(Obstacles to accurate legal translation and feasible solutions to this problem)

The document explores the complexities of legal translation based on four aspects: language, legal systems, textual genre, and text purpose Scott, 2017 which aims to encapsulate the comp

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF LAW

GRADUATION THESIS B.A DEGREE IN ENGLISH

Major: Legal English

(OBSTACLES TO ACCURATE LEGAL TRANSLATION AND FEASIBLE

SOLUTIONS TO THIS PROBLEM)

Supervisor: LUONG MINH HIEU, MA Student: PHAM THI THAO LINH Student ID: 1852202010038

Ho Chi Minh City, 2022

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Even though I am the author of my thesis, I could not have finished it without the assistance of others around me I want to thank everyone for your support, which helps the process of writing this thesis become easier The feedback, suggestions, and

compliments boost my confidence and motivate me to believe in myself

First and foremost, I want to send an appreciation to Mr Luong Minh Hieu, my mentor, who put the most time and effort to help me finish this thesis He was the one who patiently sat down to guide me when I felt tough and confused during this process Obviously, the process of doing a thesis would be even more difficult and strenuous without the teacher's dedicated guidance Since I have never conducted any research projects during my time at university, this project for me is a very advanced experience, but also full of difficulties and challenges The submission of this thesis marks my

maturity after a four-year academic career at the University of Law and opens up new opportunities for the future

Besides, I would like to thank the other lecturers of the Legal English department

as well as the teachers who have taught our class All teachers and professors gave us the most fundamental knowledge in the industry Moreover, the enthusiasm of the teachers in the teaching process is the biggest motivation for me to do the thesis I want to leave a research project as a very special mark in this student journey Thank Ms Pham Thi Thuy Dung – my head teacher, she always takes the time to answer our questions as soon as possible In addition, I would like to express my sincere and deep gratitude to Mr Tran Thang Long (Deputy Head of Department of Legal English), Ms Tran Ngoc Luong Tuyen, Ms Le Nguyen Thao Thy (lecturer in Deparment of Legal English), and all the lecturers and staffs in Ho Chi Minh City University of Law for all the values and

knowledge I have received on her 4-year journey

I also thank all Dat Bike staff, thank you Ms Nguyen Thi Phuong Mai – Human Resources Manager, Mr Pham Duc Nam Trung – Head of Finance and Operation, Ms

Truong Phan Cao Hoang Phuc – Legal Executive, and the entire Human Resources team and Supply Chain team, who created a good environment for me to conduct surveys and interviews, giving me a lot of lessons and additional useful information for me to

complete your thesis

Additionally, from bottom of my heart, I would want to express my gratitude to my best friends Hoa, Long, Nhi, and Ngoc for always being there and giving me the support, and courage to go through all of the challenges I had to face while attending university Thanks to everyone who contributed to making my time in college more memorable and colorful

Last but not least, I would like to express my gratefulness to my family for always being there for me, protecting me, and helping me succeed in my decision Family is always my reliable spiritual support when I am at my most vulnerable stage, loving me without conditions and encouraging me every step of my journey of life I sincerely

appreciate my parents for providing me with a superb learning and training environment

so that I can move forward with more confidence

I am unable to mention everyone who has stood by me in silence over the past few months because there are so many people supporting me in my very significant turning point However, in the end, for those whose names are not mentioned above, I still want

to send sincere appreciation to all people I love most, who lifted me up during my most desperate time to become a better version of myself

Ho Chi Minh City, 27th June, 2022

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: The complex factors affect to legal translation process 38

Figure 2: Number of each object doing my survey 46

Figure 3: The number of years students learning English 47

Figure 4: The fields which surveyors working in 47

Figure 5: The obstacles which people meet most when translating Legal English 48

Figure 6: Characters of Legal Translation 51

Figure 7: Common errors in Legal Translation 52

Figure 8: The satisfaction of legal translators 52

Figure 9: Tool usually used in Legal Translation 54

Figure 10: Useful methods for Legal Translation 54

Figure 11: Legal translation process 55

Figure 12: Stages in Pre-translation process 56

Figure 13: Factors for successful target text in Legal Translation 57

Figure 14: CAT tools 68

Figure 15: Legal Translation process 70

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Challenges which translators have to cope with : 50

