How to Learn Legal English Well (3)

I object to the "pure English" theory of English for English's sake. Life is short, but there is no end to learning. Primary and secondary education, focusing on the foundation, has a professional orientation when entering the university; After work, the division of labor is finer and the positioning is clearer. Learning English is the same, which requires a clear professional orientation. Students all hope that the learning efficiency of legal English will be higher, that is to say, in a relatively short period of time, they will make faster progress and achieve greater results. Must be single-minded, diligent, and have no distractions. There are three main types of English learning materials in China: one is the so-called "exam-oriented English", CET-4 and CET-6, TOEFL, IELTS and so on. These things are stepping stones, not real knowledge. If there is no special need (such as going abroad or taking exams), you can't learn English here. Another kind can be called "cultural English", such as celebrity speeches, world famous works, English movies, songs and so on. , can be used as an aid and pastime, and can never be ignored; There is also "textbook English", from introduction to proficiency, English recitation, advanced English and so on. Students should regard it as a basic textbook and learn enough. Reading one book at a time is a waste of time. These are all pure English reading materials of "English for English's sake". "Pure English" doctrine, in the final analysis, is the product of the marriage of exam-oriented education and commercial interests of publishing houses. Schools, examination institutions and publishing houses take advantage of the public's desire to learn English well. On the one hand, they promise to be proficient, advanced, invincible and efficient (fluent in 30 days? ) ",the other party constantly introduces various exams and issues various certificates to prove the English level of candidates. There are myths about CET-4, CET-6 and TOEFL full marks, which encourage students' impetuous heart. I passed CET-6, but when I first negotiated with foreigners, I turned a deaf ear like an idiot. After coming to Australia, I worked in a Chinese restaurant and met some chefs and bosses. I don't know English at all, or I can only speak a few broken Chinatown English. Life is not inconvenient, and my income is much higher than that of most Australian natives. A little brother of Australian Law School, 12 years old, immigrated to Australia with his parents. English has almost become his mother tongue, but he can only listen and can't read and write Chinese. He envied my bilingual advantage. I said, "But your English is very good!" He replied, "What's the use of good English? Everyone can speak English! " . My English is not very good. You can't order in a restaurant, and others don't know jokes. I know 80% at most when I watch TV and listen to the radio, but among more than 80 students in my class, I got the highest score on several assignments (called "homework" here). I mean: (1) English level can't be evaluated by exams (Question: Is the English level of students who have passed Grade 8 in China higher or lower than that of street dropouts in the United States? ); (2) The importance of learning English is not absolute. Of course, foreign trade workers should learn English, but if their brothers in Beijing can't even say "hello", won't foreigners come to watch the Olympics? (3) Learning English has no professional orientation and is of little practical value. Some people even suggest dictating the voice of America word for word. Even if you can understand VOA 100%%, it is the listening level of American primary and secondary school students. What is the practical value for a China person to spend thousands of hours, 100% understanding VOA or being able to recite Lincoln's speech fluently? Pure English doctrine is enough, and no one can break it! In order to connect with the world, the government needs English talents and can only pass the talent evaluation. The school has the requirements of teaching plan, enrollment quota and examination pass rate, which naturally emphasizes the importance of examination; Publishers, in order to maximize profits, naturally like to publish popular books (how many people buy specialized English books? ); After the returnees return to China, in order to make a living or show off, they will pop up a few words from time to time intentionally or unintentionally to emphasize the importance of popular English. Who doesn't pierce this enough, that is misleading children, just like Ling Huchong trapped in a dungeon, refining * * * * star, refining down the results. Pure Britishness means taking means as the goal. Language is the carrier of culture. The purpose of learning English well is to communicate, learn, absorb and evaluate China people better. Modern society is characterized by fine division of labor and specialization. Therefore, it is a waste of time to learn English in China without professional orientation. In a word, English is the key. If you polish and wax your keys every day, but you still don't know which door to open, then you are a "pure Englishman" and basically synonymous with fools. Second, I am opposed to the ambitious "masterpiece doctrine" of learning legal English. We must be down-to-earth and start from the foundation. The foundation is the teaching material. The textbook has two characteristics: (1) introduces basic professional vocabulary, logical classification and reasoning process; (2) Make readers have an overall grasp of a theme. Famous books and classics often summarize and criticize the knowledge of predecessors, and then put forward new theories and new viewpoints. Therefore, these books are not suitable for beginners to read as introductory materials. Because, without these basic knowledge and background information as a foreshadowing, after a long time, I am also confused. For example, China's legal circles have discussed the issues of fairness and efficiency for some time. The