language and the law – Page 3 – Language on the Move

Language and law

The ethics of collecting data in public space

Editor’s note: We find ourselves in a time of deep global crisis when reflections on research ethics take on new urgency. Language on the Move is delighted to bring to…

Sigurd D'hondtJuly 1, 2020

Language and law

Five language myths about refugee credibility

In a world where public debates about refugees and asylum seekers often focus on whether they are telling the truth, it should probably come as no surprise that government processes…

Laura Smith-KhanMay 6, 2020

Language and law

Linguistics meets law

Laura and Alex getting ready for their presentation at the Humboldt Symposium This time two years ago, Alexandra Grey (my blog co-author) and I had realized that there were important…

Laura Smith-KhanJanuary 20, 2020

Language and law

Language and Indigenous Disadvantage

Indigenous Australians are imprisoned at much higher rates than non-Indigenous Australians (Source: Australian Law Reform Commission) Note: This post was co-authored with Laura Smith-Khan. Language on the Move mover-and-shaker, Dr…

Alexandra GreyJuly 23, 2019

Language and law

Lawyers need to know more about language

2019 Conference of the International Association of Forensic Linguists Note: This post was co-authored with Alexandra Grey. The Biennial Conference of the International Association of Forensic Linguists (IAFL) was held…

Laura Smith-KhanJuly 18, 2019

Next Gen Literacies

Literacy – the power code

U.S. Vice President Pence ignores NASA "DO NOT TOUCH" sign. Would anyone else get away with such illiterate behavior? “Literacy” is one of those words that everyone uses as a…

Ingrid PillerAugust 7, 2017

Language and migration

Discrimination by any other name: Language tests and racist migration policy in Australia

Australia: The White Man's Land (Source: NLA) Australia has a proud national narrative of migration and multiculturalism. It also has an equally prevalent history of exclusionary and discriminatory migration policy.…

Laura Smith-KhanDecember 9, 2015

Language and law

Guidelines for communicating rights to non-native speakers of English

"You have the right to remain silent" (Source: Tumblr) “You have the right to remain silent” is an expression familiar to many English speakers. But what is involved in understanding…

Diana EadesDecember 2, 2015

Multilingual families

Children as language brokers

Nizaqete Bislimi (Source: DuMont Verlag / Franz Brück) Some of the most striking images from the refugees who have been trekking across Europe are of families and children. Beyond the…

Ingrid PillerOctober 7, 2015

Language and law

Don’t know what “jurisdictional error” means? Some people’s future depends on it

High Court of Australia (Source: Wikipedia) When people arrive in countries like Australia, seeking to be recognised as refugees and offered protection, it is obviously important that they are able…

Laura Smith-KhanAugust 26, 2015

Language and law

Frightful language tests

Trial by fire depicted in a medieval manuscript (Source: Wikipedia) In the Middle Ages those suspected of witchcraft were often subjected to a ‘trial by fire’ to prove their innocence…

Ingrid PillerJuly 15, 2015

Language and law

We all have a culture, we all speak a language: the Australian legal system discusses diversity

Panel on Representing Culturally Diverse Clients Cultural Diversity and the Law: Access to justice in multicultural Australia was a conference held in Sydney on the 13th and 14th of March.…

Laura Smith-KhanApril 22, 2015