1.2 Aim of the study This study is conducted in order to a clearly summarize the major strands of translation theories, b outline the characteristics of legal translation and its nature
Background to the study
Since Vietnam opened to the world in 1986, English has become a vital language for communication and business in the country Foreign investors from Asia, Australia, the Americas, and Europe have been drawn to Vietnam, and an increasing share of international conventions, legal principles, and contracts are drafted in English This trend has spurred Vietnamese people to learn English, enabling more effective and efficient communication with international partners.
With the growing demand for English and greater access to foreign law, organizations and individuals around the world increasingly rely on translated legal information to address cross-border issues Countries now commonly consult laws from other jurisdictions to deal with legal matters involving foreign elements, and legal information is intended not only for local audiences but also for foreign organizations and individuals Consequently, translating legal documents between native languages and English—and vice versa—plays a crucial role in learning, researching, and analyzing legal texts Legal systems vary across countries, shaped by cultural attitudes, and the vast terminologies involved may lack direct equivalents; in such cases, legal translation must convey the meaning and procedures without altering the original document’s intent.
Scholars worldwide have long investigated translation theories to address the challenges of legal translation This ongoing inquiry raises the central question of which theoretical approach yields the most accurate translations in the legal domain, enabling clear and reliable cross-border legal communication.
Based on the reasons discussed above, I have chosen to focus my graduation thesis on the topic "An Overview of Translation Theories and Their Implications for Translating English-Vietnamese Legal Texts." This study will explore how different translation theories guide the rendering of legal language and examine the practical implications for translating English and Vietnamese legal texts By framing the topic this way, I aim to illuminate theoretical foundations while addressing the specific challenges of cross-language legal discourse.
Aim of the study
This study aims to (a) clearly summarize the major strands of translation theories, (b) outline the characteristics and nature of legal translation along with its inherent difficulties, and (c) identify which translation theories are most appropriate for translating English–Vietnamese legal documents By reviewing key theoretical approaches—such as equivalence, dynamic equivalence, Skopos theory, functionalism, formalism, and contextualist perspectives—the paper clarifies how these theories influence legal translation practice, including terminology choice, fidelity to the source text, and the preservation of legal nuance It also highlights the distinctive features of legal language—precision, ambiguity, and jurisdictional variation—and the practical challenges these pose for cross-language transfer, such as term proliferation, culture-bound concepts, and institutional requirements Building on this analysis, the study proposes a hybrid framework that integrates functional and rule-based theories to guide English–Vietnamese legal translation, ensuring accurate terminology, coherent style, and legally defensible translations.
Research questions
This study seeks to answer key research questions by identifying translation theories, delineating the main characteristics of legal translation, and examining the difficulties involved in translating legal texts, ultimately proposing which of the identified theories should be applied to address the challenges of translating English–Vietnamese legal texts.
Significance of the study
This study aims to deepen understanding of translation theories and legal translation, and to identify measures grounded in translation theory that address the difficulties of translating legal documents The findings are expected to benefit particular groups: (a) students majoring in language and law, who can use this study as a reference to enhance their knowledge during the learning process; and (b) future researchers, for whom the results will provide a reliable source of information for conducting new studies or testing the validity of related findings.
Scopes of the research
Different translation theories guide different translation purposes This study outlines the key issues in translation theory and legal translation and analyzes the application of functional equivalence theory and functional approaches to legal translation, with attention to accuracy, fidelity, and context It also notes that research in legal translation often faces constraints due to limited time and access to resources, and discusses practical strategies to apply theory effectively in practice.
This study highlights five key translation theories from the broad field and discusses the common issues that arise when translating legal documents Although legal texts are diverse, the study’s examples are primarily drawn from contracts and related contract documents, offering focused insights into legal translation within contract contexts.
Outline of the thesis
This thesis is organized as follows: Chapter 1 introduces the topic, states the research objectives, and explains the study’s significance; Chapter 2 provides the literature review, defines key terms, surveys prior work in the topic area, and synthesizes current knowledge; Chapter 3 outlines the research design and data collection methods and presents the conceptual framework used to answer the research questions; Chapter 4, the body of the thesis, reports the findings and discusses their implications as answers to the research questions; Chapter 5 presents the conclusions, discusses limitations, and offers recommendations for future research.
Keywords: translation, translation theories, legal translation, characteristic of legal language, legal difficulties, English - Vietnamese legal texts
LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Definition of the key terms
Translation – Translation theories
"Translate" derives from the Latin translatio, meaning carried across, specifically the transfer of a text from one language to another Translation is a complex process in which the meaning of the source-language text must be conveyed clearly to readers in the target language Because the definition of translation not only describes and interprets the core properties of translation but also shapes its connotation and scope, it sits at the heart of translation studies In the field, different theorists offer varying definitions of translation, reflecting diverse approaches to the craft and study of translating.
Foster (1958) defines translation as the act of transferring a text’s content from the source language (SL) to the target language (TL) Abdellah (2004: 25) explains that the source language is the text before translating, where reading comprehension, analysis, and researching occur, while the target language is the text after translating, where composing, rephrasing, and editing take place.
Catford (1965:20) defines translation as the replacement of textual material in one language by equivalent textual material in another language, foregrounding the need for textual equivalence even though the exact nature of that equivalence remains ambiguous Similarly, Savory (1969) argues that translation is made possible by an underlying equivalent of thought that underpins different verbal expressions Together, these perspectives emphasize the core challenge of identifying an expression in the target language that preserves meaning across linguistic forms This view of translation centers on equivalence and the conceptual bridge between languages, guiding how we understand and implement translation across contexts.
Wilss (1982, p 3) defines translation as a transfer process that aims to transform a written source-language text into an optimally equivalent target-language text, and it requires thorough syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic understanding as well as analytical processing of the source material.
