Law and Language

Peter Tiersma, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, has published What is Language and Law? And Does Anyone Care? in Law and Language: Theory and Society (Frances Olsen, Alexander Lorz & Dieter Stein, eds.; 2008). Here is the abstract.

There has been growing attention paid recently to the interdisciplinary study of language and law. This article explores the nature and parameters of this relatively new discipline, including its relationship to related areas such as law and semiotics, literature, and forensic linguistics. Although the study of language and law has been advancing, it nonetheless remains a relatively marginal and underappreciated field. The article concludes with some suggestions for making the field more prominent.

Download the paper from SSRN here.