In Part One, Mellinkoff argues that the language of the law is not English, but a separate dialect that has its own vocabulary, grammar, syntax, and style. He shows how the language of the law uses words and expressions that are unfamiliar, formal, flexible, or obsolete to create ambiguity, complexity, and confusion. He also criticizes the language of the law for being verbose, redundant, abstract, and technical. He suggests that the language of the law reflects the attitudes and interests of the legal profession, which seeks to preserve its authority, tradition, and monopoly over legal matters.
In Part Two, Mellinkoff provides a comprehensive historical survey of the origins and evolution of the language of the law. He explains how the language of the law was influenced by various factors, such as political events, social changes, cultural influences, linguistic trends, and legal developments. He demonstrates how the language of the law incorporated elements from different languages, such as Celtic, Latin, French, and English. He also analyzes how the language of the law changed over time in response to new situations and needs. He illustrates his points with examples from legal documents, statutes, cases, and literature.
In Part Three, Mellinkoff discusses how the legal profession has tried to improve and modernize the language of the law. He reviews various attempts and proposals to make the language of the law more precise, shorter, intelligible, and durable. He evaluates their merits and drawbacks. He also offers his own suggestions for reforming and simplifying the language of the law. He advocates for using plain English instead of legal jargon; for avoiding unnecessary words and phrases; for using clear definitions and examples; for adopting consistent rules and conventions; and for revising outdated or obsolete terms and expressions.
Reception and impact of the book
The Language of the Law received widespread acclaim from both legal and non-legal audiences when it was first published in 1963. It was hailed as a brilliant and entertaining treatise on a topic that was often neglected or misunderstood. It was praised for its lucid, witty, meticulous in scholarship and unfailingly interesting . It was also recognized as a valuable resource for lawyers who wanted to improve their writing skills and communication abilities.
The book has also had a lasting impact on the field of law and language. It has inspired many other works on the same or related subjects. It has influenced many movements and initiatives to reform and simplify the language of the law. It has also contributed to raising awareness and interest in the importance and challenges of legal communication among lawyers, judges, legislators, scholars, students, journalists, and laypeople.
Conclusion
The Language of the Law is a book by David Mellinkoff that explores the history, characteristics, and problems of legal language. It is a classic work that combines scholarship with humor, criticism with appreciation, history with analysis, description with prescription. It is a book that informs entertains, educates enlightens, challenges inspires anyone who is interested in involved with affected by or curious about law language.
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