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Textual Interpretation in the Law: What Words Say, and How Judges Read Them book cover

1st Edition

Textual Interpretation in the Law What Words Say, and How Judges Read Them

By N. H. E Diamond Copyright 2027
350 Pages 11 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

How do courts choose among competing readings of a text? This work draws on linguistics, philosophy of language, hermeneutics, and literary criticism for insights into how texts impart meaning. Through vivid examples and in-depth case studies—of reported judicial decisions rather than stylized hypotheticals—it translates learnings into practical guidance. Many interpretive disputes arise from... Read more

Introduction Part I: Linguistic Indeterminacy and its resolution Chapter 1. Why linguistics? Chapter 2. Lexical ambiguity Chapter 3. Syntactic ambiguity  Chapter 4. Scope ambiguity  Chapter 5. Indeterminacy of reference: definite descriptions and names Chapter 6. Indeterminacy of reference: indefinite descriptions  Chapter 7. Anaphora and discourse deixis Part II: Pragmatic Processes in Interpretation Chapter 8. Implication and Inference Chapter 9. Presupposition Chapter 10. Implicature Chapter 11. Literal meaning.

Biography

N. H. E. Diamond studied Linguistics and Applied Mathematics at Harvard University, holds a law degree from the University of Virginia, and spent more than twenty years as a transactional lawyer specializing in franchise, retail, and sales and distribution.

"Textual Interpretation in the Law is a must read for lawyers, who need to learn what language is really like, a highly recommended read for linguists, who need to learn how their theories play out in judicial discourse, and a pleasure to read for just about anybody."

Mira Ariel, Professor Emeritus, Department of Linguistics,Tel Aviv University

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