Legal english vocabulary for the courtroom and beyond. Teachers are often not equipped with the exact english terminology required in very specific trade. Oct 24, 2011 55 videos play all business english vocabulary lessons by business english pod business english pod learn business english contracts exam crash course part 17 duration. This vocabulary can be used in english for specific purposes classes as a starting point for including vocabulary study relating to anything related law and practicing legal services. Legal english words dictionary learn dictionary words. In juvenile court, the word refers to the person or persons named in a petition. Abandon v abate v to abate a nuisance abatement abdicate v abdication abduct v abduction abet v to aid and abet abetment abeyance in abeyance ab initio abode abolish v to abolish slavery. Today we focus on the vocabulary used to describe the actions and.
Teachers are often not equipped with the exact english terminology required in very specific trade sectors. Just as lawyers in your own country write in a different language from other people, so do englishspeaking lawyers. Sentences are often structured differently in legal english. It was written specifically for nonnative english speakers to help them understand and use legal english. Law dictionary search more than 10,000 legal words and phrases for clear definitions written in plain language. For general vocabulary reference, the macmillan english dictionary is also an excellent resource. Linking words, connectin words, conjunctions, transitions created date. The set of books is equally important for all and sundry. These episodes contain special announcements and news, such as competition announcements from study legal english articles.
Some adjectives are described as uncomparable adjectives, meaning that they describe something which can only be absolute. The judicial branch does not warrant the accuracy of the information contained in this list nor is it responsible for any errors or omissions and assumes no liability for its use. Eu legal english also includes technical words andor expressions from other. Legal english english vocabulary word list learners. Accomplice someone who helps another person to commit a crime. The book includes listening and speaking activities as well as exercises for you to practice what you know. These are not only different from each other but are evolving all the time, adding new words with new connotations, such as cybersquatting, mobbing, pretexting and wikispamming. Plain english means analyzing and deciding what information investors need to make informed decisions, before words, sentences, or paragraphs are considered.
The young men were not of legal age and could not buy cigarettes. Introduction to international legal english is an intermediate level course for law students or newlyqualified lawyers who need to use english in their legal work or studies. By covering these terms in english, french, german. Before signing the contract, get a lawyer to check it for you. Acknowledgment of satisfaction of judgment a court form that the person who wins the case must fill out, sign. One of the first problems we faced was the fact that there are many equally valid versions of legal english, including uk and us english.
Glossary of legal terminology english arabic 472 words ayman khatib arabic interpreter and translator khalil ansara arkan rule of law team in west bank and gaza 1. Butterworths spanish english legal dictionary, by guillermo cabanellas. The main resource is the free study legal english podcast which can be listened to for free here on the website, on itunes, spotify, youtube and other podcast apps. Sep 25, 2009 this is the second in our threepart video vocab series on legal english vocabulary for law. The english language contains elements from many different european languages and has also borrowed words from a wide variety of other languages. Legal english is a different language from general english. Glossary of legal terminology most frequently used terms glossary of legal terminology edited and expanded by john lombardi aka. This core vocabulary reference sheet provides key words and phrases used in legal settings when practicing law. Today we focus on the vocabulary used to describe the actions and people involved in a court case.
Language training on the vocabulary of judicial cooperation. Although the anglosaxons seem to have had no distinct legal profession, they did develop a type of legal language, remnants of which have survived until today. Youll have to use your knowledge of legal english to fill in the missing words and complete the sentences. In return,you get total clarity in your mind for case or other legal action. The cambridge learner corpus is a collection of over 44 million words of english, based upon evidence of language use by learners from all over. To practice legal english related specifically to crime and the courtroom, this exercise will give you some good practice. Theres a special court of law for corruption and bribery cases. European dictionary of selected legal terms the words you need. The court decided to let the man go because there was no evidence to keep him in prison.
The a to z guide to legal phrases plain english campaign. Download essential english words complete set of 6 books. Accessory someone who encourages or helps another person to commit a crime. The legal english manual gives global practitioners a onestop source for technical legal language and commonly used phrases in 14 legal practice areas. Study legal english helping lawyers and law students. American legal english this book focuses on american legal english. In these episodes, an article focusing on a particular legal issue, news story or legal english skill, is read at a slow pace and then at a fast pace to help with your legal english aural comprehension fiction. Acceptor the organisation such as a bank which will pay the cheque or bill of exchange it has accepted.
Click on the free exercises to practice your understanding of legal terms in english. In other words, the creditor seeks to have part of the debtors future wages paid to the creditor for a debt owed to the creditor. Legal english words dictionary usefulness of learning legal english words make you understand what is going on in court or legal pursuit cases. It was prepared by experienced and native englishspeaking lawyers for an audience of lawyers, prospective practitioners, and other legal professionals. These peculiarities result from historical events which took place in england centurie s ago. Thats why, in a unique project, translegal has teamed up with leading law schools from around the world to create an online multilingual law dictionary linking the worlds legal languages to a single english law dictionary. Suitable for classroom use or selfstudy, the course prepares learners for using english in a commercial law environment. Affidavit a written statement that someone swears to under oath in front of someone that is legally authorized, like a judge or notary public. This website aims to helps people around the world become fluent in legal english. Just as lawyers in your own country write in a different language from other people, so do english speaking lawyers. Acknowledgment saying, testifying, or assuring that something is true. The book focuses on legal concepts, legal practice and laws in general. E v e r s h e d s e u r o p e a n d i c t i o n a r y o f s e l e c t e d l e g a l t e r m s eversheds in europe european dictionary of selected legal terms the words you need, the languages you need them in. A term to indicate another name by which a person is known.
