Hannah Hobson- language of the law

Article on Parliamentary language

Parliament is a group of elected representatives that debate and decide upon new laws. It is made up of the House of Lords and representatives of counties and cities forming the House of Commons. The United Kingdom's Parliament is the oldest in the world; it originated in 1250-1300 during the Middle English. Etymonline tells you the word origin and history of words and for the word 'Parliament', it informed me that the word comes from the old French word 'Parlement' which means 'speaking, talk.' The spelling was altered in the 1400's to fit with M.L. Parliamentum. Over the years it has given the English language many expressions and phrases that often take on other meanings. An example is 'Toe the Line.' In general language it means the listener must obey an order; it means there is an invisible line that is understood by everyone that nobody should cross. In Parliament, it is a literal line. The Commons Chamber is a long, narrow corridor where the pews were arranged when Parliament first began.

These are some examples of specialist Parliamentary terms and their meanings.

The specialist Parliamentary term	What the term means
Bill	A set of proposals that might become a law if Parliament agrees to it
Coalition	An arrangement between more than one political party. This would usually happen when no party wins more than half of the seats in Parliament.
Act	A law passed by the Scottish Parliament that has received Royal Assent.
Democracy	This means 'rule by the people' so everyone in the country should have a say in what happens and what is decided.
Electorate	The collective name given to all the people who have the right to vote
Ideology	An ideology is a set of ideas about how the country should be run. Each political party in the Parliament has its own ideology.
Legislation	The process of making new laws.

Ministers	MP's who are also members of the Scottish Government
Parliamentary Bureau	The group of people who decide what Parliament will discuss and decide each week.
Petition	A way for a member of the public to let the Parliament or government know they would like something to change.
Royal Assent	When a bill has been passed, the Queen is asked for her approval.
Scrutinise	When MPs question the work of the Government

Parliament is steeped in history and tradition, and parliamentary debates in the House of Commons are often very lively and noisy with Members of Parliament calling out to the opposition, waving order paper and laughing.

During proceedings one word is often shouted in succession: "Hear, Hear, Hear!". It is often reported in Hansard. The spelling is not "Here Here Here.'' I also found out that the phrase 'Hear Ye!' appears a couple of times in Shakespeare's King Henry VI, thought to be from 1590 or 1591.

It is widely thought that it goes back to the history of debates. The original words were "Hear Him, Hear Him!", called out by members who are supporting the speaker if they were being interrupted by the opposition's noises and to force them to listen. Much easier than saying "Hear the Honourable Member". This became shorter and eventually was "Hear Hear!", and was used to show agreement and support of something that is being said due to the fact that applause is very rarely heard in Parliament.

Parliamentary language has rules of politeness in the House of Commons. Part of the speakers duty is to ensure that MPs don't use rude language and don't accuse each other of lying or misinterpreting each other's words. Some words that do not conform to this and has caused objection are rat, swine, git, coward, traitor, hooligan etc.