The Languages of the Law: An Integrated View From Vico and Conceptual Metaphor Theory |
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Authors: | Marcel Danesi |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 1K7, Canada |
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Abstract: | Work on the relation between figurative language and the law is a fairly recent trend, within legal discourse studies, linguistics,
and semiotics. The work in conceptual metaphor theory, for example, is starting to unpack the underlying metaphorical and
metonymic structure of legal language, producing some new and important insights into the nature of this language. Missing
from this emerging line of inquiry are the views of the Neapolitan philosopher Giambattista Vico, who was the first to understand
the power of figurative language in the creation of symbolic systems, like language and the law. His tripartite evolutionary
model of language shows that there is not one language of the law, but three “languages.” By integrating Vico’s model with
the work in conceptual metaphor theory it will be possible to penetrate the underlying conceptual structure of legal discourse
and thus lead to a more insightful science of this discourse. |
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