Shallow Equality and Symbolic Jurisprudence in Multilingual Legal Orders (Oxford Studies in Language and Law)

"What challenges face jurisdictions that attempt to conduct law in two or more languages? How does choosing a legal language affect the way in which justice is delivered? Answers to these questions are vital for the 75 officially bilingual and multilingual states of the world, as well as for other states contemplating a move towards multilingualism. Arguably such questions have implications for all countries in a world characterized by the pressures of globalization, economic integration, population mobility, decolonization, and linguistic re-colonization. For lawyers, addressing such challenges is made essential by the increased frequency and scale of transnational legal dealings and proceedings, as well as by the lengthening reach of international law. But it is not only policy makers, legislators, and other legal practitioners who must think about such questions. The relationship between societal multilingualism and law also raises questions for the burgeoning field of language and law, which posits--among other tenets--the centrality of language in legal processes. In this book, Janny H.C. Leung examines key aspects of legal multilingualism. Drawing extensively on case studies, she describes the implications of the legal, practical, and ideological dilemmas encountered in a given country when it becomes bilingual or multilingual, discussing such issues as: how legal certainty and the linguistic ideology of authenticity may be challenged in a multilingual jurisdiction; how courts balance the language preferences of different courtroom participants; and what historical, socio-political and economic factors may influence the decision to cement a given language as a jurisdiction's official language. Throughout, Leung elaborates a theory of "symbolic jurisprudence" to explore common dilemmas found across countries, despite their varied political and cultural settings, and argues that linguistic equality as proclaimed and practiced today is a shallow kind of equality. Although officially multilingual jurisdictions appear to be more inclusive than their monolingual counterparts, they run the risk of disguising substantive inequalities and displacing real efforts for more progressive social change. This is the first book to offer overarching discussion of how such issues relate to each other, and the first systematic study of legal multilingualism as a global phenomenon."-- Provided by publisher Cover Series Shallow Equality and Symbolic Jurisprudence in Multilingual Legal Orders Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgments Synopsis Introduction: Language and Law in the Whirlpool of Politics Making Sense of Multilingual Legal Orders A Search for Meaning at a Multidisciplinary Crossroads Part I 1. Tracing Linguistic Management through Time: Law as a Lens Functional Multilingualism in Medieval Class Society Colonial Diglossia in European Imperialism Linguistic Nationalism and the Birth of Monolingual Modern States Linguistic Rivalry during Decolonization Parallel Multilingualism in International Legal Order Characterizing Contemporary Legal Multilingualism 2. Mapping a Global Phenomenon: The Spectacle of Official Multilingualism Some Precursors Inclusion Criteria Contestable Issues Bilingual and Multilingual Sovereign States Bilingual and Multilingual Non-​State Jurisdictions Jurisdictions with De Facto Bilingual or Multilingual Law Observations 3. How Official Multilingualism Works: A Symbolic Jurisprudence The Legal and Political Meaning of Status Labels Official Rhetoric The Excluded Others The Symbolic Jurisprudence of Official Language Law Identity Formation and Norm Creation Part II 4. Institutionalizing Multilingualism: Watchdogs on a Leash and the Bureaucratic Trap Negotiating the Legal Meaning of Language Status Mechanisms for Implementation and Their Limitations Resource Constraints Reality Check: Status Quo, Undisrupted 5. Creating Multilingual Legal Texts: Domination and Dependence Challenges in Legal Translation Reinventing Legal Drafting: Translation and Beyond Constructing and Developing a Legal Language From Linguistic to Ideological Engineering The Impossibility of Textual Equality 6. Interpreting Multilingual Legislation: The Limits of Language and the Certainty of Uncertainty Multiple Expressions, One Law? To Be Equal or Not to Be Equal Equal Authenticity Textual Equivalence as Legal Fiction Legislative History and Implicit Preference A Teleological Approach to Legal Interpretation Routine Comparison and Textual Interdependency The European Union as a Radical Example Rethinking Legal Interpretation 7. Conferring Official Language Rights in Legal Communication: Access to Justice and Conflict of Laws The Notion of Language Rights Official Language Rights in Multilingual Courtrooms The Language Criterion in Jury Selection Unrepresented Litigants Paradox of Language Rights 8. Concluding Remarks on Linguistic Equality, Strategic Pluralism, and Linguistic Justice Inherent Dilemmas about Upholding Linguistic Equality The Shallow Character of Linguistic Equality The Linguistic Justice Debate Pluralism as a Strategy A Tale of Caution and Opportunity Bibliography Index "What challenges face jurisdictions that attempt to conduct law in two or more languages? How does choosing a legal language affect the way in which