Hatim and Mason (1997) define translation as an act of communication that seeks to relay, across cultural and linguistic boundaries, another act of communication Building on this, Tianmin (2000) regards translation as a form of cross-cultural communication, emphasizing how meaning is negotiated between languages through intercultural mediation rather than mere word substitution Together, these perspectives frame translation as a dynamic, boundary-spanning process that preserves intention, tone, and function while navigating diverse cultural contexts.
11 cultural communication alleged that “translation is simultaneous de-contextualization and re-contextualization, hence is productive rather than reproductive.”
Translation is the process of establishing equivalence between source-language and target-language texts, as Sa'edi (2004: 242) explains, with the aim of passing on understanding to readers in their own language and creating the same impact as the original text, as Galibert (2004: 1) notes.
In conclusion, in different historical periods, the definition of translation has become more complete and more accessible
Translation theory, as Newmark (1981:19) notes, is primarily concerned with identifying suitable translation methods that can cover the widest range of texts and text categories It also provides a framework of guiding principles, limited rules, and practical hints for translating and evaluating translations, establishing a backdrop for solving translation problems.
Graham, cited in Ross (1981: 23–24, 26), argues that any substantive theory of translation presumes a formal inquiry into the general principles of accomplishment—the principles that define an object and specify a method of study A rigorous translation theory would also include a practical evaluation procedure with specific criteria.
Translation theory rests on a solid understanding of how languages work and recognizes that meaning is encoded in different forms across languages, guiding translators to preserve core sense while using the most natural expressions for each language It provides practical principles for translating figurative language, addressing lexical mismatches, handling rhetorical questions, and integrating cohesion markers, along with many other topics that are essential to produce accurate and fluent translations.
Legal translation
Legal translation, like any translation, replaces the source language with the target language, but it is distinct because law is culture-dependent It deals with texts that exist within specific legal systems, all of which vary from country to country, requiring translators to navigate jurisdictional nuances, specialized terminology, and different drafting conventions The process demands a translator's precision, subject-matter expertise, and an awareness of how legal concepts map across borders to preserve rights, obligations, and enforceability Achieving faithful legal translation combines linguistic skill with legal understanding, cross-cultural sensitivity, and rigorous quality assurance to meet client needs and deliver accurate, jurisdiction-appropriate results.
12 mastery of both languages, and in-depth knowledge of both legal systems Only then will the translation of legal expressions be accurate and natural
Legal translation is a law-based process involving the translation of legal texts used in different settings, requiring careful attention to jurisdictional nuance across legal systems As Šarčević (1997: 13) notes, legal translation is not simply translating from the source language into the target language; it is a translation from one legal system into another, bridging concepts and norms between the source and target legal frameworks.
Legal translation is a specialized form of Language for Special Purpose (LSP) translation that enables cross-linguistic communication in the legal domain It demands a high degree of accuracy and careful precision, and it typically takes longer than general translation due to its complexity To achieve reliable results, clients should partner with a professional language services provider who combines legal translation expertise with years of subject-matter experience With such expertise, legal documents are translated accurately and consistently, helping mitigate risk and support sound legal outcomes.
Wilss (1994) argues that many aspects of translation, especially in the field of languages for specific purposes (LSP), transcend cultural boundaries and embody universal traits In other words, translation is a socio-cultural linguistic activity that integrates culture-specific features with universal components.
Tiersma suggested that legal language could be called an argot, a dialect, a register, a style, or even a separate language; in practice it is best described as a sublanguage—a specialized grammar, a limited subject matter, and lexical, syntactic, and semantic restrictions that permit deviant rules not acceptable in standard language Nevertheless, legal language is a complex collection of linguistic habits developed over centuries, which jurists have learned to use strategically (1999: 142).
Legal texts
Legal texts differ from ordinary speech in that they are written to create obligations or permissions, to bind individuals or institutions to promises, and to set penalties for violations This is especially true for authoritative legal texts, which are designed to create, modify, or terminate the rights and obligations of people and organizations Such texts can be understood through J L Austin’s (1962) theory of performative utterances, which shows how legal language acts to enact bindings and effect changes in legal relations.
13 have called “written performatives” Lawyers often refer to them as operative or dispositive
Authoritative legal texts span a range of genres, including constitutions, contracts, deeds, orders, judgments, decrees, pleadings, statutes, and wills Each genre tends to have its own conventional format, is typically written in legal language (or “legalese”), and contains one or more legal speech acts designed to carry out its intended functions For example, a contract almost always includes promises, a will uses verbs that transfer property at death, and a deed transfers property during the maker’s lifetime (Tiersma 2003).
A contract is a legally binding agreement between two parties that creates enforceable obligations to perform specified duties, such as making payments or delivering goods It can govern a wide range of transactions, including the sale of land or goods and the provision of services, and although contracts may be oral or written, courts generally prefer that agreements be reduced to writing.
Previous studies
Aspiring masters of legal translation face several challenges, the most pressing being a scarcity of reliable reference sources While numerous scholars have devoted themselves to translation theory and to legal translation separately, the integration of these two areas has received relatively little attention, creating a gap between theoretical insights and practical application in legal translation.
Scholars have produced extensive work on translation theory, including the 2011 book Translation Theories: Strategies and Basic Theoretical Issues by Prof A B As-Safi, which presents translation as an indispensable activity and traces the emergence of diverse theories to guide practice This diversity reflects the variety of perspectives and approaches to translation, as evidenced by the wide range of definitions, types, and theoretical frameworks examined in the first three chapters of Part One Historically, translation theory traces back to the Romans, but, as George Steiner proposes, it has evolved through four distinct periods discussed in Chapter Two Chapter Three then furnishes a rich array of ancient and modern translation theories, offering material for students and researchers to specialize further.
