ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES WITH PARTICULAR STRESS TO ENGLISH FOR LAW

Abstract

English for specific purposes appeared in the early 60ties of the last century, as an answer to the
need of better communication among the developed countries as well as among the developing
countries (Master & Brinton: 1997 vii). This led people who were included in the profession
teacher of English understand that the English language is needed as a link within the
multicultural and multilingual societies as a means of international communication and as a
carrier of global news and information.
When the English have been accepted as an international language, it created a new generation of
learners, who knew exactly why they learn the language, businessmen who wanted to sell their
products, mechanical engineers who had to read the instructions for handling the machines,
medical doctors who had to follow the last achievements in their field as well as the numerous
students whose handbooks and journals had been written only in English. They all needed the
English language and what’s most important, they all knew why they needed it. At the same
time, as the need for English instruction for specific purposes grew, new important and
influential ideas started to appear. Traditionally, linguistics aims to describe the rules of how to
use the English language. However, the new studies turned the attention towards finding how the
language is used in real communication (Widdowson,1987). One insight that appeared from this
study was that the language we speak substantially differs from the one we write in many
different ways and contexts. In the instruction of English, this brought an attitude that there are
substantial differences between the English for economists and lawyers, or for those that deal
with technical sciences. This attitude naturally connected with the development of the English
language for specific groups of users. The most studies (at the beginning of '90s of the 20th
century), were in the field of English for Science and Technology (EST), so at one time ESP and
EST represented synonyms. In short, the attitude prevailed that the English language which was
needed by a specific group of learners could be identified by analyzing the linguistic
characteristics of the language of their field of specialization.
‘Tell me why you need the English language and I’ll tell you what kind of English you need’
(Hutchinson & Waters, 1987: 8), became a leading principle of the English for Specific
Purposes.
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) explains the need of studying the English language for its
use in the Law, as well as its use in all the institutions where the Law science is studied and
where the language of law is practiced. The category English for Law focuses on the language
that is taught at the faculties of Law and in the law offices as well as other legal services. English
for Law is of primary interest in the law science, the written legal cases as well as verdicts, and
counselings of the type representative-client, legislature, contracts and legal agreements. That's
where the need to pay attention to the specifics of the register of Law.