The Idea of Europe and Challenges in Legal Translation. Introduction to the Topic of the 3rd Edition of the International Conference Legal Translations (original) (raw)

Theoretical and methodological challenges in researching EU legal translation

Legal Translation. Current Issues and Challenges in Research, Methods and Applications , 2019

The objective of the paper is, first, to map key theoretical and methodological challenges in researching legal translation in the multilingual EU context, and, secondly, to operationalise variables which may help to model EU legal translation. EU translation is, on the one hand, a theoretically and empirically attractive field of research and, on the other hand, a methodologi-cally complex one. The multitude of factors which affect EU legal translation, including political , procedural and institutional factors makes it difficult to single out relevant variables and control them in research. It is proposed to operationalise EU translation through five interrelated axes: institutional, political, supranational, legal and multilingual ones. Additionally, EU legal translation is operationalised from the perspective of fundamental intertextual relations through the following dimensions: the concordance, the continuity and the fit.

EU Legal Culture and Translation, a special issue of The International Journal of Language & Law

This article introduces the special issue of JLL on EU legal culture and translation. The introduction gives an overview of the papers comprised in the special issue and provides the theoretical background to set the scene for the discussion in the papers. The special issue is a follow-up on the panel organised at the Language and Law in a World of Media, Globalisation and Social Conflicts conference at the University of Freiburg. We argue that the EU legal culture is a perfect case in point for the study of the intersection between law and language. Due to the extreme degree of mediation and filtering of law through the EU's official languages, the EU legal culture emerges through translation as a hybrid supranational pan-European construct with mutual dependencies on national legal cultures. The contributions to the special issues address various aspects of the law and language intersection in the EU context: the role of English as the EU's lingua franca, the impact of national legal cultures on legal translation, strategic ambiguity and its interpretation by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the impact of EU integration on legal languages, and finally, framing and ideology in EU legal translation. Overall, by approaching the EU legal culture from various perspectives, this special issue refines our understanding of how the EU legal culture is affected by multilingual translation.

EU LANGUAGE BARRIERS -CHALLENGES IN TRANSLATING LEGAL TEXTS

The 20th International Conference the Knowledge-Based Organization , 2014

The article scrutinizes the variety of languages in the European Union. The linguistic unification of Europe is no longer a necessary requisite to overcome language barriers. The identity of Europe can only be represented adequately by respecting its diversity. Therefore, it is only the promotion of all national languages that will allow us to preserve the richness of the culture of which these languages are the privileged means of expression. The multilingual policy adopted by Europe is thus a critical test for the European Union. Translation is an inevitable part of language learning and teaching as well as a challenge for the European Court of Justice to interpret certain legal texts. Increasing globalization demands the knowledge of English for special purposes, i.e. Legal English in order to translate texts clearly, accurately, unambiguously, through cohesion links and means.

EU Legal Culture and Translation

This article introduces the special issue of JLL on EU legal culture and translation. The introduction gives an overview of the papers comprised in the special issue and provides the theoretical background to set the scene for the discussion in the papers. The special issue is a follow up on the panel organised at the Language and Law in a World of Media, Globalisation and Social Conflicts conference at the University of Freiburg. We argue that the EU legal culture is a perfect case in point for the study of the intersection between law and language. Due to the extreme degree of mediation and filtering of law through the EU's official languages, the EU legal culture emerges through translation as a hybrid supranational pan-European construct with mutual dependencies on national legal cultures. The contributions to the special issues address various aspects of the law and language intersection in the EU context: the role of English as the EU's lingua franca, the impact of national legal cultures on legal translation, strategic ambiguity and its interpretation by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the impact of EU integration on legal languages, and finally, framing and ideology in EU legal translation. Overall, by approaching the EU legal culture from various perspectives, this special issue refines our understanding of how the EU legal culture is affected by multilingual translation.

The text and context of EU directives: implications for translators 1

Contrastive studies of statutory legislation are very scarce worldwide. Research in legal language has mainly concentrated on adjectival law leading to linguistic insights regarding powerful versus powerless speech, fragmented versus narrative testimony, the effect on jurors of simultaneous and overlapping speech, the use of leading, suggestive or improper questions in the courtroom, etc. Language of the substantive law has so far received considerably less attention from linguists, although there is a general tendency in academic endeavours towards interdisciplinary studies. Linguistic analyses of substantive law have elucidated issues such as how to make existing or future statutes clearer, without loss of content (i.e. document design) or how law students can be taught to process legislation. The present article analyses the specific functional, linguistic and communicative characteristics of the legal genre from an applied linguist's perspective in the context of European legal texts, as representing a unique set of features and conditions. It looks at the linguistic situation in Europe and the language policy in the EU with special emphasis on the translation regime of EU institutions. The participants in the communication and the special role of the translator in the law making process in the EU are discussed. Resumen Los estudios contrastivos sobre legislación parlamentaria a nivel transnacional son muy escasos. Hasta ahora, el interés investigador se ha centrado en cuestiones de derecho adjetivo, como el estudio del discurso de poder, las deposiciones testimoniales fragmentadas y las narrativas, la influencia sobre el

EU Translation Legal Translation in Multilingual Lawmaking

This paper aims at highlighting some of the challenges involved in translating legal texts as part of the multilingual lawmaking process of the European Union. The author posits that it is the function of the target texts that makes the difference between legal translation as part of multilingual lawmaking and other types of legal translation. In multilingual lawmaking, the resulting language versions are the law, not just information about law applicable elsewhere. Since the different authentic language versions are the law, they must comply with the basic quality requirements for legislation, such as accessibility, predictability, and non-discrimination. This, in turn, has consequences for relating to the source text, both as regards terminology and drafting conventions. The joy and sorrow of the EU translator is found in working to strike the balance between fidelity to the source text, on the one hand, and the observance of these basic quality requirements for legislation, on the other. Drafting guidelines and the EN 15038 standard provide useful guidance in this delicate endeavour.

A Dialogue to Conclude a Conference on Legal Translation:Synthèse à deux voix

Journal of Civil Law Studies, 2016

Matthias Martin: "To translate or to not translate, that is the legal question." This Shakespearian question encapsulates the dilemma regarding the accessibility of foreign laws. Globalization multiplies the need to express legal texts in several languages. Consequently, the question is less in the necessity of legal translation than in the art of good translation. Jurists tend to neglect it, which is somewhat surprising, since they rely on it and should be aware that an error in translation may change the understanding of the law. Olivier Moréteau: Well, dear Matthias, most jurists believe that legal translation is a mere technical, linguistic exercise, which is purely mechanical and does not deserve their attention. Though this reveals ignorance, our point is not to prove anyone wrong, since comparative law and jurilinguistics are rather schools of learning and humility. What we want is to open new doors, inviting our fellow jurists to pay more attention to the intimate relationship between law and language, following recognized masters like Gérard Cornu, Rodolfo Sacco, or Jacques Vanderlinden, to name but a few.