A special challenge in terminology management · 2014. 6. 17. · Terminology, domain oriented ... indictable offence, felony ... killing with the intent for murder but where a partial

International Terminology Summer School - Cologne, 15 - 19 July 2013

Legal Translation

A special challenge

in terminology management

Frieda Steurs & Hendrik J. Kockaert

http://www.ufs.ac.za/default.aspx


Legal translation

Law, language and translation

Legal Translation: a challenge

Legal translation = a special and specialized

area of translational activity

Legal terminology = a fuzzy set


Multilingual challenges

Monolingual countries

Need to compare legal documents on international level

EU legislation

Implementation in Member States

International law

Multilingual countries

Internal translation within the own legal system (authentication)

External translation for the international level


Legal impact

• Legal translation involves law: a translation very

often produces not only a linguistic result, but also a

and consequence, because of the

special nature of law and legal language

• The legal translator needs a basic understanding of

the nature of law and legal language and the impact

it has on legal translation


Classification of translation types

Two general categories of translation:

Literary vs non-literary

Pragmatic vs literary or artistic texts

Common classification:

General/literary/specialist translation

These categories involve different language uses with their own

peculiarities, but they share also common grounds

Hybrid forms do exist

The text can be classified on a spectrum

Legal translation can be seen as specialist translation/ technical

translation


LSP vs LGP

General language (LGP)

Vocabulary

Ambiguous

Specialised, professional language (LSP) Terminology, domain oriented

Non-ambiguous; the legal domain is not that clearly defined; fuzziness; conceptual problems; phraseology

Constant interaction/term creation/neologisms/borrowing


misdrijf

misdaad wanbedrijf overtreding

LGP/LSP


i-Term

Student 65

Login name: administrator

password: admin

http://www.lessius.i-term.dk/login.php


General/specific

■ misdrijf: ernstig strafbaar feit criminal offence/act crime, indictable offence, felony

■ Context

de politie denkt niet aan een misdrijf the police do not

suspect any foul play

een ernstig misdrijf a serious

een misdrijf plegen commit a criminal offence

politieke misdrijven political offences

misdrijven tegen de mens(elijk)heid crimes against

humanity

2 (België) strafbaar feit legal/penal/criminal offence


Misdaad

■ delict, crime, criminal act, offence ■ Context

een misdaad begaan/plegen commit/perpetrate a crime

de politie denkt niet aan een misdaad the police do not suspect foul

play

een golf van misdaden a crime wave

dat is geen misdaad that’s hardly a/no crime

een misdaad jegens de gemeenschap a public

de perfecte misdaad the perfect crime

de plaats van de misdaad the scene of the crime

misdaden tegen de menselijkheid crimes against humanity

zware misdaad serious crime, felony


Wanbedrijf

■ wanbedrijf (het) (België; juridisch) 1 crime

offence

■ Context

straf voor wanbedrijven

punishment of crime(s)/offences


Overtreding 1 het overtreden van een gebod breach (of the rules/…) violation,

infringement, contravention, ↑ transgression

Context : - in overtreding zijn be in breach of the law, commit an offence

- niet in overtreding zijn be within the law

- overtreding van de spelregels/de wet breaking the rules of the

game/the law

2 misstap error(sport) foul

Context : - een overtreding begaan tegenover een tegenspeler foul an

opponent

- een zware/grove overtreding a bad foul

3 (juridisch) offence, (US English) offense misdemeanour

Context: - een lichte overtreding a minor offence

- een overtreding maken/begaan commit an offence

- zich schuldig maken aan een overtreding van de Warenwet

be guilty of an offence against/of breaching the Commodities Act


Example

Arrests Court of Cassation


Trancher un/le litige

Een geschil beslechten

2009-163 :

B.13. C’est en principe au juge qui pose la question préjudicielle qu’il appartient d’apprécier si la réponse à cette question est utile à la solution du litige qu’il doit

trancher.

In beginsel komt het de verwijzende rechter toe na te gaan of het antwoord op de prejudiciële vraag nuttig is om het hem voorgelegde geschil te beslechten.

2009-094 :

(A.1) (…) ce qui est seulement en cause en l’espèce, c’est la question de savoir quel tribunal est compétent pour trancher les litiges nés à la suite d’un accident du

travail.

(…) hij beseft dat het te dezen alleen gaat om de vraag welke rechtbank bevoegd is om de geschillen die naar aanleiding van een arbeidsongeval ontstaan, te beslechten.

Een geschil oplossen

2009-182 :

(A.2.1) Elles font valoir ensuite que la question préjudicielle est irrecevable au motif que la réponse à la question n’est pas pertinente pour trancher le litige.

Vervolgens voeren zij aan dat de prejudiciële vraag onontvankelijk is omdat het antwoord op de vraag niet relevant is om het geschil op te lossen.

2006-198 :

A.1. En ordre principal, le Gouvernement flamand fait valoir que la question préjudicielle n’est pas pertinente pour trancher le litige au fond.

