Legal English Vocabulary and Its Translation

WANG Kuang zheng

【Abstract】There are differences between legal English and general English. Legal English relates to the legal profession. Law needs to maintain the impression of seriousness， standardization， accuracy and objectiveness， and as a result， legal English also has these characteristics. Compared to general everyday English， the application of legal English vocabulary requires consideration of these characteristics. In the translation of legal content， attention is also needed to be paid to the characteristics of forensic linguistics. Standardized legal terms are used in the translation of legal regulations and other content to keep the characteristics of faithfulness， accuracy， smoothness and consistency. In this paper， legal English vocabulary is discussed based on its characteristics， as well as the method of translation of legal content. For practical translation of legal English， translation methods include literal translation， free translation and addition and omission. These methods are briefly discussed in this paper.

【Key words】legal English； legal terms； general English； vocabulary characteristics； translation

Introduction

With the trend of economic globalization， Chinas connections with other countries become increasingly close. Various policies are made effective worldwide， and law is no exception. With the trend of globalization， countries need to respect legal regulations of each other and translation of our legal content into the English is a necessity. Legal English has its own unique vocabulary and its unique meanings. Law is a science with strong preciseness. Unlike literature， no trace of emotion is allowed in law. To translate law into English， its scientific characteristics must be considered. Legal English vocabulary characteristics need attention. Set phrases Legal terms， Jargon，Archaic words， borrowed words， synonyms / near-synonyms vocabulary are also in need of subtle handling. To express Legal terms， vocabulary， sentence or text in English， translators need to pay attention to English writing. The qualification requirements are high for translators as they need to have knowledge of jurisprudence， English linguistics and translation. So legal translation is not an easy thing， translators firstly need to understand specialized legal vocabulary to be translated， and secondly need to carefully handle certain legal terms in the process of translation. In this paper， legal English vocabulary is discussed based on its characteristics， as well as the method of translation of legal content.

1. Legal English Lexical Characteristics

Legal English refers to an English language that has the professional legal characteristics and is used for the expression of legal concepts， litigation or non-litigation legal， legislative， judicial and law-related activities. There are differences between legal English and general English. Legal English involves the subjects of law as well as linguistics， and has its own unique characteristics.

1.1 Unique terminology

Legal language has professional and scientific characteristics， in legal discipline， there are a lot of terms. The term primarily refers to an expression of a proprietary language， which expresses a particular irreplaceable professional concept. Words used in legal discourse are mainly two kinds： legal terms and general vocabulary common to the whole people. The aforementioned law is a very serious discipline. Some distinct legal language contains some specific vocabularies. They are a number of specialized terminology and vocabulary， while different terminology and vocabulary has its specific range， and cannot be replaced and further interpreted according to general English grammar. Such as the plaintiff， defendant， bigamy， demurrer， affray， felony， tort. Meanwhile， there are also expressions such as guarantor pending trial， live at home under surveillance， arrest， detention， other terms， which have their professional meanings that are rarely to see in the general English.

1.2 Ordinary vocabulary of specific professional meanings

There are some simple English words in legal English known to everyone， but having different meanings from those in everyday English. This is another difference between legal and general English. Legal English contains a lot of common words with specific professional meanings， which characterizes legal English. For example， the word ‘a(chǎn)ction referring to behavior in everyday English in general， specifically refers to ‘a(chǎn)ction in legal proceedings. The lack of knowledge of ordinary vocabulary with professional meaning will lead to the deviation of understanding of law. In Legal English， there are more simple words with professional meaning， such as ‘a(chǎn)void in everyday English meaning is ‘to let not happen， and in the law it refers specifically to ‘cancellation ； ‘party in everyday English refers to the group and social gatherings， but in law it refers to ‘people involved； ‘condemn with ordinary meaning ‘to show disagreement， refers specifically to ‘sentencing， conviction in law； ‘hear with ordinary meaning ‘to sense the sound through ears， refers to ‘state ones case. Common words are common in legal English. Having knowledge of their specific meaning in law contributes to a better understanding of law in English.

