Legal English vs.

General English/Plain English

Legal vocabulary and general English vocabulary often share words, but their
meanings can differ significantly depending on the context. Legal language, also
known as "legalese," is precise, formal, and designed to leave little room for
ambiguity. On the other hand, general English is more flexible, colloquial, and can
vary depending on the situation. Understanding the distinctions between these two
types of vocabulary is crucial for anyone navigating legal texts or aiming to
communicate effectively in both legal and non-legal settings.
Plain English

Plain English is a generic term for communication in English that emphasizes clarity,
brevity, and the avoidance of technical language—particularly in relation to official
government or business communication.

History

There is no specific known history and origins of the Plain English Movement but it
gained popularity in 1970s. However understanding the legal documents was a
problem centuries before this, as Peter Tiersma in his book “The Plain English
Movement” points out.

Tiersma points out that earliest of problems relating to understanding of legal texts
arose in England when William, Duke of Normandy, became the king of England
after defeating Harold, the Anglo-Saxon king, at the battle of Hastings in 1066.
William and his supporter, who spoke French, used Latin and French for their legal
documents. As time went on the lawyers in England continued to use the same though
the people in England did not used French and Latin. To remove the displeasure of the
people the British Parliament in 1362 passed Statute of Pleading. This law required
that all the pleas should use the Plain English, however this was not much successful
as the peculiarities of the language used did not vanished.

Even today our legal system also uses much of the same language. For example, in
French, adjectives usually come after the noun they modify. Legal words such as “fee
simple absolute”, “attorney general”. “malice aforethought” reflect such influence.

If we consider another example, in Law French, the French that the English attorneys
used, words ending in “-ee” indicated a person was the recipient or object of an action.
This pattern is still evident in common legal words such as “assignee”, “detainee” and
“mortgagee”. However, same words also end with “-or”, the combination of these
suffixes can be very confusing for a layman. An example to understand this is, an
“assignor” assigns an interest in property, while an “assignee” is the person to whom
the property is assigned.

Legal English

Legalese, which is form of jargon, is defined as the specialized language used in the
legal profession. Every profession uses the jargon to a varying degrees but when the
use of jargon is very much predominant it becomes hard to understand and thus
obstructs the communication. Sometimes even the professional have the difficulty in
understanding the jargon, if these professionals encounter the problem then it can be
very well considered that laypeople will encounter the problem too.

Writers sometimes forget that the terms and phrases they understand may be difficult
or meaningless to other readers. Some readers may be novices in a field. Other readers
in a particular field may not be familiar with the terms and phrases used by those in a
subsection of that field or not have reached the same level of expertise as the writer.
While most people who work in the legal profession generally understand legalese,
sometimes the legalese stymies even highly educated judges. In 1969, New Jersey
Supreme Court Chief Justice Weintraub confessed during oral argument on a case
pertaining to an insurance policy, “I don’t know what it means. I am stumped.”
Tiersma says legalese collectively refers to the features that differentiate legal
language from ordinary language. According to Tiersma, those features include
technical vocabulary as well as archaic, formal, and unusual or difficult vocabulary;
impersonal and passive constructions; nominalizations; multiple negation; long and
complex sentences; and wordiness and redundancy.

Lengthy and Complex Sentences

Most of the sentences found in traditional legal writing, usually contain an inordinate
number of words.
One of the factors why the writers prefer this can be that it allows including all the
relevant information in one unit, as dividing the sentence into two or more sentences
increases the possibility of them being read as separate and unrelated to each other.
Including every detail in a single sentence does not only produce long sentences but it
makes them grammatically complex too. Usually it ends up that these sentences
contain numerous sub clauses with many conditions and exception and additional
conditions and exceptions within the earlier exceptions.

Wordiness and Redundancy

Many legal documents are produced boilerplate from prior documents and forms.
Most of these clauses are not deleted; instead new ones are added. People in legal
profession usually tend to use them as they are without thinking of editing or revising
them with the demands of a specific case. Traditional legal language favors the use of
phases and phrases instead of simple adverbs and propositions. For example, a
document may use a phrase “until such time as” instead of the use of the word “until”.

