Chapter 6. “It is not just a fact that the law requires this, but it is a reasonable fact”
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Stanisław Goźdź-Roszkowski
Abstract
This chapter investigates the construction of stance through nouns in two legal genres: academic journals and judicial opinions. The study builds on previous research into stance construal in judicial discourse which focuses on nouns followed by a that-clause complement. Nouns found in this pattern indicate the epistemic status of the proposition expressed in the that-clause and they are used to evaluate the reliability of propositions contained in the that-clause (e.g., the assumption that … is incorrect). The present analysis of the Noun that-pattern highlights its dependence on both genre- and discipline-specific factors. It reveals disciplinary similarities in the choice of noun and the dominance of the authority-building function in both legal academic enquiry and judicial argumentation. Genre-oriented differences are found, for example, in the higher frequencies in judicial corpora of ‘certainty’ nouns (e.g., fact) and ‘communication’ nouns (e.g., argument).
Abstract
This chapter investigates the construction of stance through nouns in two legal genres: academic journals and judicial opinions. The study builds on previous research into stance construal in judicial discourse which focuses on nouns followed by a that-clause complement. Nouns found in this pattern indicate the epistemic status of the proposition expressed in the that-clause and they are used to evaluate the reliability of propositions contained in the that-clause (e.g., the assumption that … is incorrect). The present analysis of the Noun that-pattern highlights its dependence on both genre- and discipline-specific factors. It reveals disciplinary similarities in the choice of noun and the dominance of the authority-building function in both legal academic enquiry and judicial argumentation. Genre-oriented differences are found, for example, in the higher frequencies in judicial corpora of ‘certainty’ nouns (e.g., fact) and ‘communication’ nouns (e.g., argument).
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Chapter 1. “Why may not that be the skull of a lawyer?” English legal discourse past and present 1
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Part I. Cross-genre and cross-linguistic variation
- Chapter 2. English and Italian land contracts 25
- Chapter 3. Conditionals in spoken courtroom and parliamentary discourse in English, French, and Spanish 51
- Chapter 4. Part-of-speech patterns in legal genres 79
- Chapter 5. A comparison of lexical bundles in spoken courtroom language across time, registers, and varieties 105
- Chapter 6. “It is not just a fact that the law requires this, but it is a reasonable fact” 123
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Part II. Diachronic variation
- Chapter 7. Are law reports an ‘agile’ or an ‘uptight’ register? 149
- Chapter 8. Interpersonality in legal written discourse 171
- Chapter 9. The evolution of a legal genre 201
- Chapter 10. The representation of citizens and monarchy in Acts of Parliament in 1800 to 2000 235
- Chapter 11. Drinking and crime 261
- Name index 287
- Subject index 291
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Chapter 1. “Why may not that be the skull of a lawyer?” English legal discourse past and present 1
-
Part I. Cross-genre and cross-linguistic variation
- Chapter 2. English and Italian land contracts 25
- Chapter 3. Conditionals in spoken courtroom and parliamentary discourse in English, French, and Spanish 51
- Chapter 4. Part-of-speech patterns in legal genres 79
- Chapter 5. A comparison of lexical bundles in spoken courtroom language across time, registers, and varieties 105
- Chapter 6. “It is not just a fact that the law requires this, but it is a reasonable fact” 123
-
Part II. Diachronic variation
- Chapter 7. Are law reports an ‘agile’ or an ‘uptight’ register? 149
- Chapter 8. Interpersonality in legal written discourse 171
- Chapter 9. The evolution of a legal genre 201
- Chapter 10. The representation of citizens and monarchy in Acts of Parliament in 1800 to 2000 235
- Chapter 11. Drinking and crime 261
- Name index 287
- Subject index 291
