Professional Documents
Culture Documents
and poetry, and (3) appeal-focused texts such as advertising, satirical prose,
pamphlets or election speeches.
Rei text types are based on the notion of dominance or hierarchy. She is
aware of the fact that content-focused texts may have sometimes very
obvious formal features. For instance, business correspondence is marked by
a large number of politeness conventions. Also, it is hard to imagine formfocused texts without any content, and appeal-focused texts, such as advertising,
may use formal (sometimes poetic) devices to market a product. For Reis it is a
question of dominance. There is dominance of content over form or form over
content or appeal over both form and content.
By focusing on (high-ranking) text-types, Rei introduces (lower-ranking)
variables into translation. Whereas in traditional contrastive studies words and
phrases are defined as translation units, for Rei the preservation of text types
becomes the aim of translation. Consequently, lower-ranking parts of a text may,
indeed, must be changed if this is the only way to preserve the text type. This
is particularly obvious with the appeal-focused text-type, e.g. in advertising.
In order to appeal to readers and potential customers, publicity for
products often plays with their prejudices and associations. GARDENA garden
tools, for instance, are produced in Germany and their advertisements underline
the technical sophistication of the products. In advertisements placed in the
British press, GARDENA poked gentle fun at the German pedantry and
attention to detail in the manufacturing of their products. Conversely,
advertisements for British products such as AFTER EIGHT MINTS or SIR
WINSTON TEA in Germany play on British snobbery and conservative
attitudes.
Words and phrases may or must be changed if the translation wants to
achieve the same appeal as the source text.
Mutatis mutandis the same principle obtains in the translation of the
expression-focused and information-focused text types: information and appeal
are less important in expression-focused passages of this text type than the
preservation of the expression focus, e.g. rhymes, imagery and alliteration must
be preserved when translating poetry. When translating information-focused
text-types, however, (e.g. Business English, manuals), the information must be
preserved, even if this means that in certain passages appeal- or expressionfocus may be lost.
It is easy to underrate or, indeed, criticise Rei pioneering work with
hindsight and from a modern functionalist or relevance-oriented (see below)
point of view. Seen in the context of its time, it was a major step forward in
introducing more flexibility into translation by moving away from a rigid system
of contrastively defined equivalences.
By making the dominant text type the basis for translation-related
decision-making processes, Rei firmly established that there is no absolutely
correct translation of individual words or phrases out of context. At the same
time she provided her readers with methods and approaches to textual analysis
which helped them to define this context in a more detailed way.
It must be seen, however, that Rei, when discussing the translation of her
text types, does this with a view to preserving the function of the source text.
She is aware of the fact that there are changes of function through translation,
but she essentially sees them as exceptions. So the focus of her approach is still
on the source text.
SKOPOS Theory
In 1978, Hans J. Vermeer, then professor at the Faculty of Applied
Linguistics in Mainz/Germersheim, published an article entitled Ein Rahmen
fr eineallgemeine Translationstheorie (A General Framework Theory of
Translation). It marked the beginning of a new approach to translation studies
which later became known as functionalism.
There is no functionalist school in the sense that the concept was worked
out programmatically, but other scholars have contributed to developing the
functionalist approach among them Hans G. Hnig and Paul Kumaul and
Christiane Nord (then University of Heidelberg).
Hans Vermeer went one decisive step further than Rei. He placed
translation firmly in the context of sociolinguistic pragmatics by declaring that
translations must be seen as acts. Texts, according to Vermeer, are produced for
defined recipients and with a defined purpose. This general principle also
obtains for translations they are special cases of text-bound pragmatic acts.
One of the key words to understanding his approach is information
offered, which means that the source text should no longer be seen as the sacred
original, and the purpose (Skopos) of the translation can no longer be deduced
from the source text but depends on the expectations and needs of the target
readers. In order to translate successfully, the translator has to get acquainted
with the specific situation of the recipients of his/her translation in the target
culture.
