Legal translation and terminology

1. Legal translationandterminology

2. Assignment • THEFT ACT 1968 • 1968 CHAPTER 60 • 8. – (1) A person is guilty of robbery if he steals, and immediately before or at the time of doing so, and in order to do so, he uses force on any person or puts or seeks to put any person in fear of being then and there subjected to force. • (2) A person guilty of robbery, or of an assault with intent to rob, shall on conviction on indictment be liable to imprisonment for life.

3. Assignment • CONTRACTS (RIGHTS OF THIRD PARTIES) ACT 1999 • 1999 CHAPTER 31 • Right of third party to enforce contractual term • (4) This section does not confer a right on a third party to enforce a term of a contract otherwise than subject to and in accordance with any other relevant terms of the contract. • (5) For the purpose of exercising his right to enforce a term of the contract, there shall be available to the third party any remedy that would have been available to him in an action for breach of contract if he had been a party to the contract (and the rules relating to damages, injunctions, specific performance and other relief shall apply accordingly).

4. Reading a statute • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx6Bk9OTnbI

5. Preview • Terminology – definitions • Terminologicalrequirements • Legal terminology • English legalterms • Legal translation • Sourcelanguage/law – Target language/law • Equivalence (skopos) • Typesoflegaltexts: prescriptive, prescriptive/descriptive, descriptive • Consistency • Modality: speechacts

6. Terminology • 1) the set ofpracticesandmethodsused for thecollection, descriptionandpresentationofterms • 2) a theoryrequired for explainingtherelationshipbetweenconceptsandterms • 3) a vocabularyofaspecialsubject-field

7. Terminology • Terminology- the study of terms and their use. • Terms- words that in specific contexts are given specific meanings—these may deviate from the meanings the same words have in other contexts and in everyday language. • Terminology is a discipline that studies, among other things, the development of such terms and their interrelationships within a specialized domain. • Terminology differs from lexicography, as it involves the study of concepts, conceptual systems and their labels (terms), whereas lexicography studies words and their meanings.

8. Terminology • Terminology is a discipline that systematically studies the "labelling or designating of concepts" particular to one or more subject fields or domains of human activity. • It does this through the research and analysis of terms in context for the purpose of documenting and promoting consistent usage. • Terminology can be limited to one or more languages (for example, "multilingual terminology" and "bilingual terminology"), or may have an interdisciplinaryfocus on the use of terms in different fields.

9. Terminology • Consistsofthefollowingaspects: • analyzing the concepts and concept structures used in a field or domain of activity • identifying the terms assigned to the concepts • in the case of bilingual or multilingual terminology, establishing correspondences between terms in the various languages • compiling the terminology on paper or in databases • managing terminology databases • creating new terms, as required.

10. International Organization for Standardization (ISO) • Termsshouldbe : • Accurate • Concise • Easy to spellandpronounce • Allowtheformationofderivatives • Linguistically correct • Monosemous (having 1 meaning) ,mononymous (consisting of one word), and a member of a term system

11. Legal terminology • A) “pure” lawterminology (estoppel) • B) lawterminologyfoundineverydayspeech (title ‘right’) • C) everyday words assigned a special meaning in a given legal context (e.g. Frigaliment Importing Co., Ltd. v. BNS International Sales Corp., 190 F. Supp. 116 (S.D.N.Y.1960), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GANTX_Irim4 • D) terms from other disciplines

12. Frigaliment Importing Co., Ltd. v. BNS International Sales Corp., 190 F. Supp. 116 • FACTS:Defendant state sales corporation had two contracts with plaintiff foreign corporation for the sale of "chicken". After plaintiff received one shipment of stewing chicken and another was stopped, plaintiff brought a breach of warranty action, alleging that the goods sold should have corresponded to the description because the chicken was not suitable for broiling and frying. Plaintiff says 'chicken' means a young chicken, suitable for broiling and frying. • ISSUE:Does chicken mean only "young chicken" under the contract? • ANSWER:No. • Defendant's subjective intent that it could comply with the contracts by delivering stewing chicken coincided with objective meaning of "chicken," which had at least some usage in the trade; and plaintiff did not sustain its burden that "chicken" was used in the narrower rather than in the broader sense.

13. Everydaywordsassigned a specialmeaninginagiven legal context: example • WelfareofPigsAct 1998 – definitionof a pig for thepurposesofthatlaw: “pigmeansananimaloftheporcinespeciesofany age, kept for breeding or fattening” • If a pigfails to fulfileitherofthetwoqualifyingconditions, itsownerstaysoutsidethescopeofthatlaw

14. English legal terms • Remembertherule: Legal terms must be: Monosemous (having 1 meaning) ,mononymous (consistingof one word), and a memberof a term system • How about English legalterms?

