scholarly journals METODA KONTRASTYWNA I KRYTERIA TEKSTUALNOŚCI W PRZEKŁADZIE TEKSTÓW PRAWNICZYCH

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 89-113
Author(s):  
Paweł BIELAWSKI
Keyword(s):  
Legal System ◽  
Comparative Law ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Source Text ◽  
Legal Translation ◽  
Legal Texts ◽  
The Status ◽  
Functional Equivalent ◽  
Similarities And Differences

This paper focuses on legal translation. First, the author defines legal texts and points to particular responsibility related with legal translation resulting from the status of these texts. Turning to the aspects of translation, the author underlines the boundness of each legal system to the country it is in force. At the same time, he points to the conceptual and terminological uniqueness resulting from this boundness. Against this backdrop, the premisses of, both, the comparative law and comparative terminology are presented. With regard to legal translation the similarities and differences existing between both comparative approaches are stated. In the final step, the author points to the importance of seven standards of textuality in legal translation. The purpose of the present paper is to emphasize the importance of the comparative approach and of the textuality for legal translation. The Author stresses here these aspects of translation which allow the  target text to become a functional equivalent to the source text.

scholarly journals THE USE OF MODAL VERBS IN ENGLISH LEGAL TEXTS AND THEIR SERBIAN EQUIVALENTS

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 73-96
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Erić-Bukarica
Keyword(s):  
Target Language ◽  
Occurrence Rate ◽  
Frequency Of Occurrence ◽  
Source Text ◽  
English Version ◽  
Modal Verbs ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
Legal Texts ◽  
Modal Verb ◽  
Similarities And Differences

The aim of this paper is to examine and describe similarities and differences in the use and distribution of modal verbs by contrasting English and Serbian legal texts. The corpus consists of an English version of The Convention on the Rights of the Child and its official Serbian translation. We started from an assumption that modal verbs are more frequent in legal texts in English than in Serbian, where we expected to find examples of lexical items with modal meanings instead. In addition, we assumed that due to its specific use in legal texts of this kind, the English modal ‘shall’ will show the highest frequency of occurrence. A total of one hundred and twenty six (126) modal verbs and a semi-modal ‘need not’ were found in the source text. The results of the analysis support the initial presumption that ‘shall’ will stand out as the most frequent of all modal verbs (60% of all occurrences). Despite the high occurrence rate of the legalistic ‘shall’ in the source text, translation solutions in the target language only rarely take the form of the modal verb. Most often deontic notions of imperative directness and necessity in Serbian legislative writings are expressed by means of the present indicative. The analysis also indicates that translation solutions for the remaining English modal verbs most often take the form of a modal verb or a modal lexeme with a corresponding meaning in Serbian.

The problem of equivalence in translating legal texts

2011 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandro Paolucci
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Law ◽  
Translation Studies ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Source Text ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Central Topic ◽  
Legal Texts ◽  
General Translation

AbstractAlthough it is a subject of continuous debate and a frequent source of controversy, the concept of equivalence remains a central topic in translation studies. The solution to any translation problem is obviously far beyond the mere linear transposition of a source text into a target language and, particularly when translating legal texts, specialists in comparative law and legal translators continuously strive to find the most equivalent term or concept in the target language. After briefly presenting equivalence issues in general translation, this article examines the problem of equivalence in legal texts. It stresses the relevance of terminological equivalence, including as a translation process that may compete with others within the same text.

scholarly journals Legal Language and The Legal Translator

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
Hanne Grøn
Keyword(s):  
Legal System ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Legal Systems ◽  
Legal Language ◽  
Legal Translation ◽  
Legal Texts ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Substantive Law ◽  
Conceptual Meaning

It is impossible to set up standards of translation performance and equivalence which will apply to any legal translation because the "languages of law" are as varied as the cases that reach the courts every day. Moreover, the translation of legal texts is often complicated by the lack of exact lexical equivalents in the TL's own legal system so that a transfer involves a high amount of "creative production". Obviously this production should be based on a profound extra-linguistic knowledge of both legal systems involved to avoid the pitfalls which the difference in conceptual meaning necessarily entails. Thus research into the TL's substantive law must be the first requirement in any legal translation context.

scholarly journals ZUR VERSTÄNDLICHKEIT VON ÜBERSETZUNGEN DEUTSCHER UND POLNISCHER GERICHTSBENENNUNGEN

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 65-84
Author(s):  
Paweł BIELAWSKI
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Law ◽  
Legal Systems ◽  
Legal Translation ◽  
Legal Literature ◽  
Legal Texts ◽  
Translation Techniques ◽  
Legal Communication

The focus of this paper is centered on the translation of German and Polish court names. Based on a thorough analysis of the translation terms used in legal literature and dictionaries, the author concludes that the court names are often being translated in a way that makes it impossible for the reader to correctly identify the institution in question, thus undermining the comprehensibility of the target texts significantly.Pointing to the differences between the court systems of Germany and Poland, the author contemplates whether the dissimilarities between two institutions from different legal systems need always to be marked in the translation. On the basis of the comparative law theory, the meaning features essential for both legal communication and legal translation are identified and presented.In the next part, the author examines how to translate the court names so that the institution at issue is instantly recognizable in the target text. As a result, three comprehensive translation techniques are proposed.The presented translation techniques shall contribute to improving the comprehensibility of legal texts, and constitute an alternative to the  descriptive translation of these institutions.

