Learn to speak a different type of English - legalese

Learn to speak a different type of English – legalese Posted by Gabriele on Jun 20, 2013 in English Vocabulary

I recently spent some time reading a whole bunch of laws for a licensing exam and it reminded me how different legal English is from regular English. In fact we have a special name in English for legal language, it is called legalese.

You might not know the word “legalese,” but take a look at how it is similar to some other words you probably do know. This word ends in the suffix –ese, which is similar to words like Chinese, Japanese, Cantonese. The suffix –ese is used to form adjectives and nouns describing things or characteristic of region or a language spoken by people of a certain region. So really when someone uses legalese it is almost like they are speaking a different language. That is certainly how it feels reading legal documents in English, even for many native English speakers. Legalese is the second language of lawyers and judges and used frequently in documents like: wills, rental/home ownership agreements, license agreements, contracts, and laws.

Today I’m going to review a few important legalese terms so if you are ever looking over a document where these words pop up you will know what they mean. If you are looking at a document that you know is written in English, but is so full of legalese that you can’t understand it, I suggest getting a lawyer who speaks legalese to help you translate!

Legalese:

alibi – evidence that you were somewhere else when an act, typically a criminal act, took place so as to indicate you didn’t do the crime

alias – a false or different name than your legal name

defendant – a person or company that is accused of doing something wrong in a court of law

herein – this means ‘in this document’

heir – a person who received property or money after another person’s death

plaintiff – a person who accuses another person of doing something wrong in a court of law

sub poena – an order telling a person that they must appear in court

tort – unfairly causing suffering, loss, or harm to someone in your care (usually a doctor) and then being held responsible for these actions

Are there any other legalese words you know or that you have come across, but don’t know the meaning of?

Tags: legal language, legalese

Keep learning English with us!

Build vocabulary, practice pronunciation, and more with Transparent Language Online. Available anytime, anywhere, on any device.

Try it Free Find it at your Library

About the Author: Gabriele

Hi there! I am one of Transparent Language's ESL bloggers. I am a 32-year-old native English speaker who was born and raised in the United States. I am living in Washington, DC now, but I have lived all over the US and also spent many years living and working abroad. I started teaching English as a second language in 2005 after completing a Master's in Applied Linguists and a Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults' (CELTA). Since that time I have taught ESL in the United States at the community college and university level. I have also gone on to pursue my doctorate in psychology and now I also teach courses in psychology. I like to stay connected to ESL learners around the world through Transparent Languages ESL Blog. Please ask questions and leave comments on the blog and I will be sure to answer them.

Comments:

Javi:

Great post. make more post about legalese (Please write some sentences with the words so I can understand better how to use them) Thanks.
- gabriele:
  
  @Javi Javi,
  Thank you for your feedback. I will try to write another post on this topic soon!
Aqsa:

Hi there. I need help in converting a sentence into Legalese but i don’t know how to do it because there isn’t much material available for this purpose.are there any guidelines for this? if so, then please help me out. thanks in advance.
- Gabriele:
  
  @Aqsa Hi there,
  I am not a lawyer, but if you shared the sentence maybe I (and other readers of the blog) could look at the sentence to see how we could help?
  -Gabriele
Sharon Leaf:

Good day, please can you help me understand this? “The defendant and the minor children shall be entitled to remain in occupation of the immovable property and have sole use, occupation and enjoyment thereof up until the youngest minor child has completed primary schooling and provided same is the minor children’s primary residence”

Does this mean as soon as my youngest minor child leaves primary school i need to vacate? or not as long as it is his primary residence?

Please help, i cant afford a lawyer!!
- Gabriele:
  
  @Sharon Leaf Sharon,
  This is a good example of some legalese, unfortunately I too am not a lawyer so I wouldn’t venture to try and interpret/explain this to you.
  -Gabriele

Older post

Newer post