Vermeers ideas have become widely known under the label skopos
theory. The Greek word skopos stands for the purpose of the translation which is
basically decided on by the translator. S/he may be held responsible for the
result of his/her translational acts by recipients and clients. In order to act
responsibly, however, translators must be allowed the freedom to decide in cooperation with their clients what is in their best interests.
The most comprehensive discussion of Vermeers ideas can be found in
the book he wrote in collaboration with Katharina Rei under the title
Framework Theory of Translation (1984). It is probably the most influential
work in translation studies quoted and referred to by both friends and foes of this
framework theory of translation. Skopos theory and functionalism focus on the
translator, giving him/her both more freedom and more responsibility. S/he can
no longer refer to rules of the kind developed by contrastive approaches, and the
traditional notion of equivalence becomes obsolete to those who have adopted
Vermeers ideas.
At the same time translating is described in far more complex terms than
before. Translators do not just apply linguistic rules, nor is translation a purely
linguistic activity. Knowledge and methods from other disciplines, notably
psycholinguistics,
sociolinguistics,
communication
studies,
even
brain
physiology are integrated into translation studies (seen from this angle, Mary
Snell-Hornbys important book Translation Studies. An Integrated Approach,
published in 1988, can be seen in this context of skopos theory and
functionalism).
It is not surprising that Vermeers ideas have been attacked and
occasionally misunderstood. He has been accused of advocating arbitrariness
and a disregard for the value of the source text. In actual fact, he never
maintained that the purpose of a text should always be changed in translation.
He is aware of the present tradition of literary translation in Western cultures
where a literary text remains embedded in the source culture. Indeed, his
approach is far from dogmatic.
(2a) In Parliament he fought for equality, but he sent his son to Eton.
The translation will have to be different from translating the identical term
Eton in the sentence:
(3a) When his father died his mother could not afford to send him to Eton
any more.
The following translations would be sufficiently detailed:
(2b) In Parlament milita pentru egalitate, dar pe fiul sau l-a trimis la una
din scolile englezesti de elita.
3b) Cand a murit tatal lui mama lui nu si-a mai permis sa-l trimita la o
scoala privata costisitoare/scumpa.
Of course, there is more factual knowledge implied in the terms Eton or
public school than expressed in the translation, but the translation mentions
everything that is important within the context of the sentence, in other words,
the translation is semantically precise enough.
This is, of course, not only true for cultural terms. Practically all lexical
items contain several semantic features and it depends on (verbalised) co-textual
or (implied) contextual information which of them is activated. There is a very
illustrative example provided by Barclay et al. (1974) and quoted by Hrmann
(1981). The word piano has (potentially) several semantic features: HEAVY,
WOODEN, SOUND-PRODUCING, BEAUTIFUL possibly more. If,
however, a person hears or reads the sentences:
(1) The man lifted the piano (HEAVY).
(2) The man smashed the piano (WOODEN).
(3) The man tuned the piano (SOUND-PRODUCING).
(4) The man photographed the piano (BEAUTIFUL).
The verbs in turn activate one of the various features which make up the
meaning of piano. The first sentence activates the feature HEAVY, the second
activates WOODEN, the third SOUND-PRODUCING and the fourth
BEAUTIFUL (Barclay, et al., 1974: 476; Hrmann, 1981: 139).
levels
of
expertise
there
are
different
levels
of
LSP
Only VIRGIN Media use fibre optic cable (T) to deliver broadband (C) and its
widely available across the UK.
Youll find everyone else BT, TalkTalk, Tiscali, Orange, Sky
(intercultural references) all use copper telephone wire (T) and thats been
around for a hundred years.
The truth is, copper wire wasnt designed for the internet.
The Independent, 03.02.08
TRANSLATING L1 INTO - L2
Language competence, as Neurbert put it, remains a sine qua non of
translation, and it is more than a commonplace to point out the extreme value of
the mother tongue knowledge and skill, often grossly underestimated by the
translation student; also, alas, by the practitioner and last but not least, by the
commissioner of a translation (Neurbert, 2000:7). While, theoretically, nearperfect knowledge of both L1 and L2 is required for quality translation work, in
practice, the mastery of ones mother tongue is nearly always superior to ones
proficiency in a foreign language.
