WRITING SAMPLE

SYNTATIC ANALYSIS IN THE LEGAL LANGUAGE: A CASE STUDY OF SOME

SELECTED NIGERIAN COURT JUDGEMENTS

BY

ALUKO WEMIMO ADEFUNKE

ENG/2016/0047

A LONG ESSAY SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LITERARY

AND STUDIES, COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND CULTURE, OSUN STATE

UNIVERSITY, OSHOGBO, OSUN STATE, NIGERIA, IN PARTIAL FUFILMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF ARTS (B.A.) HONS
DEGREE IN ENGLISH AND LITERARY STUDIES.

DECEMBER, 2020

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 CERTIFICATION

I hereby certify that this project was written by ALUKO Wemimo Adefunke. It has been
examined and approved by the Department of English and literary Studies, Faculty of Humanities,
Osun State University, Osogbo, Nigeria. Under my supervision, as meeting the requirements for
the award of Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Degree in English and International Studies.

Dr. Dahunsi DATE

Project Supervisor,

Department of English and Literary Studies,

Osun state University, Osogbo.

Dr. Akindele Julianah DATE

Head of Department,

Department of English and Literary Studies,

Osun state University, Oshogbo.

ii
External Supervisor DATE

iii
 DEDICATION

This project is dedicated to my sweet mother whose love and compassion has seen me
through all the challenges life has brought my way.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I want to thank God for His faithfulness and how He has helped me thus far, right from the
beginning of my academic studies till my final year as an undergraduate student of Osun State
University, Ikire campus. Also, I appreciate my mother, who has always been my role model, for
providing financial support and her undying love among other things and my brother, Barrister
Adewumi for cheering on every step of the way. Also, my sister, Mrs Arowolo Funke for her
support and her love and for staying strong with me.

Furthermore, I appreciate the consistent help of my supervisor, Dr. T.N Dahunsi. I could
not have conducted this study myself if he had not been available to guide and provide corrections
where need be. His academic expertise was invaluable from the start to the finish of this study.

Finally, I am thankful to all my lecturers and friends, Nasirudeen Azeezat, Nasirudeen

Aishat, Kolade Abobarin, Olabisi Rhoda, Olarinoye Bunmi, Bello Toyibat, Oladapo Phebe,
Omigbodun Precious, Afolabi Abisola, Ajala Folusho, Adebayo Oluwaseun, and Olafimihan
Sheriffdeen who have been a part of this process, for their timely encouragement and support.

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 ABSTRACT

This study undertook a syntactic analysis of some selected Nigerian court judgements with
the aim of identifying the inherent syntactic patterns and determining the peculiarity to the genre
of court judgement in kind of logico semantic relation in court pronouncements. The study was set
to analyse court judgements in terms of sentence structure and logico semantic relations holding
among constituent clauses. The research applied a qualitative and descriptive design. The
theoretical framework for this study was systemic functional grammar halliday’s ideational
metafunction for analysing and interpreting the data gathered from documented judgements. Thirty
(30) court pronouncements were picked for analyses. The result of the analysis revealed that the
legal language, and language of judicial administration is unique based on syntactic peculiarities
that included the inherence of interdependency and logico-semantic relations both of parataxis and
hypotaxis. There were more clause complexes than simplexes in the judgements used as data, an
indication of the predominance of non-simple sentences over the simple sentence type.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE i

CERTIFICATION ii

DEDICATION iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv

ABSTRACT v

TABLE OF CONTENT vi- viii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Preamble 1

1.2 Background to the Study 1-6

1.3 Statement of the Problem 6-7

1.4 Aim and Objectives 7

1.5 Research Questions 8

1.6 Justification of the Study 8

1.7 Scope of the Study 9

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

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2.0 Introduction 10

2.1 The Concept of Language 10-11

2.1.1 Functions of Language 11-13

2.1.2 Characteristics of Language------------------------------------------------------- 13-15

2.2 The Concept of Syntax 15-16

2.2.1 Relationship between Syntax and Grammar-------------------------------------- 16

2.3 Sentence structure and function in language------------------------------------- 17-21

2.4 Legal Language 22

2.4.1 Meaning of Legal Language 22

2.4.2 History of Legal Language 22-23

2.4.3 Features of Legal Language--------------------------------------------------------- 23-24

2.4.4 Speakers of Legal Language 25

2.5 Law and Language 25

2.5.1 Division of Language - 25-26

2.5.2 Syntactical Structure of the Language of Law------------------------------------- 26-27

2.6 The Nigerian Court System 27 2.6.1

The Structure of the Nigerian Court------------------------------------------------- 28-30

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2.6.2 The Judiciary 30

2.7 Theoretical Framework 30-34

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction 35

3.1 Research Design 35

3.2 research Data 35-36

3.3 Method of Data Analysis 36-41

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
4.0 Introduction 42

4.1 Logico semantic Analysis of clauses per Judgement--------------------------- 42-54

4.2 Interpretations 54

4.2.1 Text of judgement one 54-55

4.2.2 Text of judgement two 55-56

4.2.3 Text of judgement three 56-57

4.2.4 Text of judgement four 57-58

4.2.5 Text of judgement five 58-59

4.2.6 Text of judgement six 59-60

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4.3 Findings 60-64

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

5.0 Introduction 65

5.1 Summary of Findings 65-66

5.2 Conclusion 66-67

5.3 Suggestions 67

REFERENCES---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 68-70

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 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Preamble

This chapter is divided into six parts. It discusses the background to the study. It also looks at the
statement of the problem with the research questions arising from it. The aim and objectives of the
study, justification of the study and the scope are also captured in this chapter.

1.2 Background to the Study

Communication in human social organizations has remained central to successful and

effective interactions. Language choice and style of presentation constitute the most important
resource available in any social context for any meaningful social interaction. Language is a form
of communication. Humans live and work in groups that require sound communication, sharing
information, broadcasting warnings, forming and maintaining relationships (Yule, 2010).
Chomsky (1957) sees language as a set (finite or infinite) of sentences, each finite in length and
constructed out of a finite set of elements. He implies that each sentence has a structure. Human
brain is competent enough to generate a limitless number of utterances from limited set of rules of
a particular language. Human brain is so productive that a child can at any time produce a sentence
that has never been said or heard before.

According to Owen (2006: p.1), language is a socially shared combinations of symbols and rules
in which the combination of rules governs the combination of symbols. He also asserted that it is
a socially acceptable code or conventional systems for delivering concept through the use of
symbols and the combination of desired symbols are governed by the provisions.

Kersaf (2005: p.1), as stated in his work, provides two basic understanding of language. The
first understanding of language is a means of communication between members of the public in
the form of a system of the sound produced by them. Secondly, language is a communication
system that uses symbols vocal speech sound which is arbitrary. Language is important in every
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aspect of our lives because it allows people to communicate in ways that enables sharing of
common ideas. And most important function of language is to communicate properly.

Language can be used in different context, which it is language as being spoken and
language as being written. One could state that there are two main uses of language: one is to
inform; the other is to deceive. We use language in many different ways and for many different
purposes. We write and we speak. We work with language, play with language, and earn our living
with language. We court and seduce, buy and sell, insult and praise, all by means of language. A
helpful scheme for analyzing the uses of language involves five broad categories: the informative,
the evocative, the expressive, the evaluative, and the performative (J. L. Austin, 1962).

The study of language is often divided into semantics, pragmatics and syntactic in which
syntactic is the central point to this study. The word “syntax” comes originally from ancient Greek
syntaxis and literally means a putting together” or arrangement. Syntax is the collection of rules

that govern how words are assembled into meaningful sentences. While these are useful
distinctions in the study of language, language use in the real world. Syntax links names and
actions as a imitation of the order of events in the real world. Syntax has developed differently in
different languages. Increasing complexity of sentences accommodates an increasing need for
more detailed communications. Syntax is the form of language that admits any content. The
content may be literal or fact. The content may be an invention, a fictional story that gains credits
by being inserted into proper syntax. Humans are confused or alarmed by improper syntax, but
will often accept forge contents with little resistance or with demonstrable appreciation.

In linguistic, Syntactic pattern is the syntactical analysis and sentence structure of a

language by rule of syntax which includes the English rank scale such as sentence structure, clause
and phrase etc. Syntactic pattern represents the language specific grammatical features and how
these features are represented in a particular language. The syntactic pattern to be presented here
is in dependency of how a legal language is represented and differs from other language which
reflects in its syntactical sentence analysis structure. However, the syntactic pattern is formal
enough to code the linguistic information correctly and to allow for conversion to some formalism.
This work will look at syntax from the way the language of court judgments is structured in some
of the Nigerian Courts but not from the point of view of what structures is permissible and which
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is not in the language of the lawyers. As Huddleston (1986) has pointed out, within the sentence
we have a much sharper distinction between permissible and impermissible combinations, which
enable us to formulate rules distinguishing what is grammatical from what is not.

Law, just like every other discipline, has its own peculiar language, which may seem not
really known to the majority of the masses. The peculiarity of a legal proceeding or document is
not a recent phenomenon. In fact, it has been a long-established tradition. Perhaps, an observer can
infer and safely, too, conclude that a legal document is not meant for an ordinary audience but for
the “initiated,” which are, by their professional training, coupled with the responsibility of
encoding and decoding the legal document. The age of big data has not only found its way to the
study of language and to the study of law, but it has also found its way to the interdisciplinary field
of legal linguistics. The use of linguistic corpora in legal analysis is growing, both in the
determination of individual cases and in the study of language use that reveals regularities that are
not part of the “official” canon of legal doctrine (Vogel, Hamann & Gauer, 2017). The law is one
of the most important social institutions. Its chief function is to regulate social behavior in an
optimally rational and reasonable manner in a given community. But at the same time it is an
institution which depends on language and whose operations therefore also have a linguistic
dimension. In view of the importance of law in society, it is no surprise that scholars in many
disciplines have taken an interest in legal language, trying to discover its characteristics through
the methodologies of their own special fields (Nvkyu, 2010).

All legal systems develop certain linguistic features that differ from those of ordinary language.
Sometimes these practices differ only slightly, especially when a legal system is primarily oral or
relatively young. At the other extreme, lawyers and judges may develop language that is entirely
different from ordinary speech. Most modern legal regimes fall between these extremes. Typically,
the legal profession uses language that contains a substantial amount of technical vocabulary and
a number of distinct (often archaic) features. As a result, the speech, and to a greater extent, the
texts produced by such legal systems may be difficult for the lay public to understand, even though
they are spoken or written in a variety of ordinary language. It is clear that legal language is a
sublanguage rather than a language distinct from ordinary English. Moreover, emphasis is laid that
this sublanguage is not unitary, but rather is diverse and fluid in response to different cultural
contexts, as revealed by the particular uses of legal English in India. Nevertheless, the sublanguage

3
of legal discourse diverges from ordinary English in "far more" ways "than the technical languages
of most other professions. (Tiersma, 2010).

In a general term, a legal language is a formalized language based on logic rules which
differs from the ordinary natural language in vocabulary, morphology, syntax, and semantics, as
well as other linguistic features, aimed to achieve consistency, validity, completeness and
soundness, while keeping the benefits of a human-like language such as intuitive execution,
complete meaning and open upgrade (Wydick, 2005). There are different kinds (genres) of legal
writing: for example, (a) academic legal writing as in law journals, (b) juridical legal writing as in
court judgments, and (c) legislative legal writing as in laws, regulations, contracts, and treaties
(Bhatia 1993). Another variety is the language used by lawyers to communicate with clients
requiring a more "reader-friendly" style of written communication than that used with law
professionals (Goddard, 2010).

