Understanding legal language: a pragmatic approach

Abstract

The author discusses how a pragmatic approach for analyzing legal and quasi-legal documents can help one understand the purpose of such documents and why they are so difficult to write. She explores the purpose of legal language in consumer contracts using a pragmatic approach exemplified by J.L. Austin's (1962) theory of performative statements. It is concluded that the difficulties are compounded when the documents are aimed at audiences who lack legal training. Analyzing documents in a pragmatic fashion can help a writer to discern the difference between language that informs and language that creates. This understanding can in turn help one determine the possible tradeoffs involved when one tries to write documents that contain legal language.<>