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Legalese
Sunday, October 16, 2011 at 10:38PM | Share Article Legalese is a style of writing used by lawyers that is designed to be difficult for laymen to read and understand, sometimes with the purpose of justifying exorbitant legal fees. It is characterized by long sentences, many modifying clauses, complex vocabulary and insensitivity to the layman's need to understand the document's meaning.
This is not my technique of writing. In fact, I avoid it as much as I can.
Who would want to read the following?
The masculine shall include the feminine, the singular shall include the plural and the present tense shall include the past and future tense.
The above is an actual example of legalese that I encounter on a regular basis when I review contracts.
For those of you who are masochistic enough, click on this link to read "an actual example of legalese used to its fullest. It is one sentence with 94 words and no respect for grammar".
In the world of Botany, laymen like me frequently encounter words that can be construed as the equivalent of legalese. Words like dioecious, monocarpic and trichomes caught my fancy when I was reading about my newly chased plants.
One botanical word that I obsessed over is viviparous. All nuances of the word caught my attention. Its spelling, its pronunciation and its meaning. To hear its proper pronunciation, click here. Which pronuciation do you prefer?
Viviparous means producing seeds that germinate on the plant or germinating before separating from the parent plant.
It is not a common mode of reproduction in plants. However, there are a number of species in the Bromeliad family which pup in this manner. An example of this is the Orthophytum gurkenii.
If you look closely at the pictures below, you can see the baby plants growing on the inflorescence. I can't wait for these to separate and become independent plants.
Picture of the viviparous offset en face.
Look at how small its flower is, just slightly bigger than an ant. 
Unlike in contracts and pleadings where all you see is page after page of text, in botany, at least, complicated terms can be explained through pictures.
Res ipsa loquitur.
For more Macro Monday, head on over to Lisa's Chaos.
Reader Comments (28)
@ Deb: Unfortunately, I never had any Latin or Greek classes. I'm learning now, though. Not formally but by way of reading about my chased plants. You're lucky that etymology and definitions come easily for you.
Of course I knew of the concept but not the name "viviparous"....thank you! Oh, and I had no idea a bromeliad was capable of it....
great macro :)
Fabulous photo's of these fascinating plants. I'd rather not have to learn all the "technical" info about them as I prefer to just enjoy them for their beauty. Not that it's wrong to seek out knowledge either.
@ Loree: We can both sound more experienced. Say it with me now -- viviparous. Which pronunciation do you prefer?
@ Tina: Thanks!
@ Ida: One thing leads to another. I start to read just to learn about how to care for them and end up learning much more. Of course, appreciating their beauty is just as fine as well.
Great pictures and another interesting plant. Thanks for swinging by my blog :)
Those last few macros are terrific!
I thought you were out for sometime in posting. The style of writing is what I and my lawyer partner doesn't like in patent documents! When we emphasized this to our friends at the patent office, they said the original patent writers are engineers, so the English is different, sometimes even grammar is off tangent! Laymen and scientists are sometimes repelled by these documents.
The scientists' style of writing is easy as they are direct to the point, the least the number of words the best! The Scientific names or binomial classification or what most call Latin names, make it easy for all people to understand what they refer to, because it is more exact than the common names. Regarding 'viviparous', it is easier to relate to because vivi or vivire means life, in contrast with oviparous. Ovi is egg as in ovum, ova. ...I like the difference in color of the juveniles compared with the parent. I like that plant.
@ Barb: Thanks!
@ Kala: Thanks for liking. I had some trouble getting the ant into focus though.
@ Andrea: I definitely was away from the internet overall. I even had to stop plant chasing for a couple of weeks. Hopefully my workload will ease up a bit.
My wife says scientific writing is like a mini skirt. Long enough to cover the essentials and yet short enough to be appreciated. Hehehe.
I find the difference in color fascinating! I can't wait to see the transition from juvenile to adult.
I thought I'm done with terminology way back in college but with this hobby, I still have a long way to go. You just have a way of connecting plants to anything. Nice Orthophythum!
This plant is very productive. The babies look like blossoms on a flower stalk. I hate to read law jargons in contracts. By learning the scientific names of plants, I learnt some simple Latin and sometimes Greek words, sometimes other culture and languages as well.
That's a terrific information, I didn't know nor see this plant before! Fantastic photos!
This is a beauty!!! Love the structure and colours. Congrats in growing this wonderful plant. Awesome :-D
@hardinars: You probably have a better grasp of Latin than me.
@AutumnBelle: I hope all the babies survive. Yes, a fascination with plants and botany does lead to a better grasp of Latin and Greek.
@RTAF: Thanks!
@Stephanie: Your comment sneaked in and I didn't realize it. I'm glad that you liked the plant. I'm so excited now that it has pups.
great Macros of a fantastic plant
Also here in Italy Legalese is very popular with lawyers and government officials... :( On the contrary, we have a special edge with all scientific names, as Italian arises from Latin (and ancient Greek). :)
Your photos are stunning!
aloha,
thats one of my favorite broms, and it is wonderful when you get all those lovely babies...thanks for the great lesson