| Legal translation is the translation of texts within | | | | when they translate something. Translation must |
| the field of law. As law is a culture dependent | | | | be taken from original copies, and should be |
| subject field, legal translation is not a simple task. | | | | translated completely and accurately. It should |
| Only professional translators specializing in legal | | | | approximately follow the format and layout of the |
| translation should translate legal documents and | | | | source text. The translator cannot change any |
| scholarly writings. The mistranslation of a way in | | | | name of people, titles and marks of nobility, not |
| an agreement, for example, could lead to law | | | | even the spelling of that name. It should be taken |
| suits and loss of money. | | | | from original document. |
| When translating a copy within the field of law, | | | | An expert legal translator should also know that |
| the translator must maintain the subsequent in | | | | even within the legal field there are entirely |
| mind. The legal method of the source text is | | | | separate vicinity of law that entail specific |
| prepared in a way that suits that ethnicity and | | | | translation techniques: a contractual text has little |
| this is replicated in the legal language; in the same | | | | in common with a determination, an administrative |
| way, the target text is to be read by someone | | | | certificate, a judicial decision or a statute, to name |
| who is familiar with another legal system and its | | | | a few examples. The translator knows that he or |
| language. | | | | she must consult not only a monolingual legal |
| A professional in legal translation must be a | | | | dictionary, but also a dissertation regarding the |
| linguist, a legal intellectual and a bit of a willing | | | | subject matter, and that bilingual dictionaries while |
| detective so that he is able to glean the finer | | | | useful, should be used with vigilance. |
| points out of any text. And he should also be | | | | Apart from terminological lacunae, or lexical gaps, |
| capable of researching how to describe legal | | | | the translator may focus on the following aspects. |
| concepts expressed in the source language of a | | | | Textual conventions in the source language are |
| document that may not even have an equivalent | | | | often culture-dependent and may not correspond |
| in the language or legal system of the target text. | | | | to conventions in the target culture. Linguistic |
| In the very first stage, the translator must | | | | structures that are often found in the source |
| decipher the source text and reconstruct its | | | | language have no direct equivalent structures in |
| meaning in the target text. In numerous cases, | | | | the target language. The translator therefore has |
| there is some restriction for the translator to | | | | to find target language structures with the same |
| finding a functional comparable for a word or | | | | functions as those in the source language. |
| phrase or a parenthetical clarification because an | | | | When faced with international arguments |
| accurate translation is impossible. | | | | connecting different languages and legal |
| Translators of legal texts often seek advice from | | | | structures, legal adviser and their clients would be |
| law dictionaries, especially bilingual law dictionaries. | | | | well recommended to obtain the services of |
| Care should be taken, as some bilingual law | | | | translators able to successfully viaduct the divide |
| dictionaries are of poor quality and their use may | | | | of legal systems, as well as language and culture, |
| lead to mistranslation. | | | | in order to provide literate rather than literal |
| Every legal translator should maintain some rules, | | | | translations. |