Филологические науки/6. Актуальные проблемы перевода

Baikenova Z.Z.

student of KAZGUU University

Translation peculiarities of English legal terms

Abstract

The current paper demonstrates the translation peculiarities of legal terms that should be considered in the very process of translation. The close interaction of language and law significantly affects the functional meaning of terms. This fact explains some difficulties faced by the translator in the translation of legal terminology.

Key words: legal term, translation peculiarities, legal system, polysemy, synonyms

Nowadays the expansion of international relations in different spheres results in need of having documents at least in two languages. The problem of adequate English translation of official documents is pressing all around the world, especially for highly specified legal texts. Translation of such texts is extremely challenging as English language differs from Russian language to such an extent that it is not sufficient to render the text word for word. The term is a special layer of vocabulary, characterized by "monosemy, emotional neutrality and independence from the context". Within its terminological field, i.e. the terminology of a given science, discipline or scientific school, the terms are monosemantic and do not require context to determine their meaning [1, 258]. However, the situation is changing when it comes to terminological systems of different languages. L.L. Nelyubin defines the term as a word or word collocation of the specific language created for a precise expression of special notions and specification of special objects [2]. A.A. Reformatskiy describes the terms as monosemantic words devoid of expressiveness [3]. Komissarov V.N. noted that it will be better to consider the term not as a word but as a specific feature, which can be acquired and lost in the speech as a word becomes a term when it starts to denote a scientific notion [4]. Thus, the terms play a very significant role in specified texts. Nevertheless, the main aim of the translation is still to achieve an adequacy. "Adequate or equivalent translation is a translation at a level necessary and sufficient to transmit the unchanged content in compliance with the norms of the target language" [5,15]. The actual research material is presented by official documents in English (certificates, founding documents of companies, contracts and protocols) and their translation into Russian by professional translators.

The translation peculiarities of different legal systems

Translation of legal texts is one of the most difficult spheres of the translation industry. It is always a completely different level of significance when it comes to translating legal documents. Translation issues from one language to another are often caused by different legal systems of the countries. The following statement shows that this issue is pressing not only in our country. For instance, professor Hanem El-Farahaty in his article “Translating Lexical Legal Terms Between English and Arabic” claims that the main difficulty lies in the fact that the translation of legal terms always implies the translation from one legal system to another. The difference in legal systems makes the task of the legal translator challenging because legal vocabulary is culture specific and system-bound. The legal translator’s job then is not merely transcoding the legal meaning but transferring the legal effect [6]. O.G. Gorbatenko and R.G. Gorbatenko in the article “Linguistic and Judicial Aspects in the Context of Translating Documents” support the idea that each legal system is situated within a complex of social and political framework which responds to the customs and habits of a special group. This complex framework is seldom identical from one country to another, even though the origins of the respective legal system may have points in common [7,180]. M.G. Gamzatov noted that recently, attempts were made to unify the legal norms of subjects of international law, including the Russian Federation, which happens to be the neighbor of the Republic of Kazakhstan [8, 126]. The mutual historical past of our country and the Russian Federation explains the similarity of the state order, including the legal system of two countries. According to the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan the international treaty of the state is an integral part of its legal system. In addition, some concepts that exist in the international legal framework and legal systems of some countries do not exist in the legal systems of other countries, including the Republic of Kazakhstan. For instance, there are several courts for specific cases in the British legal system: the Magistrate’s Court for civil cases and minor crimes, the High Court for complex civil cases, the Crown Court for criminal cases punishable by imprisonment. Whereas in contrast the judicial system of the Republic of Kazakhstan consists of the Supreme Court and local courts (city court of the capital of the republic, city courts of republican level cities, specialized court – Military court of the Republic of Kazakhstan and others) established in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Constitutional Law. A diverse nature of legal systems of different countries significantly complicates the translation process. Firstly, because the translator should conduct a comparative analysis of two legal systems. This would help to draw a parallel between them and perhaps define some similarities. Secondly, the translator should render the meaning of a term in such a manner so that the people can clearly understand it. Misinterpretation of any term may result in some serious consequences for the translator and the customer of the translation services since this sphere of translation is thoroughly checked. The difference of legal systems can be also demonstrated through the example of the translation of terms of British and American legal systems from English into Russian.

Table 1.

