Fuzzy expressions in legal texts

Abstract

Compared to vague and ambiguous language in legal texts (witczakPlisiecka 2009; Čutura & Stevanović 2014), fuzziness and its effect on meaning in legal context have not been a subject of much discussion, in spite of the fact that fuzziness is an inherent property of language and cannot be avoided (Radovanović 2013) even in registers which require the use of precise language. The aim of this paper is to examine the meaning of the fuzzy term reasonable as used in Title 18 – Crimes and Criminal Procedure and Title 49 – Transportation (USA Public Law) and the pragmatic factors affecting its denotation or reference. Furthermore, we shall examine the application of a numerical and non-numerical approach to the fuzzy expression in question (Zadeh 1965, 1983; Zhang 2005). In pragmatic terms, especially from the point of view of Relevance Theory, one of the most prominent differences between legal language and other registers is the fact that the context is almost never pre-given, which greatly affects the meaning of the expression used, as shall be seen in this paper.