Anyone interested in translation will benefit from exploring translation theories For example, the book “An Introduction into Translation Theories” (2012) by Vietnamese author Dr Luu Trong Tuan takes readers on an expedition through translation theories, offering diverse views on the nature of translation and presenting the various theories that have contributed to the growth of translation.
Legal translation has long shaped international interaction and now plays an even more pivotal role in our increasingly interconnected world, a fact reflected in extensive research and journals on translating law and its challenges Translating Law (2007) by Deborah Cao draws on a decade of research and her firsthand experience as an interpreter to map bias in the interdisciplinary dialogue between law and linguistics across diverse languages and legal cultures, examining legal translation from both theoretical and practical angles, assessing legal-translation competence, and analyzing texts such as contracts, statutes, and multilateral instruments, while offering comparative insights into Common Law and Civil Law and case law from Canada, Hong Kong, and the European Court of Justice In Chapter Two, Cao classifies legal translation, analyzes the nature of legal language in normative, performative, and technical terms, and characterizes its lexicon, syntax, pragmatics, and style, while outlining three major sources of difficulty—legal, linguistic, and cultural Ahmad Abdelmoneim Youssef Masry Zidan’s A Linguistic Analysis of Some Problems of Arabic-English Translation of Legal Texts, with Special Reference to Contracts (2015) provides a comprehensive description of legal language and demonstrates how translators address key contractual features and problem areas in translating two contracts Susan Šarčević is also cited for contributions to the field, underscoring the breadth of scholarship that informs modern legal translation.
The 1997 book New Approach to Legal Translation analyzes legal translation as an act of communication embedded in the workings of the law, offering a theoretical basis for legal translation within modern translation theory and highlighting the difficulties of translating between countries with different legal systems The author stresses the receiver's role in translation theory, focusing on the implications for translators' decision-making processes rather than on interpretive methods In the Vietnamese context, Ms Nguyen Minh Tram's journal Legal translation and experiences of legal translators in Ho Chi Minh City surveys major issues in translating legal documents and outlines the essential skills and qualities required of a legal translator.
Tran Huu Hai's 2010 study, "Problems and Difficulties Encountered in the Translation of Legal Texts between English and Vietnamese," identifies the distinctive characteristics of legal English and the common problems that arise in translating legal documents between English and Vietnamese The author underscores the need to preserve the academic value of translations while ensuring clarity, completeness, accuracy, and transparency of meaning However, the analysis notes that neither this study nor related literature provides concrete directions or strategies to resolve these translation problems, leaving a gap in practical guidance for English–Vietnamese legal translation.
METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research questions
Design and context of the study
This study employs a library-based approach to describe established translation theories and the essential features of legal translation, and to identify which theoretical frameworks can be applied to address the challenges of legal translation By analyzing foundational concepts and their practical implications, the research demonstrates how selected theories guide accurate, faithful, and jurisdictionally appropriate translations in legal contexts.
Choice of research methodology greatly influences study outcomes One well-established approach is library research, a literature-based method aimed at surveying existing works It centers on theoretical analysis and involves selecting and discussing descriptive materials as well as conducting a comparative investigation of the theories that define the issue under scrutiny In this framework, the objective is not to uncover new facts about a specific phenomenon but to evaluate the merit of the main theories that frame the related concept, thereby understanding it as one facet of the world’s realities Therefore, a library-based or theoretical study is often the appropriate path for such inquiries.
Research instruments
Library-based research involves collecting, evaluating, and analyzing large volumes of information related to the thesis topic Researchers primarily source materials from the university library—such as books, journal articles, and reports—while also leveraging specialized online tools like Google Scholar and ScienceDirect The preference for these instruments rests on factors such as comprehensive coverage, credibility, and efficient access to relevant literature, enabling a systematic literature review and robust data collection.
Among 17 core assumptions, the article emphasizes a diverse array of sources from numerous foreign scholars, the easiest and most effective ways to access information, and the goal of keeping information-gathering costs as low as possible.
Conceptual framework
The basic Conceptual framework which was followed throughout the study is drawn below:
Figure 1 Conceptual Framework of the study
To achieve the study’s objectives, the researcher follows a systematic process designed to identify appropriate legal translation methods that are grounded in established translation theories The research aims to pinpoint theory-based approaches that enhance the accuracy, fidelity, and practical effectiveness of legal translations, connecting core translation theories to concrete translation practice.
Three main stages structure the process: it begins with researching and analyzing translation theories and ends with identifying legal translation issues that can be solved by applying those theories In the first stage, the theories are presented—Philological Theories, Linguistic Theories, Functional Theories, Sociolinguistic Theories, and Relevance Theory After studying and analyzing these theories, the researcher compares them to uncover the relationships between different translation approaches and to determine how they can be leveraged to address legal translation challenges.
Translation theories’ implications for the translation of legal texts
This article surveys eighteen theories and methods commonly used in legal translation and explains the nature and key characteristics of legal language By outlining these elements, researchers can pinpoint the translation problems that arise when rendering legal texts and determine which challenges can be resolved by combining these methods, ultimately improving accuracy, consistency, and fidelity in legal document translation.
Last but not least, the research findings and recommendations could be adopted and implemented to benefit the area of translating English - Vietnamese legal texts
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Overview of translation theories
Philological Theories
Philological theories rely upon „philology‟ as the study of the development of language, and the classical literary studies They are mainly concerned with the comparison of structures in the native and foreign languages, especially the functional correspondence and the literary genres in addition to stylistics and rhetoric
Be affected by specific factors such as social, context, function
Express as exactly as posible the meaning of every words
Nida (1976: 67-68) explicitly states: “The philological theories of translation are, of course based on a philological approach to literary analysis They simply go one step further; in place of treating the form in which the text was first composed, they deal with corresponding structures in the source and receptor languages and attempt to evaluate their equivalences […] Philological theories of translation are normally concerned with all kinds of stylistic features and rhetorical devices.”
