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Some Myths About Legal Language

Loyola Law School, Los Angeles

Over the centuries, much has been written about the language of the law. The language of lawyers is archaic and conservative. It is full of Latin and French. It is wordy and redundant, pompous and dull, and either highly precise or maddeningly indeterminate. Perhaps the most interesting suggestion is that legal language is itself a myth, in that it is really just ordinary language with a great deal of technical terminology. Some of these assertions have more than a kernel of truth, others are complete myths, and yet others should be relegated to that status as quickly as possible.

Law, Culture and the Humanities, Vol. 2, No. 1, 29-50 (2006)
DOI: 10.1191/1743872106lw035oa


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