Law and Multilingualism

The course aims to explore the complex interactions between law and language, with particular regard to plurilingualism and multilingualism. More specifically, the course will focus on the role of multilingualism within single countries, supranational organisations like the European Union (EU) and multi-ethnic contexts in South America, analysing how multilingualism impacts on politics and democratic legitimation, and how multilingual policies are implemented in practice. Furthermore, the course will investigate the protection of human rights in relation to multilingualism, introducing students to the challenges of translating and interpreting multilingual law, and to the intersections between multilingualism, right to education and access to justice. This overview aims to provide students with a thorough and critical understanding of the legal and linguistic dynamics at work within the legal systems under scrutiny.

Students will understand the complexity of legal language and its specificities in comparison with everyday language. They will become aware of the role of culture in shaping legal language, and of the possibility for legal concepts to circulate across legal systems. Moreover, students will be introduced to the legal challenges of multilingualism, particularly within the European Union and Latin America, becoming familiar with the specific features of multilingual policies and their connection to the topic of active citizenship. They will gain a deep and practical understanding of what it means to protect the right to education and access to justice in the context of multilingualism. Lastly, they will acquire the necessary skills to independently explore specific subtopics related to the main subject of law and multilingualism.