basic question is: "Do you make the cake bigger (more efficient) or divide it equally first?" . Around this issue, all kinds of classics of law and economics are flying all over the sky. If we want to study this problem, we should actually read a jurisprudence textbook first to understand the definition of "fairness"; Look at an economics textbook again to understand what "efficiency" is. Let's look at the historical background of this theory put forward by the American "School of Economic Analysis", the initiator of this debate. Then we can really understand "whataretheytalkingabout?" . In this way, you will find that the key problem lies in the "transactioncost" theory. Then, we ask: How high is the transaction cost of China law, and is it so high as to affect efficiency? Therefore, it is suggested that students should be quiet and read some textbooks before reading the so-called classics, authorities and masterpieces, and make clear the basic theories and concepts. At this point, learning China literature and law is no different from learning English. Third, I am opposed to "modelism" which does not require much understanding. Translating legal documents through English-Chinese dictionaries and learning legal English through Selected Foreign Trade Correspondence or Model Foreign-related Contracts can be "fast" but impossible. In addition, the "model" is not standardized, and there are many misinterpretations, misinterpretations and far-fetched. When I was a lawyer in China, I saw many contract texts translated by "translation companies", and the number of mistakes was amazing. There is a simple reason. Words have meaning only in a specific context. The embarrassing situation for legal English learners is that most Chinese and English legal words cannot be translated accurately. For example, the word "legal person" I explained in the forum cannot be translated into "legal person" because "legal person" refers to a person who can bear legal consequences independently in common law, including both natural persons and legal persons. Therefore, the legal person should be translated as "bodycorporate". Therefore, the template is for emergency or reference purposes and cannot be used as learning materials. The best textbook is the textbook. In addition, it is best to have an English legal dictionary with English explanations of legal terms, and try not to use or use English-Chinese legal dictionaries as little as possible. I have used three English-Chinese law dictionaries, all of which are strongly translated, and the relevant entries are not explained. For example, the English-Chinese Law Dictionary published by Law Press defines "tribunal" as (1) courts and tribunals; (2) Judges' seats and judges' seats; (3) judging and criticizing. If "litigation in court" appears in legal documents, how to translate it? According to the dictionary, what does this sentence mean if it is translated into "court or court procedure"? What is a "tribunal"? In fact, the term "tribunal" is relative to the court, referring to the administrative discretion organ, that is, the organ independent of the court and having the right to conduct substantive examination of administrative acts. (Note: There is no similar organ in China, so it cannot be translated literally. Fourthly, I am against the dogma of "the more the better". The laws of English-speaking countries have inherited the British common law tradition, including both written law and case law. In a small country like New Zealand, there are more "laws" printed than "Sikuquanshu", and it is still increasing. Don't say that the United States, Canada and Australia are divided into federal legislation and state legislation! Therefore, even an official of the Supreme Court of Australia cannot be said to be proficient in "the law" (unless he is drunk). We China learners can't expect too much. So even the law books should be chosen, and don't read too much. If you are interested in contract law, it is suggested to attack the General Theory of Contract Law first. After the essay, read the main points of contract law (such as goods purchase and sale contract, technology transfer license contract, etc. ), and the professional orientation mentioned above also includes the professional choice within the scope of law. Focusing on one or two legal departments, supplemented by other relevant departments, is a smart and effective learning method. Sometimes the constitution, sometimes the criminal law and sometimes the international law look fancy, but they are just posturing. In addition, there are some so-called legal English textbooks in China. Some articles are patchwork, annotated and translated, which are neither systematic nor focused. This kind of reading material can only be regarded as an English textbook, not a law book. Since we can't learn China law by reading legal abstracts, we can't learn English law in this way. Summary: (1) Learning legal English means learning law in English, not learning English by reading legal materials. Therefore, we should use legal methods to study; You can't learn by language. Therefore, I oppose the "pure English" doctrine; (2) the method of law is to find the logical starting point of legal development, understand the specific meanings of nouns and terms, and grasp the overall framework of legal units from the foundation. The only thing that can meet this requirement is textbooks. Therefore, I am opposed to the "masterpiece" doctrine. (3) Knowing why, but not knowing why, is "the study of asking questions". The ancients said that "learning to do problems is not enough to be a teacher", because they are all other people's things, without their own experience, they are not real learning. The same is true of learning legal English. Therefore, I am opposed to "model" doctrine. (4) Finally, the law covers a wide range, so there should be professional positioning, selection, trade-offs, priorities, and order. Arrange a limited time. Otherwise, you will be in vain and accomplish nothing. Therefore, I oppose the dogma of "the more the better".