British legal system	American legal system	Russian translation
Court of appeal	Court of error	Апелляционный суд
Barrister	Litigator	Судебный адвокат
Exchequer	Department of the Treasury	Министерство финансов
Crown Law	Criminal Law	Уголовное право
Privilege	Immunity	Неприкосновенность

The polysemy of terms

Ozyumenko V.I. and Chilingaryan K.P. in the article “Polysemy of English Legal Lexis and the Problems of Translation” state that one of the reasons that cause difficulty in translating legal terms from English into Russian is polysemy [9]. For example:

Table 2.

“The Seller has paid 100% of the Wave Price and all applicable fees on the Original Price towards the said Property to *the Developer*…”	“Продавец заплатил 100% от Цены по проекту Уэйв и все применимые сборы на Первоначальную цену в отношении указанного Имущества в пользу *Застройщика…” Other* variants: разработчик, изобретатель, программист, etc.
… under which the Seller has assumed certain rights and obligations and liabilities with regard to the purchase of *the Property*…	… в соответствии с которым Продавец принял на себя определенные права и обязанности и обязательства в отношении покупки *недвижимости… Other* variants: собственность, имущество, казна, реквизит, etc.
… the Property which includes but is not limited to maintenance charges, utility bills and any *outstanding* whatsoever.	…Имущества, которое включает в себя, но не ограничивается, эксплуатационные расходы, коммунальные платежи и иные *задолженности* *по выплате. Other* variants: выдающийся, знаменитый, заметный, etc.
*Trust*	1. Вера, доверие; 2. Доверительная собственность; 3. Управление имуществом доверительным собственником.
*Security*	1. Безопасность; 2. Защита данных; 3. Обеспечение кредита; 4. Ценные бумаги.

The Table 2 proves that the terms in the English language are polysemantic. Mostly, this issue is solved with help of the context, since terms are frequently contextually dependent. Melnichuk M.V. and Osipova V.M. in the article “The Translation of Legal and Economic Texts: Distinguishing Features of Special Terms” state that the difficulty of translation lies in the fact that the same terms refer to different fields and, as a rule, an appropriate equivalent requires text analysis and search of information sources [10, 73]. Therefore, it is necessary for the translator to have a background knowledge in the specific field. Kalinovskaya V.V. in the article “Translation of Legal and Political Texts from English into Russian” claims that if the meaning of the English word corresponds to several words in the Russian language we are dealing with variational correspondence, where the translator should take into account the role of context [11, 110]. This can be seen in the first three examples of Table 2, where an appropriate variant of translation of the sales contract was selected based on the context.

The synonymic paradigm of terms

The presence of synonymic paradigms is one of the qualitative indicators of wealth and vitality of any language as a fundamental element of the culture of each nation. The presence of synonymic series of the English legal vocabulary and lack of analogues in the Russian language is a quite common phenomenon. The scale of synonyms in a foreign language is wider than in Russian. For example, the word "republic" in the Russian language has no synonyms, whereas in some languages this term, borrowed from Latin, is synonymous with national origin, stylistic color of which reflects both the high degree of a shared identity. One term in the source language can have multiple equivalents. The scope of meaning of terms may be understood differently or a certain concept may simply be missing in the target language [8]. For example: the word “завещание” can be translated as “will” or “testament”; the word “наследник” – as “heir”, “devisee”, “legatee” and “next of kin”; the word “недвижимость” – as “real estate”, “immovable property”, “immovable things”, “devise” and “descent”. Despite all the translations are correct each variant should be considered from the contextual and stylistic points of view. Moreover, some terms may be partially equivalent, which means that they cover only one part of the meaning and therefore they can be used only in a specific context.

Conclusion

To conclude, the research demonstrates that the translation of legal text is one of the hardest fields of the translation industry. The translation should adequately render the meaning in the framework of semantic, grammatic and stylistic norms. One of the main peculiarity of legal texts of different countries is the legal system. The translation of different legal systems requires additional work for the translator because a lot of terms which exist in one legal system may absent in others. Furthermore, there are a lot of polysemantic terms and synonymic paradigms in the English language. In this case the translator should pay attention to the context and functional meaning of the term. Adequate translation of legal terms requires special or at least background knowledge in the field of jurisprudence and understanding of the current situation in the field of law in the world. Otherwise, the translator will not be able to convey the content of the documents adequately.

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