36.2537, Books: Linguistic Disadvantage in Jury Trials: Ng (2025)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-36-2537. Wed Aug 27 2025. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 36.2537, Books: Linguistic Disadvantage in Jury Trials: Ng (2025)

Moderator: Steven Moran (linguist at linguistlist.org)
Managing Editor: Valeriia Vyshnevetska
Team: Helen Aristar-Dry, Mara Baccaro, Daniel Swanson
Jobs: jobs at linguistlist.org | Conferences: callconf at linguistlist.org | Pubs: pubs at linguistlist.org

Homepage: http://linguistlist.org

Editor for this issue: Mara Baccaro <mara at linguistlist.org>

================================================================


Date: 27-Aug-2025
From: Carla Hepburn [carla.hepburn at eup.ed.ac.uk]
Subject: Linguistic Disadvantage in Jury Trials: Ng (2025)


Title: Linguistic Disadvantage in Jury Trials
Subtitle: Lessons from Hong Kong and Beyond
Publication Year: 2025

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
           http://www.edinburghuniversitypress.com
Book URL:
https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-linguistic-disadvantage-in-jury-trials.html

Author(s): Eva N.S. Ng

Abstract:

Eva Ng’s groundbreaking work delves into post-colonial Hong Kong
courtrooms, where jury service is exclusive to well-educated
individuals deemed capable of understanding English proceedings. Using
authentic audio recordings of two jury trials to assess jurors’
comprehension, Ng highlights the challenges faced by Chinese jurors,
who labour under the double disadvantage of unfamiliarity with legal
discourse and insufficient proficiency in the English language used by
the court. Ng’s study goes beyond conventional textual analysis by
examining also the impact of speakers’ physical voicing on jurors’
comprehension. She addresses the notion of trial by peers, issues of
linguistic diversity, disadvantage and inequality in jury service
participation in a wider context. Ng advocates for the use of court
interpreters to improve comprehension and ensure equitable justice.
Her interdisciplinary study offers valuable insights and
recommendations for researchers and practitioners in linguistics, law,
translation and interpreting, aiming to enhance the quality of
interpretation in courtrooms and promote fairer legal outcomes.

Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics
                     Sociolinguistics
                     Translation

Written In: English (eng)



------------------------------------------------------------------------------

********************** LINGUIST List Support ***********************
Please consider donating to the Linguist List, a U.S. 501(c)(3) not for profit organization:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=87C2AXTVC4PP8

LINGUIST List is supported by the following publishers:

Bloomsbury Publishing http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/

Cambridge University Press http://www.cambridge.org/linguistics

Cascadilla Press http://www.cascadilla.com/

Edinburgh University Press http://www.edinburghuniversitypress.com

John Benjamins http://www.benjamins.com/

Language Science Press http://langsci-press.org

MIT Press http://mitpress.mit.edu/

Multilingual Matters http://www.multilingual-matters.com/

Narr Francke Attempto Verlag GmbH + Co. KG http://www.narr.de/

Netherlands Graduate School of Linguistics / Landelijke (LOT) http://www.lotpublications.nl/

Peter Lang AG http://www.peterlang.com


----------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-36-2537
----------------------------------------------------------