1 - Introduction
The Role of Language in Law and Justice
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 February 2026
Summary
This introductory chapter details the purpose of the collection and its structure. This collection presents the state-of-the-art research in applied linguistics directly relevant to procedural and administrative law and practice, with an emphasis on how legal procedure is constructed, negotiated and implemented through language. Covering the themes around legal process and legal profession through the lens of linguistics, the focus of this collection is very firmly on the applicability of linguistic theory and methodology to the context of legal practice. The Introduction also outlines the chapters, which draw on distinct methods and data types to explore diverse aspects of professional practice across a number of jurisdictions. In doing so, the chapter highlights the immense potential for incorporating linguistic insights into the legal process and the benefits it can bring to law researchers and practitioners.
Keywords
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Language and JusticeCommunication in Legal Practice, pp. 1 - 16Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
References
Atkinson, J. M. and Drew, P. (1979). Order in Court: The Organisation of Verbal Interaction in Judicial Settings. London: Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cotterill, J. (2003). Language and Power in Court: A Linguistic Analysis of the O.J. Simpson Trial. London: Palgrave.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Durant, A. and Leung, J. H. C. (2016). Language and Law: A Resource Book for Students. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Gibbons, J. (2003). Forensic Linguistics: An Introduction to Language in the Legal System. London: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Heffer, C. (2005). The Language of Jury Trial: A Corpus-Aided Analysis of Legal-Lay Discourse. Basingstoke: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jol, G. and Stommel, W. (2016). ‘Ethical considerations of secondary data use: What about informed consent?’ Dutch Journal of Applied Linguistics, 5:2, 180–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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