Legal language is coded in language, and the processes of the law are mediated through
language. The language of the law is therefore of genuine importance, particularly for people
concerned with addressing language issues and problems in the real world - that is, Applied
Linguists. In addition,the study of legal language used in a courtroom interaction before judgment
deals with the ways how legal meanings are produced and interpreted during the trial (Stygall,
1994; Mooney, 2014). It is also about the ways in which the power relations in the court are
realized and negotiated through the language use (Olsson, 2004). As an example, courtroom
exchanges are observed to look at the primary speaking roles of parties in the court such as judges,
prosecutors, lawyers, etc. According to Danet (1980), the law has two primary functions in society:
‘the ordering of human relations and the restoration of social order when it breaks down’. The first
function concerns itself with the formulation and codification of rules that govern human social
behavior. In other words, it is the written letter of the law that tells us what is acceptable or
unacceptable as we relate with others.

This research work therefore explores the synthetic pattern of using legal language in the
Nigerian court judgments as language is the tool for conveying information using the two main
divisions of law which is the criminal law and the civil law. The technical, written, and power
laden nature of legal language makes the language of the law notoriously impenetrable for

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nonlawyers. The situation is even worse for those who have a low proficiency in the language of
the legal process (Gibbons, 1999). The paper seeks to find out the different syntactic pattern used
in some selected court judgments in Nigeria and to show if the pattern in a judgment is similar to
the pattern in another judgment with regards to syntax.

1.3 Statement of the Problem

If there is a sector that demands the attention of every human being, it is the legal sector.
Everybody is involved directly or indirectly in matters pertaining to human rights and
obligations. Every individual desire that his rights be respected. But this becomes unattainable
when the person has no full knowledge of his rights.

The critical role of language in the courtroom has attracted and propelled many linguists to
investigate the nature of legal language in general. Legal documents are not written to intimidate
the non-professionals, but to enlighten everybody on the issues relating to their rights and
obligations. Also, a lot of studies has been done on legal language and court room judgements in
which most of these studies are from the developed countries and it has also been observed that
previous works are mostly on court room interactions which view of such studies addressed are
not seen in Nigeria. Some of the relevant studies on the nature of the language of law include
discourse of lawyers and clients (Maley et al, 1995; Haley, 1997). Discourse of trial Lawyers

(Stygall, 1994), Discourse of courtroom questions (Hale, 1999; Berk-Seligson, 1999; Ridgney,
1999; Farinde, 2008), Language of Jury instructions (Levi, 1993; Jackson, 1995; Tiersma 1995);
Dumas, (2000) and others. Many researchers interested in forensic linguistics have also
investigated the language of courts reflecting, generally, the complexity of legal language and what
makes legal language sound Greek to the non-law professions and cause it to be incomprehensible
but none has really ventured into syntactically analyzing the pattern of legal language used in the
judgments issued by courts of competent jurisdictions. Thus, since scholars have not been able to
find the syntactic problem in Nigeria court judgement, the problem of this study is to find out the
different syntactic pattern used in some selected court judgments in Nigeria and how the legal
language pattern in a judgment is similar to the pattern in another judgment with regards to syntax

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1.4 Aim and Objectives

The aim of this study is to closely examine the language of court judgements in Nigeria with the
view to identifying the inherent syntactic analysis and determining the peculiarity of such syntactic
analysis to the genre of court judgement in a kind of logico semantic relation type of legal
language.

The achievement of this research aim will require the pursuit of the following objectives which are
to;

i. Analyze the language of court judgement in terms of sentence structure in relation to logico
semantic relation of clause complex ii. Examine whether the patterns observe in each judgement
are similar (or not) to the normal sentence patterns; iii. Find out what factors are responsible for
the variation in syntactic patterns;

1.5 Research Questions

The following research questions were developed to guide the study.

i. What are structural/syntactic patterns in relation to court judgment?

ii. Are there similarities and variations of syntactic patterns in different court judgments using

Halliday’s SFG approach?

1.6 Justification of the Study

The fact that several studies exist on legal language does not deny the fact that only few studies
have focused on the language of court judgments. The few studies in this field have mostly studied
foreign court judgments and not the Nigerian court judgments. Also, the existing studies have
applied only discourse analysis and semantics. Consequently, linguists have not been able to
investigate the study of syntactic patterns in the language of court judgment especially in Nigeria
to understand the inherent peculiarities.
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The purpose of this study is to investigate the assumption that the legal language is different from
the general English language use by people. A study of this type is necessary to be able to provide
useful insight into the use of English in specific contents and with focus on court judgments, a type
of legal language. A study of this type will be useful in the teaching of English for specific purposes
especially as it will provide information on prevalent language use patterns in the legal profession.

This work will therefore be of great help to upcoming researchers who will like to make research
on something similar to this and those that want to explore more on this not only on legal language
but also language use in other profession.

1.7 Scope of Study

It is essential to limit the research scope and problem in order to avoid misunderstanding in
interpreting the findings. This study is limited to “the syntactic patterns in the legal language used
by some selected Honorable Justices of the Nigerian High Courts in their written judgments”.
Although, the language of law, its words, syntactic structure and concepts are closely related to
the legal system, these documents were selected largely due to the fact that they are characterized
by linguistic aberration. For the purpose of this study, the type of court judgement here will also
be limited to the two main divisions of law; the criminal and civil law. A civil case of the national
industrial court of Nigeria in the Akure judicial division before the lordship, Hon justice A.A
Adewemimo, 16th October, 2019. Another civil case of the high court of justice in the Ejigbo
judicial division holden at Ile Ife, before the lordship, Hon justice J.O. Ogunleye, 19th
September,2019 and federal high court Abuja before the lordship, Hon justice Osho Adebiyi.

Also, the criminal case in the federal high court capital territory before the lordship, Hon Justice
U.P Kekemeke, 6th February, 2020. Federal high court capital territory before his lordship, Hon
justice H.B Yusuf and Hon. Justice Abubakar Idris Kutigi. The analysis to be carried out in this
study is a linguistic analysis and not a legal or philosophical one. Also, the study analyses only the
leading judgments of 30 selected court pronouncements from the document.

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 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 INTRODUCTION

The chapter reviews empirically some of the previous works in the field.

2.1 The Concept of Language

Language, like any other concept has different definitions. Several attempts were made by
scholars to give to accurate definitions of language. According to Gimson (1980), language is a
system of conventional symbols used for communication by a whole community, the patterns of
conventions cover a system of significant sound units, the inflection and arrangements of words
and associations of meaning with words. Another definition given by de Saussure (1959), sees
language as a formal system of signs governed by grammatical rules of combinations to
communicate meaning. This definition stresses the fact that human language can be described as
closed structural system consisting of rules that relate particular meanings.

Sapir (1921: p.8), defines language as purely human and non-instinctive method of
communicating ideas, emotions, desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols. This implies
that language is a device that a group of people use to facilitate communication.it can be likened
to a tool that can be used for different purposes because human use language to perform different
activities.

Omachonu (2011: p.1), opines that language is a major cultural phenomenon is human society.
That is, an important regulator of individual consciousness and social interaction. H also States
that language is important in human existence and there is hardly any situation where language is
not required.

Heath (2003), define language as an avenue through which cultures can be understood. Language
and social reality are strictly tied together, language is said to be culturally transmitted. This

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implies that changes in produce change in language because people's cultural orientation, attitude,
belief, disposition world view and social value among others are reflected in their language.

According to Agha (2006), language is a method of human communication either spoken or

written, consisting of use of words in a structured and conventional way. It is also a non-verbal
method of expression or communication. Language may refer to the cognitive ability to learn and
use system of complex communication.

2.1.1 Functions of Language

According to leech (1974), there are different primary functions of language which are the
expressive function, informational, directive, phatic and aesthetic function.

Language has expressive function which can be used to express one’s feelings and attitude. For
this function, the speaker or writer tries to express his feeling when speaking or writing which is
the reflections of their expression. It gives the clear image of the personality of the speaker or
writer. For example: I am very happy. I had a wonderful vacation.

Another function of language is informational function. The informational function tends to be the
most important function of language. It is used to pass information from one person to another that
is from speaker or writer to hearer or reader. For example, our result will be released next week,
the bus is occupied already etc.

Language has a directive function whereby the aim is to influence the attitude and behavior
of others. The most important example for directive function is command and request. This
function of social control lay emphasis on the receiver's end rather than the speaker end of message.

Example of this directive function is, get me the pen, I want the book, close the door. In the
example, it is done in a directive way like a command or a request.

The fourth function of language according to leech is the aesthetic function. It is use of language
for the sake of artifact itself and for no purpose. All art understood as art is known as aesthetic
function and any object valued for its beauty not because of it ideological function and usefulness
is characterized on this function.

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The last function of language is the phatic function. It is the function of keeping communication
lines open and keeping social relationship in good shape. This function is used for normal talks
like when two people meet each other accidentally in a place, they start talking about things that
are irrelevant things just for communication sake. It can be referred to as daily talks or
communication.

Furthermore, Halliday (1970), proposes three broad secondary functions of language;

ideational, interpersonal and textual.

Language could be interpersonal which is used to establish and maintain social relations. Such
relations include conversations and getting things done. Through this function social groups get
going, identified and reinforced. It is used by individuals to achieve social cohesion.

Also, languages function as being a textual function of language that is used to provide links
with itself and with features of the situation in which it is used. The language user is enabled to
construct texts that are situational relevant. By the empowerment of this function the speaker or
writer is able to establish cohesive relations from one sentence to the other in a discourse.

A language user falls on ideational function when he is expressing his experience of the real
world, including the inner world of his own consciousness. When language is used to give structure
to experience it is ideational function that is being performed.

2.1. 2 Characteristics of Language

Different scholars have examined the characteristics of language in their own perspective.
Bloch and Trager (1942), define the language, as a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means of
which a social group co-operates. In this definition, there are key words which open up the
characteristic of language. language is a set of symbols. For example, a restaurant scenario. If the
signal transmitted in the restaurant, coca cola consists of at least four symbols:/kou’, kƏ’ kou.lƏ/.
The substance of these symbols is sound produced by mouth. They are vocal symbols and A
symbol is a form, which stands for some real thing.

Vocal’ may need some other clarification because the language can be written as well as spoken.
When we produce symbols with mouth, we use phonic medium. But we can also produce the same
symbols by writing on. paper with a pen or a pencil. This method is called graphic medium. This

10
medium is a feature of language. language can also be both spoken and written because language,
linguists generally are concerned with spoken language or what they call ‘primacy’ of language.
Primacy of speech means that speech is basic, and writing is only secondary.

The next important word in the definition of Bloch and Trager (1942) is arbitrary. There is No
connection between the form of a symbol and its meaning. For example, there is no connection
between the sound /pen/ and the object called pen. Further, a few words in any language can be
onomatopoeic, e.g. crow, flutter, splash are related to their meanings. Arbitrariness of language is
not limited to words. There is no reason for “He is a lawyer”, to be a statement and “Is he a
lawyer?” to be a question except the agreement among the speakers of English to interpret them
in that way. It is now certain that arbitrariness is one of the factors, that make language so versatile.

