(1). Such a bill of lading shall be prima facie evidence of the receipt by carrier of the goods as therein described in accordance with paragraph 3(a), (b) and (c).
(2). A contract shall be an agreement whereby the parties establish, change or terminate their civil relationship. Lawfully established contracts shall be protected by law.
In (1) and (2) the compound adverbs “therein” and “whereby” are employed here. “Therein” means “in that document”. Obviously, the employment of these words is more precision and unambiguous.
1. 2 Use of loan words
The English language has a mixed character. One of the significant features of the English language is its mass borrowing from other languages. Lin Chengzhang (1987) points out that more than half of the English vocabulary is derived from Latin and French. Some of them have come from Latin directly, but a great many have come through French. The number of French and Latin words used in legal English is extremely numerous. The earliest statues used Latin as their medium of communication, and from about 1275 to the end of the fifteenth century French was the predominant language in Europe. Latin and French still pervade legal documents today.
1. 2. 1 Latin words
Latin words occupy a special position in the course of the development of English because of its far-reaching influence on the latter. As early as 597A.D. the Romans brought to England Christianity and the further influence of Latin for the Angles and Saxons had had various contacts with the Romans before they came to England. Even after the Conquest of the England by William the Conqueror, Latin remained the dominant written language. However, at present, in a large part of law dictionaries, Latin is not in an active use. But whether it is rejected or accepted as English, or permitted in practice as an exception to the rule requiring use of English, there remain enough of distinctive Latin words and phrase in the law lexicon to their wide existence in legal English. Some examples are:
Ex parte (单方面的/地), in esse (实在的，确实存在的)，in personam (对人诉讼)，in rem (对物诉讼)，mens rea (犯罪意图)，de bonis non (已故遗产管理人的后继人)，lex fori (法院地位)， certiorari (移送高等法院复审令)，in invitum (非自愿，强制)
On the one hand, the frequent use of Latin words makes the language frozen and solemn in legal English; on the other hand, it makes the language difficult to understand.Why are Latin words widely used in legal English? One of the most important reasons is that Latin language is a dead language whose form and meaning will not change. Thus, no ambiguity will be caused.
1. 2. 2 French words
The earliest status used Latin as medium of communication, and from about 1275 to the end of the fifteen century French was the predominant language in Europe. A vast part of the legal English stems from French sources. The loaned French words in legal lexicon are very large-this is one of the consequences of the Norman Conquest. There are still some words that stem from French sources, such as “action”, “agreement”, “appeal”, “bill”, “claim”, “contract”, “counsel”, “crime”, “damage”, “plaintiff”, “pledge”, “purchase”, “property”, etc. They are just a small section of the borrowed French words that are supposed to be basic to legal English. There are still some that are of less frequent use, such as “demurrer”, “estoppel”, “save”, “fee simple”, “laches”, “quash”, “specialty”, “voir dire”. The dramatically frequent use of French loan words in legal English is to make the language more formal and precision.
1. 3 Rare use of pronouns
In modern English, pronouns, especially the main pronouns-personal, reflexive and possessive pronouns, play a considerably active part. Pronouns serve as the “replacements” for nouns or noun phrases in the language of English. As the cohesive devices, pronouns are frequently employed. However, in legal English, pronouns are a rare species. The object of the legal documents is to stipulate the rights and obligations of the parties concerned precisely and unambiguously. It also means that our understanding is to be based on the stipulating utterly. The rights and obligations are restricted to what is stated explicitly and random inference is not allowed. That is the very reason for the rare use of pronouns. Therefore, in order to pursue precision and to avoid any possible ambiguity, the legal professionals prefer lexical repetition to the use of pronouns. Further, Dickerson (1986) points out that manuals on legal drafting caution that pronouns can cause ambiguity and imprecision, and repeating a noun, or name is strongly recommended. Let’s see what Weihofen (1999:7) says in West Law: “Exactness often demands repeating the same term to express the same idea. Where that is true, never be afraid of using the same word over and over again. Many more sentences are spoiled by trying to avoid repetition than by repetition [5].” Lexical repetition refers to the repetition of the same word or words. Legal English is highly impersonal, so personal reference such as ‘I, you, we’ is seldom adopted. For example:
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