Linguistic Theories
According to Nida (1976:69), linguistic theories of translation are based on comparing the linguistic structures of the STs and TTs, rather than on contrasting literary genres and stylistic features emphasized by philological theories Moreover, Nida and Taber (1969:134) argue that only a linguistic translation can be considered valid.
Faithful translation is one that only contains elements directly derived from the source text, avoiding any explanatory interpolation or cultural adjustments that would be justified on that basis Building on this idea, Nida (1976: 75) proposes a three-stage model of the translation process, wherein the surface elements of the source text—grammar, meaning, and connotations—are analyzed as linguistic kernel structures that can be transferred to the target language and then restructured to form compatible target-language surface elements.
Pertinent to linguistic theories is Newmark‟s binary classification of translation into semantic and communicative, which somehow resembles Nida‟s formal and dynamic equivalence “Communicative translation”, Newmark (1981: 39) states,
Semantic translation seeks to evoke in the reader a response as close as possible to that produced by the original text It aims to render, within the constraints of the target language’s semantic and syntactic structures, the exact contextual meaning of the source material.
Functional Theories
The 1970s and 1980s witnessed a shift from the static linguistic typologies of translation and the emergence, in Germany, of a functionalist and communicative approach to the analysis of translation
Built on the concept of equivalence, which is the milestone in linguistic theories, the text, rather than the word or sentence, is deemed the appropriate level at
21 which communication is achieved and at which equivalence must be sought (Reiss
1977) The Table below shows the way Reiss links the functional characteristics of text types to translation methods:
Table 1 Functional characteristics of text types to translation methods
Informative communication is about the plain transmission of facts—information, knowledge, and opinions It uses logical or referential language to convey content clearly and accurately In this approach, the topic or content is the main focus of the communication, shaping how information is organized and presented.
An informative translation should faithfully transmit the full referential and conceptual content of the source text It should render the target text in plain prose—clear, direct, and free of redundancy—while providing necessary explication when the meaning requires clarification.
Expressive: It denotes the „creative composition‟ wherein the author uses the aesthetic dimension of the language
The TT of an expressive text should transmit the aesthetic and artistic form of the ST The translation should use the
„identifying‟ method, with the translator adopting the stand point of ST author
Operative: The purpose is to induce behavioral responses, i.e., to appeal to or persuade the reader or „receiver‟ of the text to act in a certain way
The TT of an operative text should produce the desired response in the TT receiver The translation should create an equivalent effect among TT readers
Audio-medial: It refers to films and visual or spoken advertisements which supplement the other three functions with visual images, music, etc
Audio-medial texts require the
„supplementary‟ method, written words with visual images and music The text type approach moves translation theory beyond a consideration of lower linguistic levels, the mere words beyond even the
22 effect they create, towards a consideration of the communicative purpose of translation (Munday 2001:76)
This theory views translation as purpose-driven, product-oriented, or outcome-oriented human interaction, with a special emphasis on the translation process as message transmission or a translational action arising from the source text, and as a communicative process involving a sequence of roles and players The most important of these are the ST producer (the original author), the TT producer (the translator), and the TT receiver (the final recipient of the translation) The theory stresses the production of the translation as an intentional, goal-oriented communicative act that navigates the relationships among these key participants.
TT as functionally communicative for the reader, i.e., the form and the genre of the
Guided by what is functionally suitable within the TT culture, the target text (TT) is shaped by the translator—the expert in the translational act—whose role is to ensure that intercultural transfer takes place satisfactorily (As-Safi, 2011: 36).
Christiane Nord (1997) offers a functionalist approach to translation that centers on the function of texts and their translations She argues that translations should be evaluated by their functionality in a given situation-in-culture, highlighting that different contexts require different renderings In some scenarios a source-text orientation with faithful, word-for-word fidelity to the original may be required, while in others a target-text orientation that prioritizes the needs of the target audience is more appropriate Many translators share Nord’s view, maintaining that translation should combine procedural fidelity with adjustments tailored to the target readership and cultural context.
Within the functionalist approaches to translation, there is a „Skopostheorie‟ which was introduced by Hans J Vermeer (1978) to bridge the gap between theory
23 and practice The word „skopos‟ is a Greek word which means „purpose‟ and this theory applies the notion of Skopos to translation (Nord 1997: 27) In other words,
„Skopostheorie‟ holds the view that the prime principle of determining any translation process is the purpose (Skopos) of the overall translational action
Skopos theory broadens translation possibilities by opening up a wider range of strategies and freeing the translator from rigid, often meaningless literalism (Vermeer 1989:42) In practice, it is the target readers who guide translation decisions, prompting paraphrase, adaptation, or even re-editing of the target text to choose the most appropriate approach for a given situation This audience-centered perspective ensures the translated work communicates effectively with its intended readers.
Skopos theory faces criticism from linguistically oriented approaches, which argue that its framework rests on an oversimplification inherent in functionalism; by prioritizing the translation's purpose, it often sacrifices the richness of meaning and undermines the authority of the source text.
Within skopos theory discussions, a notable criticism—attributed to Newmark (1991) and cited in Baker (2005:237)—is that a translation can fulfill its intended skopos perfectly yet be judged inadequate for other reasons Specifically, micro-level decisions about lexical choice, syntactic structure, and stylistic rendering can undermine translation quality even when the overall functional aim has been achieved.
Sociolinguistic Theories
These theories link translation to communicative theory and information theory, emphasizing the recipient’s role in the translation process They do not ignore language structures; instead, they analyze them at a higher level based on their functions within the communicative act, where rhetorical devices and figures of speech—such as simile, metaphor, irony, and hyperbole—appear in both literary and non-literary texts (As-Safi 2011).