Also, duality of human language is another characteristic of human language. The syllables
are larger than phonemes while morphemes and words are at a higher level than syllables. These
units belong to two classes: phonemes and syllables which have no meaning of their own, but
morphemes and words are meaningful units. That Is, meaningful units are made of meaningless
units. For example, ‘umbrellas.

It consists of nine phonemes. / Λmbrelaz / The nine phonemes make three syllables: Λm , brel,
la;z. so it is seen that neither the phonemes nor syllables have any meaning. These phonemes make
two morphemes: umbrellas. These two morphemes as a full word have meanings as other full
words have.

Another word in Bloch and Trager’s definition is ‘System’. A language is a system of

symbols and this does not mean to say that a language is not merely a collection of symbols.
Ferdinand de Saussure (1959), a Swiss linguist introduced the concept of language as a system.
the pieces of language are phonemes, morphemes and words, and a set of rules of how to use them
when speaking or writing. For example, the English language system allows its users to say or
write as, “Bunmi ate a piece of bread”, but not “ate a piece of bread Bunmi”, or “A piece of bread
ate Bunmi. The rules of the system, unlike the symbols, are invisible, but they can be discovered
when they operate. It is the symbols and the rules together that form the system. Chomsky (1965),

opopines that the important property of human language is

11
its productivity because humans can understand and produce many utterances than nobody has
either produced or heard. It means we can produce brand new sentences, except when we use
conventional expressions. The number of phonemes, morphemes and words in a language are
limited, but with these limited symbols, we can create countless sentences which cannot be done

in any other communication system.

2.2. The Concept of Syntax

Matthew (1982: p.1), says the term syntax is from the ancient Greek syntaxis. meaning
“arrangement” or “setting out together”. it refers to the branch of grammar which deals with the
way words, with or without the appropriate inflections, are arranged to show connections of
meaning without the sentence. According to Hana (2011), Syntax is a part of linguistics that has
to do with the study of sentence structure. It is based on three elements of a sentence: word order,
word agreement, and hierarchical structure of a sentence. If one wants some books and knows that
they are called books, a sentence may be constructed as “Want these I book.” It is not
grammatically correct, and the listener may not understand the message. The words should be
arranged as, “I want these books.” one should also ensure that there is word agreement in a
sentence; subject and verb, determiner and noun, and other words have to agree with one another
Onions (1971), opines that the term “syntax” means “to arrange together” Also, Radford
(1997), adds that syntax is the study of how words are combined together to form phrases and
sentences. It means that syntactic patterns and systems of rules and categories underlay the theory
of sentence formations.

Furthermore, word order is very important in English, because the language is no longer
inflected. That is, individual words do not have endings to show which parts of speech they
represent. Syntax is a tool used in writing proper grammatical sentences.

(Burgess 1968), also assert that term ‘Syntax’ is used to mean the study of the syntactic properties
of a language. It is syntax that gives the words the power to relate to each other in a sequence to
carry meaning.

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2.2.1 Relationship between Syntax and Grammar

According to Johnson (2020), grammar and syntax are closely related concepts, both in
written and spoken language. The terms are often used interchangeably and each concept has its
own meaning. Syntax is the arrangement of words and phrases in a sentence and grammar consists
of the rules that govern the composition of language. So, the relationship between grammar and
syntax is similar to that of parent and child, with grammar providing the structural rules that syntax
and other concepts must follow.

The relationship between grammar and syntax could be explained as the art of language,
meaning grammar, and how it is arranged, and meaning syntax. Although the term grammar was
present in ancient Latin and Greek cultures, the understanding of grammar as a set of rules
pertaining to syntax did not begin until the 16th century. Earlier before the 16th century, grammar
is applied to learning in general, with syntax covering any type of order or arrangement. So, syntax
and grammar are understood to mean the rules governing proper sentence structure. For example,
the references of a person and themselves, an English phrase such as me and him might be used.
But syntactically, I and he is an acceptable order of words. It makes sense, whether ordered as me
and him or him and me. Rules of English grammar dictate that such phrase should be worded as
him and me, so that both pronouns are objective, with the personal pronoun me ordered last.

2.3 Sentence structure and function in English

In English grammar, sentence structure is the arrangement of words, phrases, and clauses
in a sentence. The grammatical function or meaning of a sentence is dependent on this structural
organization, which is also called syntax or syntactic structure. According to structural
classification, scholars have identified the following four different types of sentence

13
Simple sentence

According to Boanerges (2018), a simple sentence contains a subject and a verb, and it may
also have an object and modifiers.it contains only one main independent clause, with the following
example:

• She wrote an article last year

• She completed her literature review within two weeks

Compound sentence

According to Aremo (2004), a compound sentence consist of two or more main clauses. A
paratactic. relation exist between the component independent clauses. This means the clauses are
of equal grammatical status joined together by coordinating conjunction. The main clause are
simple sentences combined coordinatively, with the following examples:

o She completed her literature review and created her reference list. o He organized his
sources by theme; then he updated his reference lists

Complex sentence

Aremo (2004), defines complex sentence as a sentence commonly formed by linking the
source sentence using a conjunction. Also, it consists of one independent clause and dependent
clause A hypotactic relation that exist between clauses in a grammatical arrangement that works
the same way but they are of unequal status linking together clauses by using conjunctions.
Webster (2010).

Here are a few examples:

o Although she completed her literature review; she still needs to work in her method
sections.
o Because he organized his sources by them, it was easier for his readers to follow.

14
Complex compound sentence

Awgni (2020), assert that compound complex sentence is made from two independent clauses
and one or more dependent clauses. Sentence types can also be combined with the following
example:

• She completed her literature review but she still needs to work on her methods section even
though she finished her methods course last semester.
• Although he organized his sources by theme, he decided to arrange them chronologically,
and carefully followed the meal plan for organization.

According to the functional classification of sentence, scholars have identified four types of
sentence.

Declarative sentence

Quirk& Greenbaum (1990) defines Declarative sentence as sentence in which a subject is

present and precedes the verb, and primarily made as statement. A statement conveys information.
They are sentences in which a subject is present and follows the verb. Also, Jaymz (2017), see
declarative sentence as a sentence that makes a statement, it states. Sentences expressing hope or
wish are somehow declarative. We also use Declarative Sentences to express an idea or give
information.

For example:

o I shall arrive at two. You are not the only applicant.

o We must not forget that day.
o The food got burnt.
o We ate samosa for lunch.
o Let us move over to the field.

15
Imperative sentence

Quirk & Greenbaum (1990) as opines that Imperative sentences give orders, make requests and
usually have no overt subject. They have no grammatical subject and whose verb has the base
form. They are used to instruct somebody to do something. For Jaymz (2017), An imperative
sentence is one that makes or expresses a command, gives an order or gives an instruction. For
example:

o Come here.
o Don’t do that.
o Try to help.

Exclamatory sentence

Sarikas (2019), opines that Exclamatory sentences are used to express strong emotions such
as anger, happiness, disbelief, etc. They all end with an exclamation mark. For other types of
writing, exclamatory sentences can be a way to show emotion in writing and also evoke a strong
emotion. Exclamation helps to understand a feeling particularly strongly about something, or when
something comes as a surprise. They are also used to express surprise, alarm, indignation or a
strong opinion. They are differentiated from other sentences by taking an exclamation mark:

for example:

o He’s going to win!

o Stop the work immediately!
o Work on these exercises!
o Come at once!

16
 Interrogative sentence

According to Nordquist (2020), an interrogative sentence is a type of sentence that ask

questions. It opposed sentence that makes statement, command and express. They are always
marked by inversion of subject and predicate. An interrogative sentence ends with question mark.
Frank (1972:88), stated that interrogative sentence is divided into three types, Yes / No

Questions, Interrogative-Words/ information Questions functioning as asking for information.

They are also known as WH question. Such as: what, where, why, who, when, and how lastly,
tag question; it is added by to be and auxiliary verbs in the end of the sentences

Examples are:

o Did you see your sister yesterday?

o Can’t you hear that awful noise?
o When did he arrive?
o Why don’t they play cricket here?

Aremo (2004), also identifies nine basic simple sentence patterns with obligatory constituents or
components which cannot be omitted or deleted without rendering the sentence incomplete. The
nine basic simple-sentence patterns are the SP, SPOd, SPOiOd, SPCs(n), SPCs(adj), SPA,
SPOdCc(adj) , SPOdCo(n) and SPOdA patterns.

The Attachment of the Optional Adjunct to the S-P Structure

This has to do with the insertion of an adjunct in-between the subject and the predicator such that
it alters the S-P structure and results into a non-basic pattern. For example:

• We hurriedly left the class. S/A/P/C

• The man, in a flash, arrived. S/A/P

• The boy quickly pocketed the money. S/A/P/C

• He scarcely goes out. S/A/P

17
.2.4 LEGAL LANGUAGE

2.4.1 Meaning of Legal Language

Mellinkoff (1963), explains Legal language as a means of language used by the persons
connected to the legal profession. The language used by the lawyer, jurist, and the legislative drafts
man in their professional capacities. Law being a technical subject speaks through its own register.

Legal language varies across local legal language and English.

2.4.2 History of Legal Language

According to Tiersma (1999), The English language started around 450AD when the Angles,
the jute and the Saxon arrived from the continent and they also spoke closely related language,
which is known as Anglo- Saxon or Old English. Although the Anglo-Saxons have no distinct
legal profession, but they develop a type of legal language that is known till today.

The Anglo-Saxons used not only Old English as a legal language, but also used Latin. The old
English and the Vikings suggests two invasions that supplemented the old English vocabulary. the
Vikings invaded Britain over a thousand years ago and this invasion has been the biggest influence
on the development of legal English which happened in 1066 by the French forces from Normandy
led by Williams the conqueror and French became the official language of the courts in England.
French influenced the development of English legal language; Latin was still the accepted
language when writing legal documents. French finally became Language used only by lawyers
and it is used in court proceedings. The uneducated English people did not understand the
process.so Law French was later reduced forcing lawyers to add English words to their French text
with abandon. Use of Latin and French for legal purposes gradually declined and was given a final
coup de grace in 1730 and they required that English should be the compulsory language of oral
communication.

18
 Due to various challenges, including the reality that the study of law was in French, it took
a hundred years before the switch was implemented and English became the official language of
English courts. It doesn't mean French and Latin terminology disappeared from legal English. But
it became prominent component. both terms words were paired together Such as: cease and assist,
null and void, title and interest, peace and quiet, breaking and entering. Middle English gave birth
to many legal terms, which are still used today. Such as notwithstanding, aforesaid, and many
other terms that include the words "where", "here", and "there", such as wherein, whereby,
whereof, whereupon, hereunder, thereby, and thereupon. These words can still be seen in legal
documents, while one would not encounter these in commonly used language.

Later, legal English changed it form rapidly. many new legal terms came to existence, such as:
affidavit, subpoena, and corporation. Scholars continued using Latin, French, Italian, and Spanish
as a backbone of legal language. There was a strong push for improvement of English language.

