BOOKS FOR YOU TO HAVE A JUMP START IN LEARNING LEGAL ENGLISH
In an interview published in the periodical of the Directorate General for Translation of the European Parliament, entitled ”Why is terminology your passion”, Professor Lynne Bowker - a Full Professor of Translation (FR-EN) at the University of Ottawa, a Certified Translator, and a Member of the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario (ATIO) - when asked "how would you describe the future of legal dictionaries” - answered as follows:
(…) it’s not really surprising that dictionary users have become more demanding. Language is about communicating. Lexical items are certainly a key feature of a language, but to communicate effectively, we need more. And so, in their linguistic “superstore”, users would like to see more examples, contexts, usage information, guidance about how they should use lexical items at native pro level. (…)
Is there such a legal English book that describes in a comprehensive and detailed manner how to use legal terms, in a sensible way, together with the practice areas they belong to?
YES, it is the book entitled 'A Practical Guide to English for Law'.
It describes how to use 1550 legal terms at native pro level so you can use them at native pro level,
It provides a full, but user-friendly description of legal English grammar—with fancy grammar terms kept to a minimum—so that you can learn about legal sentence structure,
It provides synonyms for legal terms, so that you have a set of terms to choose from, ensuring elaborate and precise delivery of your message,
It provides antonyms for legal terms, meaning that you will have all the negative forms of terms ready to hand,
It is a self-study or course book for you to facilitate your achievement of excellence in Legal English through regular study,
It is a preparation tool for particular legal topics (e.g. court prohibiting, burdens on property, statute of limitation, remedying and redress) prior to writing or translating texts in those topics.
In summary: you will have a much better command of legal English, meaning your legal texts will be perfect, the risk of errors will be reduced and promoting your career in law.
