Cognitive Stylistic Conceptualization of Legal Translation

Among the newly developed ideas in the relationship of translation to style is the strong link between translation and cognitive stylistics. The result of this link is the introduction of cognitive conceptualization to translation as one way of comprehending and rendering meaning of the SL into the TL. On the other hand, it can help solve some problems of legal translation based on cognitive cultural conceptualization of legal terms and expressions. This paper is an attempt to introduce new clues for sorting out a number of legal terminology in the light of latest cognitive approaches to the conceptualization of style which can be applied to legal language in the translation between the two languages, Arabic and English. This is achieved through introducing cognitive stylistic approaches to the conceptualization of the style of legal language in translation and how untrodden ways of legal meanings and implications can be traced and unearthed in the process. The paper ends up with some conclusions about suggesting way-out solutions to several problems of legal translation between the two languages concerned, to be put in use later by legal translators.

Semantic and Pragmatic Implications of Inaccurate Translations of Shari’a-Court Phrases & Sentence Extracts into English

The present paper aims to highlight the semantic and pragmatic implications of the inaccurate English translations of Gazan shari’a-court phrases and sentence extracts. The researchers analyze the translations of five shari’a-court phrases and five sentence extracts from shari’a-court documents of different shari’a courts in Gaza Strip. The descriptive analytical approach was adopted to conduct this research paper. The texts used in this paper are extracted from a thesis on the linguistic difficulties Palestinian translators face when rendering shari’a-court terms in which the researchers participated as a master student and a supervisor. When selecting the source texts, the researchers consulted an assistant professor in law to identify the legal phrases and sentential extracts which require specific familiarity with shari’a-court terms. Then, the selected texts were given to four Palestinian sworn translators who rendered the translations which were afterwards analyzed by the researchers in light of explanations of the legal meaning of the shari’a-court terms by the law specialist. The findings of the selected translations, five phrases and five sentential extracts from fifty phrases and thirty-five sentential extracts in the original thesis, show that the inaccurate translations of shari’a-court terms have semantic and pragmatic implications which are mainly reflected in semantic loss and pragmatic ambiguity which lies in lack of specific reference to intended persons. The researchers recommend integrating specific contents in legal translation courses to better familiarize student translators and trainee translators with the semantic complexity of shari’a-court terms and the practical methods which can be adopted to translate such terms into English. Attention should also be given to the legal terms which are characterized by culture-based meanings.

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

DIALOGIC STRATEGIES OF LEGAL DISCOURSE TRANSLATION

В статье рассматриваются стратегии юридического перевода в дискурсивно-диалогической перспективе. К ним относятся форенизация и доместикация, направленные на десубъективизацию содержания дискурса; стратегии контроля и вербального уклонения, использующиеся для «сохранения лица»; а также адаптация темпоральных смыслов к принимающей культуре, реализующаяся посредством их точной, тождественной и гармоничной трансляции. The article consideres the strategies of legal translation in the discursive dialogic perspective. They include foreignizing and domesticating aimed at the desubjectivization of the discourse contents; control strategy and verbal communication avoidance strategy used to save face; as well as adaptation of temporal meanings to the target culture that is achieved through their accurate, adequate and harmonic communication.

THE PECULIARITIES OF TEACHING WRITTEN TRANSLATION IN THE FIELD OF LAW

The article also considers theoretical concepts: translation texts of different branches, the substance of legal translations, the concept of “complex of exercises”, types of exercises for teaching of writing translation. The significance and role of the field of law in translation studies were also formulated. The article considered and formulated what competencies need to be developed by future translators to work in this field. After studying the theoretical aspects, the most successful and optimal complex of exercises was selected according to all the principles, which are necessary for teaching of written translation in the field of law. It consisted of three groups, but this classification was supplemented by another group of exercises, so a total of four groups were obtained. It should be emphasized that these exercises should be performed clearly in the order in which they are presented in the article, as it is necessary to follow the principle of consistency. The article presents a complex of exercises, which is designed to teach a written translation in the field of law. It is divided into four groups: preparative exercises, exercises for formation of skills, exercises for development of skills and exercises for improvement of skills and abilities. This complex of exercises is designed according to the principles of structure and consistency, exercises are arranged according to the level of difficulty, from the easiest to the most difficult. Through the use of this complex of exercises, students will acquire the basic concepts of the field of law, gain background knowledge about the legal systems of Germany and Ukraine and will be conversant in this field. In addition to knowledge, students will be able to develop the skills and abilities they will need for their future profession. This complex of exercises is aimed at the formation and development of such competencies as information within the competence approach, lexical and translation competencies. Exercises are not presented in full, only partially. All of them are described in detail and have a clear goal, examples of most exercises are shown in the article. Exercises are made in German, although in the whole complex they are also duplicated in Ukrainian. You can follow this example of exercises for development of exercises for other profession. Key words: information competence, lexical competence, complex of exercises, legal translation, written translation, principles of consistency.