39) These theories require the translator exhibit language competence as well as language performance (As-Safi 2011: 39).
Relevance Theory
Relevance theory, rooted in pragmatics, investigates how language is used in communication, focusing on how meaning is conveyed and negotiated by participants within a given context In essence, pragmatics concerns the speaker's meaning and how that meaning is interpreted by listeners or addressees in a communicative situation.
24 hearer(s), in what is known as „implicature‟ (Palumbo 2009: 89) In translation,
„implicature‟ can be seen as one kind or level of equivalence between a ST and TT at which can be established
Relevance theory is not a descriptive-classificatory framework; rather than attempting to provide an orderly description of complex phenomena by sorting them into classes, it aims to understand the complexities of communication through cause-and-effect relationships (Gutt 2000: 21-22).
The nature of legal language
Legal translation is widely viewed as complex because it stems from the nature of law and its specialized language, and from intercultural and interlingual differences that make translating legal texts challenging According to Deborah Cao, legal language is tied to its normative, performative, and technical uses, while also reflecting the inherent indeterminacy of language itself.
4.2.1 The normative nature of legal language
Legal philosophers contend that legal language is inherently normative, linked to norm creation, norm production, and norm expression Consequently, the language used in law and legal sources is largely prescriptive, guiding conduct through duties, permissions, and prohibitions and framing authoritative standards for behavior.
Normative language in law stems from its fundamental role in guiding human behavior and regulating social relations Legal language is predominantly prescriptive, directive, and imperative, crafted to do more than convey information; it seeks to direct, influence, or modify people's conduct From statutes and judicial decisions to contracts, legal texts are written to shape behavior, ensuring compliance and orderly social interactions.
4.2.2 The performative nature of legal language
Law depends on language, particularly the normative and performative aspects of how we speak Although the performative turn of language is not unique to law, legal systems rely heavily on performative utterances to generate effects and consequences In practice, legal outcomes can be triggered simply by uttering certain words in the right context, turning speech into action A classic illustration is formal declarations that confer status, duties, or rights merely through prescribed phrases such as “You are hereby….”
25 guilty” or “You are fined $1000” are usually pronounced in court Language used in law can perform such acts as conferring rights, prescribing prohibition and granting permission
4.2.3 The technical nature of legal language
Scholars continue to debate the nature of legal language, questioning whether it truly exists as a distinct, technical register or is simply an extension of ordinary language used in legal contexts The central issue is whether legal language constitutes its own autonomous phenomenon and, if so, whether it should be characterized as a technical language According to Deborah Cao (2007:15), there are two main positions on the nature of legal language: one that treats it as a unique, rule-governed system with specialized conventions, and another that views it as a function of general language adapted for legal purposes.
Scholars are divided on whether legal language is a distinct technical language or whether there is no such thing as a separate legal language at all; the first camp maintains that legal discourse uses specialized terminology, structures, and conventions that set it apart from everyday speech, while the second argues that, even if a specialized mode exists, it is simply part of ordinary language used in law This debate influences how legal texts—statutes, contracts, and court opinions—are drafted and interpreted, highlighting whether the law speaks in a specialized register or in the same linguistic terms as everyday communication.
Two main positions exist on legal language One camp argues that there is no distinct “law language”—legal language is simply a specialized use of ordinary language designed for legal purposes The opposing view holds that legal language is an identifiable technical language, with some accepting the designation “legal language” as valid and even arguing that it constitutes a separate language, a sub-language, or a social dialect.
Language, including legal language, encompasses more than vocabulary alone, so examining legal language through the lens of a register—an orderly language variety defined by its use—can illuminate its nature (Cao 2007:17; Halliday and Hasan 1985:41) A register corresponds to what you are saying in a given moment, determined by the activity and purpose at hand, and it reflects the social order and the kinds of social activities in which the language operates (Halliday and Hasan 1985:41).
Legal language is frequently debated as ordinary versus technical language, but most scholars view it as a distinct technical register It retains the core of general language while remaining separate from everyday speech, and it is defined by unique lexical, syntactic, textual, and pragmatic features that collectively mark it as a specialized form of legal communication (Cao 2007: 18).
4.2.4 The indeterminate nature of legal language
Language is inherently indeterminate This linguistic nature is not often realized or appreciated People are often guided by an ideal conception of language as precise,
Many people cling to the belief that anything that can be said can be said clearly and that anything that can be thought can be thought clearly; yet in practice language often falls short of this ideal The universe and human behavior are inherently uncertain and indeterminate, and the law is no exception Ambiguity, vagueness, and generality are pervasive and consequential features that shape how we interpret statements, make decisions, and navigate everyday life.
English legal language is full of imprecise and ambiguous expressions Terms like 'fair and reasonable' and 'due process of law' are vague and elusive, while abstract notions such as 'justice' and 'due diligence' resist precise definitions This ambiguity complicates legal drafting, interpretation, and enforcement, affecting predictability, fairness, and efficiency in legal outcomes To improve clarity and consistency, legal writers advocate for more precise terminology, standardized formulations, and clearer definitions that reduce vagueness for judges, practitioners, and the public.
„reasonable endeavors‟ However, law demands exactness and precision Ambiguity and imprecision of any kind are likely to lead to disagreement
Linguistic uncertainty encompasses ambiguity, generality, and vagueness, and is categorized into intralingua uncertainty—uncertainty that exists within a single language—and interlingua uncertainty, which arises when two languages are compared or when translation takes place While words, phrases, and sentences may be uncertain within one language, cross-language evaluation can introduce additional ambiguity or other uncertainties when they are analyzed across languages (Cao 2007: 19).
