure167
7.7Summary168
Chapter 8Methodology for the making of a termontological dictionary169
8.1Introduction169
8.2Termontographic methodology169
8.2.1Search phase172
8.2.2Information-gathering phase173
8.2.3Refinement phase181
8.2.4Teleological definitions of indeterminate legal concepts183
8.3Dictionary display of indeterminate EU law concepts186
8.3.1Parent company186
8.3.2Subsidiary company188
8.3.3Company of a Member State189
8.3.4Company of a Member State: Different parts190
8.3.5Wholly artificial arrangement191
8.3.6Merger192
8.4Verification phase195
8.5Form of the termontological dictionary: Go digital or perish195
Chapter 9Concluding remarks and directions for future research197
9.1Digitalisation and customized lexicography198
Bibliography201
Appendix 1215
a.Legislative acts:215
b.Case law:216
c.Textbooks:217
Appendix 2219
a.Legislative acts:219
b.Books and articles:219
Subject index221
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