Universität zu Köln

Doyiso, Deginet Wotango ORCID: 0000-0002-7417-9010 (2023). Official vs. Applied Multilingualism: Comparative Study of the Language Regimes and Legal Systems of Ethiopia and the European Union. PhD thesis, Universität zu Köln.

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Abstract

This thesis investigates the practical application of laws governing official multilingualism in the Ethiopian legal system. Using functionalism as a legal research method, it compares the Ethiopian language regime with that of the European Union (EU) to explore how each system manages linguistic diversity. Despite significant differences, the laws governing official multilingualism in both systems serve the shared objective of determining the officially recognized languages, prescribing the languages used in lawmaking procedures, and specifying the authority granted to each language version of a law when interpreted by the courts. The EU language regime is characterized by strong legal multilingualism, where all language versions are considered equally authentic. In contrast, Ethiopia's system is categorized as reflecting weak legal multilingualism, primarily because it grants precedence to the Amharic version over the English version of laws in case of discrepancies. Despite these differences, the research uncovers, in both systems, a tension between ensuring the equality of languages and addressing practical concerns in the laws governing official language use. Legal translation also plays a significant role in drafting multilingual laws in both systems, which is demonstrated by the role of EU-English in the EU legislative process and the two-way translation of laws between English and Amharic in the Ethiopian federal legislative process. Finally, the study shows that linguistic divergences between different language versions of a law, inherent in both systems of strong and weak legal multilingualism, pose a challenge while also offering an opportunity to facilitate the interpretation of multilingual legal texts. The research lays the base for future studies on language and law in Ethiopia. It also informs legal translators and judges about the complexities in resolving translation problems in multilingual legal contexts.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD thesis)
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Doyiso, Deginet Wotango deginetw@gmail.com orcid.org/0000-0002-7417-9010 UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-708819
Date:	2023
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Law
Divisions:	Faculty of Law > Zivilrecht > Professur für das Recht der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika
Subjects:	Law Language, Linguistics
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language multilingual laws English legal multilingualism English official language use English Ethiopia English European Union English language regime English language and law English
Date of oral exam:	5 July 2023
Referee:	Name Academic Title Junker, Kirk W. Prof. Dr. Kempen, Bernhard Prof. Dr.
Funders:	Research grant of the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD): Doctoral programme in Germany (2019-2023)
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/70881