justice is delivered? Answers to these questions are vital for the 75 officially bilingual and multilingual states of the world, as well as for other states contemplating a move towards multilingualism. Arguably such questions have implications for all countries in a world characterized by the pressures of globalization, economic integration, population mobility, decolonization, and linguistic re-colonization. For lawyers, addressing such challenges is made essential by the increased frequency and scale of transnational legal dealings and proceedings, as well as by the lengthening reach of international law. But it is not only policy makers, legislators, and other legal practitioners who must think about such questions. The relationship between societal multilingualism and law also raises questions for the burgeoning field of language and law, which posits--among other tenets--the centrality of language in legal processes. In this book, Janny H.C. Leung examines key aspects of legal multilingualism. Drawing extensively on case studies, she describes the implications of the legal, practical, and ideological dilemmas encountered in a given country when it becomes bilingual or multilingual, discussing such issues as: how legal certainty and the linguistic ideology of authenticity may be challenged in a multilingual jurisdiction; how courts balance the language preferences of different courtroom participants; and what historical, socio-political and economic factors may influence the decision to cement a given language as a jurisdiction's official language. Throughout, Leung elaborates a theory of "symbolic jurisprudence" to explore common dilemmas found across countries, despite their varied political and cultural settings, and argues that linguistic equality as proclaimed and practiced today is a shallow kind of equality. Although officially multilingual jurisdictions appear to be more inclusive than their monolingual counterparts, they run the risk of disguising substantive inequalities and displacing real efforts for more progressive social change. This is the first book to offer overarching discussion of how such issues relate to each other, and the first systematic study of legal multilingualism as a global phenomenon."-- Résumé del'éditeur What challenges face jurisdictions that attempt to conduct law in two or more languages? How does choosing a legal language affect the way in which justice is delivered? Answers to these questions are vital for the 75 officially bilingual and multilingual states of the world, as well as for other states contemplating a move towards multilingualism. Arguably such questions have implications for all countries in a world characterized by the pressures of globalization, economic integration, population mobility, decolonization, and linguistic re-colonization. For lawyers, addressing such challenges is made essential by the increased frequency and scale of transnational legal dealings and proceedings, as well as by the lengthening reach of international law. But it is not only policy makers, legislators, and other legal practitioners who must think about such questions. The relationship between societal multilingualism and law also raises questions for the burgeoning field of language and law, which posits--among other tenets--the centrality of language in legal processes.In this book, Janny H.C. Leung examines key aspects of legal multilingualism. Drawing extensively on case studies, she describes the implications of the legal, practical, and ideological dilemmas encountered in a given country when it becomes bilingual or multilingual, discussing such issues as: how legal certainty and the linguistic ideology of authenticity may be challenged in a multilingual jurisdiction; how courts balance the language preferences of different courtroom participants; and what historical, socio-political and economic factors may influence the decision to cement a given language as a jurisdiction's official language. Throughout, Leung elaborates a theory of "symbolic jurisprudence" to explore common dilemmas found across countries, despite their varied political and cultural settings, and argues that linguistic equality as proclaimed and practiced today is a shallow kind of equality. Although officially multilingual jurisdictions appear to be more inclusive than their monolingual counterparts, they run the risk of disguising substantive inequalities and displacing real efforts for more progressive social change. This is the first book to offer overarching discussion of how such issues relate to each other, and the first systematic study of legal multilingualism as a global phenomenon. " What challenges face jurisdictions that attempt to conduct law in two or more languages? How does choosing a legal language affect the way in which justice is delivered? Answers to these questions are vital for the 75 officially bilingual and multilingual states of the world, as well as for other states contemplating a move towards multilingualism. Arguably such questions have implications for all countries in a world characterized by the pressures of globalization, economic integration, population mobility, decolonization, and linguistic re-colonization. For lawyers, addressing such challenges is made essential by the increased frequency and scale of transnational legal dealings and proceedings, as well as by the lengthening reach of international