2.4.3 Features of Legal Language

According to Mykhailova (2008), he explains features of legal language as sentence of peculiar

features. Foreign phrases are a feature of Legal English which is used instead of English phrases
e.g., Older words too like hereof, thereof, and whereof and further derivatives, including at, in,
after, before, with, by, above, on, upon are used in legal English primarily to avoid repeating names
or phrases. For example: the parties hereto instead of the parties to this contract. The Use of
modifiers also such as the same, the said, the aforementioned etc., they are used as adjectives to
determine the noun, but not replace them. For example: the said John Smith.

Also, Legal English contains words and titles, such as employer and employee; lessor and lessee
etc. which the reciprocal and opposite nature of the relationship is indicated by the use of
alternative endings: er, or, and ee. Phrasal verbs are often used in a quasi-technical sense. For
example, parties enter into contracts, put down deposits, serve upon other parties, write off debts.

Myrteza (2017), describes the linguistic features of legal language such as; lexical,
syntactical, pragmatic to fulfil the demands of law. As a whole, common and singular linguistic
features can be identified across different legal languages and they are manifested with lexicon,
syntax, pragmatics and style. Legal lexicon is full of archaic words, formal and ritualistic usage,
19
word strings, common words with uncommon meanings and words of over-precision. A common
feature of the syntax of legal language is the formal and impersonal written style joined with
considerable complexity and length. Complex structures, passive voice, multiple negations and
prepositional phrases are used in legal language. Another pragmatic consideration in legal texts is
ambiguity, vagueness Legal writing is characterized by an impersonal style, with the extensive use
of declarative sentences pronouncing rights and obligations.

According to Mellinkoff, the initiator of “Plain English” writing style, the language of the
law is characterized by wordiness. He stated two types of legal language; spoken or written media
legal language and media text. For written forms, legal English is used for the term legalese which
is characterized by wordiness and it categorized into Lexical features and syntactic features, the
lexical features include archaism, technical terms, foreign words, synonyms. The syntactic features
include sentence length, nominalization and impersonal style.

In conclusion, legal English remains to be a highly specialized sub-language. Legal English

or legalese is characterized by its density and obscurity. The special features present in most of the
legal texts make impossible for ordinary people to understand the content of contracts, testaments
and sentences

2.4.4 Speakers of Legal Language

According to Tierisma (1999:51), legal language is divided into legal norms and it related
discourse of which legal norms is that of legislation, judicial decisions or contracts. It is understood
that this language is spoken and used specifically by lawyers. And they form the main language of
law speaking in the community. Legislation on the other hand are the people with no legal
educational background yet they adopt legal terminologies to an extent. The circle of legal
language users and speakers may be described as follows:

The legislators who write the laws, they are the members of the parliament whose knowledge on
terminologies and concept of law is not complete and sufficient but tries to sound as if it was. Also
the judiciary, they are the judges and people who influence the written judgments and the lawyers,
they negotiate, give speeches in court, draft documents.

20
2.5 Law and Language

2.5.1 Division of Law

Sophia (2018), gives two main division of law, and they are absolute distinct from one
another. Which are the criminal law and the civil law.

Criminal law

Criminal law addresses offence against society. More heinous crimes such as murder and
rape, drug deals and assault. It also involves the state imposing sanctions for defined crimes
committed by individuals or businesses, so that society can achieve its brand of justice and a
peaceable social order. This differs from civil law in that civil actions are disputes between two
parties that are not of significant public concern. Criminal cases also involve enforcing public
codes of behavior, which are codified in the law of the state.in criminal cases the government
prosecutes individuals for violating the laws. Punishment in criminal cases may include fines,
community service, prison and death sentence.

Civil law

Civil cases may be brought by individuals or by companies and may seek simple redress
or substantial and extended compensation. It is the part of a legal system which is part of the jus
commune that involves relationships between individuals, such as the law of contracts or torts
known common law and the law of obligations known civil legal systems. It is to distinguished
from public law, which deals with relationships between both natural and artificial persons i.e
organizations and the state, including regulatory statutes, penal law and other law that affects the
public order. In general terms, private law involves interactions between private citizens, whereas
public law involves interrelations between the state and the general population. Civil law includes
several areas such as: contract law, Tort law and property law. Civil cases may include: Insurance
payouts, Breaches of contract, Divorce and child custody, personal injury cases, traffic offences
and Negligence.

21
2.5.2 Syntactical Structure of the Language of Law

Rylance (1994), one of the linguists who studied the problems of lengthy sentences assert that one
of the most significant syntactic properties of legalese is the length and complexity of sentences.
This complexity arises due to the wide use of complex syntactic structures such as subordinate
clauses, conditional sentences and passive voice.

For williams (2004), Legal language in also characterized by impersonal style, avoiding
personal pronouns and using passive instead of active voice. There are cases when active is
essential in order to stress who or what caused the action. The absence of pronouns makes the text
more objective rather than subjective, a typical feature of formal style. It was noticed that more
often first and second person are omitted, while the third person is more frequent in use.

In addition, Haigh (2004), explains that legal texts are frequently used in nouns instead of verbs
such as “to be in agreement” instead of “to agree”, “to give recognition to” instead of “to
recognize”. etc. It has also been accepted that it is better to avoid nominalizations since they result
in run-ons, or long sentences.

Vachek (1974), also describes the sentences in English legal texts to be long and complex, but
clearly built up, using various typographical devices of distributing phrases, division of the text
into parallel paragraphs and capitalizing certain crucial points of the document. Tiersma (1999),
also gives typical features which overlap with Vachek’s features which are, lengthy and complex
sentences, unusual sentence structure, wordiness and redundancy, conjoined phrases, frequent use
of negation and impersonal constructions. Cao (2007) gives two general characteristics of the legal
language: impersonal constructions and extensive use of declarative sentences pronouncing rights
and obligations.

2.6 The Nigerian Court System

According to Oluwatosin (2018), a court is defined as a place concerned with settling of legal
disputes. The Nigeria court is contained in section 6(5) of the constitution of the federal republic
of Nigeria. In the Nigerian legal system, there are numbers of court which vary from small courts

22
with limited jurisdiction over a particular type of dispute which can hear any case in any aspect of
law.

2.6.1 The structure of Nigeria courts

Nina Kalau (2017), explains different types of courts in Nigeria. Each of them has its own
functions.

Supreme Court of Nigeria

The first one is the Supreme Court of Nigeria which is the Nigerian Highest Court. It was
established in 1963 subsequent to the enunciation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the 1960

Constitution, which became effective on October 1, 1963. It also succeeded the cancellation of
Section 120, which repealed the appellate jurisdiction of the Privy Council judicial committee,
which was the Nigeria’s Apex Court. The Court is provided for in Section 230 of the 1999

Constitution. According to this provision, the court will consist of the Chief Justice of Nigeria and
21 (twenty-one) judges at all times. The Supreme Court is presently located in Abuja, Nigeria. Its
jurisdiction is the highest and most important in the country.

The Court of Appeal

The next one on the hierarchy of Nigerian courts is the Court of Appeal. the Court of
Appeal is separated into various judicial divisions and sits in definite States in Nigeria. It was
established by Section 237 of the 1999 Constitution, led by the President of the Court of Appeal,
and comprises of 49 (forty-nine) judges at all times. The Court of Appeal is composed of the
President of the Court of Appeal and other justices of the Court of Appeal not being less than
fortynine.

The Federal High Court

The federal high court is divided into various judicial divisions for administrative
convenience and sits in more than 15 States in Nigeria. Section 249 of the 1999 Constitution

23
provides for the existence of the Federal High Court. The Federal High Court is headed by the
Chief Judge and such other number of judges as the State House of Assembly or the National
Assembly. It should be mentioned that the Federal High Court also has the appellate jurisdiction
and all the powers of the High Courts of a State. This court divides the concurrent jurisdiction of
the State High Court in matters regarding the interpretation or application of the constitution,
banker-customer relationship, and fundamental human rights enforcement cases.

The National Industrial Court of Nigeria

For the National Industrial Court, it is established by Section 254A of the 1999
Constitution. It is headed by the President of the National Industrial Court and the number of

Judges depend on what is prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly. The National Industrial

Court is divided into various judicial separations which sits in some States in Nigeria. The

National Industrial Court focuses on the jurisdiction in civil cases and grounds that are set out in
Section 254C of the 1999 Constitution. It has all the powers of the High Court of a State and the
appellate jurisdiction.

The Sharia Court of Appeal

The Section 260 of the 1999 Constitution provides for an obligatory establishment of the
Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. While Section 275 provides for a
dispensable establishment of a Sharia Court of Appeal for any State that claims it is in Nigeria.
The court comprises of a Grand Khadi and other Khadis as the National Assembly or State Houses
of Assembly (as the case may be) may prescribe.

The Customary Court of Appeal

The Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory was established by the Section
265 of the 1999 Constitution and caters to the FCT. While Section 280 provides for the dispensable
establishment of the Customary Court of Appeal for any State that claims it in Nigeria. The court
is led by the President of the Customary Court of Appeal and contain Judges as prescribed by the

24
National Assembly for the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and the House of Assembly for any
State that claims it.

2.6.3. The judiciary

In the Black law dictionary (2004), Judiciary means “The branch of government
responsible for interpreting the laws and administering justice” the term ‘judiciary’ denotes the
branch of government that is constitutionally responsible for interpreting the laws and
administering justice, by the application of the rule of law, through duly constituted

The primary role of the judiciary is the interpretation of the Constitution and the laws enacted by
the legislature in resolution of justifiable live issues brought before the courts. The judiciary also
has the role of administration of justice according to law. Another role of the judiciary is the role
of checks and balances. By the power of judicial interpretation, the judiciary can declare activities
of the executive and legislature unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect. This is usually
undertaken through the processes of judicial review.

2.7. Theoretical framework

The study will make use of Halliday’s (2004) Systemic Functional Grammar to explain
syntactic pattern of Nigerian court judgements. This theory was first developed by Michael K.
Halliday, an emeritus professor of linguistics at the University of Sydney, Australia in 1987. This
theory revolves around the works of J.R Firth and M.A.K Halliday particularly. The name
‘systemic’ according to Halliday (2003), is not the same thing as ‘systematic’, the term is used
because the fundamental concept in the grammar is that of the system. A system is a set of options
with an entry condition; that is to say, a set of things of which one must be chosen, together with
a statement of the conditions under which the choice is available. What distinguishes systemic
theory is that its basic form of synoptic representation is not syntagmatic but paradigmatic; the
organizing concept is not structure but system (hence the name). Also, the grammar is based on
the notion of choice. The speaker of a language, like a person engaging in any kind of culturally
determined behavior, can be regarded as carrying out, simultaneously and successively, a number
of distinct choices. It is the system that formalizes the notion of choice in language.

25
SFG theoretical framework states that there are three modes of meaning and these modes of
meaning fall under the metafunction of language. The term metafunction is used to avoid the mix
up of function with metafunction. He identifies the metafunctions of language as ideational,
interpersonal and textual. The ideational metafunction is the function for construing human
experience. It is the means by which we make sense of "reality" Halliday divides the ideational
into the logical and the experiential metafunctions. Halliday (1994), Eggins (2004), assert that the
clause complex and simplex comes under logical metafunctions which belongs to the broader
ideational metafunctions. It refers to the relationship that exist between clauses in a sentence and
these relations are of two types, Taxis and logico semantics. Taxis is divided into two components,
parataxis and hypotaxis and the logico semantic is divided into projection and expansion.

