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Accuracy issues in legal translation
Thread poster: Tim Drayton
Malik Beytek (X)
Malik Beytek (X)
Local time: 09:14
I don't touch any thing written by a lawyer or MD, cause I'm not lawyer or MD or even translator... Jan 1, 2007

Andy Watkinson wrote:

... it does take specific training to fully understand (and hence translate) it...






Right.

A lot of people in translation business seem to dislike hearing me say "I'm not really translator", but here is another context in which I feel right in saying so: I'm not translator, I'm a (former) bilingual specialist in non-translation fields and I now happen to do translation work, in my fields of specialization or related fields, or other fields in which I can conceptualize -- and I cannot conceptualize in medicine or law; not accurately enough, not quickly enough.

A piece of text in legalese in language x is NOT "a piece of text in language x"; it is " a piece of text in legalese in language x". "Legalese in language x" is really a different language than "language x".

The best translation solution is then to have somebody who has studied "legalese in language x".

Next best is to find someone who has studied "language x". Next best, of course, would have its difficulties.

I imagine that Tim is merely experiencing those next best difficulties. If he keeps at it, he'll learn "legalese in language x" and he'll overcome those difficulties. Once he's there, he won't take any instructions to translate verbatim, because he will then be able to get the point in "legalese in language x" and then make that same point in "legalese in language y".

No?



[Edited at 2007-01-01 04:43]
 
Daina Jauntirans
Daina Jauntirans  Identity Verified
Local time: 01:14
German to English
+ ...
Don't change names Jan 8, 2007

Just a quick note here on names - I don't know how many times in my life I've had my name (Daina) "corrected" by other people to "Diana." Don't assume that a name is misspelled just because you think it doesn't look quite right.
 
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Accuracy issues in legal translation







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