Legal Translation

Dr. Wedyan Hammas

Table of Contents
1. History of Legal Discourse in English

2. Legal Language

3. Shared Features of the Legal Language

4. Features of Legal Language

5. Types of legal Documents

6. Legal Translation

7. Why is legal translation difficult?

8. Main requirements to be a legal translator

9. Legal Terminology and Translation

10. Translating Legal terms

11. Translation Practice

12. References
History of Legal Discourse in English

• Although legal discourse has historic Anglo-Saxon roots it

has been under the influence of some other different languages
such as Latin and French.
• French became the language of law with Latin terms and
word order being used to make legal language more
complicated.
• A law was passed in 1731 for English to be used as the
language of the law but the influence of French and Latin
remained. Therefore, legal English began as a combination of
English, French, and Latin.
• Legal translation gained importance in the 20th century with
globalization and the establishment of international
organizations (e.g., the UN).
Arabic:

• With the rise of Islam, the Holy Qur’an set the laws for
Muslims.
• The Prophet Peace be Upon Him and some of the
Caliphates that followed him signed treaties with
different people.
 Legal Language

• Legal language is "the language in which legal rules are formulated.”

(Wroblewski, 1963: 403)
• Legal language is expressed by the use of legal documents.
• Legal language is specialized (LSP).
• Register is formal.
• May be incomprehensible for lay people.
• Relevant to the legal system.
• Specific and general features.
 Shared Features of Legal Language

§ Non literary texts neither scientific.

§ They do not express the thoughts of the author.
§ They are synthetic and semi synthetic texts.
§ They are written for a specific legal purpose.
§ They are formal in style (high register).
§ They are made up of unusual long sentences , which is the opposite
feature of standard English language, resulting in conjoined and
embedded sentences and unusual sentence structure.
§ They have their own set of terminology.
§ Their terminology have the same form of the standard but they carry
different meaning and have different purposes and directives.
 Features of Legal Language
1. Lexical Features
• Special terminology/expressions.
• Archaic words (e.g., hereby, thereby, aforesaid, hereof, said).
• Foreign words (e.g., lesser, lessee, bona fide, ipso facto, court, evidence,
jury, property).
• Formal usage (e.g., shall, may, your honor, His Royal Highness, I solemnly
swear….).
• Formulaic expressions (e.g., conversational speech formulas, idioms, pause
fillers, counting and other multiword units).
• Very specific and precise wording different than everyday language use.
• Binomial (coupled) expressions, doublets (e.g., null and void) and triplets
(e.g., controversy, claim, and promise). In other words, they are common
English phrases that include a pair or a trio of words usually joined by
“and” or “or”).
• Special use of capitalization.
 2. Syntactic Features
• Special syntactic features of legal language: is highly formal and
impersonal. This is achieved by passive constructions.
• The use of prepositional phrases (e.g. in what follows, by virtue of
which).
• Long and complex sentences.
• Multiple negations.
• Nominalization – using a noun instead of its verb.
• Passivization – to emphasize the formal impersonal style of legal
writing.
 3. Pragmatic Features

• Performative in nature: containing performative

utterances of sentences which not only describe a given reality, but also
change the social reality they are describing. For example, authoritative
speeches are performative that are enforced through the law of the society.

• Performative models that express implicit speech acts (e.g., “may” for
permission, “may not” for prohibition, “shall” for obligation, and “shall
not” for prohibition).

• Performative verbs that express explicit speech acts (e.g., declare,

announce, promise, undertake, enact, confer, amend, certify, confirm).
 4.Stylistic Features

• Legal language is characterized by an impersonal and formal style.For

example, legal English takes on the features including the same
capitalization, the same font style, the same font size, etc.
• Different types of legal languages have their own characteristics of legal
styles depending on the legal system it descends from.
• Regional variations (standard language and dialects).
 5.Textual Features
1. Texts are divided into sections and subsections with headings and
sub-headings.
2. Some types of legal texts include a section for definitions (i.e.,
contextual meaning is essential in such documents).
3. Some cohesive devices are commonly used in legal language to avoid
using pronouns because using pronouns causes ambiguity. Thus, using
the following helps reduce subjectivity and ambiguity :
• Repetition
• Using some words, such as hereunder, hereafter, herein, aforesaid,
such, said.
 Features of Legal Documents

• They are non-literary texts.

• Legal documents carry the force of law.

