• TECHNOLOGIES OF LANGUAGE MEET IDEOLOGIES OF LAW

    Author(s):
    Anya Bernstein
    Date:
    2020
    Group(s):
    Michigan State Law Review
    Item Type:
    Article
    Permanent URL:
    https://doi.org/10.17613/rk57-5n45
    Abstract:
    A new technology of interpretation is taking the legal world by storm. Legal corpus linguistics, an approach generally unknown in the field until a few years ago, has suddenly become a focus for articles, conferences, legal briefs, and even judicial opinions. Taking advantage of evolving computational approaches and data collection abilities, legal corpus linguistics searches big data sets of language use to help interpret legal texts.1 Legal corpus linguistics is technological. It uses vast collections of language use examples, demonstrating a very contemporary interest in big data. It compiles those big data sets through various means, but automating the collection of more contemporary material, for instance by continually searching the Internet for new entries. It uses computer programming techniques to help annotate those texts, allowing each term to be labeled as a part of speech. Other computer programming techniques allow users to search the database, locating individual words and phrases within vast collections of language use examples. Being able to search databases to collect a wealth of instances of people using particular words in various contexts helps researchers understand how those words are usually used. Proponents argue that this knowledge allows legal corpus practitioners to give empirical grounding to claims about ordinary meanings that pervade legal interpretation. This technology, the argument goes, gives us access to what the words that appear in statutes really mean to people, making legal meaning-making less subjective, even “scientific.”2
    Metadata:
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    Published as:
    Journal article     Show details
    Publisher:
    Michigan State University College of Law
    Pub. Date:
    2020
    Journal:
    Michigan State Law Review
    Volume:
    2020
    Issue:
    5
    Page Range:
    1241 - 1300
    ISSN:
    1087-5468
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    1 year ago
    License:
    Attribution
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