Clause Complex

There are two kinds of clause, those are clause simplex and clause complex. Clause
complex is the clause that consists of dependent and independent clause. Clause complex is the
term systemics use for the grammatical and semantic unit formed when two or more clauses are
linked together in certain systematic in meaningful ways. When we write clause complexes down,
either in speech or composed in written language, we generally show clause complex boundaries
with full stops. A clause complex is a comprised of two or more clauses logically connected, or
put another way a clause complex is a sequence of process which are logically connected. There
are two systems involved in the formation of clause complexes: there are the tactic system and the
logico-semantic system.

Tactic system

Taxis is the system that describes the type of inter pendency relationship between clause link into
a clause complex. The two options in this tactic system are hypotaxis and parataxis.

26
The term hypotaxis

It refers to the relationship in which one clause is dependent on another. In traditional

grammar this is called subordination.it is the relationship between two elements of unequal status
in hypotaxis we refer to clauses as being either dominant or dependent. Status is marked through
Greek letter. (α) alpha marks the dominant or main Clause (β)beta is used for the dependent
clause. It is important to note that the alpha is dominant clause, does not necessarily come first in
the clause complex.

The term parataxis

It is the relationship between two element of equal status, Arabic numeral are used tosignal
parataxis. it is used when one clause follows on from another. In traditional parataxis we refer to
clauses as being initiating or continuing. Clauses are marked by number: 1,2,3 and α , α

The system of projection

In projection, one of the clauses indicates that someone or something said or thought something,
any other clauses in the complex then express what the person or phenomenon said or thought.

The system of expansion

Expansion links Processes by providing additional information. It involves three types of

relationship: Elaboration, Extension, and Enhancement.12 a. Elaboration (=) This involves four
relationships: specifying in greater detail, restatement, exemplification, and comment.

27
Extension (+)

This extends the meaning of one clause by adding something new. It involves „and‟, „but‟, and

„or‟ type relationship and is marked by a (+) sign

Enhancement (x)

: This involves circumstantial relationship where the circumstantial information is coded as a new
clause rather than within a clause. This can be temporal, conditional, causal, concessive, spatial or
manner. It is marked through an x sign.

The experiential function refers to the grammatical resources involved in construing the flux of
experience through the unit of the clause. The interpersonal metafunction refers to the tenor of
discourse i.e the social relations that exist among participants in specific discourse situation and
the textual aspect which is concerned with mode is regarded as the third and final strand of meaning
making in the clause according to (Eggins 1994) and as the ‘relevance’ or the ‘enabling’
metafunction according to (Halliday 1974). The textual metafunction refers to how language users
encode their messages into texts and hoe the message is semantically unified with cohesive
devices. This particular metafunction is analyzed by looking at the themes and rhemes of the
clauses.

In conclusion, the study has been able to review concept like language, syntax, Grammar, sentence
structure and function and for the purpose of analysis, insight will be borrowed from Halliday’s
systemic functional grammar taking the ideational meta function in particular which will not be
analyzed as syntax or sentence again because in systemic functional grammar, we now refer to
sentence as clause complex or simplex.

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 CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction

This chapter provides information on the methods adopted for the collection and analysis of the
data used for the study, more specifically, the research design, research data, method of data
analysis and other related aspect of the study.

3.1 Research Design

This research is a qualitative and essentially descriptive in design. Fellowship with the aim and
objectives of the study, a case study approach with focus on selected court pronouncement in some
Nigeria court judgment. It is thus, a text-based approach that focused on pure grammatical analysis
of data.

3.2 Research Data

The data used for the study comprised text selected court pronouncement of some court
judgments from Nigerian courts of law. In order to be sufficiently representative of the various
court and case type, a total number of Six (6) court judgments with thirty (30) pronouncements
were selected with breakdown as presented in table 1.

Table 1:

s/n Court Type Case type Case Nature Preceding Judges No of

pronouncement

1 Federal high court, Abuja. Civil Dissolution of marriage Hon. Justice Osho Five

& custody adebiyi

2 State high court Ejigbo. Osun Civil Recovery of property Hon. Justice J.O. Five
state Ogunleye

29
3 National industrial court of Civil Originating summons on Hon. Justice A.A. Five

Akure judicial division earned allowance Adewemimo

4 Federal high court, Abuja. Criminal Corruption Hon. Justice U.P Six

Kekemeke

5 Federal high court, Abuja. Criminal Burglary and homicides Hon. Justice H.B Yusuf Two

6 Federal high court, Abuja. Criminal Cyber crime Hon. Justice Abubakar Five

Idris Kutigi

A purposeful and random sampling method was adopted for the study to cut across the different
types of court (federal, state and industrial) and different types of court cases (civil and criminal).

3.3 Method of Data Analysis

The theoretical framework adopted for analysis is an aspect of the systemic functional
Grammar (SFG). One of the cardinal postulations of SFG is three metafunctions of language;
ideational, interpersonal and textual. For this study, the focus will be on the ideational
metafunction with focus on Taxis and logico-semantic relation between clauses.

As Halliday and Matthiesen (2004) note, a clause can be either simplex or complex. A clause is
simplex if it represents a single process going on through time and it is a clause complex if it
represents a logical relation between two or more processes and composes of two or more simplex.
A clause simplex contains predication structure with a subject noun phrase and a finite verb. The
subject is usually a noun phrase. A clause complex is defined as a grammatical construction
consisting of two or simplex clauses. He also asserts that the clause complex comes under logical
meta functions which belongs to the broader ideational meta functions. It refers to the relationship
that exists between clauses in a sentence and this relationship is of two types, Taxis and logic-
semantics relation. Taxis are divided into two components, parataxis and hypotaxis. In terms of
logico semantic relation between clauses, it divided into Expansion and projection. Expansion
comprises of three kinds; Extension, Enhancement and Elaboration

30
Parataxis: it is the relationship between two elements of equal status. Arabic numerals are used
to signal parataxis. If their status is equal, they are related through parataxis. Since clauses in
paratactic relation are equal in status, the clauses are numbered sequentially and it is always noted
with Arabic numbers, that is, "1" is used for the first clause, followed by "2" for the second clause.

For example:

1 He saw the doctor 2 and shouted.

Hypotaxis: it is the relationship between two elements of unequal status. If the status is unequal,
they are related through hypotaxis. It is always noted with Greek letters. The clauses are labeled
as α and β. They are made up of a superordinate and a subordinate clause. The symbol α (Alpha)
is always reserved for the main or dominant clause. All other symbols, from β (Beta) onwards are
used for clauses dependent on the main/dominant clause. Also, the dependent clause can come
before the independent clause. β
If you can't convince them, α confuse them.

Logico-semantics: Logico-semantics refers to the nature of the relation between clauses. This
relation is both logical and semantic, it explored why we have irritating terms. The two main
options clauses may be related through expansion or projection.

Expansion: It links processes by providing additional information. It involves three kinds.

Extension: it is when the extending clause adds something new, provides an exception, or offers
an alternative. The symbol "+" is used to signal Extension, as seen below for both paratactic and
hypotactic constructions.

α Boney-I-Am sang poorly, +β

being booed all the way.

Enhancement -- the enhancing clause provides circumstantial features of time, place,

cause/reason, condition, result, etc. The symbol "x" is used to signal Enhancement:

α Alvin formed Boney-I-Am, xβ

because he wanted a band.
31
Elaboration -- the elaborating clause restates comments or specifies in greater detail. In the case
of hypotaxis, elaboration is typically realized by non-restrictive relative clauses. The symbol "="
is used to signal Elaboration:

him upon at least given a week notice

in writing.

3 The respondent shall contribute to the 1 Simplex

medical bills of the child of the
marriage.
4 The plaintiff family is entitled to α+ β Clause complex Hypotactic: extension
statutory right of occupancy in respect
‘being’
of the landed property situate lying,
being at Idi ogun Adedire Ife local
government.
5 I therefore give judgment to the αx β Clause complex Hypotactic:
plaintiff on claims award the sum of enhancement
one million Naira, as general damages
‘as’
in favor of the plaintiff against the
defendant pursuant to claim.
6 That all members are entitled to 1 Simplex
payment of arrears of their earned
Allowance.
7 The 1st defendant, his priviest are 1+2 Clause complex Paratactic: extension
hereby restrained from breaching the ‘and’
collective agreement executed by the
union with the federal government
under the ages of joint action
committee and the memorandum of
terms of settlement is dated to 20th
September.

32
 8 The 1st defendant should provide a 1+2 Clause complex Paratactic: extension
workable avenue for the payment of ‘and’
the outstanding earned income owed
members of the claimant from 1st and
the 2nd tranche upon the release of
same by the federal government.
9 The 1st Defendant’s vehicle Exhibit 1 Simplex
G1, ABIA ABA 81 BQ and Exhibit F,
the Magnun Revolver Pistol with the
33 rounds of ammunitions shall be
forfeited to the Federal Government of
Nigeria.

α The group Boney-I-Am recorded their first song 'Got Kut' in January 2002, =β
which sold 13
copies world-wide.

Presented in the Table 2 are examples of clauses-by-clauses logico-semantic analysis of selected

clauses from the data.

Table 2: Examples of clauses-by-clauses logico-semantic analysis of selected clauses from the

data.

s/n Judgments Clausal Clause type Clausal & logico

configuration semantic relation

1 The petitioner shall have custody of the 1+2 Clause complex Paratactic: extension
only child of Master Success Somto ‘and’
Chikwado and the respondent shall have
unfettered access to the child until he
attained the age of maturity.
2 The respondent on demand shall have 1 simplex
the child spend school holidays
tentatively with

33
10 Exhibit G – Vehicle No. KUJ 627 LC and 1 Simplex
the Gold color M5 Gionee Phone
belonging to the deceased shall be
released to the Deceased’s family
through the Nominal Complainant
Eimiogo Audu.

11 The Commissioner of Police is hereby 1=2 Clause complex Paratactic: Elaboration

ordered to investigate the veracity of the
‘that’
1st Defendant’s allegation that the Police
audaciously took him to the Zenith Bank
to withdraw money from his account for
their benefit while in custody.

12 . The Report of the investigation should 1 Simplex

be furnished this Court within one month.

13 That Under Section 309 of the β=α Clause simplex Hypotactic: Elaboration
Administration of Criminal Justice Act
‘that’
2015 where a Court finds the Defendant
not guilty, it shall immediately discharge
him and record an Order of discharge and
acquittal.

β
14 In this case, having not found the +α Clause complex Hypotactic
Defendant guilty on any of the two
counts for which he is standing trial, he
is hereby discharged and acquitted
without further assurance.

34
15 The respondent has agreed to contribute 1+2 Clause complex Paratactic: extension
at least twenty thousand naira monthly ‘and’
for the
up keep of the child and he shall pay to
the account number. 0081944957
Diamond bank.

35
 CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

4.0. Introduction

Presented in this chapter are the analyses of each of the judgements used as data for the
study. The judgements were six (6) in number, with fifteen (15) selected from civil and criminal
types of court cases. The focus of syntactic analysis is the kind of logico-semantic relations among
component clauses per judgement. This is followed by a general interpretation of the results of
analyses and a highlight of major findings from the study.