This is the reason why, for instance, a major translation service such as
that of the European Commission and of the European Parliament distinguishes
between L1-L2 and L2-L1 translations and selects its personnel accordingly.
Christiane Nord made it very clear that her model for a translationoriented source text analysis should be valid for both directions, i.e. translating
into as well as out of the translators native language (Nord, 1991:1-2). Indeed,
it could be argued that many of the errors present in the translations made by
non-native speakers could be eliminated should the translator take the necessary
steps, obtain the brief, identify the translation problems in the source language
text and solve them using the proper tools. However, it is our belief that, when
working into a foreign language, certain aspects definitely require a specific
focus.
We see that in this case, the intelligibility and readability of the text were
not compromised by grammatical and lexical errors, but rather by the pursuit of
a literal and detailed rendering of the original. Structure like moral landmark,
in others the form must be given a higher priority (Nida, 2000:127). Nidas
observations were taken one step further by Reiss, who classified texts as
informative, expressive and operative1.
According to Reiss, in the translation of informative texts, unity of content
should take precedence over all other considerations (unless otherwise required
by the translation brief). Second, it could be argued that when working into a
language other than their mother tongue, translators unless truly confident that
they are capable of handling stylistic material in the target language should
programmatically seek concision and clarity of message at the expense of style.
Romanian into English translations chiefly specialized literature in the
humanities and nonfiction books has shown that more often than not the
unacceptable elements in a translation were precisely those that did not belong
there in the first place.
Example: Fragments from a statement made by the Romanian Prime
Minister and posted on the official site of the Romanian Government
It is an ambitious project which we want to start and hope to be able to
materialize next year so that all pupils up to high school might extend
this program for the high school too to have a computer to help them in
the education process, to open them new horizons towards knowledge.
Since today, computer has become a wonder of technology; it has become
a working instrument in all the spheres of social economic activities. We
want to allow them access to internet communication, because we are
convinced that this shall represent an important advantage not only on
todays educational process but also in their future training
1
The category of informative texts would include press releases and comments, news reports,
By and large, we could say that usually the elements that were worst translated
may have been easily dispensed with from the very beginning, or replaced by a
clearer and simpler paraphrase. In the case of scientific texts, the situation is
further worsened by the fact that the Romanian scientific style favours verbose
structures and a complex syntax, either by convention or in the belief that a
simple, straightforward statement of ideas might somewhat be interpreted as a
sign of intellectual simplicity. In English, however, the situation is the precise
opposite. In point of fact, Neurbert and Shreve mentioned that Source texts
may be unclear, ambiguous, verbose, and poorly organized, asking the question
whether the translator should or should not correct such failings. The answer,
obviously, has to do with the priorities set by the translation brief and with the
type of text under discussion. For informative texts of the kinds discussed above,
and especially when they are translated into a language different from the
translators mother tongue, we believe that clarity and economy of means are
advisable if not downright mandatory.
There is just one caveat which needs to be mentioned here. Speaking of
natural translations, translations that read easily in the target language, Nida
pointed out that some translators fall into the error of making a relatively
straightforward message in the source language sound like a complicated legal
document in the receptor language by trying too hard to be completely
unambiguous (Nida, 2000:138). Indeed, while explaining out in the target
language a piece of informative material that was rather tortuously or
ambiguously expressed in the source language is definitely a recommended
strategy, one must not disregard the fact that economy of means is more
important for the clarity of a demonstration than a minute and detailed
presentation of all of its components.
Regarding the necessity of cultural adaptation, one particular aspect
related to this issue has to be highlighted here situationality broadly
about how much of the ST to carry over to the TT, whether or not further
explicitation will be needed, and how best to achieve this. This principle is
equally applicable in any translation situation, regardless of the genre and type
of text. Adopting a functionalist approach to translation should lead to
production of a functionally adequate text, that is, a text which is fit for the
purpose for which it was commissioned (which is detailed in that translation
brief provided by the client).
