Université de Montréal - Thèse sous forme numérique

9terminology of Canadian and Portuguese judgments. As for its discursive dimension,the following sections account for general and specific characteristics of what is calledlegal language (section 2.1.1) and argue for the notion of ―genre‖ as a necessary tool tothe understanding of legal discourse and ultimately to the interpretation of terminology(section 2.1.2).2.1.1. CharacteristicsLegal language or legal discourse is often said to display a set of specificities that makeit different from other specialized discourses such as medicine and computing. Law hasan intimate relationship with language as well as with socio-cultural traditions.2.1.1.1. Law and languageThe relationship between law and language is considered sui generis because law needslanguage in a specific way: language is the means of expressing and making the law.This means that legal texts are at the same time law‘s main resource and object, i.e.―language is the medium, process and product in the various arenas of the law‖ (Maley1994: 11). Consequently, the linguistic and pragmatic mechanisms that generate theimperatives or effects of legal texts contribute both to expressing the conceptualuniverse of the domain and to expressing the legal operations necessary to theaccomplishment of specific legal dispositions. Language as the medium, process andproduct of law explains, for instance, why legal writings of both practitioners andacademics have an influence on any legal doctrine (Heutger 2004).Legal language is also considered vague as it cannot predict all scenarios ofhuman behaviour that the law attempts to regulate. It, therefore, needs to bereinterpreted and redefined by lawmakers, judges and scholars not only for specificcases but also for keeping up with social evolution (Kasirer 1994; Mellinkoff 1983).