4.1 Logico- semantic Analysis of Clauses per Judgement

In this section, a detailed analysis of the clauses in each judgement selected for the study
is carried out with relevant information presented in tabular form. The information provided
include a little background information per case, identification of component clauses per
judgement, a logico-sematic analysis of each clause (in terms of the taxis, logico-semantic relation
and systems), determination of the number of component clauses per clause.

Text of Judgement 1

Case Brief Civil case by Hon. Justice Osho Adebiyi held at Federal high
court, Abuja. (Dissolution of marriage & custody).
Number of Clauses in Text Five
Clause 1 Consequently, the settled issue filed 13/10/2019 is hereby made
part of the judgement of this court and it is hereby entered as
follows
Analysis Consequently (A), the settled issue filed 13/10/2019 (S) is (P1)
1

hereby (A) made (P 2) part of the judgement of this court (C) +2and
it (S) is (P1) hereby (A) entered (P2) as follows (A)

36
Clause type Clause complex: 2 component clauses (= 1 + 2)
Logico semantic relation Relation: Paratactic

& system System: Extension

Clause 2 The petitioner shall have custody of the only child of master
Success Somto Chikwado and the Respondent shall have unfettered
access to the child until he attained the age of maturity.
Analysis The pe[titioner (S) shall have(P) custody of the only child of master
1

Success Somto Chikwado (C)

+2
and the Respondent (S) shall have (p) unfettered access to the
child(C) until he attained the age of maturity (A)
Clause type Clause complex: 2 component clauses (= 1 + 2)
Logico semantic Relation Relation: Paratactic

&system System: Extension

Clause 3 The Respondent on demand shall have custody of the only child of
the marriage Master Success Somto Chikwado that the child spend
school holidays tentatively with him upon at least given a week
notice in writing

Analysis α the Respondent on demand (S) shall have (P) custody of the only
child of the marriage Master Success Somto Chikwado (C) =β that
the child (S) spend (P) school holidays tentatively with him
(C) upon at least given a week notice in writing (A)
Clause type Clause complex: 2 component clauses (α =β)
Logico semantic Relation Relation: hypotactic

&system System: Elaboration

37
Clause 4 The Respondent has agreed to contribute at least #20,000.00 only
monthly for the up keep of the child (Master Success Somato
Chikwado) and he shall pay to the child account number.
0081944957 Diamond Bank.
Analysis The Respondent (S) has agreed (P) to contribute at least
1

#20,000.00 only monthly (A) for the up keep of the child (Master
Success Somato Chikwado) (C)
+2
and he (S) shall pay (P) to the child account number

0081944957 Diamond Bank (A)

Clause type Clause complex: 2 component clauses (= 1 + 2)
Logico semantic Relation Relation: Paratactic

&system System: Extension

Clause 5 The Respondent shall pay school fees of the child (Master Success
Somto Chikwado) within the range of his financial ability and he
shall pay directly to the school account where the petitioner
considers a school whose fees is higher than the Respondent
budget
Analysis The Respondent (S) shall pay (P) school fees of the child (Master
1

Success Somto Chikwado within the range of his financial ability

(A)
+2 and he (S1) shall pay (P) directly to the school account where the
petitioner considers a school whose fees (S) is (P) higher than the
Respondent budget (A)
Clause type Clause complex: 2 component clauses (= 1 + 2)
Logico semantic Relation Relation: Paratactic

&system System: Extension

Text of Judgement 2:

38
Case Brief Civil case by Hon. Justice J.O. Ogunleye held at the State high
court Ejigbo. Osun state. (Recovery of property)
Number of clauses in Five

Text
Clause 1 The plaintiff family is entitled to statutory right of occupancy in
respect of the landed property situate lying, being at Idi ogun
Adedire Ife local government
Analysis the plaintiff family (S) is entitled (P) to statutory right of
1

occupancy (C) in respect of the landed property situate lying being

at Idi ogun Adedire Ife local government (A)
Clause type Clause simplex: 1 component clause
Logico semantic Relation

&system

Clause 2 Ten million Naira being general and special damages caused by the
defendant to the landed properties of the plaintiffs.
Analysis Ten million Naira being (P) general and special damages caused by
1

the defendant to the landed properties of the plaintiffs (C)

Clause type Clause Simplex: 1 component clause
Logico semantic Relation

&system

Clause 3 Perpetual injunction restraining the Defendant, their servant,

agents, privies Associate or group of persons from committing
further acts of trespass on the land.

39
Analysis Perpetual injunction (A) restraining (P) the Defendant, their
1

servant, agents, privies Associate (C1)

+2
or group of persons from committing further acts of trespass on
the land (C2)
Clause type Clause complex: 2 component clauses (1+2)
Logico semantic Relation Relation: Paratactic

&system system: Extension

Clause 4 Injunction restraining the defendant their agents and claiming

through them from the further alienating or dealing with the family
land in any manner whatsoever prejudicial to the rights of the
plaintiff’s family.
Analysis injunction (S) restraining (P1) the defendant their agents (C)
1

+2
and claiming through them from the further alienating (A)
+3
or dealing with the family land (C) in any manner whatsoever
prejudicial to the rights of the plaintiff’s family (A)
Clause type Clause complex: 3 component clauses (=1+2+3)
Logico semantic relation Relation: Paratactic

& system system: Extension

Clause 5 I therefore give judgment to the plaintiff on claims award the sum
of one million Naira, as general damages in favor of the plaintiff
against the defendant pursuant to claim.
Analysis α I (S) therefore (A) give (P) judgment to the plaintiff on claims
award the sum of one million Naira (C),
xβ as general damages in favor of the plaintiff against the defendant
pursuant to claim (A)
Clause type Clause complex: 2 component clauses
Logico semantic relation Relation: Hypotactic

& system system: Enhancement

40
Text of Judgement 3:

Case Brief Civil case by Hon. Justice A.A. Adewemimo held at National
industrial court of Akure judicial division. (Originating
summons on earned allowance)
Number of clauses in Text Five
Clause 1 All members of the Claimant, 2nd and 3rd Defendant are entitled to
payment of arrears of their Earned allowance.
Analysis All members of the Claimant, 2nd and 3rd Defendant (S) are
1

entitled (P) to payment of arrears of their Earned allowance (A).

Clause type Clause Simplex: 1 component clause
Logico semantic relation &
system

Clause 2 The 1st defendant, his priviest are hereby restrained from
breaching the collective agreement executed by the union with the
federal government under the ages of joint action committee and
the memorandum of terms of settlement is dated to 20th
September.
Analysis The 1st defendant, his priviest (S1) are hereby restrained (P) from
1

breaching the collective agreement executed by the union with the

federal government under the ages of joint action committee (A)
+2
and the memorandum of terms of settlement (S) is dated (P) to
20th September (C).
Clause type Clause complex: 2 component clauses (=1+2)
Logico semantic relation& Relation: Paratactic
system system: Extension

41
Clause 3 The 1st defendant, his privies and agent are hereby restrained
from misappropriating money meant for the payment of the
allowance due to members of the claimant.
Analysis The 1st defendant, his privies and agent (S) are hereby restrained
1

(P) from misappropriating money meant for the payment of the

allowance due to members of the claimant (A)
Clause type Clause Simplex: 1 component clause
Logico semantic relation

&system

Clause 4 The 1st defendant should provide a workable avenue for the
payment of the outstanding earned income owed members of the
claimant from 1st, 2nd tranche upon the release of same by the
federal government.
Analysis α The 1st defendant (S) should provide (P) a workable avenue(C)
for the payment of the outstanding earned income owed members
of the claimant from 1st, 2ND tranche (A)
=β that upon (A) the release (P) of same by the federal government
(A).
Clause type Clause complex: 2 component clauses (=α=β)
Logico semantic relation Relation: Hypotactic

&system system: Elaboration

Clause 5 I make no order as to no cost

Analysis i (S) make (P) order as to no cost (C).
1

Clause type Clause Simplex: 1 component clause

Logico semantic relation

&system

42
Text of Judgement 4:

Case Brief Criminal case by Hon. Justice U.P Kekemeke held at Federal
high court, Abuja. (Corruption)
Number of clauses in Six

Text

Clause 1 The 1st Defendant’s vehicle Exhibit G1, ABIA ABA 81 BQ and
Exhibit F, the Magnun Revolver Pistol with the 33 rounds of
ammunitions shall be forfeited to the Federal Government of
Nigeria.
Analysis The 1st Defendant’s vehicle Exhibit G1, ABIA ABA 81 BQ and
1

Exhibit F, the Magnun Revolver Pistol with the 33 rounds of

ammunitions (S) shall be forfeited (P) to the Federal Government
of Nigeria (C).
Clause type Clause Simplex: 1 component clause
Logico semantic relation

& system

Clause 2 Exhibit G – Vehicle No. KUJ 627 LC and the Gold color M5 Gionee
Phone belonging to the deceased shall be released to the
Deceased’s family through the Nominal Complainant Eimiogo
Audu.
Analysis Exhibit G – Vehicle No. KUJ 627 LC and the Gold color M5
1

Gionee Phone belonging to the deceased (S) shall be released (P) to

the Deceased’s family (C) through the Nominal Complainant
Eimiogo Audu.(A)
Clause type Clause Simplex: 1 component clause
Logico semantic relation

&system

43
Clause 3 The commissioner of police is hereby ordered to investigate the
veracity of the 1st defendant’s allegation that the police audaciously
took him to the zenith Bank to withdraw money from his account for
their benefit while in custody.
Analysis α the commissioner of police (S) is hereby ordered(P) to investigate
the veracity of the 1st defendant’s allegation (A)

=β
that the police (S) audaciously (A) took (P) him to the zenith
Bank (C) to withdraw money from his account for their benefit
while in custody (A).
Clause type Clause complex: 2 component clauses (=α=β)
Logico semantic relation Relation: Hypotactic

& system system: Elaboration

Clause 4 All those found culpable should be charged forthwith.

Analysis All those found culpable (S) should be charged (P) forthwith (A).
1

Clause type Clause Simplex: 1 component clause

Logico semantic relation

& system

Clause 5 The report of the investigation should be furnished in this court

within one month.
Analysis The report of the investigation (S) should be furnished (P) in this
1

court within one month (A)

Clause type Clause Simplex: 1 component clause

44
Logico semantic relation

&system

Clause 6 This court has no option, the 1st defendant is hereby sentenced to
death by hanging in each of the counts.
Analysis This court (S) has (P) no option (C)
1

+2and 1st defendant (S) is hereby sentenced (P) to death by hanging

in each of the counts (A).
Clause type Clause complex: 2 component clauses (=1+2)
Logico semantic relation Relation: Paratactic system:

& system Extension

Text of Judgement 5:
Case Brief Criminal case by Hon. Justice H.B Yusuf held at Federal high
court, Abuja. (Burglary and homicides).
Number of clauses in Text Two
Clause 1 That Under Section 309 of the Administration of Criminal Justice
Act 2015 where a Court finds the Defendant not guilty, it shall
immediately discharge him and record an Order of discharge and
acquittal.
Analysis βthat under Section 309 of the Administration of Criminal Justice
Act 2015 (A) where a Court (S) finds (P) the Defendant not guilty
(C),
it (S) shall immediately discharge (P) him(C) and record(P2) an
=α

Order of discharge and acquittal (C2).