Characteristics of the legal language
Legal documents are notoriously hard to understand compared with other professional writings, which has spurred efforts in English-speaking countries to simplify legal language and make the law more accessible to the average reader The language of law has developed distinctive lexical, syntactic, and pragmatic features that reflect its purposes and the concrete needs of legal practice and application These linguistic characteristics shape how legal texts are written, read, and applied, and they carry important consequences for legal translation, where precision and consistency must be maintained across languages.
Across legal systems, legal language exhibits both common and distinctive linguistic features, evident in lexicon, syntax, pragmatics, and style, as demonstrated in Deborah Cao’s research (Cao 2007: 20) The characteristics Cao identifies in her study illuminate how legal language operates across different languages and contexts.
A distinctive feature of legal language is its complex and specialized vocabulary While this characteristic is universal across legal languages, each jurisdiction develops its own unique legal terminology, making the vocabulary of the law highly system-specific This extensive legal vocabulary is a defining trait of legal language as a technical field, reflecting the particularities of its governing legal system In translation, differences between legal systems often create non-equivalence, as many terms in one language lack direct counterparts in another, which is a major source of translation difficulty.
Within every legal lexicon, idiosyncrasies abound, and they do not always align with those of other legal languages Research has identified distinctive linguistic features of the English legal language The English legal lexicon is marked by archaic terms, formal and ritualistic usage, long strings of words, common words with unusual meanings, and terms of over-precision, among other characteristics (see Tiersma, 1999).
Legal language is characterized by a formal, impersonal written style that tends to be long and complex In statutes, sentences are often extended to accommodate the subject matter's complexity and the prospective, forward-looking nature of law Legislative writing frequently relies on conditions, qualifications, and exceptions to express intricate contingencies These distinctive linguistic features, as observed by Bhatia (1997), can create barriers to comprehension for the ordinary reader and even for translators Therefore, understanding and translating legislative provisions requires recognizing and navigating these typical difficulties.
Legal languages differ not only in sentence length but also in distinctive syntactic features For instance, German legal texts commonly deploy multiple attributive adjectives in sequence to convey precision, nuance, and legal specificity, while legal English tends to rely on long noun phrases and nominalizations to achieve formality and clarity.
28 complex structures, passive voice, multiple negations, and prepositional phrases are extensively used
Law rests on the performative power of language: legal utterances do things, creating facts, rights, and institutions Legislation exemplifies “saying as doing,” with a statute functioning as a master speech act and each provision constituting its own act Performativity and modality are the linguistic tools that express the institutional ideology behind the relationship dynamics in legislative rule-making Contracts and wills are other salient examples of legal speech acts in action A prominent linguistic feature across these acts is the frequent use of performative markers; in English legal documents, may and shall are extensively employed, and performative verbs such as declare, announce, promise, undertake, enact, and confer enact legal effects.
Amendments are common in legal texts A key pragmatic issue is ambiguity, vagueness, and other uncertainties found in statutes and contracts, which frequently become points of legal contention Courts regularly tackle these linguistic problems to achieve uniform interpretation and legal certainty.
Legal style refers to the linguistic aspects of the written legal language and also the way, in which legal problems are approached, managed and solved (Smith 1995:
Legal style grows out of the convergence of tradition, legal thinking, and culture, as Smith (1995) argues In practice, legal writing tends to be impersonal and relies heavily on declarative sentences that articulate rights and obligations At the same time, different legal languages each develop their own distinctive stylistic norms.
Legal language is defined by a balance between flexibility and precision, a point emphasized by Tiersma (1999) To cover a range of situations, legal experts deliberately deploy vague terms such as “reasonable,” while other terms are used with exceptional exactness Impersonality is another characteristic of legal language, as lawyers address the judge in formal, third‑person style, for example saying “May it please the court” (Tiersma 1999).
To summarize, the described features of legal language provide a general overview of linguistic markers common to many legal languages, though to varying degrees Nevertheless, substantial differences among legal languages persist, and these variations create challenges in legal translation (Cao 2007: 23).
Difficulties of legal translation
Legal language is a specialized technical register, but unlike universal scientific terminology, it is inseparably tied to a national legal system, making law a national phenomenon Each country's legal framework possesses its own terminological apparatus, underlying conceptual structure, rules of classification, sources of law, methodological approaches, and socio-economic principles, reflecting the history, evolution, and culture of that system This system-bound nature has major implications for legal translation and cross-border communication, as messages move across different languages, cultures, and legal traditions.
Because historical development and cultural context shape legal systems differently, elements of a source legal system cannot be directly transplanted into a target legal system (Šarčević, 1997: 13) As a result, the central challenge for legal translators is the incongruence between the SL and TL legal frameworks, requiring careful navigation of divergent institutions, concepts, and norms to produce accurate and usable translations.
Common Law and Civil Law are the two most influential legal systems worldwide They differ significantly in case law, legal institutions, and the function and style of legal doctrine, but they are not incompatible, and translation between the two remains possible This cross-system compatibility underpins comparative law and supports efforts toward harmonization across jurisdictions.
From Nguyen Minh Tram's perspective, based on her experience, there are two main factors that make legal terminology a nightmare for legal translators The first factor is a lack of legal knowledge, which can lead to misinterpretations and inaccurate translations of complex terms The second factor arises from the inherent complexity of legal language itself—specialized terminology, jurisdictional variations, and the high demand for precise one-to-one equivalents between source and target texts Together, these challenges complicate the translation process and increase the risk of errors in legal documents.
Effective legal translation requires more than vocabulary; it hinges on deep field knowledge because most specialized terms are not typically defined in dictionaries Translators must understand every word or expression in a sentence to deliver an accurate rendering In legal discourse, many terms derive their general meaning from ordinary language (for example, thing, property, theft, rent) but acquire a special legal sense within each system—what Danet (1980) termed “common words with uncommon meaning.” Consequently, words that retain their everyday sense cannot be treated as legal terms, even if their meaning is reconstructed in a legal definition (Malinowski 2006: 154) The key point is that the meaning a group of legal experts shares for a word is often peculiar to specialists and not the meaning used by lay readers For instance, the term “action” in legal contexts means “lawsuit,” a usage that is not part of ordinary language.
