The translation of legal agreements and ­contracts from Japanese into English

Babel ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 421-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasunari Fujii
Keyword(s):  
English Translation ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Full Account ◽  
Literal Translation ◽  
Legal Translation ◽  
Translation Practice ◽  
Cultural Systems ◽  
Free Translation ◽  
General Linguistic

This article provides evidence for the applicability of free translation to legal texts, based on an examination of actual cases of Japanese-to-English translation of agreements and contracts in which problems arise from literal translation. The data analysis shows that pitfalls associated with literal translation are attributable to not only the difficulty of finding terminological equivalents that inevitably arises from the differences in the Japanese and American legal and cultural systems, but also to the importance of preserving the spirit of mutual trust and cooperation that is found in Japanese business transactions. It is also postulated that general linguistic and interpretive problems inherent in Japanese-to-English translation of nontechnical texts, including redundancy, ambiguity, propensity for nonspecific statements, and the lack of linguistic clues (e.g., indicators of number), have fundamental, but not well understood, implications for legal translation. The conclusions indicate the need for an integrated approach to legal translation practice that uses both literal and free translations, taking into full account the linguistic, cultural, and legal factors at work in the translation process.

scholarly journals On Legal English Translation from the Perspective of Legal Linguistics

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Weifeng Hu
Keyword(s):  
English Translation ◽  
Transnational Corporations ◽  
International Exchange ◽  
Legal Language ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Legal Translation ◽  
Rights And Interests ◽  
Transnational Trade

With the deepening trend of globalization and the development of economy and society, the demand for international exchange talents is increasing. Especially with the increasing number of transnational corporations, almost every company should have professional legal translation employees to guarantee their legitimacy of transnational trade and effectively prevent the infringement of related rights and interests. Therefore, to improve the quality in transnational translation business and optimize legal English translation skills from the perspective of legal language can not only offer a reference for the industry, but also provide evidence for the problems arising from the actual legal translation process. Based on the perspective of legal linguistics, this paper tries to puts forward appropriate legal English translation measures mainly by analyzing the skills of legal English translation, with a view to providing some references for relevant scholars.

Application of Compensatory Translation Approach to English Idioms

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 978
Author(s):  
Linli Chen
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Chinese Translation ◽  
Literal Translation ◽  
Cultural Connotation ◽  
National Characteristics ◽  
Free Translation ◽  
Chinese Idioms

Idioms, the gems of a language, best reflect the national characteristics embodied in a language and always have rich national flavor and cultural connotation. It is not easy to translate idioms since not all English idioms have equivalents in Chinese idioms mainly due to cultural differences. There are six translation approaches in translating English idioms into Chinese: compensatory translation, literal translation, free translation, borrowing, integrated approach, explanational translation. This paper aims to propose the compensatory translation approach, one of the important and indispensable tactics to Chinese translation of English idioms based on Eugene A. Nida’s equivalence view. It is worth discussing on compensatory translation approach to English idioms from cultural perspective so as to better understand the application of this tactic, hoping to cast some enlightenment on further research in this area.

scholarly journals A Study of the Chinese-English Translation of Culture-specific Items in Publicity Texts of Guangzhou’s Intangible Cultural Heritage

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 749-755
Author(s):  
Shaohui Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
English Translation ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Intangible Cultural Heritage ◽  
Translation Strategies ◽  
The Core ◽  
Literal Translation ◽  
Free Translation ◽  
Pedagogical Application

Intangible cultural heritage is the core of Guangzhou’s cultural “soft power”. The Chinese-English translation of intangible cultural heritage is an important way to promote Guangzhou’s culture and to arouse the awareness of protecting intangible cultural heritage in the whole society. The culture-specific items in the publicity texts of intangible cultural heritage reflect the charm and heterogeneity of Guangzhou’s culture. This paper proposes that while translating cultural-specific items of Guangzhou’s intangible cultural heritage, in order to ensure that the translation can retain the cultural characteristics of the source language and be understood and accepted by the target language readers, translators should combine the translation strategies of Domestication and Foreignization and flexibly adopt seven methods, i.e., literal translation, literal translation plus transliteration, literal translation plus explanation, transliteration plus explanation, transliteration plus category words, transliteration plus intra-text explanation and transliteration plus free translation. Suggestions are also given aiming to provide reference for the researches and practice of the translation of intangible cultural heritage in Guangzhou and other cities. It is also hoped that this study can provide some implications for pedagogical application and be helpful for those who follow closely the translation of intangible cultural heritage.

scholarly journals Translation methods of English-Indonesian subtitles in Mariana Atencio’s “TEDx talk: what makes you special?”

