How Anglo-American Law Evades Responsibility - A Chinese Perspective

This episode explores how legal language in Anglo-American law avoids naming responsibility. Drawing on Wei Yongqian’s 2025 study, we’ll uncover how 名词化 (míngcí huà, nominalization)—the #grammatical shift from actions to abstract nouns—allows legal texts to obscure agency, enhance authority, and institutionalize law. From the U.S. #Constitution to the U.K. #Human Rights Act, we’ll see how words like regulation, liability, responsibility, and fairness package law as neutral, objective, and unquestionable—while subtly evading accountability. With insights from Foucault and comparative reflections on corporate law, #AI #governance, and human rights, this podcast asks: What does it mean when the very language of law hides responsibility?

Time Codes
00:00 - Nominalisation
01:29 - What is Nominalization (名词化 míngcí huà)?
02:55 - Foucault (福柯 Fú kē) and the Disappearance of Actors
03:57 - Findings: The Words that Disguise Responsibility
05:16 - Western Law in Practice: Corporate and AI Responsibility
06:17 - Why It Matters: Implications for Law in the West
07:32 - Toward #Linguistic Awareness in #Law

名词化 (míngcí huà) — #Nominalization
语法隐喻 (yǔfǎ yǐnyù) — Grammatical Metaphor
责任 (zérèn) — #Responsibility
责任规避 (zérèn guībì) — Responsibility Evasion
去行为者化 (qù xíngwéi zhě huà) — De-agentization
法律话语 (fǎlǜ huàyǔ) — #Legal Discourse
合法性 (héfǎ xìng) — Legality
公平性 (gōngpíng xìng) — Fairness
福柯 (Fú kē) — #Foucault
制度化 (zhìdù huà) — #Institutionalization