Clause type Clause complex: 2 component clauses (β=α)
Logico semantic relation Relation: Hypotactic

& system system: Elaboration

45
Clause 2 In this case, having not found the Defendant guilty on any of the
two counts for which he is standing trial, he is hereby discharged
and acquitted without further assurance
Analysis β that in this case having not found the Defendant guilty on any of
the two counts for which (A) he (S) is standing (P) trial (A), =αhe
(S) is hereby discharged (P) and acquitted (P2) without further
assurance (A)
Clause type Clause complex: 2 component clauses (β=α)
Logico semantic relation Relation: Hypotactic

&system system: Elaboration

Text of Judgement 6
Case Brief Criminal case by Hon. Justice Abubakar Idris Kutigi held at

Federal high court, Abuja. (Cybercrime)

Number of clauses in Text Five
clause 1 The phone used by defendant in the commission of these crimes
(Iphone 7 plus) be sold by the Prosecution and the proceeds be
forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Analysis The phone used by defendant in the commission of these crimes
1

(Iphone 7 plus) (S) be sold (P) by the Prosecution (A)

+2and the proceeds (S) be forfeited (P) to the Federal Government
of Nigeria (C).
Clause type Clause complex: 2 component clauses (1+2)
Logico semantic relation Relation: Paratactic

&system System: extension

46
Clause 2 the sum of $1200 recovered from the defendant during the
investing ation shall be paid to Barbara Rojas by the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission through the United States
Embassy as restitution.
Analysis The sum of $1200 recovered from the defendant during (A) the
1

investigation (S) shall be paid (P2) to Barbara Rojas (C) by the

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission through the United
States Embassy as restitution (A)
Clause types Clause Simplex: 1 component clause
Logico semantic relation

& system

Clause 3 The phone used by the defendant in the commission of these crimes
be sold by the prosecution and the proceeds be forfeited to the
federal government of Nigeria.

Analysis The phone used by the defendant in the commission of these

1

crimes(S) be sold (P) by the prosecution (C)

+2
and the proceeds (S) be forfeited (P) to the federal government
of Nigeria (C)
Clause type Clause complex: 2 component clauses (1+2)
Logico semantic relation Relation: paratactic

& system System: Extension

Clause 4 The Defendant BANJI OLUWATOSIN (a.k.a Carl Patrick) shall
depose to an affidavit of undertaking to be of good behavior before
this Honorable Court.
Analysis The Defendant BANJI OLUWATOSIN (a.k.a Carl Patrick) (S)
1

shall depose (P) to an affidavit of undertaking (C) to be of good

behavior before this Honorable Court (A).
Clause type Clause Simplex: 1 component clause
47
 Logico semantic relation

&system

Clause 5 Accordingly, I hereby sentence the convict to a term of One (1)

Year imprisonment or an option of fine in the sum of N400, 000
(Four Hundred Thousand Naira Only).
Analysis Accordingly (A), I (S) hereby (A2) sentence (P) the convict (C) to
1

a term of One (1) Year imprisonment (A) or an option of fine(C)

in the sum of N400,000 (Four Hundred Thousand Naira Only) (A)
Clause type Clause Simplex: 1 component clause
Logico semantic relation

&system
Clause 6 I also further make the following orders pursuant to the provision
of section 270 (12) of the ACJA 2015 as follows
Analysis I(S) also further (A) make (P) the following orders pursuant to the
provision of section 270 (12) of the ACJA 2015 as follows (C)
Clause type Clause simplex: 1 component clause
Logico semantic relation

& system

4.2. Interpretations

Data analysis in this part describes the syntactic analysis in logico semantic relation and system
used in court judgement that consist of expansion (extension, elaboration and enhancement). Also,
the analysis of clause complex (parataxis and hypotaxis) and clause simplex

4.2.1 Text of Judgement one

a. Consequently (A), the settled issue filed 13/10/2019 (S) is (P1) hereby (A) made (P 2) part
1

of the judgement of this court (C)+2and it (S) is (P1) hereby (A) entered (P2) as follows (A)

48
 1
b. The petitioner (S) shall have(P) custody of the only child of master Success Somto
Chikwado (C) +2and the Respondent (S) shall have (p) unfettered access to the child(C)
until he attained the age of maturity (A)
α
c. the Respondent on demand (S) shall have (P) custody of the only child of the marriage
Master Success Somto Chikwado (C)=β that the child (S) spend (P) school holidays
tentatively with him (C) upon at least given a week notice in writing (A)
1
d. The Respondent (S) has agreed (P) to contribute at least #20,000.00 only monthly (A) for
the up keep of the child (Master Success Somato Chikwado) (C) +2 and he (S) shall pay
(P) to the child account number 0081944957 Diamond Bank (A)

1
e. The Respondent (S) shall pay (P) school fees of the child (Master Success Somto

Chikwado within the range of his financial ability (A) +2and he (S1) shall pay (P) directly

to the school account where the petitioner considers a school whose fees (S) is (P) higher
than the Respondent budget (A)

From text Judgement 1, Civil case by Hon. Justice Osho Adebiyi held at Federal high court,
Abuja. (Dissolution of marriage & custody), which five (5) of them are clause complex. it is also
found that the text contains some type of logico semantic relation and system. those are the
paratactic extension and hypotactic elaboration. Paratactic extension is seen in clause 1, 2, 4 and
5. Hypotactic elaboration is seen in clause 3. The most dominant clause type is the clause complex
and the most dominant logico semantic relation and system is the paratactic extension. Also, based
on the analysis, there are element of sentence which contains the subject and predicator and
compliment as the main element and Adjunct as the optional element.

4. 2.2 Text of Judgement Two:

a. the plaintiff family (S) is entitled (P) to statutory right of occupancy (C) in respect of the
1

landed property situate lying being at Idi ogun Adedire Ife local government (A)
b. Ten million Naira being (P) general and special damages caused by the defendant to the
1

landed properties of the plaintiffs (C)

49
 c. Perpetual injunction (A) restraining (P) the Defendant, their servant, agents, privies
1

Associate (C1) +2or group of persons from committing further acts of trespass on the land
(C2)

d. injunction (S) restraining (P1) the defendant their agents (C)+2and claiming through them
1

from the further alienating (A)+3or dealing with the family land (C) in any manner
whatsoever prejudicial to the rights of the plaintiff’s family (A)
e. α
I (S) therefore (A) give (P) judgment to the plaintiff on claims award the sum of one
million Naira (C), xβ
as general damages in favor of the plaintiff against the defendant
pursuant to claim (A)

Based on text of Judgement 2, Civil case by Hon. Justice J.O. Ogunleye held at the State high court
Ejigbo. Osun state. (Recovery of property), which three (3) of them are clause complex and they
are found in clause 3,4 and 5 with 2 component clauses. Clause simplex is found in clause 1 and 2
with 1 component clauses. It is also seen that the clauses contain some logico semantic relation
and system. paratactic extension is found in clause 3 and 4. Hypotactic enhancement is found in
clause 5. Clause 3 is identified with the word ‘or’ and clause 4 with ‘and’ meaning the clause
extends it meaning by adding something new to it. The word ‘as’ is an example of hypotactic
enhancement and it indicate for qualifying circumstantial of condition in a clause complex. Also,
the syntactic analysis in clause 1 and 2 is a simple sentence with simple sentence element subject,
predicator compliment and adjunct. And sentence 3,4 and 5 are compound sentences joined
together with the conjunction ‘and’.

4.2.3 Text of Judgement Three:

a. All members of the Claimant, 2nd and 3rd Defendant (S) are entitled (P) to payment of
1

arrears of their Earned allowance (A).

b. The 1st defendant, his priviest (S1) are hereby restrained (P) from breaching the collective
1

agreement executed by the union with the federal government under the ages of joint action
committee (A) +2and the memorandum of terms of settlement (S) is dated (P) to 20th
September (C).

50
 c. The 1st defendant, his privies and agent (S) are hereby restrained (P) from
1

misappropriating money meant for the payment of the allowance due to members of the
claimant (A)
d. α
The 1st defendant (S) should provide (P) a workable avenue(C) for the payment of the
outstanding earned income owed members of the claimant from 1st, 2ND tranche (A) =β
that upon (A) the release (P) of same by the federal government (A).
e. i (S) make (P) order as to no cost (C).
1

From text of Judgement 3, Civil case by Hon. Justice A.A. Adewemimo held at National industrial
court of Akure judicial division. (Originating summons on earned allowance), it can be seen that
clause 1, 3 and 5 are clause simplex with one component clause known as simple sentence in
syntactic analysis sentence element and they are the most dominant clause type. Clause complex
is seen in clause 2 and 4 with two component clauses and they are compound sentences joined
with conjunction. The logico semantic relation and system found is Paratactic extension in clause
2 and hypotactic elaboration clause 4. The paratactic extension is identified in the clause 2 with

(1+2) symbol with the word “and” which mean adding new information to the initiating clause.
The hypotactic elaboration is identified in clause 4 is identified with (α=β) with the word “that”
The word is indicated for specifying in greater details of clause complex.

4.2.4 Text Judgement Four:

a. The 1st Defendant’s vehicle Exhibit G1, ABIA ABA 81 BQ and Exhibit F, the Magnun
1

Revolver Pistol with the 33 rounds of ammunitions (S) shall be forfeited (P) to the Federal
Government of Nigeria (C).

b. Exhibit G – Vehicle No. KUJ 627 LC and the Gold color M5 Gionee Phone belonging to
1

the deceased (S) shall be released (P) to the Deceased’s family (C) through the Nominal
Complainant Eimiogo Audu.(A)

c. α
the commissioner of police (S) is hereby ordered(P) to investigate the veracity of the 1st
defendant’s allegation (A) =β
that the police (S) audaciously (A) took (P) him to the zenith
Bank (C) to withdraw money from his account for their benefit while in custody (A).
51
 d. All those found culpable (S) should be charged (P) forthwith (A).
1

e. The report of the investigation (S) should be furnished (P) in this court within one month
1

(A)

f. This court (S) has (P) no option (C) +2and 1st defendant (S) is hereby sentenced (P) to
1

death by hanging in each of the counts (A).

From text of Judgement 4, Criminal case by Hon. Justice U.P Kekemeke held at Federal high court,
Abuja. (Corruption). Clause simplex is found in clause 1,2,4 and 5 which is the most dominant
clause type and in sentence structure it is known to be a simple sentence with subject, predicator
and compliment as the main element and adjunct as the optional element. Clause complex is found
in clause 3 and 6. Clause 3 is a hypotactic elaboration represented with (α=β) using the word “that”.
clause 6 is a paratactic extension resented with (1+2) with the word “and” In addition, the syntactic
analysis element is a compound sentence with two component clauses.

4.2.5 Text of Judgement Five:

a. β
that under Section 309 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 (A) where a
Court (S) finds (P) the Defendant not guilty (C), =α
it (S) shall immediately discharge (P)
him(C) and record(P2) an Order of discharge and acquittal (C2).
b. β
that in this case having not found the Defendant guilty on any of the two counts for which
(A) he (S) is standing (P) trial (A), =α
he (S) is hereby discharged (P) and acquitted (P2)
without further assurance (A)

Based on text of judgement 5, Criminal case by Hon. Justice H.B Yusuf held at Federal high court,
Abuja. (Burglary and homicides). There are two clauses with the same clause type which is clause
complex with 2 component clauses that is found in clause 1 and 2. Hypotactic elaboration is found
in the two clauses. The logico semantic relation is hypotactic and it is represented with the alpha
(α) and beta (β) symbol. alpha(α) indicate the independent clause and Beta(β) indicate the dependent
clause. The logico semantic system is elaboration and it is used through the (=) symbol. The
hypotactic elaboration is identified in the two clauses with the word “that”. The sentence structure
is a compound sentence with the syntactic elements.