• The producer of a legal document is expected to

possess a full knowledge of legal and administrative
terminology (LAT) (Lane 1982: 221).
 Types of Legal Documents

Certificates Contracts Treaties Laws Agreements

 Legal Texts

• Legislative texts (e.g., international treaties, laws produced by

lawmaking authorities, constitutions)
• Judicial texts (e.g., texts produced during judicial processes by judicial
officers or legal authorities, cases, legal reports, court rulings or
verdicts)
• Legal scholarly texts (e.g., texts produced by academic lawyers or
legal scholars)
• Private legal texts (e.g., texts written by lawyers such as contracts,
deeds, and wills; and also texts written by non-lawyers such as private
agreements and witness statements – documents written for legal
purposes).
 Legal Translation

ØLegal Translation

• Legal translation refers to the rendering

of legal texts from the SL into the TL.
 Types of Legal Translation

1. Legal translation for normative purposes: in this

translation type, both ST and TT should have equal legal
force (e.g., legal texts in bilingual jurisdictions,
multilingual legal instruments of the UN, multilingual
laws of the EU).
2. Legal translation for informative purposes: only the
ST has legal force. (e.g., the translation of different legal
documents for the purpose of informing target readers).
3. Legal translation for general (judicial) purposes:
Translation of legal documents used in court proceeding
or as evidence.
 Why is legal translation difficult?
In legal translation, one-to-one correspondence is something unattainable
and the possibility of creativity is highly unlikely due to some constraints:
• Asymmetry of legal systems.
• Variety of legal terminology.
• Legal cultural diversity.
The difficulties of legal translation include:
• The technical nature of legal language;
• The specific nature of this technical language.
• The legal language which is not a universal language but it is tied
up with a national legal system

These constraints are particularly true in the case of translating between

English and Arabic.
Main Requirements to be a legal
translator:

Commitment to legal
Legal Competence translation ethics
 Translating Legal Terms
• Shall

• May

• Here/there +
preposition

• Anaphoric devices

• Proviso Clause
 Shall
1. It is used to express obligation and NOT to express the future.

2. In a legal text, the verbal structure that begins with "shall" is translated

into Arabic using the present tense.

3. It used to express explicit obligation, and in this case, it is translated to

‫ﯾﺘﻌﯿﻦ ﻋﻠﻰ أو ﯾﻠﺘﺰم‬

4. Other Arabic forms can be used to indicate obligation, taking into

account that the act of composition that begins with "shall" to indicate an

explicit obligation is NOT translated into Arabic using "must".

5. In some contexts, the meaning of the verb form that begins with
the auxiliary verb “shall” is not obligatory, and in this case, it is
translated using the present tense without any indication of
obligatory. Consider the following:
• The Company shall be exempted from all custom duties.

.‫• ﺗﻌﻔﻰ اﻟﺸﺮﻛﺔ ﻣﻦ ﻛﻞ اﻟﺮﺳﻮم اﻟﺠﻤﺮﻛﯿﺔ‬

• The Life Insured shall pay to the Insurance Company every

subsequent premium in due time.

.‫• ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻤﺆﻣﻦ ﻋﻠﯿﮫ أن ﯾﺪﻓﻊ اﻟﻰ ﺷﺮﻛﺔ اﻟﺘﺎﻣﯿﻦ ﻛﻞ ﻗﺴﻂ ﺗﺎل ﻓﻲ ﻣﻮﻋﺪه اﻟﻤﺴﺘﺤﻖ‬
 May
The use of the auxiliary verb “may” indicates permissibility, and
therefore it is translated as “‫ ”ﯾﺠﻮز‬and “may not” is translated as “ ‫ﻻ‬
‫”ﯾﺠﻮز‬. In some cases of "may”, the intended meaning of the context
could be possibility and not permissibility, and in these cases “may”
is translated with evidence, such as ‫ﻗﺪ أو ﻣﻦ اﻟﻤﻤﻜﻦ‬. For example:

o The Landlord may enter the property without the Tenant’s consent
in case of emergency.

.‫ي‬
ٔ ‫ﯾﺠﻮز ﻟﻠﻤﺎﻟﻚ أن ﯾﺪﺧﻞ اﻟﻌﻘﺎرﺑﺪون ﻣﻮاﻓﻘﺔ اﻟﻤﺴﺘﺎٔﺟﺮﻓﻲ ﺣﺎﻟﺔ اﻟﻄﻮار‬

o The Contractor may not assign the contract to a third party without the
prior written consent of the Employer.