Reiss (1984) sketches a basic taxonomy of text types, in terms of their
communicative function of a text which will both set up expectations as to its
structure and use of language, and act as the basis for translation decisions. For
example, if a text is primarily appellative (e.g. advertising) but also contains
factual information (e.g. advertisement for a car), then where translation
decisions involve resolving a clash of priorities, the primary function will take
precedence. Other scholars (Nord 2005) use the label text type to denote the
genre or type of communicative event (letter, newspaper report, official bulletin,
contract).
Neubert (2000) describes key attributes of a competent translator. These
include language and cultural competence, subject, textual and transfer
competence, all of which add up to an overall translation competence.
Language competence for specialised translation will assume basic native
speaker fluency in SL and TL (ST interpretation and TL production).
Cultural competence will integrate awareness of previous key texts on a
subject and associated culture-based institutions, as well as familiarity
with the relevant body, or bodies, which regulate the domain and the
sharing of information within this.
Subject competence relates to a degree of familiarity with domainspecific concepts, processes and objects, and their interaction with a
knowledge structure.
Textual competence is often overlooked in favour of the other five subskills, and yet this is an integral element of any translation task, not least
for specialised translation. This is about knowing HOW to organize
WHAT in the written text, to be discussed in our consideration of text
type conventions.
Research skills include the ability to search for useful sources to inform
the translation process, and thus include the subject of Corpora.
For would-be translators of specialised texts, the challenge is to identify the
minimum degree of awareness, familiarity and knowledge necessary for
adequate understanding and transfer of the message, in the most appropriate
forms (cf. Neubert and Shreve, 1992: discussion of Standards of Textuality:
acceptability and intentionality).
their normative effect, Schaffner also notes the need for a translator "to produce
the TT as an instance of the genre for the target culture." Culture specificity in
texts is described by Nord in terms of cultural references to people, places,
institutions and intertextual references. This concept also applies in relation to
formal conventions for macro-textual features: organisation of informative
content or development of an argumentative process. The translators awareness
of how culture shapes text production and content is fundamental to successful
target text production:
The translator is not the sender of the ST message but a text producer in the
target culture who adopts somebody elses intention in order to produce a
communicative instrument for the target culture or a target culture document
of a source culture communication.
between the time the original was conceived and the time the translation is
taking place. For example, they should refrain from imposing politically correct
language retroactively.
Dealing with Technical Terms
Social scientists who introduce new concepts usually express them in words or
phrases devised expressly for the purpose. (Bourdieus capital culturel and
Webers protestantische Ethik are typical examples). If widely accepted, they
become technical terms. The concepts and the terms that convey them are often
highly culture-specific. Their specificity may depend as much on the period in
which they came about as on ethnic or national factors. Moreover, they are
likely to become conceptual false friends, that is, even in one and the same
tradition they may come to mean different things to different authors.
Since the prevalence of technical terms is one of the prime distinguishing
features of social science discourse, translators must take special care not only in
rendering them but also in making their audience aware of them. Although no
blanket solution will cover all instances, the two time-honoured approaches to
devising equivalents for technical terms are
1) accepting the term as a loanword, that is, borrowing it outright (for
example, using Eng gulag (for Russian gulag < gosudarstvennoe
upravlenie lagerei state camp administration) and
2) providing the term with a loan translation as in eng political instructor for
Russian politruk.
Both approaches produce words or expressions that initially sound strange, the
former because they are in a foreign language, the latter because they force the
target language into the mould of the source language. But languages have
accepted and naturalized borrowed words and loan translations from time
immemorial. English was enhanced by untold borrowings from the French after
the Norman Conquest, and it has continued to absorb foreign words to this day.
As for loan translations, how many English speakers realize that the expression
to kill time is a loan translation from the French tuer le temps?
