A Brief Introduction of the Legal English Translation

賈凡華

Abstract：As any other legal language does，legal English features a wealth of complex legal concepts as w ell as plenty of highly and unique professional terms and complicated syntax.Proper translation of legal English texts into legal Chinese ones will throw a great social and economic impact on the society.Accordingly “accuracy” has always been regarded as the primary principle of legal English translation.This paper aims at giving a brief introduction of the legal English translation to the readers.It is hoped that translators would be able to understand legal English accurately and overcome the obstacles of legal translation.

Key words：legal English translation，accuracy，source text，target text

1.The Conception of Legal English

Legal English is the language which possesses the legal professional features based on common core English，formed and used in the activities of legislation and judicature.The features of legal English are：（1）the word，the phases，the structure of sentences，which is more precise and accurate，are quite different from general English.（2）legal English is an instrumental language especially used in adjudication or arbitration;（3）as for the users，they are who work in the legal field，such as lawyers，judges，procecutors etc.

2.Brief Introduction to Legal English

Generally acknowledged types of legal texts are listed as follows：Professor Song Lei classifies legal texts into two main types，that is，normative language of law and legal literature.The former refers to basic principles accepted by courts and / or embodied in the statutes of a particular jurisdiction.Most legal texts of this type or category include positive or obligatory legal documents，which can be sub-classified into statutes，customs，judicial doctrines，etc.

The latter type of legal texts pursuant to this standard of classification is also referred to as “language of jurist”，which includes law review articles，treaties，monographs，and judges opinions.In the common law system，legal literature like treaties and monographs frequently function as persuasive legal resources.

3.Intention and Functional Criteria of Legal English Translation

As is shown in the first part of this article，legal English has two key stylistic features：precision and formality.Thus，to achieve the function of communication，that is，to make the translation of legal English understandable to receivers of native Chinese speakers，the same legal effect of the source text must be obtained.In addition，legal English translation is a cross-cultural and meanwhile cross -legal activity，so one of the translators tasks is to break the cultural and legal barriers between the two different cultures and two different legal systems.According to Skopostheorie，the criteria for legal translation are “precision，exactness，and fidelity” so as to meet the requirements inherent in legal English translation.Emphasis should be laid upon consistency in order to realize intra -textual and inter - textual coherence.

4.Accuracy as the Primary Principle

As the nature of any law requires，law is intended to be as accurate as possible.The purpose of the translators action is and should be predetermined by this very requirement or the skopos of a specific law.Therefore，accuracy is and should be the primary principle that guides the translators activity during the whole process of translation.Accuracy is in all cases an “ideal pursuit” of quality for legal English translation，whereas equivalence is a less ideal pursuit and actually a practicable goal in most cases.

Of course，there are many factors surrounding legal English translation that determine the accuracy of the translators versions.The translation of legal texts is a practice that involves in linguistic competence（both English and Chinese），legal know ledge（both in common law system and civil law system），and the guidance of related translation theories.

5.Relationship between the Source Text and the Target Text

According to Reiss and Vermeer，the target text skopos is specified by the initiator.If the source text is viewed as an offer of information by a producer to a recipient，then translation can be characterized as offering information to members of one culture in their language about information originally offered in another language within another culture.Therefore，it can be deduced that a translation is a secondary offer of information.Thus，it can be safely concluded that the status of the source text is much lower in Skopostheorie than that in traditional translation theories，and as to the status of the target text，it is just the opposite.

6.Brief Introduction to Legal English Translation from the Perspective of Skopostheorie

However，as legal English falls within the ambit common law system and legal Chinese within the civil law system，to obtain real accuracy or even the effect of“ equivalence” still remains an ideal pursuit of legal English translation standard.The characteristics of authority and standard in Legal English decide the significance of the translation about legal English texts.

Just as nominalization is an obvious stylistic feature in scientific and technical writing，so it is in legal English.To show the objectivity of law which continually deals with legal concepts，legal instrument drafters tend to isolate such facts as “actions” or “offenses” from their correspondent “doers” and try to absorb them as abstract conceptual units in their minds.

Legal English has its own stylistic characters that different from common English.The purpose that analyses lexical and syntactic level is translated legal materials accurately.In legal English translation more efforts are needed to address a “top down” translation approach，to attempt for some general translation principles as well as specific translation strategies that can be powerfully elucidated by Skopostheorie.This article is just probing into such an orientation.However，it must be noted that too much emphasis on the translators subjectivity under skopos would pose a threat for legal English translation，for in some cases the translator would go too far to use his / her subjectivity as an excuse o f mistranslation.

Conclusion：The power of law is embodied through language.Hence the solemnity of legal language requires legal text writers to make the language definitely precise and clear so as to avoid every possible ambiguity or misunderstanding in the interpretation of the law.The translation of legal texts is a practice that involves in legal knowledge，linguistic competence，and the guidance of translation theories.It is hoped that translators would be able to understand legal English accurately.Thus this article can further analyze，grasp and improve the level of legal translation，

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