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iskandar Iskandar ◽  
La Sunra ◽  
Nurul Aisyah
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Translation Theory ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Connotative Meaning ◽  
Literal Translation ◽  
Free Translation ◽  
Qualitative Descriptive ◽  
Single Method ◽  
Translation Methods

This research aims at finding out methods used to translate connotative and denotative phrases in the video subtitle of Mariana Atencio’s “Tedx Talk: What Makes You Special?”. The video was translated to Indonesian by Badaruddin Saahe and has been reviewed by Santi Deviyanti Rahayu. This research method was qualitative descriptive, focusing on Newmark’s translation theory. The data of this research were taken from the transcript of the video and the provided subtitles. This study revealed twenty-eight phrases with connotative meaning, and the translation process employed both single and mixed methods. Single method types of translation employed were faithful translation, adaptation, free translation, and idiomatic translation, while mixed methods employed faithful and adaptation, faithful and semantic, faithful and communicative, adaptation and communicative, free and idiomatic, and idiomatic and adaptation. This study also revealed twelve phrases with denotative meaning, in which the translator chooses to translate them denotatively using various methods, despite the phrases conveying other meanings. This relates to the second study issue, which explains the connection between denotative meaningful sentences and Newmark (1988) translation approach. Following his observations, the researcher discovered that only one method was used: word-for-word and literal translation. To translate phrases with this denotative meaning, the translator employs two ways simultaneously: word-for-word and literal, literal and adaptation, literal & faithful, faithful & communicative, and Idiomatic & communicative. The researcher may deduce from the previous explanation that mixed techniques and denotative meaning are related in the sense that the combined methods share the same qualities, namely direct, contextual, and communicative. As stated by Fromkin (2001), this is also related to the properties of the denotation itself.

scholarly journals On the English Translation Strategy of Science Fiction from Humboldt's Linguistic Worldview —Taking the English Translation of Three-Body Problem as an Example

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 186
Author(s):  
Jiali Gao ◽  
Yan Hua
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
English Translation ◽  
Body Problem ◽  
Three Body Problem ◽  
English Version ◽  
Translation Strategies ◽  
Literal Translation ◽  
Translation Strategy ◽  
Free Translation ◽  
Three Body

In recent years, many science fictions have been published, such as The Three-body Problem, The Wandering Earth, and so on. The number of people who are interested in science fiction is increasing. Meanwhile, the translation of science fiction has become more important. The Linguistic Worldview proposed by Humboldt is of great importance to the translation of science fiction. This thesis is based on Linguistic Worldview. It analyzes The Three-body Problem (English version) and the importance of such theory to the translation of science fiction. It proposes three translation strategies: free translation, literal translation, and transcreation.

scholarly journals Application of Explanational Translation Approach to English Idioms

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1462
Author(s):  
Linli Chen
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Chinese Translation ◽  
Literal Translation ◽  
Cultural Connotation ◽  
Free Translation ◽  
Chinese Idioms

Idioms, the crystallization of language, are always rich in cultural connotation and national flavor. Translating idioms is quite a difficult task because only a few English idioms have equivalents in Chinese idioms due to linguistic, especially cultural differences. Explanational translation, literal translation, free translation, compensatory translation, borrowing, integrated approach, are six translation tactics in translating English idioms into Chinese. This paper aims to propose the explanational translation approach, one of important and indispensable tactics to Chinese translation of English idioms based on Eugene A. Nida’s view on translation and culture. In order to keep the flavor of the original English idioms as well as to cater for the Chinese readers, each tactics should be reasonably employed in the process of translating. It is worth discussing on the application of explanational translation approach to English idioms so as to better use explanational translation tactic in translation, hoping to cast some enlightenment on further research in this field.

scholarly journals Major Translation Methods Used in Legal Documents: Translation of a Marriage Contract from Arabic into English

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
AWEJ-tls for Translation & Literary Studies ◽  
Omar EL GHAZI ◽  
Chakib BNINI
Keyword(s):  
Functional Approach ◽  
Legal Documents ◽  
Literal Translation ◽  
Translational Activity ◽  
Legal Translation ◽  
Legal Texts ◽  
Marriage Contract ◽  
Free Translation ◽  
Legal Document ◽  
Translation Methods