In either case, translators will want to use a footnote when they are
introducing a term they have invented or when they wish to replace an accepted
term with one of their own. They do not need to footnote terms that appear in a
medium-sized monolingual dictionary of the target language (The Concise
Oxford Dictionary or Websters College Dictionary). Thus, gulag would not
require a footnote, but political instructor would. It might read as follows: We
are using the term political instructor to translate politruk, a portmanteau word
derived from politicheskii rukovoditel political instructor. It refers specifically
to a Party official assigned to provide soldiers in the Soviet armed forces with
ideological guidance. A footnote for a term like the Fr grandes coles (which
translators would most likely leave in French in the translation, that is, they
would translate it as a loanword rather than as the great schools, given that
the word cole figures in the names of all the schools at issue) might read: The
grandes coles are the premier institutions of higher learning in France and
include the cole Normale Suprieure, the cole Polytechnique, the cole
Navale, etc.
Footnotes should be spare and to the point. Comments of a discursive or
interpretive nature belong properly in the translators preface. Footnotes can also
serve to identify and elucidate puns and wordplay, proverbs, literary or general
cultural references, etc. They should, however, explain only what is clear to
source language readers but not to target language readers. Furthermore, they
are not the only way to clarify a term. For example, the translator may insert an
unobtrusive word or two by way of explanation. If readers of a text translated
from the French can be expected to perceive from the context that the grandes
coles are French institutions of higher learning but not necessarily that they
stand above the rest in prestige, the translator might inconspicuously insert a
word of explanation: the prestigious grandes coles.
name Gorky) and a scholarly one used for lexical items, titles, references, and
quotations (Gorkii). Translators in doubt as to the proper system to apply
should consult the local translators association.
When the author quotes a passage from a source written in the target language,
the translator must reproduce the original passage, not translate back from the
authors translation of the passage. If the author has not provided the reference,
the translator must search for it, using the relevant data bases, or query the
author. In addition, the translator must render all bibliographical references in
footnotes according to the scholarly conventions of the target text.
The main reference works for the translator are monolingual dictionaries of the
source and target languages. Bilingual dictionaries are useful in two instances:
1) when the translator knows what a word in the source language means but
cannot momentarily come up with the equivalent in the target language, and
2) when the translator has learned from a monolingual dictionary that the word
is a plant, animal, or the like, that is, when equivalence is likely to be one-toone. Thesauruses provide more synonyms than even the most complete bilingual
dictionaries.
ECONOMIC TERMINOLOGY
rendering the essence of the new technologies, techniques etc. any language
needs new resources and means of expressing, besides neologisms and
international words. These new resources may come from inside the language.
We could also add to these the strongly effective character of some common
words, subjected to terminologisation offering them a wider meaning with
obvious fluctuating limits and having an extremely comprising applicability.
That explains also the polysemantic character of the newly created terms
motivating their ability to belong to the active vocabulary of the Romanian
language. These words coming from the fundamental lexis are given
terminological context within a scientific context, an economic context in this
particular case, they become new units bearing new meanings, elements of a
different dictionary, not the general one.
The economic terminology has been developing tightly connected to
society. Consequently, it often appears to the common language in order to meet
the time imperatives. A great deal of lexical units of the common usage adapts
themselves to the new functional situation, it gets new meanings - or it is
terminologised - so as to express economic notions, concepts.
For example:
- The common item fluidity state, characteristic of what is fluid has got
an entry in the specialised dictionary as well meaning notion used to
characterise the situation when the offer easily adapts to supply and
demand
The common vocabulary is enriched with words taken from the
specialised vocabularies, which, in their turn find in the common vocabulary a
source that will be offered specific meaning in the respective domains. This
process of terminologisation of some lexical units of the common vocabulary is
a complex semantic phenomenon with multiple aspects based on two semantic
mechanisms that change the meanings of the lexical units - metaphor and
metonymy. The lexical unity of the common language becomes specialised
penetrating the economic language. The new lexemes are settled by entering the
specialised lexicographical works (the economic dictionary). Getting a new
meaning, the word expands the semantic sphere and the functioning potential.