Translating Obligations: Tamassuk and Fārigh-khaṭṭī in the Indo-Persian World

A necessarily widespread feature of language practice in the Persianate world was the need for translation of speech and text, with a range of lexical and semantic challenges involved in taking meaning from one language to another. This article focusses on legal translation, with its highly functional aims, by following the career of a pair of Indo-Persian legal forms known as tamassuk and fārigh-khaṭṭī, used for recording obligation and requital respectively. Tracing their reincarnations from Persian into Marathi, Hindi and Bengali, this article reveals several forms of boundary-crossing: doctrinal, jurisdictional, political and linguistic. In doing so, it explores the legal mindscapes in the early modern Indo-Persian world, spilling from the late Mughal into the colonial, and shows how multilingualism functioned within specific parts of the Persianate cosmopolis.

Comparative Conceptual Analysis in a Legal Translation Classroom: Where Do the Pitfalls Lie

It is a well-acknowledged fact in legal translation studies that when searching for terminological equivalents, translators should make use of comparative conceptual analysis (e.g. Sandrini 1996; Chromá 2014; Engberg 2015). Thus, legal translation trainees should be equipped with the necessary tools to carry out such analysis, but the question remains: are they? This paper is a follow-up to a study published in 2017 (Klabal, Knap-Dlouhá and Kubánek 2017), where modified think aloud protocols were used to explore the following research question: to what degree are university students doing a course in legal and economic translation able to apply the methods of comparative conceptual analysis to translation of terms not accounted for sufficiently in legal dictionaries or terms with no straightforward equivalents. The results showed that major issues involve non-linearity of the analysis carried out and insufficient use of the resources available. The present study involves a different group of 29 BA students of the same course two years later, who were assigned the same task. As the retrospective protocols fail to simulate real-life conditions, this study uses screen recording and keystroke logging to track the processes leading to the identification of the conceptual equivalent in a more detailed and less subject-dependent manner. The results suggest that the steps most challenging for students include identification of relevant (essential) features defining the source and target language concepts, comparison of these features and selection, or creation, of an equivalent term reflecting the results of the analysis. Students also frequently show Google-driven searching, which influences the order of the steps performed in their analyses and the sources used. To address these challenges, translation training should include a range of tailor-made exercises focusing on the critical steps of the analysis as well as on improving web searching skills.

Translating Prepositions from Russian Legal Texts Into English: An Analysis of the Corresponding Interference Zones for Teaching Purposes

Various aspects of prepositions translation have been primarily investigated in the framework of translation theory. Applied research is mostly focused on translating particular groups of prepositions against the background of plain language. Legal translation researchers have not yet comprehensively analysed peculiarities of translating Russian prepositions used in legal texts into English. The paper is an attempt to investigate the difficulties which Russian learners can encounter when translating prepositions from Russian commercial contracts into English. Methods employed include language typology comparison, continuous sampling technique, language corpus data analysis as applied to language error forecast and prevention. The material selected for analysis – Russian commercial contracts – is chosen in accordance with the principles of professionalism, globalization, specialisation as well as graduates’ employment opportunities. The author develops a classification of prepositions drawing upon their structural, grammar and semantic functions in the texts of Russian commercial contracts. The findings reveal negative interference zones that can potentially cause preposition errors. Feasibility of the forecast is confirmed by the analysis of real learners’ errors. The research concludes that modelling legal translation teaching which takes into account potential interference zones for students can contribute to shifting focus to problem zones while teaching, raising students’ awareness, and therefore acting as propedeutics of the corresponding errors.