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In:Handbook of Terminology: Volume 3. Legal Terminology
Edited by Łucja Biel and Hendrik J. Kockaert
[Handbook of Terminology 3] 2023
► pp. 173–190

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Terminological features of the Chinese legal language

 | Griffith University
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives (CC BY-ND) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Published online: 1 December 2023
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https://doi.org/10.1075/hot.3.ter10
Abstract
In this essay, Chinese legal linguistic features, specifically, the terminological features, are discussed, in terms of the Chinese legislative language. It first outlines the historical and cultural developments and context in which classical Chinese conception of law was situated in traditional China, and the emergence and development of the modern Chinese legal language as a peculiar translated legal language. It then highlights the key terminological features of the modern Chinese legal language and some of its complexities with selected illustrative examples from Chinese legal terminology.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Cultural background of traditional Chinese law and keywords
  • 3.Development of Modern Chinese legal language
  • 4.Key terminological features of the Modern Chinese legal language
    • 4.1Three sets of Chinese legal vocabulary
    • 4.2Emerging and expanding legal technical vocabulary
    • 4.3Legal performatives
    • 4.4Lexical uncertainty
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
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