Power of Language: Presentational Style in the Courtroom, (From Proceedings of the Second Annual Institute for Court Interpreters, P 35-70, 1990 -- See NCJ-127550)

• NCJ Number: 127551
• Author(s): W McAlston O'Barr
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 35 pages
• Sale Source: New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts
• Publication Type: Conference Material
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This presentation examines the influence of the style of legal language on the courtroom process, and illustrates how the social scientific argument that the form of presentation during the legal process affects its outcome.

Abstract

It describes research findings from a multidisciplinary study about presenting information in the courtroom and discusses the role of powerful and powerless language based on the premise that women and men talk differently in American society. Narrative versus fragmented testimony is examined covering length of answers from witnesses, response matching, hypercorrection, interruptions, and the wrong number technique. The implications of this study are then presented for both other languages and for the deaf. Topics covered include deixis, accounts people give in court such as in the small claims environment, and audience behavior. The presentation ends with suggestions for the interpreters regarding their roles in the courtroom and the issue of style. 14 notes