This lesson deals with the pronunciation, meaning, and examples of use of typical legal english vocabulary, which. This is the second in our threepart video vocab series on legal english vocabulary for law. Every english learner must learn in order to improve his her english from the very basic to advanced level. The vocabulary of english changes over time, with words being added and other words falling into disuse. Handbook language training on the vocabulary of judicial.
Acronym that stands for also known as and introduces any alternative or assumed names or aliases of an individual. Bu laws legal english certificate program or lecp is a program jointly developed with bus center for english language and orientation programs celop. In order to maintain its currency, the preliminary and preliminary for schools vocabulary list is updated on an annual basis, with the decision. Some episodes of the study legal english podcast are grouped into legal english courses which you. The specialized variety or occupational register of the english language used by lawyers and in legal documents is called legal english. Legal terms vocabulary word list enchanted learning. The legal english manual for legal english language. Eu law english also includes technical words andor expressions from other languages. Legal drafting in english the big picture on the small print. Study legal english helping lawyers and law students become. Glossary of legal and related terms, and courthouse signs english portuguese revised 022014, cn 11783 englishportuguese page 9 of 29 revisado 022014, cn 11783. The most important aspect of legal english is the use of the right terminology.
The explanations in this guide are not intended to be straight alternatives. Words and phrases are forever evolving, and after a generation or two, a word can come to be used quite differently than the way our parents and grandparents. An easytounderstand guide to the language of law from the dictionary experts at merriamwebster. Examples include words like bequeath, goods, guilt, manslaughter, murder, oath, right, sheriff, steal, swear, theft, thief, ward, witness and writ. Legal english vocabulary vv 26 contract law lesson 1. Glossary of legal and related terms and courthouse signs. Preliminary for schools vocabulary list is updated on an annual basis, with the decision to add or remove words being informed by reference to the cambridge learner corpus and english profile wordlists. Accused the person that is charged with a crime and has to go to criminal court. Affirmed in the practice of appellate courts, the word means that the decision of the trial court is correct.
Italian and spanish, it extends to the eu markets which directly serve more than 300 million people. Legal english is the type of english as used in legal writing. It refers to the appointment by the court of one party to act in a legal action on behalf of another party. Made after probation has either terminated or defendant was. Accordingly a word used in legal documents which means therefore or so. English may be the common language of the world, but the common law is not the common law of the world. Spanish legal terminology puts you ahead of the competition. The words lawyers use are often centuries old and no longer commonly used in general english. Pdf check your english vocabulary for law eustass kidd. Test your legal english terminology anglofon studio. Finally, the last nature of legal language originates. If your school has been closed due to the coronavirus, we are offering free temporary access to enchanted learning. Affirmation when an appellate court says that the lower courts decision was right.
Legal synonyms, legal antonyms merriamwebster thesaurus. A nonbankruptcy legal proceeding whereby a plaintiff or creditor seeks to subject to his or her claim the future wages of a debtor. Search more than 10,000 legal words and phrases for clear definitions written in plain language. As david mellinkoff has noted, legal english includes distinctive words, meanings, phrases, and modes of expression the language of the law, 1963. It constitutes a practical reference and selfstudy resource, which will help you both understand english legal language as it appears in contemporary written and oral contexts, and to use clear, accurate english in everyday legal and business situations. A guardian ad litem is a person appointed by the court to protect the interests of minors or legally incompetent persons in legal actions. In general, a legal language is a formalized language based on logic rules which differs from the ordinary natural language in vocabulary, morphology, syntax, and semantics, as well as other linguistic features, aimed to achieve consistency, validity, completeness and soundness, while keeping the benefits of a humanlike language. For instance, the abundance of french and latin phrases actively in use in the english legal language, tautologies and loan translations are hallmarks of the english legal language. But there are still legal phrases that baffle nonlawyers. Using plain english assures the orderly and clear presentation of complex information so that investors have the best possible chance of understanding it. This list of common legal words was compiled by the connecticut judicial branch solely as a public service. Abduction the offense of taking away a wife, child, or ward, by deceitful persuasion, force, or violence. Below common legal words used in english with their explanations are given.
1358 1572 1369 952 1503 1105 1360 632 1189 1111 34 502 1571 525 261 849 1598 48 817 1426 728 785 502 1324 1163 1377 1467 506 1153 427 598 1519 1305 441 923 1532 1267 1634 366 870 1438 1380 997 622 78 973 1007 277 549 833