An English-Chinese Glossary of Terminology for Law Students in Hong Kong

Abstract

The project aims to produce an English-Chinese glossary of legal terms from Hong Kong, Mainland and Taiwan, based on student group work in three first-year law subjects (Contract Law, Tort Law and Legal System). Tied in with CTL3161 Legal Chinese, a subject mainly for second-year law students, this cross-disciplinary study uses collaborative learning to provide participants with the interest and motivation to explore Chinese legal terms. Legal terminology is the most prominent feature of legal language so law students taking legal Chinese need to understand Chinese terms. Since local law students, the majority of whom are native Chinese speakers, study law entirely in English, the course will provide an opportunity for them to implement an ongoing Chinese project that matches and strengthens their acquisition of legal knowledge. The project will not only help law students to use Chinese effectively at work, especially during Hong Kong’s frequent trade contact with Mainland Chinese and Taiwan, but also promote the ‘legal bilingualism’ that is already taking place in Hong Kong’s legal system. The glossary, which can appear in digital and book form, will provide a very useful reference for students of law, Chinese and translation. It can also be extended to include other law subjects.