.‫ﻻ ﯾﺠﻮز أن ﯾﺘﻨﺎزل اﻟﻤﻘﺎول ﻋﻦ اﻟﻌﻘﺪ ﻟﻄﺮف ﺛﺎﻟﺚ دون ﻣﻮاﻓﻘﺔ ﺧﻄﯿﺔ ﻣﺴﺒﻘﺔ ﻣﻦ ﺻﺎﺣﺐ اﻟﻌﻤﻞ‬
 Here/There + Preposition

• Using “here + preposition” is a feature of legal language. It

functions like a demonstrative and refers to the document in
which it occurs (e.g., contract, agreement, treaty).
Hereto, hereby, hereunder, hereof, herein, hereafter,
hereinabove
• Mr. Ahmad hereinafter referred to as the First Party.
.‫أﺣﻣد واﻟﻣﺷﺎر ٕاﻟﯾﮫ ﻓﯾﻣﺎ ﺑﻌد ﻓﻲ ھذا اﻟﻌﻘد ﺑﺎﻟطرف اﻷول‬/‫• اﻟﺳﯾد‬
• Both parties hereby agree to the following:
:‫• ﯾﺗﻔق اﻟطرﻓﺎن ﺑﻣوﺟب ھذا اﻟﻌﻘد ﻋﻠﻰ ﻣﺎ ﯾﻠﻲ‬
• Using “there+ preposition” is a feature of legal language. It
functions like a demonstrative and refers to the person, item, or
situation just mentioned.
Thereto, thereof, thereby, therewith, therefor, therein

• The bank or any branch thereof.

.‫• اﻟﺑﻧك أو أي ﻓرع ﻣن ﻓروﻋﮫ‬

• The Agent shall have the right to open bank accounts and
withdraw and deposit therein.
.‫• ﯾﺣق ﻟﻠوﻛﯾل ﻓﺗﺢ اﻟﺣﺳﺎﺑﺎت اﻟﺑﻧﻛﯾﺔ واﻟﺳﺣب ﻣن ﺗﻠك اﻟﺣﺳﺎﺑﺎت واﻹﯾداع ﻓﯾﮭﺎ‬
 Anaphoric Devices
• Anaphora or backward reference, is the use of a linguistic unit, such as a
pronoun, to refer back to another unit (e.g. he, they, the preceding, the
former). In other words, they are pronouns and demonstratives.
• Some strategies are followed to avoid using anaphoric devices because
using them may cause ambiguity. Some of these strategies are:

1. Repetition.
2. Using “which” + repeating the word.
3. Replacing the anaphoric device with such, said, or the same.
4. Using gender-free “it” instead of using a feminine or masculine
pronoun.

ü NOTE: if no ambiguity occurs, anaphoric devices may be used with care.

 1. Repetition

• The Tenant shall pay to the Landlord at his office …

.‫ﯾﺪﻓﻊ اﻟﻤﺴﺘﺎٔﺟﺮ ٕاﻟﻰ اﻟﻤﺆﺟﺮ ﻓﻲ ﻣﻜﺘﺒﮫ‬
• The Tenant shall pay to the Landlord at the office of the Landlord …
.‫ﯾﺪﻓﻊ اﻟﻤﺴﺘﺎٔﺟﺮ ٕاﻟﻰ اﻟﻤٔﻮﺟﺮ ﻓﻲ ﻣﻜﺘﺐ اﻟﻤٔﻮﺟﺮ‬

2. Using “which” + repeating the word

• Any dispute between Aramco and the Company shall be settled by
arbitration, which arbitration shall take place at the Department of
Contracts in Aramco.

‫ﯾﺘﻢ اﻟﻔﺼﻞ ﻓﻲ أي ﻧﺰاع ﯾﻨﺸﺎٔ ﺑﯿﻦ أراﻣﻜﻮ واﻟﺸﺮﻛﺔ ﻋﻦ طﺮﯾﻖ اﻟﺘﺤﻜﯿﻢ ﻋﻠﻰ أن ﯾﺘﻢ اﻟﺘﺤﻜﯿﻢ ﺑﺈدارة‬
.‫اﻟﻌﻘﻮد ﻓﻲ أراﻣﻜﻮ‬
3. Replacing the anaphoric device with such, said, or
the same
1. Using “such/said" to replace demonstratives"

• If the Contractor incurs any further costs, then the Employer shall
take such costs into consideration.

