An uncharitable interpretation would be that there are a great many native English speakers who, at least occasionally, have trouble comprehending legal documents. More charitably, it’s probably fair to say that the average person does not regularly encounter legal language, and consequently reads such text (like legal documents, contracts, etc.) with the same level of comprehension as a Chinese child reading War and Peace in the original Russian edition.
Of all the legislative developments in recent years, perhaps the most enigmatic and obscurantist has been the introduction of these partnership regulations. Indeed, the only thing more difficult than finding a comprehensive resource to explain domestic partnership is figuring out how to apply the information.
Fortunately, language education provides one of the more promising avenues to ensure that foreign individuals have a chance to fully understand their rights, responsibilities and protections under the law. Since many foreign national students have yet to gain mastery of English upon entering the U.S., it becomes the responsibility of accredited teachers to ensure that each student has sufficient language skills to comprehend such legal documents.
Not everyone appreciates the value of reading documents like this one and understanding the full extent of the incentive, the potential penalty and the options, but these information-intensive documents can have a lasting impact on the state of domestic law in Florida. For those students attending language-focused schools that offer ada distance education programs or a similar curriculum, this is an opportune time to integrate a few legal lessons into the curriculum. Acquainting students with the basic terminology, translating key legal terms and prepping them for anticipated questions can go a long way toward making the transition process smoother for foreign nationals.
With support from adult education programs across the state, Florida has the opportunity to empower people to understand their place under the law. In many ways, the intersection between linguistics and legal studies has already benefitted both parties. As a result, plenty of language-oriented schools have adopted English as a Second Language, academic counseling, cross-cultural enrichment and other valuable programs that help define the educational experience at a linguistic institute.
Simultaneously, beyond the high school level, many linguistics students have been able to acquire bachelor’s degrees that give them full access to more advanced study. But perhaps the biggest benefit is the way that legislators have used these linguistic programs to provide a deeper understanding of the law among active participants in the political sphere. If every linguistics student came equipped with the ability to understand domestic law, it would have a major impact on the state of Florida as a whole.
With the assistance of language schools, foreign nationals have the opportunity to play an active role in determining the future of domestic partnership laws in Florida. By encouraging the acquisition of fluency in the nuances of our legal system, domestic partnership laws in Florida could undergo critical adoption.