The thesis, structured in three chapters, aims to demonstrate the performativity of legal English through a concrete case. To achieve this, the first, more theoretical chapter explains J. L. Austin's theories in How to Do Things with Words, covering the felicity and infelicity conditions of an utterance, illocutionary acts, and their subsequent division. The second chapter delves deeper into legal English, explaining why it is more performative than other legal languages and providing a brief explanation of how lawyers' closing arguments work in court, as well as discussing the use of rhetorical figures and the importance of logos, pathos, and ethos. Finally, the third chapter analyzes one of the most famous American criminal cases, that of O.J. Simpson and his acquittal, examining the most interesting passages from a performative perspective and demonstrating how, in a given context, legal English performs concrete actions.
The thesis, structured in three chapters, aims to demonstrate the performativity of legal English through a concrete case. To achieve this, the first, more theoretical chapter explains J. L. Austin's theories in How to Do Things with Words, covering the felicity and infelicity conditions of an utterance, illocutionary acts, and their subsequent division. The second chapter delves deeper into legal English, explaining why it is more performative than other legal languages and providing a brief explanation of how lawyers' closing arguments work in court, as well as discussing the use of rhetorical figures and the importance of logos, pathos, and ethos. Finally, the third chapter analyzes one of the most famous American criminal cases, that of O.J. Simpson and his acquittal, examining the most interesting passages from a performative perspective and demonstrating how, in a given context, legal English performs concrete actions.
The Performative Power of Law English: A Linguistic Analysis of Legal Language and Speech Acts in the O.J. Simpson Case
VERONESE, CHIARA
2023/2024
Abstract
The thesis, structured in three chapters, aims to demonstrate the performativity of legal English through a concrete case. To achieve this, the first, more theoretical chapter explains J. L. Austin's theories in How to Do Things with Words, covering the felicity and infelicity conditions of an utterance, illocutionary acts, and their subsequent division. The second chapter delves deeper into legal English, explaining why it is more performative than other legal languages and providing a brief explanation of how lawyers' closing arguments work in court, as well as discussing the use of rhetorical figures and the importance of logos, pathos, and ethos. Finally, the third chapter analyzes one of the most famous American criminal cases, that of O.J. Simpson and his acquittal, examining the most interesting passages from a performative perspective and demonstrating how, in a given context, legal English performs concrete actions.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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Final Dissertation Chiara Veronese (1).pdf
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Descrizione: The thesis, structured in three chapters, aims to demonstrate the
performativity of legal English through a concrete case.
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565.48 kB | Adobe PDF |
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14240/4980