This is a great book. In it, Shuy describes some
of the applied linguistics consultancy work he has undertaken
in the past twenty years, mostly involving legal cases
and public institutions in the US. He sets out to show
how linguistics is a valuable tool in the analysis of bureaucratic
language, in the hopes that that through this, “the
intersection of law and linguistics may be furthered”
(x), and that more fellow linguists will become involved
in similar consultancy. Shuy gives a clear exposition not
only of what he and colleagues have done but also of how
they have negotiated working relationships. He is particularly
strong on the ethics of consultancy, and his clear exposition
of how the consultancy relationship should be set up merits
attention from people well beyond the area of language
study. Shuy's case studies and ethical points would
be good preliminary reading for students undertaking language
project work (for more on ethics, see BAAL 1994).