1.3 Old English

The general definition of modern English and Old English is that： Old English is the language used in Britain before the Norman Conquest around 1100 AD； Middle English refers to English used from the year 1100 AD to 1500 AD； modern English refers English used from 1500 to date. Compared to Modern English， Old English has authority and sanctity that Modern English doesnt have. Legal English differs from general English in that it inherits a lot of Old English in order to maintain its authority， preciseness and sanctity. In Legal English there are aforesaid， hereinafter， hereby， hereinafter， hereunder， herein ， thereof and other Old English vocabulary.

1.4 Borrowed words

There are many English language vocabulary borrowed from other countries. These words are called borrowed words. English language has a universal characteristic. In the formation of English language， a large number of foreign languages are taken in， among which Latin and French take the majority. Legal English is a class of English so it is also characterized by borrowed words. For example， in legal English there is a lot of Latin vocabulary， such as alias， alibi， bona fide， et al， etc. There are a lot of French words， such as bill， fine， plea， suit， decree， advocate， appeal， verdict， complaint， jury， petition， proces-verbal， punishment and other words.

1.5 Existing legal terms for ambiguity

Some expressions in law are ambiguous in attitude. When coming across legal provisions or expressions that are not specific enough， the use of ambiguous term will be required. Ambiguous term are used to increase the rigor and clarity of the law in situations where the nature， scope， extent， or quantity cannot be clearly determined. The law must be clear， but the application of ambiguous terms is not in contrast with the clarity of it， on the contrary， it increases the flexibility as well as the implicity of the language， which enables the administration to be more accurate in legislation. Ambiguity in legal English is a supplement to the accuracy of the language expression. Thus， accuracy and ambiguity have equally important roles in legal English.

1.6 Adjectives， pronouns and adverbs use

In general English adjectives， pronouns and adverbs are used widely for the literal beauty of the language， but in legal English these are seldom used. Legal English needs precise simplified and rigor expression. Adjectives， pronouns and adverbs are not consistent with its characteristics of preciseness and simplicity. There is no need for extra modification techniques.

2. Legal English translation

Ordinary English translation follows the standards of “faithfulness， expressiveness， elegance”. These standards have been discussed for a long time in the industry of translation. However， the legal English translation distinguishes itself in a higher peruse of preciseness. Legal English translation needs knowledge of law and knowledge English. So Legal English translation is difficult， several points need to be followed：

2.1 Translation Standard

Ordinary English translation follows the standards of “faithfulness， expressiveness， elegance”. But For legal English translation， accuracy， formality， professionality， objectiveness are also standards. Law has characteristics of seriousness， preciseness， formality and objectiveness. Professionals are always required for legal English translation. In the translation， characteristics of law need attention and standards need to be followed. Sometimes the translation is not easy to understand， but from the aspect of law， it follows the standards.

2.2 Being familiar with and understand the relevant professional legal vocabulary

In the course of legal English translation， the first requirement is to understand the subject of the law. Legal English cannot be comprehended as general English， otherwise， mistakes will be made in the process of translation.

2.3 Practical application

Under some circumstances， the understanding of legal English will be more accurate in a practical setting， which will be helpful to the translation of legal English.

2.4 Cultural background

The development of language is also closely associated with the cultural background of each country. Different backgrounds of cultural development created different languages. Laws of different countries are also deeply associated with each country's own cultural backgrounds. Thus， it will be helpful to gain insights into the cultural background of the country where the laws are enacted in the process of legal English translation. As we all know， the cultural differences between the East and the West have always been a major challenge in the translation between Chinese and English. These differences cover aspects such as history， environment， customs， social systems， ideologies， values， etc.， which makes it more difficult to translate. Therefore， the understanding of the differences in cultural backgrounds will be needed to better perform the duty of legal English translation.

3. Conclusion

In summary， legal English is different from general English. To understand this， Knowledge of legal English vocabulary as well as knowledge of law and language of English is required for law translators. In legal English translation the most important point is to understand the characteristics of legal English. Meanwhile its important to follow the standards of legal English translation and be aware of the difference between legal and general English translation. In this paper， legal English vocabulary is discussed based on its characteristics， and translation methods are briefly discussed in this paper， hoping to legal English translation of research to do some contribution.

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