RAPE CASES: GENRE AND RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF CONTROVERSIAL MALAYSIAN LEGAL JUDGEMENTS

Article Sidebar

PDF
Published: Dec 12, 2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.25134/erjee.v5i1.389

Main Article Content

Maya Khemlani David
University of Malaya
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6948-7716
Neda Saeipoor
University of Malaya
Mumtaz Ali
University of Karachi

Abstract

Kachru and Smith (2008) emphasize that effectual communication in the context in which different varieties of world English are used, entails awareness of the varieties in use and their cultural, social, and ideational functions. Court reports by Malaysian Judges are part of legal documents, which may be considered as a genre. Investigating the linguistic details of these reports may be helpful in understanding the argumentative and persuasive strategies used in these judgments. The issue of rape and justice is an important concern in society. The aim of this study is to investigate Malaysian judgment reports in the English language on rape cases from a linguistic perspective. Specifically, the aim of the study is to identify court of appeal judgment reports of rape cases as a Genre and to identify the moves used in this genre. The moves within the genre were identified by studying two controversial reports which showed that the judgments might suffer from relying on pathos argumentation in one critical move.

Keywords: language, law, legal, judgment, Malaysia and courts

Article Details

How to Cite
David, M. K., Saeipoor, N., & Ali, M. (2016). RAPE CASES: GENRE AND RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF CONTROVERSIAL MALAYSIAN LEGAL JUDGEMENTS. English Review: Journal of English Education, 5(1), 71-78. https://doi.org/10.25134/erjee.v5i1.389
Issue
Vol 5 No 1 (2016)
Section
Articles

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  • Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).

References

Barnes, S. L., & Stringer, E. C. (2014). Is motherhood important? Imprisoned women’s maternal experiences before and during confinement and their postrelease expectations. Feminist Criminology, 9 (1), 3-23.

Bhatia, Vijay K. (1997). Translating legal genres. In: A. Trosborg, ed. Text typology and translation. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamin

Publishing Company. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23, 2013, from Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development: http://www.kpwkm.gov.my/latar-belakang

Bunton, D. (2005). The structure of PhD conclusion chapters. Journal of English for Specific Purposes, 4, 207-224.

Christoph A., & Hafner. (2010). A multi-perspective genre analysis of the Barrister's opinion: Writing context, generic structure, and textualization written communication 27, 410. http://wcx.sagepub.com/content/27/4/410.

Fahsing, I., & Ask, K. (2015). The making of an expert detective: The role of experience in English and Norwegian police officers’ investigative decision-making. Psychology, Crime & Law, 1-21.

Finch, E., & Munro, V. E. (2005). Juror stereotypes and blame attribution in rape cases involving intoxicants the findings of a pilot study. British Journal of Criminology, 45(1), 25-38.

Kachru, Y. & Smith, L. E. (2008) Cultures, Contexts, and World Englishes. Routledge. New York, London.

La Free, G. D. (1980). Variables affecting guilty pleas and convictions in rape cases: Toward a social theory of rape processing. Social Forces, 58(3).

Mellinkoff, D. (1963). The Language of The Law. Little Brown and Co.

Sleney, J., Clarke, A., & Moran Ellis, J. (2002). Attitudes to Date Rape and Relationship Rape: A Qualitative Study. United Nations Asia and Far East

Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders. (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2013, from UNAFEI: http://www.unafei.or.jp/english/pdf/RS_No69/No69_15PA_Jonit.pdf

Richards, T. N., Gillespie, L. K. & Smith, M. D. (2014). An examination of the media portrayal of femicide–suicides: An exploratory frame analysis. Feminist Criminology, 9 (1), 24-44.

Sagana, A., Sauerland, M., & Merckelbach, H. (2015). The effect of choice reversals on blindness for identification decisions. Psychology, Crime & Law, (just-accepted), 1-25.

Swales, J. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge: Cambridge. UP.

Yamuna Kachru, Y. & Nelson, C. L. (2006). World Englishes in Asian Contexts. Hong Kong University Press.

Yan, L. S., Chin Abdullah, M., Ju Lin, O., & Peck Lin, W. (2002). An Overview of Rape in Malaysia. Strategic info Research Development.