Conjoined Phrases
Another feature which one witnesses in traditional legal documents is that it often
contains the words and phrases which are joined by the conjunctions “and” and “or”.
This leads to increase the wordiness of the document where a single word or phrase
would have sufficed the cause.
Tiersma points out traditional legal writing tend to use binomial expression five times
more than those used in prose styles. Binomial expression consists of two parallel
words joined by a conjunction such as “and, all, any”
Unusual Sentence Structure
Legal writers tend to use an unusual sentence structure with many clauses used in
sentences. Legal usage tends to separate the subject and verbs as well as insert a
lengthy amount of material inside the verb complex. This usually leads to the loss of
comprehension. Legal writers often reverse the order of the phrases and place the
prepositional phrase before the noun phrase.

Impersonal Constructions
Legal writers usually rely heavily on third-person voice, the reasons attributed for this
are as follows:
i) Legal documents such as statutes usually are targeted for a wide range of audiences
and they are to serve different roles when kept under different glasses, for example
while the statute tells common masses the rules they must obey, it also at the same
time it tells the police officers about what is the acceptable behavior and finally it tells
courts on how to react when breach of such acceptable behavior is done. By using
third-person voice, the statue can address all the audiences at a time.
Let us consider a example of contracts here. Using the personal pronouns “I” or “you”
in a phrase, such as “I promise you to pay”, creates ambiguity. However it is easy to
understand if it is prepared in third-person voice that reads, “X promises Y to pay”.
Third person voice gives objectivity to the legal writing.

Poor choice of words

Kevin Collins groups the poor word choices into six broad categories:
1) Archaisms: These are outdated words or expressions still used in legal writing.
Examples of this are ‘Aforementioned’, ‘Pursuant to’, ‘Know all men by these
presents’ etc.
2) Doublets and Triplets: These use synonyms to help amplify the legal language, for
example “indemnify and hold harmless”.

3) Formal Words: While legal writing traditionally uses formal words, it tends ti use
these words excessively. These words are not generally used in the common English
but they are used to denote the authority present in the legal language.

4) Here and There Words: according to Collins, here-and-there words are used to
establish an abbreviation.

5) Legalisms and Lawyerisms: legal professionals often use that words and phrases
without a substantive purpose, even in places where ordinary words can conveniently
convey the same meaning. For example “Abutting” instead of “next to”, “pursuant”
instead of “under” or “in accordance with”.
6)
6) Nominalizations: Changing a verb into a noun by adding a suffix such as “–tion,”
“-sion,” “-ment,”“-ence,” “-ance,” or “–ity” creates a nominalization. In addition to
requiring the use of prepositional phrases and “to be” verbs, which add extra words,
nominalizations can make writing abstract.

Goals of Plain English

The plain English includes all parts of a document, which includes its contents,
language, structure and design. It rigorously focuses on the audience and the reasons
for its communication.
The basic purpose of any document is to give its reader a clear idea of what the
document is all about and provide them the information they can easily use, so that
they do not have to ponder about what the author really meant to say. Not only the
plain language documents are easy to comprehend but they are attractive too, the
attract the reader to start reading them and then to completely read them. The Center
for Plain Language provides several guidelines to follow. These guidelines primarily
include the need to write in short sentences; preferring active voice; use clear and
informative headings; using logical organization; omitting unnecessary words and
having readable design.

Sentences: The greatest enemies of clear communication are complex sentences,

Sentences containing dependent clauses and exceptions can easily distract readers and
make it difficult for them to focus on the main point. Instead, short sentences to break
up complex information must be used. Smaller units make it easier for readers to
understand. A reader can only store about seven chunks of information at a time, after
which memory lapses occur. A complex sentence with multiple parts requires that a
reader spend additional time mentally sorting through and organizing the new
information into chunks.
Active Voice: A document written in active voice clearly tells who is responsible for
performing an action. The person or thing that is acting is the subject of the sentence.
In contrast, in passive voice, the object of the action becomes the subject of a sentence.
Plain [Link] says
passive voice, in which responsibility is obscured, is one of the greatest problems
with government documents.
Headings: Headings not only give the reader a brief summary of the information in
each section. They help reveal a document’s organization to readers as well. By
glancing at a document’s headings, the reader can obtain a brief outline of the
document’s layout and the sequence of information in which the information is
presented.
Organization: A plain language document should have the group related matter
together in a logical sequence. General information, being put first, followed by
specialized information and exceptions. This organizational pattern allows the
material to address the majority of readers and situations first. Then, put material that
applies to separate audiences into separate sections. By organizing the material in this
way, the different audiences who use the document do not have to spend time
browsing through material that does not apply to them.
Unnecessary Words: Wordiness is one of the biggest problems in the government
documents. The writers are advised to carefully consider every word they
[Link] can be shortened drastically by eliminating prepositional phrases,
omitting redundant words, and deleting excess modifiers.
Design: Document’s design is an important element in developing an effective
document. A document that appears cluttered and dense discourages readers from
using it. A plain language document uses design elements to emphasize key points for
the reader. It uses short sentences and paragraphs to help break up the material
visually into manageable sections. Headings, tables, and lists can replace large,
nondescript blocks of text and create more white space for the reader.
Key Differences Between Legal and General English
1. Precision vs. Flexibility
Legal Vocabulary
Legal terms are crafted to be precise and unambiguous. Every word is chosen
carefully to avoid multiple interpretations. For example:
Legal Term: "Shall"
Meaning in Legal Context: Imposes a duty; indicates a mandatory action.
Example: "The tenant shall pay rent on the first day of each month."
General English
The word "shall" is rarely used in everyday conversation and may be replaced with
"will" or "must," which can be more flexible in meaning.
General Term: "Will"
Meaning in General Context: Indicates future intention or a strong determination.
Example: "I will go to the store tomorrow."