Throughout history, the use of translation methods has constituted a source of lots of debates; some scholars advocate literal translation, others advocate free translation. In legal translation which is a special and specialized area of translational activity (Cao, 2007), and where documents are characterized by brevity, economy, and neatness to prevent fraud, additions, omissions or alterations in the text (Crystal & Davy, 1969), mistakes or mistranslations can lead to disastrous repercussions. The present study deals primarily with the methods that translators of legal texts follow and adopt when rendering a legal document. A concise account of translation theories that have been adopted and are still being applied to legal translation is offered to attempt to show the main views towards the application of such translation theories to legal translation. Major methods often used in the translation of legal documents are then presented, discussing their validity to legal translation. This presentation includes literal translation, free translation, the functional approach to translation, transliteration & transcription, loan translation, adaptation, description by definitions, lexical expansion, and descriptive substitution. The empirical part of this study is concerned with the analysis of a marriage contract translated from Arabic into English in an attempt to shed some light on the major methods adopted by the translator of this document and the reason behind using such methods.

scholarly journals Polish-English LSP Dictionaries in Translation Work: Labour-Law Terminology from the Polish Labour Code in Terminographic and Translation Practice

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 15-46
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Rzepkowska ◽  
Keyword(s):  
English Translation ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
Language System ◽  
Legal Translation ◽  
Translation Practice

The purpose of the article is to show the applicability of selected Polish-English LSP dictionaries in legal translation work. The paper analyses how well labour-law terminology, found in the Polish Labour Code, is covered in Polish-English LSP dictionaries and compares them to equivalents selected by Agnieszka Jamroży, the author of an English translation of the Polish Labour Code. Based on a collation of the English equivalents present in the reviewed resources, the author presents some conclusions as to what the studied dictionaries lack and what terminographers should focus on when compiling a labour-law dictionary that would be more useful to translators and other users. Essentially, the article presents the Polish labour-law language system and labour-law corpus, legal terms and labour law in the context of LSP dictionaries. The methodology is then outlined, followed by the findings from the review of the selected dictionaries and an example translation of the Polish Labour Code. Certain labour-law terms particularly stood out, and these have been reviewed in detail in the paper: they are documentacja pracownicza, wymiar czasu pracy, norma czasu pracy and dobowy wymiar czasu pracy. The publication ends with conclusions and findings on the applicability of Polish-English LSP dictionaries in legal translation work and implications for creating a labour-law dictionary for translation purposes based on the research.

Teaching research on college English translation in the era of big data

2021 ◽  
pp. 002072092098431
Author(s):  
Yue Liu ◽  
Hongyan Bai
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Learning Theory ◽  
English Translation ◽  
Design Theory ◽  
Colleges And Universities ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Constructivist Learning Theory ◽  
College English ◽  
Teaching Time ◽  
Better Than

With the development of the big data era and the opening of translation majors in colleges and universities, translation teaching is gradually receiving attention. However, there are still many problems in the training of translators in colleges and universities in terms of teachers, teaching time and teaching mode. In the context of the era of big data, this article uses questionnaires and data analysis, starting from the PACTE translation ability model, combined with constructivist learning theory, blended learning theory, and instructional design theory to analyze the problems of undergraduate translation ability. This article conducts a questionnaire survey on the 2018 students of XX University’s a major, and analyzes their English scores. Students’ bilingual ability is weak, and it is difficult to consider translation under the influence of context in the translation process; their strategic ability is not ideal, and they lack the ability to solve problems when they encounter specific translation problems. The English performance of the experimental class students who have undergone English translation teaching for one semester is significantly better than the control class students who have not received English translation teaching. Teachers can combine teaching theories to design English translation teaching and cultivate students’ awareness of comparative analysis in English learning. Teachers can cultivate students’ English thinking ability, promote them to master English better, and help them improve their English application ability.

Research on Machine Translation Technology in English Translation Process

2014 ◽  
Vol 687-691 ◽  
pp. 1210-1213
Author(s):  
Ke Tian
Keyword(s):  
Machine Translation ◽  
English Translation ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Translation System ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Sentence Meaning ◽  
Cultural Exchanges ◽  
Response Measures ◽  
World Economic ◽  
Translation Machine

Translation plays an important role in the world economic and cultural exchanges. Translation is divided into machine translation and human translation, which is complement each other in promoting world economic and social development process. In this paper, Collaborative Translation gets much attention, along with the growth of collaborative translation, English translation technology also towards a new milestone, the characteristics of collaborative translation process and scientific literature are briefly introduced, and collaborative translation technology English Translation applications made a brief explanation. From the perspective of the development of machine translation, comparative analysis of the characteristics of human translation machine translation strengths and weaknesses, and we make relevant response measures and selection criteria translation approach. The specific translation system is analyzed from the perspective of textual and the Collaborative Translation shortcomings, as well as interpretation of collaborative translation features, functions and its impact on the meaning and sentence meaning.

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