Conceptualizing cultural discrepancies in legal translation: A case-based study

Semiotica ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (216) ◽  
pp. 131-149
Author(s):  
Le Cheng ◽  
Mingyu Gong ◽  
Jian Li
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Systems Of Systems ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Legal Translation ◽  
Legal Texts ◽  
Different Cultures ◽  
Case Based

AbstractBy exploring the cultural discrepancies in Chinese legal texts and their English versions and to what extent legal and cultural discrepancies influence and constrain legal translation, the study argues that it is useful to consider cultural discrepancies within a semiotic framework. Language is a phenomenon and factor that links different cultures; the use of language is crucial to any legal system. Law, as a cultural product, is attended by cultural discrepancies when switched into other languages for the purpose of achieving equivalence. After a brief overview of cultural differences in translation, legal translation in particular, the study is set to examine the role of translation in crossing through different legal cultures and backgrounds and investigate barriers in the process of translation. Investigating cultural discrepancies in legal translation within a semiotic framework allows us to focus on certain interpretations by acknowledging that legal texts are composed with systems of systems and interacting with other cultural aspects in a wider context.

scholarly journals Translating English Legal Lexical Features into Arabic: Challenges and Possibilities

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
AWEJ for Translation & Literary Studies ◽  
Mahmoud Altarabin
Keyword(s):  
Legal System ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Connotative Meaning ◽  
Legal Translation ◽  
Legal Texts ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The One ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Contextual Meaning

The challenges of legal translation between English and Arabic are not sufficiently investigated despite the impact such challenges can have on the translation product. There is a huge volume of translation between English and Arabic for legal texts such as contracts of various types, wills, articles of association, lawsuits, to name but a few. Notwithstanding the pitfalls of translation between English and Arabic in general, translating legal texts poses certain challenges of critical implications. Such challenges can be attributed to the difference in the structure of the legal texts, types of legal texts, and, most importantly, the difference in the legal system between the Arab countries on the one hand and the English-speaking countries on the other. The present paper aims to discuss the lack of uniformity in legal translation, differences within the same legal system and the translator’s lack of familiarity with legal terms. It also aims to highlight certain challenges such as the contextual meaning and connotative meaning.

scholarly journals A DUAL PERSPECTIVE IN LEGAL TRANSLATION

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Radegundis Stolze
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Law ◽  
Translation Studies ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Levels Of Abstraction ◽  
Legal Translation ◽  
Legal Texts ◽  
Text Types ◽  
Dual Perspective ◽  
Legal Contexts ◽  
Legal Concepts

The article describes, on the basis of hermeneutics, the specific perspective from which a translator may approach legal texts, as translation is seen as a personalized activity. Different text types are rooted in a specific legal system and fulfil their function within a special field of law, and the cultural and legal background is evident in linguistic aspects on a textual level. Comparative law carries out research on the differences in legal concepts, whereas translation studies and practice use this knowledge as a basis for work. Legal terminology has various levels of abstraction and appears in texts along with general language words. Fields of orientation for the translator are presented here, such as legal contexts, genre, concepts and style. This should be combined with proficiency in writing according to the text function, terminology and standard formulae. The translator tries to make source cultural and legal aspects transparent for target readers, as translation is always a means of comprehension that furthers communication.

scholarly journals Legal translation and “traditional” comparative law – Similarities and differences

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid Simonnæs
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Law ◽  
Legal Text ◽  
Legal Translation ◽  
Traditional Sense ◽  
Similarities And Differences

The aim of this paper is to describe some similarities and differences encountered when comparing legal translation and comparative law as separate yet interrelated disciplines. To this end, their respective objectives and methods are broadly outlined. This is followed by a case study on translations of a specific legal text into English and German which have been produced by candidates sitting the Norwegian National Translator Accreditation Exam. In this paper, I intend to show that comparative law “in the traditional sense” (Friedman, 1990, p. 49) is much concerned with issues of translation and show that there are not only similarities but also differences.

scholarly journals Conceptual Adequacy in Legal Translation

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1-2 (17)) ◽  
pp. 155-164
Author(s):  
Nare Chobanyan
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Legal Systems ◽  
Common Assumption ◽  
Legal Translation ◽  
Legal Document ◽  
The Common

The aim of the present article is to provide an overview of the main difficulties encountered by legal translators, and work out some practical solutions so that the translator could provide an adequate translation in compliance with the norms of the target legal system. Legal translations raise very complex theoretical and practical problems and, therefore, an interdisciplinary comparative approach to the two legal systems and languages should be manifested by specialized translators. This study demonstrates that despite the common assumption that legal translations are literal, they may be translated differently depending on the context and aim of its translation. When translating a legal document, one is thus faced with the challenge of providing a translation that makes a legal as well as linguistic sense. Consequently, a translator can provide an accurate translation only if he/she has an understanding of the SL and the TL legal systems.

scholarly journals Conceptual Adequacy in Legal Translation

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1-2 (18)) ◽  
pp. 85-94
Author(s):  
Nare Chobanyan
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Legal Systems ◽  
Common Assumption ◽  
Legal Translation ◽  
Legal Document ◽  
The Common

The aim of the present article is to provide an overview of the main difficulties encountered by legal translators, and work out some practical solutions so that the translator could provide an adequate translation in compliance with the norms of the target legal system. Legal translations raise very complex theoretical and practical problems and, therefore, an interdisciplinary comparative approach to the two legal systems and languages should be manifested by specialized translators. This study demonstrates that despite the common assumption that legal translations are literal, they may be translated differently depending on the context and aim of its translation. When translating a legal document, one is thus faced with the challenge of providing a translation that makes a legal as well as linguistic sense. Consequently, a translator can provide an accurate translation only if he/she has an understanding of the SL and the TL legal systems.

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