2. Formality vs. Colloquialism

Legal Vocabulary: Legal language tends to be more formal, often using archaic
words or phrases that are rarely found in everyday English.
Legal Term: "Hereinafter"
Meaning in Legal Context: From this point onward in the document.
Example: "The party of the first part, hereinafter referred to as the Seller..."
General English: In everyday language, simpler and more direct terms are preferred.
General Term: "From now on"
Meaning in General Context: From this moment onward.
Example: "From now on, we will call him the Seller."

3. Specialized Terms vs. Common Terms

Legal Vocabulary: Many legal terms have no direct equivalent in general English,
making them specialized.
Legal Term: "Tort"
Meaning in Legal Context: A civil wrong that causes harm or loss, leading to legal
liability.
Example: "The company was sued for the tort of negligence."
General English: The concept might be explained using more common terms but
without the precise legal implications.
General Term: "Wrongdoing"
Meaning in General Context: An action that is wrong or immoral.
Example: "He was accused of wrongdoing."

4. Clarity vs. Ambiguity

Legal Vocabulary: The language is designed to be clear and leave no room for
misinterpretation, often at the expense of brevity.
Legal Term: "Indemnify"
Meaning in Legal Context: To compensate for harm or loss.
Example: "The contractor agrees to indemnify the client against any loss."
General English: Words may be less specific, allowing for broader interpretation.
General Term: "Compensate"
Meaning in General Context: To make up for something, often in a more general
sense.
Example: "She was compensated for her trouble."

5. Use of Latin Phrases

Legal Vocabulary: Latin phrases are frequently used to convey specific legal
principles or rules.
Legal Term: "Habeas Corpus"
Meaning in Legal Context: A legal principle that allows a person to challenge
unlawful detention.
Example: "He filed a habeas corpus petition to seek his release."
General English: Such phrases are rarely used outside legal contexts and might be
replaced with simpler explanations.
General Term: "Produce the body"
Meaning in General Context: Ensure that a detained person is brought before the
court.
Example: "He asked the court to review his detention."

6. Redundancy and Repetition

Legal Vocabulary: Often includes redundant phrases to ensure all possible
interpretations are covered.
Legal Term: "Null and void"
Meaning in Legal Context: Invalid; having no legal force.
Example: "The contract was declared null and void."
General English: Redundancy is typically avoided for brevity.
General Term: "Invalid"
Meaning in General Context: Not legally recognized.
Example: "The contract was invalid."

7. Examples of Legal Terms vs. General English

Legal Term: "Plaintiff"
General English: "Person who brings a case to court"
Example: In legal context, "The plaintiff filed a lawsuit."
In general English, it might be said, "The person who brought the case to court filed
a lawsuit."
Legal Term: "Mens Rea"
General English: "Guilty mind" or "Intent"
Example: In legal context, "The prosecution must prove mens rea."
In general English, it might be explained as, "The prosecution must prove that the
defendant had the intention to commit the crime."
Legal Term: "Consideration"
Meaning: "Something of value exchanged in a contract"
Example: In legal context, "A contract must have consideration to be valid."
In general English, it might be said, "A contract must involve an exchange of
something valuable."
Conclusion
Legal vocabulary is specialized, precise, and often more formal than general English.
It is designed to minimize ambiguity and ensure that legal documents and proceedings
are interpreted consistently. Understanding these differences is crucial for effective
communication in legal contexts and for translating complex legal language into more
accessible terms for everyday use.