15. English legalterms • Multi-word expressionsandphrases • Polysemy • Synonymy

16. Polysemy • When p. occurs, interpretersofthetextshouldbeable to assignto a termthemeaningappropriate to thecontext • Often – easy to distinguishbetweendifferentmeanings; sometimes – impossibletotellwhat is thecorrectinterpretationofthetext: ambiguity

17. Synonymy • Opposite to polysemy: two or severalterms express the same concept • Synonymy – a common feature of legal terms • In legal languages with several layers of language, such as English, this is especially frequent • Legal English often expresses the same concept by an Anglo-Saxon term, a French term, and a Latin term

18. Scientifictermsintroducedintolaw • Termsfromothersciencesintroducedintostatutes • The materials may introduce a specific meaning, broader or narrower than the scientific one • Medical terms e.g. alchoholic or drug addict may be understood in law differently • The scientific term becoming a legal term may acquire a different meaning

19. Problems • Some effortsdirectedtowardsthemodernizationof legal termsmaynotlead to anincreaseintheirunderstandability • Legal vocabulary – rarelyusedandunderstoodinanisolatedform • Attempts to increaseunderstandabilityshouldfocus on thestructureof legal texts • Theimpactofmodernizationof legal vocabularyshouldnotbeoverestimated

20. The future? • Future legal language – closer to ordinarylanguage • More guidelineswith reference to thelinguisticaspectsofcreationandapplicationoflaw

21. Legal Translation

22. Preview • Legal translatorstoday • Legal systems – legalconcepts • Legal translation: definition • Legal translation: equivalenceorapproximation? • Legal andinterlingual transfer • Typesoflegaltexts • Skopostheory • Status oflegaltranslations: authentic, non-authentic • Target receiversoflegaltranslation: direct, indirect • Consistencyrequirements • Draftingrules • Modality

23. Legal translators • Legal translators – inhighdemandtodaydue to globalization, regionalismandincreasedtranslation at national level

24. Highdemand for legal translators • Globalization – increasedmobilityofpeople, goods, servicesand capital • Internationallawandinternationalorganizations • Internationaltradelaw • Internationaldisputeresolution

25. Highdemand for legal translators • Regionalism – developmentofregionalmarketsandharmonizationof national laws • EU law • National level - translationinbilingualandmultilingualstates • Right to use one’s langagebeforethecourts

26. Legal systemsandconcepts • Law – a socialphenomenon • Legal rulesdifferindifferentlegalorders • Legal conceptsalsodiffer

27. Legal concepts • Wheretheconceptsoftwo legal systems differ, thesemanticdomainsof legal terms do notcorrespondwith one another: • Degreesofequivalence: no equivalence; partialequivalence; fullequivalence • Historicalinteractionbetweensocieties: • legalconceptsofSwedenandFinland _ very close, sinceFinlandformedpartoftheKingdomofSweden for over 6 centuries; • Englandandthe US: English lawwas applied intheformercolonies

28. Specializedtranslation • Transfer ofspecialistknowledgefrom a sourcetextintoatarget textby a translator who ideallyhas “theknowledge, thecompetenceandtherecognized status ofanexpert”

29. Legal translation • More thanthe “transfer ofspecialistknowledge” • Most legal textsproducelegaleffects • Thesuccessof legal translations – measuredbytheirinterpretationandapplicationinpractice, esp. bythecourts • A translation – successfulonlyif it accuratelyconveysthespecialistknowledgeinthesourcetextandproducestheintended legal effectsinpractice

30. Legal translation • Unliketextsof natural sciences, legal texts are notbased on a universalsystemofknowledge but derivetheirmeaningfrom a particular national legal system – thesourcelegalsystem • Theproductof a differenthistory, culturalandlegaltradition, every legal system hasits own sourcesoflaw, classification, institutionsandconceptual system andthusitsownlanguageandknowledgestructure • Due to incongruityof legal systems, legal translation is oftensaid to be “approximation”

31. Legal translationandcomparativelaw • Legal translationconsistsofbothlegalandinterlingual transfer • Translator – concernednotonlywithinterlingual transfer from a sourcelanguageintoa target language but alsowith legal transfer between legal systems • The target legal system – thesystem to whichthe target receiversbelongand is determinedbythelanguageofthe target text

32. The role ofcomparativelaw • Thesuccessof a legal translationdepends on thedegreeofsimilarityofthesourceand target legal systems, and • On theaffinityofthesourceand target languages

33. Typesof legal texts

34. Legal translation as communication • Factorsthathaveanimpact on translationstrategy: • Typeoftext • Communicativefunction or purpose (skopos) • Legal factors: source legal system, legalreceiversand target legal systems, how many legal systems are involved, draftingtechniques, rulesofinterpretation

35. Skopostheory • Translation as action • SkoposTheory does not carry any inherent orientation towards free or faithful translation • its main focus and priority - to fulfill the intended purpose of a source text • SkoposTheory suggests that translations should focus on the target culture and language, their effects on the reader, and the original author’s purpose as decisive factors, rather than the effects and purposes of the source language.

