37.1803, Confs: Status Quaestionis: Multiple Perspectives on English Legal Language and Translation (Italy)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-37-1803. Tue May 19 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.1803, Confs: Status Quaestionis: Multiple Perspectives on English Legal Language and Translation (Italy)

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Date: 15-May-2026
From: Giuseppina Di Gregorio (University of Catania) - Katia Peruzzo (University of Trieste) [g.digregorio at unict.it]
Subject: Status Quaestionis: Multiple Perspectives on English Legal Language and Translation


Status Quaestionis: Multiple Perspectives on English Legal Language
and Translation
Short Title: CLAVIER 2026 Seminar

Date: 10-Dec-2026 - 11-Dec-2026
Location: Catania, Italy
Contact: Giusepppina Di Gregorio (University of Catania) - Katia
Peruzzo (University of Trieste)
Contact Email: g.digregorio at unict.it

Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics; Discourse Analysis;
Text/Corpus Linguistics; Translation

Submission Deadline: 30-Jun-2026

CLAVIER - Interuniversity Research Centre "Corpus and Language
Variation in English Research"
University of Catania - University of Trieste
AIA - The Italian Association for the Study of English
The contemporary landscape of Legal English is increasingly defined by
a shift from a monolithic entity to a diverse array of Legal
Englishes, reflecting the role of English as a global lingua franca in
legal, judicial and institutional settings. Within multilayered legal
systems, practitioners and professionals from various fields (e.g.
lawyers, judges, translators and interpreters, but also public
servants) must navigate national, supranational, and international
varieties, which often leave linguistic "traces" in texts, such as
when supranational law is transposed into national legislation or when
international case law interacts with national legislation. The
interaction between varieties, and the need for translation in many
communicative settings, may lead to significant hurdles for Legal
English terminology, but also to a (rapid) evolution beyond
terminology of both Legal English and other languages for legal
purposes.
In recent years, the awareness of the wide audience which legal and
judicial written and spoken communication may reach has been driving
simplification in legal drafting, translation, and institutional
communication to ensure that information is accessible to laypersons.
This focus on inclusion encompasses the implementation of plain
language and easy-to-read language, which require a detailed profiling
of the target audience, as well as the use of gender-neutral and
gender-sensitive language. Furthermore, the dissemination of legal
knowledge has been expanding through knowledge mediation,
popularization, transmediation, and transcreation, recurring for
instance to visual design and modern media entertainment/infotainment
to explain complex law to the general public.
These shifts present profound challenges in both using and teaching
Legal English(es) and legal translation, which are changing at an
incredibly fast pace due to the incorporation of innovative
technologies, specifically Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large
Language Models (LLMs). Despite the benefits brought by AI and LLMs,
their application in specialized legal translation raises critical
concerns regarding accuracy, data reliability, and ethical
implications.
Given the variety of aspects that fall within the broad areas of Legal
English(es) and legal translation in and to English and the need to
adopt interdisciplinary and mixed-method approaches to study them,
this seminar is intended as a platform where scholars with different
expertise engage in scholarly dialogue aimed at fostering research
interaction and possibly collaboration.
Possible topics include but are not limited to:
 - Defining the boundaries of Legal English(es);
 - National, supranational and international varieties of Legal
English;
 - English as a lingua franca in legal and judicial discourse;
 - Legal English terminology;
 - Simplification in legal drafting, legal translation and
institutional communication;
 - Inclusion in Legal English (plain language, easy-to-read language,
gender-neutral and gender-sensitive language);
 - Legal knowledge mediation, popularization, simplification,
transmediation and transcreation involving Legal English;
 - Legal English in modern media entertainment and audiovisual
translation;
 - Benefits and challenges of innovative technologies (e.g. AI and
LLMs) in Legal English and legal translation in and to English;
 - The challenges of teaching Legal English and Legal translation in
and from English.
Keynote Speakers:
Jan Engberg (Aarhus University)
Giuliana Garzone (IULM)
Presentation Guidelines:
Papers will be allotted 20 minutes, plus 5 minutes for discussion.
Abstract Submission:
Please send your anonymous abstract of no more than 300 words
(including max 5 references) to the following addresses:
g.digregorio at unict.it and kperuzzo at units.it.
Please do not include any self-identifying information in the
abstract; indicate only the title and the abstract itself. In a
separate file, include:
Title:
Author(s):
Affiliation(s):
Postal mailing address (for primary author):
E-mail (for primary author):
Important Dates:
Abstract submission: 30 June 2026
Notification of acceptance: 31 July 2026
Information on registration will be provided in due course.
Organising Committee:
Cristina Arizzi, Massimiliano Demata, Giuseppina Di Gregorio, Maria
Teresa Musacchio, Giuseppe Palumbo, Katia Peruzzo, Giuliana Russo,
Marco Venuti, Francesca Vigo, Raffaele Zago.
Scientific Committee:
Cristina Arizzi (Università di Catania)
Giuseppe Balirano (Università di Napoli “L’Orientale”)
Maria Bortoluzzi (Università di Udine)
Gloria Cappelli (Università di Pisa)
Paola Catenaccio (Università di Milano)
Costanza Cucchi (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore)
Massimiliano Demata (Università di Catania)
Olga Denti (Università di Cagliari)
Giuliana Diani (Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia)
Giuseppina Di Gregorio (Università di Catania)
Roberta Facchinetti (Università di Verona)
Daniele Franceschi (Università di Roma Tre)
Antonio Guidara (Università di Catania)
Jean Marguerite Jimenez (Università della Calabria)
Stefania Maci (Università di Bergamo)
Denise Milizia (Università di Bari)
Renzo Mocini (Università di Roma Sapienza)
Maria Teresa Musacchio (Università di Trieste)
Jekaterina Nikitina (Università di Milano)
Giuseppe Palumbo (Università di Trieste)
Giulia Adriana Pennisi (Università di Palermo)
Katia Peruzzo (Università di Trieste)
Douglas Ponton (Università di Catania)
Carla Quinci (Università di Padova)
Giuliana Russo (Università di Catania)
Katherine Russo (Università di Napoli L’ Orientale)
Christina Samson (Università di Firenze)
Maria Grazia Sindoni (Università di Messina)
Girolamo Tessuto (Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi
Vanvitelli)
Marco Venuti (Università di Catania)
Francesca Vigo (Università di Catania)
Christopher Williams (Università di Foggia)
Raffaele Zago (Università di Catania)



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