law. But it is not only policy makers, legislators, and other legal practitioners who must think about such questions. The relationship between societal multilingualism and law also raises questions for the burgeoning field of language and law, which posits--among other tenets--the centrality of language in legal processes. In this book, Janny H.C. Leung examines key aspects of legal multilingualism. Drawing extensively on case studies, she describes the implications of the legal, practical, and ideological dilemmas encountered in a given country when it becomes bilingual or multilingual, discussing such issues as: how legal certainty and the linguistic ideology of authenticity may be challenged in a multilingual jurisdiction; how courts balance the language preferences of different courtroom participants; and what historical, socio-political and economic factors may influence the decision to cement a given language as a jurisdiction's official language. Throughout, Leung elaborates a theory of "symbolic jurisprudence" to explore common dilemmas found across countries, despite their varied political and cultural settings, and argues that linguistic equality as proclaimed and practiced today is a shallow kind of equality. Although officially multilingual jurisdictions appear to be more inclusive than their monolingual counterparts, they run the risk of disguising substantive inequalities and displacing real efforts for more progressive social change. This is the first book to offer overarching discussion of how such issues relate to each other, and the first systematic study of legal multilingualism as a global phenomenon. " ## Abstract This book offers a critical perspective to the proliferation of official multilingualism in the contemporary world. Through diachronic and synchronic comparisons, it shows that official multilingualism has become a norm in the political management of linguistic diversity, but actual practices vary according to sociohistorical contexts and current power dynamics. It explains such convergences and divergences using a theory of symbolic jurisprudence, which posits that official language law has served chiefly as a discursive resource for a range of political and economic functions, such as ensuring stability, establishing legitimacy, balancing rival powers, and harnessing trade opportunities. The book goes on to examine the practical impact of official multilingualism on public institutions and legal processes and the application of linguistic equality—frequently asserted in multilingual polities—on the ground. The study shows that serious pursuit of linguistic equality calls for elaborate administrative effort in public institutions and carries a potential to clash with existing legal practices (from legal drafting and interpretation, to language rights in trial proceedings). However, such changes—however extensive—hardly ever disrupt the status quo. The book further argues that linguistic equality as proclaimed and practiced in many polities today is shallow in character, and must not be confused with popular conceptions of equality. The book concludes that both symbolic jurisprudence and shallow equality are components of a policy of strategic pluralism that underlies official multilingualism. Although official multilingualism can legitimately be used to pursue collective goals, it runs the underlying risks of disguising substantive inequalities and displacing more progressive efforts in social change. Machine generated contents note: -- Introduction. Language and Law in the Whirlpool of Politics -- Chapter One. Tracing Linguistic Management through Time: Law as a Lens -- Chapter Two. Mapping a Global Phenomenon: The Spectacle of Official Multilingualism -- Chapter Three. How Official Multilingualism Works: A Symbolic Jurisprudence -- Chapter Four. Institutionalizing Multilingualism: Watchdogs on a Leash and the Bureaucratic Trap -- Chapter Five. Creating Multilingual Legal Texts: Domination and Dependence -- Chapter Six. Interpreting Multilingual Legislation: The Limits of Language and the Certainty of Uncertainty -- Chapter Seven. Conferring Official Language Rights in Legal Communication: Access to Justice and Conflict of Laws -- Chapter Eight. Concluding Remarks on Linguistic Equality, Strategic Pluralism and Linguistic Justice "This book offers a comprehensive account of official multilingualism and its legal ramifications. Janny H.C. Leung shows that while offering official status to multiple languages has become normalized, actual implementation and success vary. Despite often elaborate institutional adaptations, changes hardly ever challenge the status quo enjoyed by a dominant linguistic group. Leung argues that both "shallow equality" and "symbolic jurisprudence" are characteristics of official multilingualism driven by strategic pluralism"-- Provided by publisher "This book offers a comprehensive account of official multilingualism and its legal ramifications. Janny H.C. Leung shows that while offering official status to multiple languages has become normalized, actual implementation and success vary. Despite often elaborate institutional adaptations, changes hardly ever challenge the status quo enjoyed by a dominant linguistic group. Leung argues that both "shallow equality" and "symbolic jurisprudence" are characteristics of official multilingualism driven bystrategic pluralism"-- Résumé de l'éditeur