Most people recognize the dictionary definition of an heir as someone who will legally receive money, property, or a title from another person—usually an older family member—when that person dies In other words, an heir is the legal recipient of an estate or title after the decedent passes away.
The strict legal definition of "heir" differs from the common dictionary sense According to Black's Law Dictionary (1999: 727; meaning 1), an "heir" is a person who, under the laws of intestacy, is entitled to receive an intestate decedent's property, especially real property.
Many laypeople—and even some first-year law students taking exams—mistakenly assume that receiving real property by will makes someone an heir Technically, the word “heir” is reserved for a person who receives real property by operation of the laws of intestacy, not through a will.
F Bergin & P G Haskell, Preface to Estates in Land and Future Interests, 14 no 32, 2d ed 1984, quoted in Black‟s Law Dictionary, 1999: 727)
Other examples of terms with a strict legal definition built on precedent are
“assault” and “battery” In the middle ages, these terms were given technical meanings which they have retained ever since It became settled that, contrary to ordinary usage, an assault does not require physical contact, an intention in one person which produces
31 a fear in another is sufficient Also, a “battery” does not require an actual beating, the use of any degree of force against the body would suffice, for example, spitting on a person, or kissing without consent (A H Loewy, 1987, Criminal Law in a Nutshell, 2d ed., quoted in Black‟s Law Dictionary, 1999: 109) Moreover, more examples of the meanings of terms have been established through the legal process, with little regard to the everyday meaning of the term, such as “purchase”, “domicile” or
“adultery” (Charrow et al 1982: 185) The following Table 2 shows the differences between ordinary meaning and legal meaning of some terms:
Table 2 Differences between ordinary meaning and legal meaning of some terminologies Ordinary meaning Legal meaning
A sudden violent attack on (someone), esp a sexual one (Cambridge
International Dictionary of English, 1997 – CIDE)
Assault, in criminal law and tort law, is the threat or use of force against another that creates a reasonable apprehension of an immediate battery This outcome results from conduct that amounts to an attempt or threat to commit a battery, even if no actual contact takes place.
To batter – to hit and behave violently towards (a person, esp a woman or child) repeatedly over a long period of time (CIDE)
1 (criminal law) The application of force to another, resulting in harmful or offensive contact
2 (torts) An intentional and offensive touching of another without lawful justification (BLD)
2 An/The act of buying (CIDE)
1 The act or an instance of buying
2 The acquisition of real property by one‟s own or another‟s act(as by will or gift) rather that by descent or inheritance (BLD)
The place where a person lives (CIDE)
1 The place at which a person is physically present and that the person regards as home; a person‟s true, fixed, principal, and permanent home, to which that person intends to return and remain even though currently residing elsewhere
2 The residence of a person or corporation for legal purposes (BLD)
Sex between a married man or woman and someone who is not their wife or husband (CIDE)
Voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a person other than the offender‟s spouse (BLD) Note: different definitions in different American states
According to Al-Nakhalah (2013: 74), Latin-originated terms, or Latinism, are a notable feature of the English legal lexicon, often posing challenges for legal translators A large number of Latin terms are frequently used in legal documents Table 3 highlights several popular Latin terms that commonly appear in legal texts.
Table 3 Popular Latin terminologies definition in English and Vietnamese Term or phrase Definition Vietnamese meaning
Bona fide (adj) „With good faith' Ngay tình, thiện ý, trung thực
„In fact‟ – Existing as a matter of fact rather than of right
Thực tế/ Trên phương diện thực tế
„Of law‟ – As a matter of legal right; by right
Luật pháp/ Trên phương diện luật pháp
„Among other things/ among others‟ – The phrase is used to make it clear that a list is not exhaustive
Trong số những cái khác/ người khác
A guilty mind, or mens rea, is the mental state the prosecution must prove the defendant had at the time of committing a crime in order to secure a conviction This concept reflects criminal intent—the purposeful, knowing, or reckless mindset behind the unlawful act In many jurisdictions, “Ý chí phạm tội” translates to criminal intent and is one of the essential elements required to establish liability; without proving this guilty mind, a conviction cannot stand, though some offenses impose liability without regard to intent (strict liability).
Alcaraz and Hughes (2002:5) explain that Latin terms in English law stem from several causes, particularly the era when the Roman Church extended its power across Europe and the widespread use of Latin as the language of learning and literature for centuries These factors helped embed Latin terminology into English legal language, reflecting Latin’s historical influence on law and scholarship.
Translation theories’ implications for dealing with the difficulties of legal
Legal translation replaces the source language with the target language, but it remains uniquely challenging because law is culture-dependent and anchored in the country’s prevailing legal system Accurate translation depends on understanding both the content and the terminology of that legal framework, not just linguistic fluency As globalization accelerates cross-border activity, demand for legal translation grows, yet language barriers and fundamental differences between legal systems introduce significant complexity to the process.
Legal translation must rest on a solid theoretical foundation To address the challenges discussed earlier, this article proposes specific translation theories to be applied It is possible for multiple theories to coexist, each aimed at the same object of study but with distinct approaches and emphases Translation theories play a crucial role not only in selecting appropriate translation methods but also in supplying a framework for problem solving, especially in the legal domain.
From the perspective of translators and lawyers, the most relevant translation theories for tackling the challenges of legal texts are Functional Theories, Linguistic Theories, and Sociolinguistic Theories Each theory supports a tailored set of translation methods that reflect its core principles, enabling practitioners to choose approaches best suited to the nature of the source material and its legal purposes Following Newmark (1981/1988), there is a landscape of translation methods, and Table 4 below outlines the methods associated with each theoretical group, guiding decisive choices that balance accuracy, readability, and fidelity to intent.
