THE ENGLISH-IGBO EXPERIENCE OF LEGAL TERMINOLOGY

Abstract

The advent of the colonial masters, followed with the introduction of Western culture has subdued the system of justice in Nigeria. Honestly, this situation makes it almost impossible to relate meaningfully to an illiterate person who is always facing charges in the court of law. Court proceedings are wrongly interpreted to the person concerned by amateur translators in the office of the "court clerk". This paper therefore attempts to propose the Igbo language equivalents of English legal terms in order to enhance effective communication for justice and equity in the court of law. It is observed that these interpreters were misleading people due to the level of training they got, coupled with the death of legal terms in the Igbo language.