52
4.2.6 Text of Judgement six:

a. The phone used by defendant in the commission of these crimes (Iphone 7 plus) (S) be
1

sold (P) by the Prosecution (A) and the proceeds (S) be forfeited (P) to the Federal
+2

Government of Nigeria (C).

b. The sum of $1200 recovered from the defendant during (A) the investigation (S) shall be
1

paid (P2) to Barbara Rojas (C) by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission through
the United States Embassy as restitution (A)
c. The phone used by the defendant in the commission of these crimes(S) be sold (P) by the
1

prosecution (C) +2and the proceeds (S) be forfeited (P) to the federal government of Nigeria
(C)
d. The Defendant BANJI OLUWATOSIN (a.k.a Carl Patrick) (S) shall depose (P) to an
1

affidavit of undertaking (C) to be of good behavior before this Honorable Court (A).
e. Accordingly (A), I (S) hereby (A2) sentence (P) the convict (C) to a term of One (1) Year
1

imprisonment (A) or an option of fine(C) in the sum of N400,000 (Four Hundred Thousand
Naira Only) (A)

f. I(S) also further (A) make (P) the following orders pursuant to the provision of section 270
(12) of the ACJA 2015 as follows (C)

From Judgement 6, Criminal case by Hon. Justice Abubakar Idris Kutigi held at Federal high
court, Abuja. (Cybercrime). The most dominant clause type is the clause simplex found in clause
2,4,5 and 6 with one component clause and in the sentence structure with the syntactic element, it
is a simple sentence. Clause complex is found in clause 1 and 3 with two component clauses and
sentence structure, it is a compound sentence joined with conjunction “and” which means the
clauses are of two eq ual status. Paratactic extension is also found in clause 1 and 3, it is identified
with the numerical 1 and 2 numbers and (+) symbol. The clause above is identified with “and”
which means the clause extends it meaning by adding something new to it.

4.3 Findings

The first finding is the number of clauses found in the selected judgments. From the Judgements
above, it is seen that there are 30 clauses found in the data. There are two types of clause: simplex

53
and complex. Furthermore, the clause complex is higher than simplex with 17 clauses. It happens
because of the genre in court judgement, so the clause complex is often used and can help the
readers to really understand the content properly. In legal language, court pronouncement and
judgement consist of more compound sentences than simple sentences which is the clause
complex. for example:

a. The petitioner (S) shall have(P) custody of the only child of master Success Somto
1

Chikwado (C) +2and the Respondent (S) shall have (p) unfettered access to the child(C)
until he attained the age of maturity (A) (Judgement 1, clause 2)
b. injunction (S) restraining (P1) the defendant their agents (C)+2and claiming through them
1

from the further alienating (A)+3or dealing with the family land (C) in any manner
whatsoever prejudicial to the rights of the plaintiff’s family (A) (Judgement 2, clause 4)

Also, from the Judgement above, it is found that there is the use of more compound predicator in
the clauses. The use of auxiliary and the main verb to gives meaning. In addition, each clause of
some of the Judgements, there are more than one predicator in each clause complex which is very
rare in normal sentence pattern. In most court session, there is the use of clauses and most of these
clauses have more than one predicator, conveying more one meaning. for instance:

a. α
The 1st defendant (S) should provide (P) a workable avenue(C) for the payment of the
outstanding earned income owed members of the claimant from 1st, 2ND tranche (A) =β
that upon (A) the release (P) of same by the federal government (A) (Judgement 3, clause
4)
b. All those found culpable (S) should be charged (P) forthwith (A) (Judgement 4,clause 4)
1

It is also found in the clauses, there are more use of optional adjunct. In court judgement session,
Judges uses more adjunct to lay more emphasis on the commanding word. This is not regularly
used in normal conversation but it is mostly used in legal court session by Judges. Example of the
optional adjunct can be seen below:

a. Accordingly (A), I (S) hereby (A2) sentence (P) the convict (C) to a term of One (1) Year
1

imprisonment (A) or an option of fine(C) in the sum of N400,000 (Four Hundred Thousand
Naira Only) (A) (Judgement 6, clause 5)

54
 b. I(S) also further (A) make (P) the following orders pursuant to the provision of section 270

(12) of the ACJA 2015 as follows (C) (Judgement 6, clause 6)

1
c. Exhibit G – Vehicle No. KUJ 627 LC and the Gold color M5 Gionee Phone belonging to
the deceased (S) shall be released (P) to the Deceased’s family (C) through the Nominal
Complainant Eimiogo Audu(A) (Judgement 4, clause2)

Another finding is the interdependency and the logico-semantics of the complexing clause. There
are two types of interdependency namely: hypotactic and paratactic. The logico semantic relations
found in this data are extension, elaboration and enhancement. The following table shows the
interdependencies and the logico-semantics found in this data.

From the cases above, it is seen that the number of paratactic is more than hypotactic with 11
clauses. while hypotactic on the other hand is 5. These conditions happen because there is much
additional information in order to make the judgement, the context and the meaning clear. As
stated in Eggins (2004) that paratactic characteristic in the clauses relate to each other in a
modifying and dependency relationship. It means that the dependent clause modifies the
independent clause. However, the paratactic shows equal positions of the clauses. Both clauses
can stand alone.

Extension is the highest number of logical semantics found in the data with 10 clauses. There are
some clauses that extend a clause by adding new information. Extension which is mostly used is
parataxis. As a result, it becomes the highest number. Extension is shown through the plus (+)
symbol. They show the initiating and continuing clauses. while the number 1,2,3 indicates the
initiating and continuing clauses. Example of Extension taken from the judgment.

a. Thse Respondent (S) has agreed (P) to contribute at least #20,000.00 only monthly (A) for
1

the up keep of the child (Master Success Somato Chikwado) (C) +2

and he (S) shall pay
(P) to the child account number 0081944957 Diamond Bank (A) (Judgement 1, clause 4)

55
 b. injunction (S) restraining (P1) the defendant their agents (C)+2and claiming through them
1

from the further alienating (A)+3or dealing with the family land (C) in any manner
whatsoever prejudicial to the rights of the plaintiff’s family (A) (Judgement 2, clause 4)

The second number is elaboration with 5 clauses. Elaboration is shown through the equal (=)
symbol. Elaboration which is used is hypotaxis. While the symbol alpha(α) and Beta(β) indicate
the independent and dependent clause. alpha(α) indicate the independent clause and Beta(β)
indicate the dependent clause. It happens because one clause elaborates the meaning of another
clause which means providing detailed information about the clause. The following are example
of elaboration taken from the judgments.

a. The commissioner of police (S) is hereby ordered(P) to investigate the veracity of the 1st
defendant’s allegation (A) =β
that the police (S) audaciously (A) took (P) him to the zenith
Bank (C) to withdraw money from his account for their benefit while in custody (A).

(Judgement 4, clause 3)

b. β
That in this case having not found the Defendant guilty on any of the two counts for which
(A) he (S) is standing (P) trial (A), =α
he (S) is hereby discharged (P) and acquitted (P2)
without further assurance (A) (Judgement 5, clause 2)

Finally, Enhancement with one clause is the last characteristics, Enhancement used in the
Judgement is hypotaxis. Enhancement is shown through (x) symbol. While the symbol alpha(α)
and Beta(β) or number 1,2 3 indicates the initiating and continuing clauses. The symbol of number1
indicates the initiating clause and number 2,3 and so on indicate the continuing clauses. The
enhancement function is to provide explanation about the circumstances. The genre of the text is
judgement; so, it tends to explain more about the process and the actor rather than the
circumstances. Furthermore, enhancement is not found in paratactic clause. Here is an example
from the judgment.

a. α I (S) therefore (A) give (P) judgment to the plaintiff on claims award the sum of one million
Naira (C),

xβ as general damages in favor of the plaintiff against the defendant pursuant to claim (A)
(Judgement 2, clause 5)

56
 CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

5.0 Introduction

This is the last chapter of the study; its aim is to provide a general summary, conclusion and
recommendation.

5.1 Summary of Findings

This study attempted a syntactic analysis of legal language, a case study of some selected Nigeria
court judgements with the aim of investigating syntactic analysis using the logico semantic
relation used in place of sentence grammar by adopting part of systemic functional Halliday’s
approach.

The study was premised on the following objectives:

• To Analyze the language of court judgement in terms of sentence structure in relation to

logico semantic relation of clause complex
• To Examine whether the patterns observe in each judgement are similar (or not) to the
normal sentence patterns;
• To Find out what factors are responsible for the variation in syntactic patterns.

A good number of related literature were reviewed especially on syntax, sentence structure, legal
language and the syntactic features, language of law and the divisions, the theoretical framework
which is systemic functional grammar and all the approaches were treated with adequate
examples. The data were gathered from documented court judgements extracting court
pronouncement in each of the judgements. A detailed syntactic analysis of clauses in each
judgement were carried out with relevant information in tabular form which contains thirty (30)
court pronouncements in a logico semantic relation and system way.

57
 The findings shows that syntactic pattern of court judgements are more of clause
complexes. legal language in kind of logico semantic relation are clause complex because of the
genre of court Judgement which helps the reader to understand the message and content properly.
In the court Judgement, it is observed that judges use more of optional adjunct which lay more
emphasis on commanding words in making judgement, which is seen through the analysis of
sentence and mostly doesn’t occur in normal conversation but mostly used in court session.

Another result of the analysis is the interdependency and the logico semantic relation.
The logico semantic and interdependence relations show the relation in the judgement, it was
known that with the use of the logico semantic relation and system, there is more additional
information in order to make the court Judgement, some clauses extends it meaning by adding
new information to provide detailed information and clear context in making judgement with the
use of extension, elaboration and enhancement.

5.2 Conclusion

Syntax is a part of linguistic that has to do with sentence structure, grammar and syntax are closely
related concept with grammar providing the structural rule syntax which provide proper sentence
structure. Systemic functional grammar is under grammar and syntax. Out of so many approaches
under grammar, systemic functional grammar theory was adopted in this study focusing on the
three meta functions of SFG which ideational meta function was adopted in this research.

In conclusion, the aim of the study to investigate the syntactic analysis of the (legal
language, a case study of Nigerian court judgements) was achieved through the adoption of

Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar approach in the ideational meta function as the
theoretical framework for viewing syntax and grammar in clauses complex and simplex through
logico semantic relation and system.

The research proceeded on the assumption that the understanding of legal language and its analysis
of the syntactic pattern is crucial to the interpretation of some court judgments and
pronouncements. This is because the analysis contains many clause complexes which makes it
easier and clearer to understand.
58
5.3. Suggestions

Therefore, it is suggested that further studies should be carried out in this area of research to
explore more clause complex and logico semantic relation approach in different types of
judgements and cases with the aim of analyzing the syntactic patterns.

59
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