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Stance expressions in legal academic discourse: A corpus-based analysis of legal journals

  • Jian Li

    Jian Li is a research professor at Zhejiang Gongshang University. She is Associate Editor of Translated Series on Cyber & Law Discourse Classics, and Mananing Editor of International Journal of Legal Discourse. She has published widely in the field of digital and cyber studies, corpus linguistics, legal discourse and translation in refereed journals such as Semiotica, Social Semiotics, Language in Society, International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law, and International Journal for the Semiotics of Law.

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    and Zhanglei Ye

    Zhanglei Ye is a research fellow at University of Glasgow. His research interests include discourse studies, applied linguistics, cognitive sciences, and educational studies.

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Published/Copyright: November 8, 2024

Abstract

Unveiling public ideologies and values patterns in legal academic discourse, stance serves not only as an effective method for writers to convey their legal values and knowledge, but also as a crucial reference for readers to perceive legal academic texts. This study employs a corpus-based analysis to examine stance expressions in legal academic discourse. Utilizing three self-compiled corpora that encompass articles from the Annual Review of Law and Social Science, Artificial Intelligence and Law, and Regulation & Governance, Hyland’s stance analysis framework is applied to conduct a comparative analysis of hedges, boosters, attitude markers, and self-mentions across the journals. This study reveals the nature of cautiousness and emphasis on the value of legal academic discourse, as well as writing values and disciplinary themes articulated within varied contexts. This research addresses a gap in stance analysis concerning legal academic writing, offering valuable insights for both writers and readers in understanding and shaping public perceptions of legal knowledge.


Corresponding author: Zhanglei Ye, School of Education, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK, E-mail:

Funding source: National Social Science Foundation

Award Identifier / Grant number: 24BYY151

About the authors

Jian Li

Jian Li is a research professor at Zhejiang Gongshang University. She is Associate Editor of Translated Series on Cyber & Law Discourse Classics, and Mananing Editor of International Journal of Legal Discourse. She has published widely in the field of digital and cyber studies, corpus linguistics, legal discourse and translation in refereed journals such as Semiotica, Social Semiotics, Language in Society, International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law, and International Journal for the Semiotics of Law.

Zhanglei Ye

Zhanglei Ye is a research fellow at University of Glasgow. His research interests include discourse studies, applied linguistics, cognitive sciences, and educational studies.

  1. Research funding: This work was supported by the project of National Social Science Foundation (Grant No. 24BYY151).

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Received: 2024-02-02
Accepted: 2024-09-30
Published Online: 2024-11-08
Published in Print: 2024-12-17

© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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