ABSTRACT
In this Conclusion I would like to focus on a remarkable and original gathering of commissioned papers and case studies on the theme of ‘exploration’ signalled in the title of the volume. What could we mean by exploration in the contexts of language and the law, especially in the sites characterised by diversity and tolerance as we have here? We might, firstly, align ourselves with the stance taken by researchers into discourse analysis along the lines set out by Hall, Slembrouck and Sarangi in their recent study in the discourses of social work, when they say:
Our approach is discourse analytic. This means that we wish to foreground how professional processes are constructed in everyday activity and how they depend on communicative processes. It is suggested that any claims to truth by social workers, clients or other professionals have to be acted out in professional settings for them to matter. Facts, opinions and assessments have to be worked on and worked up in talk or in writing (2006, 15).
