Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
"all costs rendered necessary by defects of material workmanship design plan or
English answer:
all costs rendered necessary by defects of material, workmanship, design, plan, or specification
Added to glossary by
Yasutomo Kanazawa
Sep 1, 2009 14:48
14 yrs ago
English term
"all costs rendered necessary by defects of material workmanship design plan or
English
Other
Insurance
Insurance
Am I missing something, or is this phrase lacking proper punctuation? As part of an All Risk Construction Policy (CAR) I bumped into this beauty: "all costs rendered necessary by defects of material workmanship design plan or specification". I think it should read "defects of material, workmanship, design, plan or specification" but need some reassurance that I am actually interpreting it correctly.
Change log
Sep 15, 2009 04:26: Yasutomo Kanazawa Created KOG entry
Responses
+5
18 mins
Selected
all costs rendered necessary by defects of material, workmanship, design, plan, or specification
You are correct. There are commas missing after material, workmanship, and design like you pointed out. These commas serve to make clear that every term from material to specification is an independent term, where even one of those every terms mentioned apply to "all costs rendered necessary".
Note from asker:
Thanks Yasutomo. I thought so but, as I said before, I needed the reassurance. |
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
+1
53 mins
it's old-fashioned legalese
Traditionally, legal documents in English have been written without punctuation other than full stops at the end of sentences. I think you have an example of this traditional style here - it isn't "wrong", but it is old-fashioned.
"As noted above, legal English differs from standard English in a number of ways. The most important of these differences are as follows:
.....
Lack of punctuation. One of the most unusual aspects of old-fashioned legal drafting – particularly in conveyances and deeds – is the almost complete lack of punctuation. This arose from a widespread belief among lawyers and judges that punctuation was unimportant and potentially confusing, and that the meaning of legal documents should be gathered solely from the words used and the context in which they were used. In modern legal drafting, punctuation is (or should be) used for the same reason as it is used in ordinary writing – to give clarification about meaning."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_English
Punctuation
Punctuation was traditionally omitted in legal documents. Many trust drafters still use no punctuation. If it is used, a sense of guilt or unease or tradition causes drafters (like children) to use it sparingly and in a manner quite distinct from ordinary English composition.
The traditional practice rests on a precedent both ancient and authoritative. The Bible itself, in the original Hebrew, lacks punctuation and even paragraph breaks are rare; though the absence of punctuation adds little ease to its reading or interpretation.
http://www.kessler.co.uk/dtwt/Chap.02Style.html
"As noted above, legal English differs from standard English in a number of ways. The most important of these differences are as follows:
.....
Lack of punctuation. One of the most unusual aspects of old-fashioned legal drafting – particularly in conveyances and deeds – is the almost complete lack of punctuation. This arose from a widespread belief among lawyers and judges that punctuation was unimportant and potentially confusing, and that the meaning of legal documents should be gathered solely from the words used and the context in which they were used. In modern legal drafting, punctuation is (or should be) used for the same reason as it is used in ordinary writing – to give clarification about meaning."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_English
Punctuation
Punctuation was traditionally omitted in legal documents. Many trust drafters still use no punctuation. If it is used, a sense of guilt or unease or tradition causes drafters (like children) to use it sparingly and in a manner quite distinct from ordinary English composition.
The traditional practice rests on a precedent both ancient and authoritative. The Bible itself, in the original Hebrew, lacks punctuation and even paragraph breaks are rare; though the absence of punctuation adds little ease to its reading or interpretation.
http://www.kessler.co.uk/dtwt/Chap.02Style.html
Note from asker:
Thanks Armorel. It's good to know how British Lawyers draft their documents. I guess we Americans are sticklers for proper punctuation! |
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