Legal & Bureaucratic Vocabulary
Legal & Bureaucratic Vocabulary
French officialese has a vocabulary all its own — government forms, contracts, legal documents — thick with fixed formulas, in much the same way English legal writing preserves its own fossilized Latinisms and archaic terms (heretofore, aforementioned, notwithstanding) that never surface in ordinary conversation.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
Fossilized legal words: ledit, nonobstant, sous réserve de
ledit contrat (the aforementioned contract) / nonobstant les délais habituels (notwithstanding the usual deadlines)
the aforementioned contract / notwithstanding the usual deadlines
Legal and administrative French preserves a handful of words that have essentially died out everywhere else — ledit/ladite ('the aforementioned', fusing le/la + dit) and nonobstant ('notwithstanding') function almost like fossils, existing only in this one register. This is a near-exact parallel to English legal writing keeping 'aforementioned,' 'hereinafter,' 'notwithstanding,' and 'witnesseth' locked inside contracts and statutes — recognizing both sets as fixed formulas belonging to a single register, not vocabulary to sprinkle into everyday writing, will keep your own French from sounding oddly archaic outside a legal context.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| le plaignant / la plaignante | luh plan-YAHN / lah plan-YAHNT | the plaintiff |
| l'avocat(e) | lah-voh-KAH(T) | the lawyer |
| le tribunal | luh tree-bew-NAL | the court |
| le contrat | luh kohn-TRAH | the contract |
| ledit / ladite | luh-DEE / lah-DEET | the aforementioned |
| nonobstant | noh-nohb-STAHN | notwithstanding |
| sous réserve de | soo ray-ZERV duh | subject to |
| conformément à | kohn-for-may-MAHN ah | in accordance with |
| le/la requérant(e) | luh/lah ruh-kay-RAHN(T) | the applicant / petitioner |
| la clause | lah KLOHZ | the clause |
| entrer en vigueur | ahn-tray ahn vee-GUHR | to come into effect |
| la mise en demeure | lah meez ahn duh-MUHR | the formal notice (legal warning) |