Very few industries have a definition created around the way that they use language. However, the legal industry is one of (or perhaps the only one) these industries.
The Oxford English Dictionary describes “legalese” as “the sort of language used in legal documents that is difficult to understand.” If it’s difficult to understand in English, imagine what it’s like to translate it.
Add to this that documentation pertaining to the legal industry is, by its very nature, incredibly important to governments, law firms, businesses, or, most vitally, individuals, and the weight of an accurate translation only becomes more critical.
As a Language Services Provider (LSP), our clients rely on us to pay careful attention to translations in this sector.
In this article, we’ll outline the top few reasons why the importance of getting your legal material accurately translated should never be underestimated and why it’s best to be left to legal linguistic experts.
Just to be clear, legal translation is the translation of documents and materials used in the legal field. Although translation generally involves converting text from a source language to a target language, legal translation is a specialized field with unique complexities and a diverse range of documentation.
Typically, we translate the following kinds of legal material:
The consequences that can arise from inaccurate legal translation are wide-ranging. For businesses and individuals, documentation can be fraudulent or invalid. Contracts can be rendered incomplete or unbinding between the two parties.
Legal depositions and affidavits can be inadmissible in court or an inaccurate version of events. Public records and government documents can be wrong and affect people’s ability to enter countries and their rights to certain freedoms and state aid or provisions.
In worst-case scenarios, people can be held accountable for actions that they’re not responsible for, or they can be held against their will for extended periods of time until matters are resolved.
So much of our lives, both personally and professionally, depend on the ability for differing parties to have written agreements in place as a binding contract for how to do business, or live in a society, even if we rarely think about it in this way.
Why is translating legal documentation a challenging proposition? Mainly, it’s because legal systems have developed over time in different countries in different ways.
If you just look at a lot of the terminology and phrasing used in the source language, you’ll get a sense of history, bureaucracy, linguistic manipulation, and compromise.
All of this should lead to total clarity. It's these documents that our rights and freedoms are based on, after all, but it rarely does. Yet countries are fiercely protective of their legal systems and are ever fearful of setting precedents by bending the rules.
In the same way that ignorance isn’t a valid defense, neither is poor translation.
Sloppy translation can have huge consequences. It needs careful consideration and even countries can fail to give it the attention it deserves.
Take South Korea, for instance; in 2011, they were trying to secure a lucrative Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the EU, but they failed to do so because their translation of the legal documents for the FTA contained over 207 mistakes.
Not only did they lose out on significant trade with 27 European countries, but they also failed to learn from their mistake when, in the same year, an FTA with the US was withdrawn because of “translation blunders.”
Legal translations are accurate when a few factors come together. Firstly, an understanding of the native and target languages.
This may sound obvious, but what we mean is if the legal documents are for filing in Buenos Aires, the translator doesn't just have a deep understanding of Spanish but of the Rioplatense Spanish that is spoken in the Argentinian capital.
Secondly, the translator should have experience in the legal trade in that area, so they know the nuances of practicing law in that city. They need to understand the legal framework that the translated material is going into and whether a literal translation is possible.
If there is no accurate literal translation that will satisfy the legal requirement, they need to have the ability to clearly define legal concepts or differences to make the matter legally binding in the target language.
Now that you’ve seen the importance of accurate legal translation, getting it right doesn’t have to be difficult. It just needs some care and attention so that you avoid the potential pitfalls that come with integrating in one form or another with another country's laws and procedures.
At Lingualinx, we can help you with legal translations and localizing into another country, culture, or community.
Consultations are free, and there’s no obligation. We’d like to think you’re in safe hands with us as we’re ISO 17100 and ISO 9001 compliant, have over twenty years of professional translation experience, and have earned the trust of organizations around the world.