JoLIE 4/2011
DRAFTING CONTRACTS: A CASE STUDY OF ITALIAN USE OF LEGAL ENGLISH
Iulia Daniela Negru
University of Trieste, Italy
Abstract
The present paper is the result of an assessment questionnaire carried out at the end of a course on the language of contracts as perceived and formulated by Italian lawyers and legal executives. It is the result of an intensive course of legal English taught at an important company close to Udine, a leader in its sector, interested in developing a better understanding of how to write ’correct‘ English contracts in their international business activities. The study shows how Italian learners’ perceptions, not only of language, but also of English as a lingua franca (and, as such, continually modified by non-English speaking businesspeople around the world) may change our view of what is ’correct‘ or ’acceptable‘ in writing contracts.
Key words: Legal English; Drafting contracts; Global English; Plain Language Movement.
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How to cite this article: Negru, I. D. (2011). Drafting contracts: A case study of Italian use of legal English. Journal of Linguistic and Intercultural Education – JoLIE, 4, 89–100. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29302/jolie.2011.4.7
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