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Pitfalls in Legal Translation
Posted by genta on Wednesday, July 23 @ 07:27:03 EDT (121 reads)
Topic Legal Translation
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The process of
translating a legal text into a foreign language is littered with a
series of different obstacles which may be divided by type.
One of the following may exist in the two legal systems “featured” in the translation:
- the same institution, governed in the same way. This case is extremely rare, if not non-existent;
- the same institution, governed differently (albeit only slightly differently);
- an institution that exists in one legal system but no longer exists in the other;
- an institution that exists in one legal system but does not exist in the other.
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Two Legal Systems and the Term Homicide
Posted by genta on Monday, June 16 @ 09:38:17 EDT (172 reads)
Topic Legal Translation
| How
can homicide vary from country to country?
Each
legal system has its own vocabulary. It is the translator’s
job to search for terms that often do not fully correspond
to the meaning of the word in the source language,
or which may not even exist in the target language.
Nevertheless, using the appropriate word does not
only depend on a good dictionary. It also depends
on the translator’s technical knowledge.
Hence,
a legal background contributes significantly to the
translator’s and interpreter’s professional
success, as such knowledge will be crucial for avoiding
erroneous translations such as homicídio-suicídio
and homicídio involuntário (meant
to correspond to the English terms “homicide-suicide”
and “involuntary manslaughter,” respectively),
which have no equivalents in the Brazilian system, despite
their appearing in renown Brazilian bilingual dictionaries.
Expressions such as these only confuse readers and make
it difficult to understand the text, consequently preventing
a complete understanding of the target legal system.
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Options to Choose in Agreement Composition
Posted by Genta on Friday, October 05 @ 01:23:10 EDT (239 reads)
Topic Legal Translation
| Whereas it is not always a piece of cake to choose the right option for the interpretation or/and translation of terms, clauses and definitions in legal practice, it is my firm belief that the below analysis of model agreement composition will be of great use and importance in terms of reference and advice. In the day-to-day practice legal practitioners are normally mixed with the dilemma of the variety of options, at first sight, suitable for translation. Therefore the question of “Which is the standard and who actually sets it?” is more than justified.
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Translating Law Texts is Translating Culture
Posted by Genta on Friday, October 05 @ 01:17:06 EDT (235 reads)
Topic Legal Translation
| Civil, Common or Customary: Which law do you follow?
A good translator of legal texts must not only master legal jargon, he or she will also be required to know the history of continental Europe and of England. The common law and civil law legal systems are the two main systems of the western world. No literal interpretation of these terms would be comprehensive, as it is impossible to embrace all of the associated meanings, concepts and cultural heritage in a mere two words. Accordingly, these terms are known simply as the common law and the civil law legal systems. So which of these systems is current in Brazil, and why?
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Incongruity of Company Law Terms:
Posted by Genta on Friday, October 05 @ 01:13:53 EDT (279 reads)
Topic Legal Translation
| Categorization of Polish Business Entities
and their English Equivalents
Legal translation is regarded by some researchers as one of the most challenging endeavours, "combining the inventiveness of literary translation with the terminological precision of technical translation" (Harvey 2002). It is mainly due to the specificity of legal language and, in particular, the system-bound nature of legal terminology and differences between the common law and civil law systems. A good illustration of problems connected with terminological incongruity may be found in company law and classifications of business entities. Since types of entities and requirements they have to meet are defined in national legislation, the concepts are bound to differ. It is also worth noting that company law has been recently subject to a number of changes, the most important ones being the introduction of a limited liability partnership in England, as well as a limited liability company, limited liability partnership/limited liability limited partnership in the US, spółka partnerska and spółka komandytowo-akcyjna in Poland. In this paper I will analyze the classification of Polish business entities and their Polish equivalents.
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The Problem of Terminological Equivalence in International Maritime Law
Posted by ermali on Monday, September 24 @ 02:18:20 EDT (54 reads)
Topic Legal Translation
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La traduction est nécessairement une lutte. Le bon traducteur est celui qui cherche, qui se pose des questions, qui, loin de se contenter de ce qu'il a trouvé d'abord, commence par s'en méfier; il est comme le médecin scrupuleux qui, son diagnostic a été à peine posé, cherche les indices qui pourraient le conduire à le remplacer par un autre mieux fondé. En matière de traduction, on ne pourrait dire que la première idée n'est jamais la meilleure.
J.C. Gémar, La traduction juridique et son enseignement, 1979
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The Law of Business Organizations under the New Brazilian Civil Code
Posted by ermali on Monday, September 24 @ 02:14:54 EDT (207 reads)
Topic Legal Translation
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There is this great little law, Lei Complementar 95, of February 26, 1998, about how a proper Brazilian law should be drafted. Required reading for every professional interested in legal translation, I would say.
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