To conclude, we mention that terminologisation, generated by different
word combinations, represents an important place in developing the specialised
lexis and the common one, turning the rigid language of sciences into a vivid,
moving language, spotlighting some areas of vocabularies less studied.
Inter-Disciplinary Borrowings
Most of the changes that may occur in any language are extra-linguistic: the
evolution of the society, the use of the most modern means of communication
and information, the complexity of the economic relations, just to mention some
of the causes that favored transformations of the Romanian language.
The inter-disciplinary borrowing refers to the phenomenon by which a
term belonging to one domain is attributed to a new concept coming from
another domain, the two domains being associated through analogy (e.g.
memory used both in psychology and computer sciences).
The general vocabulary permanently interacts with other specialised
vocabularies. This is a double way phenomenon: on one hand it is a
specialization of words belonging to the usual vocabulary so as to gain the
status of terms, and, on the other hand, the specialised terms become useful for
the common language. This migration process from a specialised area to the
general, common use is called determinologisation and the gain is a richer
literary language, it becomes more colourful and full of linguistic expressivity.
Thus,
referring
to
the
economic
vocabulary,
we
may
consider
2. Moreover, it says, notes have a short life: they circulate fast and furiously,
and quickly turn to shreds.
=> Money IS A Person; significant elements in the birth or life schema get
mapped via metaphorical projection.
As for novel conceptual and linguistic metaphors, no one would expect business
discourse to be their recipient; the following examples are however by no means
rare:
1. Maybe, but the euro is the alarm clock that woke us up.
2. After a miserable performance in the first two years, at least in terms of the
exchange rate, the single European currency seems to have confirmed its yearend recovery against the dollar.
3. Euro-illusion; a natural experiment.
The creation of the special roles noted above is not sufficient to sustain
entrepreneurship and innovation in the large organization. The organization
must also create horizontal coordination mechanisms which protect innovation
teams from outside interference. Galbraith calls these islands for unencumbered
creative thinking reservations or greenhouses.
The bolded phrases were all bolded in the original version of the text
(Organisational Behaviour, by Robert Deily, an MBA course book). This
printing emphasis foregrounds the metaphorical expressions that- facilitate
comprehension and enhance memo ability, assist the expert reader in the
learning process, although similar other metaphors have been inserted in the text
(nurtures, orchestrator, islands, etc.)
Legal translators rely on translatorial procedures and practices that are not
so widely different from the ones used in general translation practice. However,
the distinctive quality of legal texts is now widely acknowledged in translation
studies and most authors agree that, as the translation of legal texts is confronted
with such a high incidence of extra-linguistic issues, the legal translator
frequently has to adopt special strategies to suit the specificity of legal
translation problems. Knowledge and awareness of both the difficulties of legal
translation and of a set of dedicated strategies to cope with them is a key
requirement for the legal translator.
The process of translating a legal text into a foreign language is littered
with a series of various obstacles, which may be divided by type. Obstacles in
translation are likely to be posed first by the comprehension of the legal text
itself, which may be hampered, on the one hand, by syntactic and stylistic
peculiarities of legal texts, and , on the other hand, by the level of competence of
the author of the text and, consequently by the clarity and accuracy of the text.
Secondly, problems caused by differences in cultures are more tightly related to
the ideational content of legal texts. It is a well-known fact that the legal
translation as such poses many problems due to the differences in legal systems
from one country to another. Among these problems, that of terminological
equivalence, more specifically the lack of correspondence between legal terms,
is one of keen current interest.
While selecting the appropriate strategy for the problem at hand, the legal
translator is guided by a number of criteria, among which prevail the functional
ones, i.e., purpose and use of the source and target text, recipients, author intent,
intended legal effect, the very fine distinctions made in contrastive terms
between different text genres and types, but also by the degree of divergence
established between the legal systems involved and the context of translation
(e.g. translation within a single national legal framework, within a bilingual or
multilingual framework, or in a supernatural framework). This functional
orientation is relevant not only for the selection of the overall strategy applied in
translation, but also for the lower-level translating decisions made in drafting the
target text with regard to microstructures (terminology, sentence organization,
stylistic features), as well as text format and layout.