‫ ﻓﻌﻠﻰ ﺻﺎﺣب اﻟﻌﻣل أن ﯾﺎ ٔﺧد ھذه اﻟﺗﻛﺎﻟﯾف ﻓﻲ‬،‫• ﻓﻲ ﺣﺎﻟﺔ ﺗﺣﻣل اﻟﻣﻘﺎول أي ﺗﻛﺎﻟﯾف ٕاﺿﺎﻓﯾﺔ‬
.‫اﻻﻋﺗﺑﺎر‬

2. Using “the same" to refer to a word/sentence previously mentioned in

the text.
• The Tenant shall pay all the taxes regularly levied and assessed against the
premises and keep the same in repair.

،‫ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻤﺴﺘﺄﺟﺮ أن ﯾﺪﻓﻊ ﻛﻞ اﻟﻀﺮاﺋﺐ اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﺘﻢ ﺟﺒﺎﯾﺘﮭﺎ وﺗﻘﺪﯾﺮھﺎ ﺑﺸﻜﻞ ﻣﻨﺘﻈﻢ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻌﻘﺎر‬ •
.‫وﯾﺤﺎﻓﻆ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻌﻘﺎر ﺑﺤﺎﻟﺔ ﺟﯿﺪة‬
3. Using gender-free “it” instead of using a feminine
or masculine pronoun.

• Borrower shall comply with all of its covenants to Bank

set forth in and arising from the Loan Agreement.

.‫• ﯾﻠﺘﺰم اﻟﻤﻘﺘﺮض ﺑﻜﻞ ﺗﻌﮭﺪاﺗﮫ ﻟﻠﺒﻨﻚ اﻟﺘﻲ ﯾﺘﻢ ﺗﻮﺿﯿﺤﮭﺎ ﻓﻲ اﺗﻔﺎﻗﯿﺔ اﻟﻘﺮض واﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﻨﺸﺎٔ ﻋﻨﮭﺎ‬
 The Proviso Clause

• The proviso clause is the expression “provided that” and it is a

conditional phrase.
• It is translated into Arabic using an expression that provides
the same meaning of condition, such as:

Ø ‫ﺑﺸﺮط أن‬
Ø ‫ﺷ ﺮ ﯾﻄ ﺔ أ ن‬

Ø ‫ﻋﻠ ﻰ أ ن‬

The Landlord shall have the right, subject to the Tenant’s consent, to enter
the dwelling to inspect the premises provided that the Landlord may enter
the dwelling without the Tenant’s consent in case of emergency.

‫ﯾﺤﻖ ﻟﻠﻤﺎﻟﻚ ﺑﺸﺮط ﻣﻮاﻓﻘﺔ اﻟﻤﺴﺘﺎٔﺟﺮاﻟﺪﺧﻮل اﻟﻰ اﻟﻤﺴﻜﻦ ﻟﻤﻌﺎﯾﻨﺔ اﻟﻌﻘﺎر ﺷﺮﯾﻄﺔ اﻧﮫ ﯾﺠﻮز ﻟﻠﻤﺎﻟﻚ‬
.‫ي‬ٔ ‫اﻟﺪﺧﻮل ﻟﻠﻤﺴﻜﻦ دون ﻣﻮاﻓﻘﺔ اﻟﻤﺴﺘﺎٔﺟﺮﻓﻲ ﺣﺎﻟﺔ اﻟﻄﻮار‬
ØTranslate the following into Arabic:

1. Arbitration shall be held in Paris.

2. The Renter shall be liable for any damage caused to the
owner by reason of any breach by the Renter of any
stipulation herein contained.
3. The Employer shall indemnify the Contractor against all
claims, damages, costs, charges, and expenses resulting
from any act or neglect on behalf of the Employer.
4. The Minister of Petroleum may enter into concession
agreements with foreign companies for petroleum
exploration.
5. The UN may hold fund, gold or currency of any kind.
6. All persons born or naturalized in the USA and subject to
jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the USA.
Translation will have to bridge the gap,
small or large, between two different
languages and cultures, and will
hopefully result
in contact, and not in conflict.
Trosborg, 1997b: 146
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