The course aims to introduce students to the knowledge of legal languages from a comparative perspective, taking into account the European multilingual context and also providing an overview of legal languages in the non-European context. The course will adopt a cultural-historical perspective that takes into account the historical roots of these languages, their evolution over time, their reciprocal influences and their current characteristics, enabling students to acquire a capacity for both diachronic and synchronic analysis.
Course Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of at least another European language.
Teaching Methods
The course will be held in the second semester and will last 35/50 hours. It will take place through: - Theory lectures aiming at explaining the topics of the course, with the support of power-point presentations - Analysis of materials that will be made available on the e-learning platform and discussed during the course in order to allow students to acquire a critical perspective - Concrete analysis of problems connected with the translation of specific legal terms - Conferences by Italian and foreign professors and legal practitioners on specific subjects in order to provide the students with different approaches During lectures students will be invited to actively participate to the discussion, in order to stimulate their reasoning skills, their analysis capacity and their oral expression skills.
Assessment Methods
The assessment will take place by an oral examination on the whole course program. Attending students have the possibility to take part to one written tests, consisting in two parts: a) multiple choice questions (aimed at assessing the general knowledge of the subject); b) open-ended questions (aimed at assessing the writing and critical skills of the students). The final exam for non attending students will be based on the reference texts. The final score will depend on the precision and quality of answers (50%), the adequate use of legal terminology (25%), and the capacity of critical analysis and reasoning (25%)
Contents
The course seeks to develop students' sensitivity to the peculiarities of legal language compared to ordinary language and other specialized languages. In addition, the course aims to provide students with the basic understanding of some legal languages considered significant in the European context. Finally, a part of the course will be devoted to the peculiar situation of European legal multilingualism, and with particular attention to the development of English as a lingua franca.
Course Language
Italian
More information
Office hours after lectures by appointment via email