36. Skopostheory • Treating cultures and languages as systems and lower level items as elements, when one element is transferred from one system to another, its value will change because it is now related to the elements belonging to the new system. • This means that modifications when transferring from source text to target text are appropriate in certain contexts so long the transferred element possesses the same amount of conventionality in the target culture as the original did in the source culture

37. Status of legal translations • Thecommunicativepurpose – determinedbyits status, i.e. whether it is authentic or non-authentic • Authenticatedtranslations – legallybinding • (e.g. EU legislation, UN conventions) • Non-authentictranslations – for informationpurposes

38. Target receiversin legal translation • Indirectreceivers – all personsaffectedbytheparticular instrument, includingthe general public • Directreceivers – specialistsempowered to interpret andapplytheinsturment: publicofficersingovernmentandadministrativeagencies, thejudiciary

39. Thegoalof legal translation • To produce a target textwhichconveysthecontentofthesourcetext as accuratelyaspossibleandleads to the same legal effects (legal equivalence) • Thesuccessofauthenticatedtranslations – measuredbytheirinterpretationandapplicationinpractice • Thegoalofmultilingual legal communication – to achieveequalitybeforethelawin all languageversions; to produce a target textthatwillbeinterpretedand applied bythecourtsinthe same way (uniforminterpretationandapplicationof all texts)

40. Legal translator • Must beable “to understandnotonlywhatthewordsmeanandwhat a sentence means, but alsowhat legal effect it is supposed to have” andpossessthedraftingskills “to achievethat legal effectintheotherlanguage” • Must produce a targettextthatislegallyreliableandofhighlanguagequality • Considerablelanguageandlegalcompetence

41. Consistencyrequirements • Useofofficialtitles • Citationsfrom prior translations • Consistencyofterminology • Useofofficialtranslationequivalents

42. Standard forms • Clausesandentireprovisionsexpressingrepetitiveactions – standardized for use intranslationsandpublishedindraftingmanuals

43. Commercialcontracts: commonclauses • Namesandaddressesoftheparties • Rights, obligationsandliabilitiesoftheparties • Forcemajeureclause • Termination • Disputeresolution • Warrantyandexclusion • Entireagreementclause • Governinglaw • Signature, date andexecution

44. Commercialcontracts • Thesource legal system is thelawgoverningthecontractregardlessofthelanguageofthecontract; manycontracts – draftedinEnglish but governedby a differentlaw • Target receivers – contractingpartiesidentifiedinthe first clauseandultimatelythecourtsspecifiedinthe forum clauseinthepart on disputeresolution

45. Commercialcontracts • Civil lawlawyersshouldnot use model formsofcommomlawcontractsbecausetheycontaintechnicalcommonlawtermswhichappear to beeasilytranslatable but theliteraltranslationsoftenmeansthverydifferent to civil lawlawyers • Internationalcommercialcontractsshouldbedraftedinneutraltermsthat are easilytranslatableandwillbeunderstoodbybothpartiesandthecompetentcourts

46. Drafting legal rulesin legislative texts • Legal rulesspecifythesubjectmatterandscopeofapplication, set forthdefinitionsandprescribetherights, obligationsandliabilities • Translationcompetencepresupposesthattranslators are able to understand legal rulesinthesourcetextand “draft” themcorrectlyinthe target language. Theyshouldnotbetranslatedliterallybecausedraftingtechniquesdifferfromjurisdiction to jurisdiction

47. Mainelementsof legal rules • Thefact-situationexpressingtheconditionsthat must befulfilledinorder for therule to operate • Thestatementoflawwhichprescribesthe legal action to beperformedwhentherulebecomes operative • Translators – generallypermitted to selectthesyntaxand word orderthatexpresses a legalrule most clearlyinthetargetlanguage, providedthecontentremainsunchanged

48. Usinglanguage to achievethedesired legal effectsinlegalrules • Thestatementoflawcontainsthe normative contentof legal rulesexpressingthelegalactionprescribing how theaddressee: • Shallact (commands), • Refrainfromacting (prohibitions) • Mayact (permissions) or • Isauthorized to act (authorizations)

49. Modality: The legal ‘shall’ • Anypersonbidding at theauctionshallstandsurety for his own debtuntilfullpayment is made for purchasedmerchandise • Shall – thebindingcharacter • Institutesthe legal speechactandintroducesthebindingforceoftheutterance, i.e. it establishesitsenforceability

50. Formulating legal commands • Legal commands express obligations • Shall – in legal Englishused to express the legal imperative; it imposesobligations