De Vlaamse Regering voert in hoofdorde aan dat de prejudiciële vraag niet pertinent is voor de oplossing van het bodemgeschil.

Een geschil beoordelen

2009-182 :

B.3.1. Les parties civiles devant le juge a quo contestent la pertinence de la question préjudicielle pour trancher le litige au motif que le prévenu peut être condamné

sur la base d’une autre disposition.

De burgerlijke partijen voor de verwijzende rechter betwisten de pertinentie van de prejudiciële vraag voor de beoordeling van het geschil omdat de beklaagde op

grond van een andere bepaling kan worden veroordeeld.

2009-163 :

A.4. En ce qui concerne la quatrième question préjudicielle, le Conseil des ministres fait valoir en premier lieu que la question préjudicielle n’est pas pertinente pour

trancher le litige, vu l’absence de blessés légers dans l’affaire soumise au juge a quo.

Wat de vierde prejudiciële vraag betreft, voert de Ministerraad in de eerste plaats aan dat de prejudiciële vraag niet pertinent is voor de beoordeling van het geschil

aangezien er in casu geen lichtgewonden zijn.

Over een geschil oordelen :

2009-094 :

A.2. (…) la compétence des juridictions du travail en matière d’accidents du travail a d’importantes conséquences dans plusieurs domaines, comme, entre autres, la

composition du tribunal qui doit trancher le litige, (…).

(…) de bevoegdheid van de arbeidsgerechten inzake arbeidsongevallen belangrijke consequenties heeft op verschillende vlakken, zo onder meer de samenstelling van de

rechtbank die over het geschil moet oordelen (…).

Een geschil beëindigen

2006-194 :

(A.1.2) Pourtant, les délais fixés dans cet article visent à assurer la sécurité juridique et à trancher le litige relatif à l’expropriation le plus vite possible.

Nochtans beogen de termijnen van artikel 15 van de onteigeningswet zo snel mogelijk rechtszekerheid te bewerkstelligen en het onteigeningsgeschil te beëindigen.


80%

8%

6%

3%

3%

Trancher un/le litige

een/het geschil beslechten

een/het geschil oplossen

een/het geschil beoordelen

over een/het geschil oordelen

een/het geschil beëindigen


LSP

Terminology

- Domain specific

- Monolingual study of a subdomain

- Multilingual study of a subdomain

Language contrastive

Translation purposes

Concept oriented research

Mapping of concepts for each region or country

(e.g.: legal system in French: France, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland,…)



Polysemy in natural language

One-to-one concept-term in LSP

Domain specific vs polysemy

homicide

murder manslaughter


can be committed in one of three ways:

1) killing with the intent for murder but where a partial defence applies, namely

loss of control, diminished responsibility or killing pursuant to a suicide pact.

2) conduct that was grossly negligent given the risk of death, and did kill, is

manslaughter ("gross negligence manslaughter"); and

3) conduct taking the form of an unlawful act involving a danger of some harm,

that resulted in death, is manslaughter ("unlawful and dangerous act

manslaughter").

The term " " is commonly used to describe a

manslaughter falling within (2) and (3) while (1) is referred to as "

".

There are of course other specific homicide offences, for example, ,

and causing death by dangerous or careless driving

For dangerous driving see CPS Guidance on prosecuting cases of Bad

Driving elsewhere in the Legal Guidance



Subject to three exceptions (see Voluntary Manslaughter below)

the crime of murder is committed, where a person:

- of sound mind and discretion (i.e. sane);

- unlawfully kills (i.e. not self-defence or other justified killing);

- any reasonable creature (human being);

- in being (born alive and breathing through its own lungs - Rance v Mid-Downs

Health Authority (1991) 1 All ER 801 and AG Ref No 3 of 1994 (1997)

3 All ER 936;

- under the Queen's Peace;

- with intent to kill or cause grievous bodily harm (GBH).



FR en vigueur

Dutch: Van kracht (voorschrift/prescription)

Geldig: muntstuk (coin, money)

In gebruik: regeling is nu in gebruik (in use)

In werking: verdrag (treaty)

FR légal

Dutch: Wettelijk: wettelijke bepalingen ( amendments)

Wettig: wettige aanspraken (rights)


Differences according to subject matter

Translating domestic statutes and international treaties

Private legal documents

Legal scholarly work

Case law

Another classification: the status of the original text

Enforceable law: e.g. statutes

Non-enforceable law: e.g. legal scholarly work


Primarily prescriptive

laws, regulations, codes, contracts, treaties and

conventions

Primarily descriptive

judicial decisions and legal instruments to carry on judicial

and administrative proceedings

such as actions, pleadings, briefs, appeals, requests, etc.

Purely descriptive: scholarly work such as legal opinions, law textbooks,

articles etc.

! importance of register: communication between lawyers and lawyers; what about

communication between lawyers and non-lawyers?