Table 4 Landscape of translation methods
This method can produce the precise contextual meaning of the original within the constraints of the TL grammatical structures
- English version: In the case of unilateral termination of this Agreement without fault of Party B, Party A shall lose the deposit
- Vietnamese version: Trong trường hợp Bên A đơn phương chấm dứt Hợp đồng này không do lỗi của bên B, Bên A sẽ bị mất khoản tiền đặt cọc
This method differs from „faithful translation‟ only in as far as it must take more account of the aesthetic value of the SL text
It attempts to render the exact contextual meaning of the original in such a way that both content and language are readily acceptable and comprehensible to the readership (1981/ 1988: 45-47)
- English version: This contract is made into 04 copies; each party keeps 02 copies which has the same legitimacy This contract comes into effect from the date of signing
Hợp đồng này được soạn thảo thành 04 bản sao, mỗi bên giữ 02 bản có giá trị pháp lý như nhau và hiệu lực kể từ ngày ký kết.
When translation theories are used to determine appropriate methods, relying on a single theory is insufficient A synthesis of translation theories provides more effective guidance for translating legal texts, offering practical strategies and rules These theories address common translator challenges arising from differences in legal systems and linguistic complexities, including specialized terminology, ambiguity, and long, dense sentences.
As Susan Šarčević stated in her book „New Approach to Legal Translation‟,
Govert van Ginsbergen likens the translator’s search for equivalents to the legal process of qualification, noting that in cases with a foreign element the judge must determine which law applies to specific terms, sections of instruments, or the instrument as a whole This determination requires substantial comparative-law skills and careful cross-jurisdictional analysis.
Law is not a fixed corpus of rules but a set of methods for comparing concepts and institutions across diverse legal systems Among these methods, the functional approach has gained widespread support because it focuses on what law does rather than what it is called In legal translation, identifying equivalents in a foreign system should proceed as if solving a legal problem: ascertain the underlying issue and determine how the target legal system would address it In this process, the translator performs a judge-like task, discerning the nature of the issue and mapping its solution into the language and structure of the target law.
To translate law effectively, a translator must identify a concept or institution in the target legal system that carries the same function as its counterpart in the source system Šarčević defines the legal functional equivalent as a term in the target system that designates a concept or institution whose function mirrors that of the source system Weston argues that employing functional equivalents is an ideal translation strategy because it preserves the underlying function and meaning across different legal cultures.
Translation of legal texts is receiver-oriented, reflecting a shift in translation theory toward function over form Skopos theory and sociolinguistic theories have modernized the field by offering alternatives to traditional translation, which aims to reconstruct both the form and substance of the source text in the target language In contrast, the functional or receiver-oriented approach recognizes that the same source text can be translated in different ways depending on the communicative function and audience of the target text.
Relevance Theory can be applied alongside other theories to address pragmatic problems in legal texts Legal sentences are often long and complex, which can confuse translators as well as lay readers Using Relevance Theory helps readers infer the intended meaning from intricate legal language, improving comprehension and preserving precision for both professionals and non-experts.
By examining translation theories and their distinctive characteristics, and by analyzing the difficulties inherent in legal translation, this study presents a set of conclusions that summarize the core insights Theoretical frameworks provide a structured lens for decisions on terminology, register, equivalence, and fidelity to source texts in legal contexts The analysis highlights persistent challenges such as terminological inconsistency, jurisdictional variation, and the need to balance legal accuracy with clarity and readability To address these challenges, practical strategies—including the creation and use of bilingual legal term banks, controlled vocabularies, back-translation quality checks, and collaboration with legal experts—are recommended to improve consistency, precision, and comprehension Taken together, these conclusions illustrate how translating law benefits from a close integration of translation theory with targeted methodical practice.
Table 5 Translation theories’ implications for the legal translation Translation theories Difficulties Approaches Results
System and country specific legal terminology
Find a phrase of the same meaning, lexical expansion, or descriptive paraphrasing
Concentrate on the message and the main force of the text
Content & language are acceptable, comprehensible to the readerships
Differences of legal systems (structures, semantics)
Thoroughly understand of grammatical structures
Precise contextual meaning tied to the grammatical structures of the target texts
CONCLUSION 5.1 Conclusion
Limitations of the study
Limitations are factors outside the researcher's control that can influence a thesis Any research project encounters certain limitations, and this study is constrained by access to the literature Although translation theories have been developed by scholars worldwide, this study focuses on a selective set of theories due to limited time and resources These constraints also guided the choice of the legal texts analyzed, specifically contracts or documents related to contracts.
Moreover, the findings of this thesis are primarily relevant to the specific translation theories examined and to a limited set of legal translation issues within the researcher's scope Consequently, the applicability of these results is confined to these theories and issues, informing related studies and professional practice in translation and legal translation.
Recommendation for further study
This study highlights several gaps in our knowledge of translation theory and legal translation that emerge from the current findings These gaps identify where further research is needed to test and refine the theoretical framework and its application to legal texts Addressing these questions will benefit researchers and practitioners by providing clearer guidance for analysis, methodology, and practice in legal translation Future research should aim to validate the results presented here, explore cross-jurisdictional implications, and investigate how different translation approaches affect legal outcomes Pursuing these directions will contribute to a more robust evidence base for translation theory and legal translation, enhancing both academic understanding and real-world application.
This section may either (a) discuss in detail whether alternative translation theories not yet explored in this thesis can be applied to address the challenges of legal translation, or (b) recommend additional empirical tests to clarify the most appropriate methods for obtaining a broader, more nuanced picture of how translation theories impact the English–Vietnamese translation of legal texts, extending beyond contracts and contract-related documents.
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