In relation to international law, lawyers often have to deal with legal documents from a variety of language sources. This involves translation of a legal document written in one language into another language.
In relation to international law, lawyers often have to deal with legal documents from a variety of language sources. This involves translation of a legal document written in one language into another language. This procedure is termed as legal translation. It includes any type of translation of texts within the discipline of law.
Since law is a subject that depends largely on the culture and social background of the community to which the law pertains, translation is not an easy function to execute. To become a competent legal translator, one needs to be not only adept at the law but also possess a sound knowledge of the culture and social background of the community in whose language the document needs to be translated.
Inaccuracies and mistakes in legal translation can lead to serious problems. Hence one needs to understand the importance and necessities of legal translation. Firms that specialize in providing legal translation services must understand the importance. Accordingly they should never underrate the necessity of selecting an efficient translator to accomplish such important tasks.
In tackling international legal issues, a lawyer has to deal with words, and the accuracy of a written legal document relies largely on word selection, syntax and good sentence structure. The lawyer must then depend on a translator to render the words he uses in a legal document into another language. Conversely, a lawyer in international practice will often need the services of a translator to render foreign documents into the lawyer’s native language.
The boom in international trade and the escalating number of international trading companies has contributed to an increased demand for corporate documentation translations. Among the numerous kinds of documents that the legal translator deals with on a daily basis, the translation of contracts is by far the most asked for. When dealing with these documents, it is vital that the translator be familiar with the local culture. He or she should also have the knowledge of the legal texts of the countries involved. Otherwise it would be nearly impossible for him or her to grasp the meaning of specific clauses typical to contract texts.
When confronted with international disputes involving different languages and legal systems, legal counsel and their clients cannot do without the services of translators. In such cases the translators have to be able to successfully bridge the divide of legal systems, as well as language and culture, in order to provide literate rather than literal translations.
Legal translation is often more tricky than other types of technical translation because of the system-bound nature of legal lingo. Unlike scientific or other technical terminology, each country has its own legal terminology (based on the particular legal system of that country), which will often be quite different even from the legal terminology of another country with the same language. To add to that when culture and language both differ, the translator has to be extremely careful during his job.
The human language is an immensely complicated medium of communication with numerous languages, regional, dialectical and technical variations. Hence the range of disparities that a legal translator has to take into account while translating poses a lot of difficulty. Translating a legal topic literally is often a hazardous process. Therefore, in-depth research of the area of law is essential to understand the concepts behind the legal terminologies. Only then one can deliver a proper translation of the idea and not merely the words.