Most classifications are based on the aspects of the source language; what about

the target text: function or status of the translated text is important as well.

Function of the source language text


Classification

Legal language refers to the language of and related to law and

legal practice

1. Legislative texts (national and international)

2. Judicial texts produced in the judicial process by judicial officers

and other authorities

3. Legal scholarly texts and commentaries

4. Private legal texts (contracts, leases, wills, witness statements,

etc.)

Legal language does not cover language of the law alone, but

also all types of communication in a legal setting


Translation and Authentication

Translation can be normative (i.e. the production of equally authentic legal

texts in bilingual or multilingual settings, of the international legal

instruments.) Different language versions are equal in force (authentication)

The texts are not translations of the law, but the law itself

In this type of translation, the communicative purposes of SL and TL are

identical. The distinction between SL and TL even disappears

Translation can be informative (with descriptive function). Statutes, court

decisions, scholarly works etc. Here, SL is the only legally enforceable

language. TL is not; the translation is purely informative. E.g.: WTO:

English, French and Spanish are the official languages; all other translation

of texts is purely informative

Translation can be for the general legal and judicial purpose (E.g. court

translation and court interpreting) primarily translations are for information,

but can be used in court proceedings as part of documentary evidence


The nature of legal language

: prescriptive. Law guides human behavior and regulates human

relations. A set of prescriptions: imperatives, defining, and enforcing

arrangements, relationships and procedures that are to be followed in society.

: cfr. Speech act theory (Austin, Searle etc.): law relies heavily on

performative utterances (you are guilty; you are fined; … (obligation, prohibition

and permission)

: LSP (is there a legal language, or is it just a part of the language as

such?) a subset of language

Indeterminate nature of language: ideal conception of language as precise,

determinate, literal and univocal. Human behaviour is indeterminate and

uncertain, and language is also

There is a core of settled meaning, and a context of uncertainty. The language

is full of imprecise and ambiguous expressions

There is both intralingual uncertainty (within one language) and interlingual

uncertainty (when one language is translated in another one)


Characterizing legal language

Lexicon:

Complex and unique legal vocabulary found in different legal languages

Peculiarities in each language, non-correspondence with terms in another

language

Fossilized phraseologies, ritual usage of words; common words with

uncommon meanings, etc.

Syntax:

Formal and impersonal writing with huge complexity and length of the

sentences

Subclauses with conditions, qualifications and exceptions

Passive voice, multiple negations, long prepositional phrases, nominal clusters,

etc.


Pragmatics:

Performative nature of the language

Style:

Legal style results from legal traditions, thought and culture

Impersonal style, extensive use of declarative sentences pronouncing

rights and obligations

Different languages have a different style

E.g. German: logic, systematic, abstract and conceptual. In German,

abstract and general principles prevail

English: more working from case to case


Sources of difficulty in legal translation

Different legal systems and laws

Legal language is a technical language, not universal, and tied to a national

legal system. Law and legal language are system-bound. They reflect the

history, evolution and culture of a specific legal system. Legal systems are

peculiar to the society in which they have been formulated.

Romano-Germanic law (continental civil law)

Common Law

Socialist law

Hindu law

Islamic law

African Law

Far-East law

80% belong to the common law and the continental civil law.

There are also mixed systems ..

Systemic differences between the different legal families are a major source of

difficulty in translation


Register: between experts or between expert and laymen

One of the most problematic features is that it is “invisible”

The biggest obstacle is not the vocabulary or the sentences, but

the unstated conventions by which the language operates

German law: abstract, system oriented and theoretical, the

method is deductive

USA: empirical, inductive system

Cultural differences

Linguistic differences


http://www.european-council.europa.eu/home-page.aspx?lang=en

Treaty of Lisbon

The Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the

Treaty establishing the European Community was signed in the

Portuguese capital on 13 December 2007 by the representatives of the

twenty seven Member States. It entered into force on 1 December

2009, after being ratified by all the Member States

The Lisbon Treaty is the latest of the Treaties which, to date, have

amended the Treaties on the basis of which the Communities and the

European Union were founded, such as the Single European Act

(1986), the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht Treaty) (1992), the

Amsterdam Treaty (1997) and the Treaty of Nice (2001)








http://ue.eu.int/


Multilingual thesaurus converging all areas of decision making of the EU

Used by: European Parliament

Publications Office of the European Union (Publications Office)

National and regional parliaments in Europe

National government services

A large number of European organisations

Eurovoc takes in to account the latest standards on terminology management (ISO, CEN)

Eurovoc

http://europa.eu/eurovoc/sg/sga_doc/eurovoc_dif!SERVEUR/menu!prod!MENU?langue=NL


THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

Any questions? Feedback and general impressions!

This presentation is also available online at:

http://www.termnet.org/english/events/tss_2013/presentations.php

Documents

A special challenge in terminology management · 2014. 6. 17. · Terminology, domain oriented ... indictable offence, felony ... killing with the intent for murder but where a partial