The Evolution of the Genre of Canadian Acts: Sentence Structure and Complexity

This article is an introductory survey ef the language ef acts from Old English to the present. From the relatively simple decrees ef pre-Norman English Kings, we see a development to greater legal and linguistic complexity in later years as the writers include more options, choices, conditions and exceptions, thus posing a significant challenge to the plain language movement. In this analysis, emphasis is placed on the structures and complexities within clauses and sentences.