Translating Legal Texts. When language meets law.

Abstract

The image of translation as a process of mere linguistic transposition with the sole purpose of preserving the meaning of the original message, began to be challenged at the beginning of the second half of the 20th century. With an increasing number of scholars raising doubts about the methodologies and theoretical approaches which have traditionally characterized this field of study, the 1980s and 1990s witnessed the emancipation of translation activity together with the recognition of the rights of translator. Signs of this new approach have been recognized even in the specialized field of legal communication that, notwithstanding its own peculiarities, is among the specialized languages markedly linked to the traditional image of translation as a mechanical, neutral, and simple process of transpositions of messages. For so many years scholars working in this field have been principally concerned with language and linguistic structures. Consequently, they have undervalued the translation of legal texts, ignoring the fact that this latter is a communicative process by means of which, as well as in other textual typologies, messages conveyed in a language are expressed in another language. With such a shift in the role given to the communicative aspects/purposes of (specialized) translation, the attention is now directed towards the cooperation/collaboration between source and target texts. The book explores the way in which professional translators have responded to these challenges and, in particular, the techniques they have developed in order to cope with the new tasks coming from the constant enlargement of the European Union and international communication.