Jump to ContentJump to Main Navigation
Show Summary Details
More options …
New journal!

International Journal of Legal Discourse

Editor-in-Chief: Cheng, Le

Managing Editor: Gong, Mingyu

2 Issues per year

Online
ISSN
2364-883X
See all formats and pricing
More options …

A study of legal translation from the perspective of error analysis

Pi-Chan Hu / Le Cheng
Published Online: 2016-05-19 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ijld-2016-0007

Abstract

In this research, we established a small scale corpus with abstracts in English and Chinese from the law reviews of Taiwan. We identified problems found in these abstracts and classified them into several categories. After analyzing the problems, we found that translators are faced with numerous problems when translating legal texts: the influence of ordinary language, lack of reliable reference tools, insufficiency of legal knowledge, deficiency in the target language or source language, and the peculiar characteristics of legal language. These problems simply render the task of translating even more intricate. Strategies will be proposed to enhance the ability of legal translators and to help them to overcome these obstacles.

Keywords: legal language; legal translation; translation problems; translation strategies; error analysis

References

  • Alcaraz, Enrique & Brian Hughes. 2002. Legal Translation Explained. Manchester: St. Jerome Publishing.

  • Cao, Deborah. 2007. Translating law. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar

  • Chen, Ping-Hsun. 2012. A New Theory for Translation of Taiwanese Courts Decisions: A Case Study of the Taiwan Intellectual Property Court. Paper presented at 2012 LTTC International Conference: the Making of a Translator.

  • Chen, Ya-Ling & Posen Liao. 2012. From conduit to active initiator: A study of the roles of the court interpreter in Taiwan. Paper presented at 2012 LTTC International Conference: the Making of a Translator.

  • Cheng, Le. & King Kui Sin. 2008. Terminological equivalence in legal translation – A semiotic approach. Semiotica 172. 33–45.Web of ScienceGoogle Scholar

  • Cheng, L., King Kui Sin. & W. Cheng. 2014a. Legal translation: A sociosemiotic approach. Semiotica 200. 165–184.Web of ScienceGoogle Scholar

  • Cheng, Le. King Kui Sin & W. Cheng. 2014b. Revisiting legal terms: A semiotic perspective. Semiotica 202. 167–182.Google Scholar

  • Chou, Chung-Yu. 1994. A discussion of the translation of German legal terms taken from the German federal election law and the federal election regulations. Unpublished MA thesis of Fu-Jen Catholic University.

  • Harvey, Malcolm. 2000. A beginner’s course in legal translation: The case of culture-bound terms. In: La traduction juridique: Histoire, théorie(s) et pratique Legal Translation: History, Theory/ies, Practice. Bern and Geneva: ASTTI/ETII 357–369.

  • Kennedy, Rose. 2000. Much ado about nothing: Problems in the legal translation industry. Temple International & Comparative Law Journal 14(2). 423–444.Google Scholar

  • Kischel, Uwe. 2009. Legal cultures – Legal languages. In Olsen et al. (eds.), Translation issues in language and law, 7–17. NY: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar

  • Liao, Hsueh-Chun. 2009. A comparative study on the Chinese translation texts of general agreement on trade in services between Taiwan and China. Unpublished MA thesis of Fu-Jen Catholic University.

  • Lu, Yong-Chiang. 2007. Court interpreting in Taiwan: An issue of equal access to justice for persons with limited mandarin proficiency. Unpublished MA thesis of National Taiwan Normal University.

  • Mattila, Heikki. 2006. Comparative legal linguistics. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing.Google Scholar

  • Nida, Eugene A. & Charles R. Taber. 1982. The theory and practice of translation. Leiden: E.J. Brill.Google Scholar

  • Nida, Eugene A. 2001. Language and culture: Contexts in translating. Oxford: John Benjamins Publishing.Google Scholar

  • Philips, Alfred. 2003. Lawyers’ language: How and why legal language is different. London & New York: Routledge.Google Scholar

  • Rotman, Edgardo. 1995–1996. The inherent problems of legal translation: Theoretical aspects. Indiana International & Comparative Law Review 6(1). 187–196.Google Scholar

  • Šarčević, Susan. 1997. New approach to legal translation. The Hague: Kluwer Law International.Google Scholar

  • Šarčević, Susan. 2000. Legal translation and translation theory: A receiver-oriented approach. http://www.tradulex.org/Actes2000/sarcevic.pdf (accessed 10 December 2015).

  • Schroth, Peter. 1986. Legal translation. American Journal of Comparative Law (supplement) 34. 47–65.Google Scholar

  • Schwarz, Hanz. 1977. Legal and administrative language. Babel 23(1). 19–22.Google Scholar

  • Tsai, Yvonne. 2010. Text analysis of patent abstracts. The Journal of Specialized Translation. http://www.jostrans.org/issue13/art_tsai.php (accessed 12 November 2013).

About the article

Published Online: 2016-05-19

Published in Print: 2016-04-01


The authors hereby give their full gratitude to the grant of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST 103-2410-H-030-085-) in Taiwan and the grant of the National Social Sciences Foundation in the PRC (15BYY012).


Citation Information: International Journal of Legal Discourse, Volume 1, Issue 1, Pages 235–252, ISSN (Online) 2364-883X, ISSN (Print) 2364-8821, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ijld-2016-0007.

Export Citation

©2016 by De Gruyter Mouton.Get Permission

Comments (0)

Please log in or register to comment.
Log in