Strategic Decisions and Translation Techniques
This outline is based on the study of two text types and situations of
translation, namely the translation of a Romanian law (Legea privind societatile
comerciale - Business Corporation Law) in English and French, Commissioned
by the Romanian Ministry of Justice, published in a bilingual compendium and
posted on its official website; and the official translations into Romanian of a
European Union directive (Council Directive of 11 December 1986 on the
application of the principle of equal treatment between men and women engaged
in an activity, including agriculture, in a self-employed capacity, and on the
protection of self-employed women during pregnancy and motherhood) and of a
regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No 23/97 of 20 December 1996 on
statistics on the level and structure of labour costs), undertaken by a state
only, and the foreign language versions have no legal validity on the Romanian
territory. Being documentary translations, according to Christiane Nords
typology, they are allowed, in theory, a wider creativity margin, and could easily
lend themselves to idiomatic translation. Moreover, they can accept a certain
degree of explanation and paratext, since their purpose is precisely this: to make
known and explain the law to foreign readers. However, the two translated
versions do just the opposite, adopting a very strict literal approach, often to the
point of incomprehensibility and ungrammaticality. This is much truer of the
English than of the French version, as the close relatedness between and French
facilitates the rendering into French.
A great number of the syntactic structures of the English translation are
unnatural and visibly superimposed on the Romanian word order and sentence
structure, frequently verging on ungrammaticality. It makes use of too many
embedded phrases and clauses, as well as of nominal structures that are
uncharacteristic for English. The text abounds in grammatical mistakes (e.g.,
are bond to instead of are bound to). Lexical or terminological mistakes are
also frequent, especially those due to false friends, i.e., asociat translated by
associate (associate implies a subordination relation in English, and not
persons enjoying equal status and equal rights in a corporation; the appropriate
equivalent is partner in this context).
The French translation follows the same literal approach, but due to the
close relation between Romanian and French legal languages, the French text is
much more comprehensible than the English one.
One strategy is closely related to literal translation is calque, which refers
rather to close translation of terminological units, whereas literal translation
implies close rendering of a whole syntactic unit, so it covers both the lexical
and syntactic unit. Calque is also a form of borrowing although not in the sense
that the original items are preserved, but only the structure, the arrangement
principle. This is translating lexical word for lexical word, and making
target system meanings. One way to avoid this danger is to warn readers and to
make them aware of this, possibly in a translators note.
As a literal translation and calque often prove too difficult to comprehend,
translators may resort to substituting, which implies the use of a more general or
more abstract term instead of the legal term for which no functional equivalent
can be found. Substituting with a heteronym is a strategy which is present in the
text discussed here: e.g., liberat (of debts) paid/actiunea in daune
suit.
Sometimes the substitute may also be a hyponym: e.g., sarcini (de care
sunt grevate imobilele) mortgages and other obligations.
The latter procedure, descriptive substitute, is related to that of descriptive
paraphrase since it involves the addition of extra words, that were not present in
the original text, as a sort of clarification of the source language term:
semnatarul nu va putea invoca the subscriber cannot be in a position to
invoke/ motivele recursului written notes which explain the reasons for
the appeal.
Paraphrase is used as an attempt to compensate for conceptual
incongruity. It involves explaining the source language concept. However, its
main disadvantage is its length, and as such, it collides with the conciseness
requirement, typical of legal texts.
Difference in function between source text and translation, as well as text
type, play a crucial role in determining the strategy of a legal translation. For
instance, official versions of laws or treaties require a more close literalness,
whereas legislative texts translate for purely information purposes, i.e. for the
information of foreign lawyers, businessmen or comparative law can be
translated more freely.