The discourse of court as a cultural phenomenon: National cultural features in the speech of judges (case studies of court sessions in Russia, England, and Australia).

The present paper explores courtroom discourse as a cultural phenomenon. It is aimed at revealing differences in discursive behaviour of Russian, English and Australian judges, and accounting for them in terms of the historical development of the legal systems, social factors, as well as specifi cs of national mentalities. The analysis consider three aspects of judges’ behaviour: the degree of verbal activity, evaluation and emotionality, and politeness.