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 1

ABBREVIATION 3

LIST OF FIGURES 4

LIST OF TABLES 5

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 9

1.1 Background to the Study 9

1.2 Rationale 12

1.3 Aims of the Study and Research Questions 14

1.4 The Scope of the Study 15

1.5 The Significant of the Study 16

1.6 Study Methodology 17

1.6.1 Study Design 17

1.6.2 Data Analysis 18

1.6.3 Subject of the Study 18

1.7 Outline of the Study 19

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 21

2.1 Translation in General 21

2.1.1 Definition of General Translation 21

2.1.2 Translation Method 22

2.1.2.1 Word-to-word Translation 23

2.1.2.2 Literal Translation 23

2.1.2.3 Faithful Translation 23

2.1.2.4 Semantic Translation 23

2.1.2.5 Adaptation 24

2.1.2.6 Free Translation 24

2.1.2.7 Idiomatic Translation 24

2.1.2.8 Communicative Translation 24

2.2 Legal Translation 24

2.2.1 Definition of Legal Translation 25

2.2.2 When is a Document a Legal Document? 27

2.2.3 Characteristics of Legal Translation 29

2.2.3.1 The Nature of Legal Discourse 29

2.2.3.2 A System-bound Discipline 31

2.2.3.3 Fidelity 32

2.2.3.4 Ambiguity and interpretation 34

2.3 Complexities of the Legal Translator 35

2.3.1 Language 35

2.3.2 Legal System 36

2.3.3 Genre 36

2.3.4 Purpose 37

2.4 Strategies of Legal Translation 38

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 43

3.1 Research Design 43

3.1.1 Definition of Quantitative and Qualitative Research 43

3.1.2 The Design of the Research 43

3.2 The Procedure of Data Collection 44

3.3 Data Analysis 46

3.3.1 The Subjects of the Survey 46

3.3.2 The Obstacles and Challenges which Translators Meet Most 47

3.3.3 The Characters of Legal Translation 51

3.3.4 Common Errors in Legal Translation 52

3.3.5 Useful Methods for Legal Translators 53

3.3.6 Legal Translation Process 55

3.3.7 Factors for Successful Target Text in Legal Translation 57

CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION 58

4.1 The Obstacles that Prevent Translators from Producing Accurate Target Documents 58

4.1.1 The Influence of Linguistic Aspect on Legal Translation 59

4.1.1.1 Latinisms 59

4.1.1.2 Legalese 60

4.1.2 The Influence of Legal Aspect on Legal Translation 62

4.2 The Possible Solutions to Overcome above Mentioned Obstacles 63

4.2.1 Improve Knowledge and Experience 64

4.2.2 Applying the Legal Translation Process 65

4.2.3 The Aid of Technology in Legal Translation 66

4.3 The Legal Translation Process 68

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 71

5.1 Conclusion 71

5.2 Limitations of the Study 72

5.3 Further Study 73

REFERENCES 74

APPENDIX 76

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

In the integration process of globalization and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, international trade and the massive exchange of products occurs on a regular basis

between countries, which leads to the development of cooperation between Vietnam and the rest of the globe Furthermore, thanks to the advent of science and the support of modern technology, international crimes are evolving and becoming more sophisticated, especially cybercrime According to Cyber Security Ventures, the damage that

cybercrime cause in 2021 is $6 trillion, which is much more severe than the damage caused by natural disasters That is the reason why more and more legal documents are promulgated and translated into many languages to become the common legal basis for international cases

Szmigiera (2022) studies and reports in her statistic that approximately one-third of the world's population, or 1.5 billion people, speak English However, the vast majority are not natural English speakers English, in addition, to be widely spoken, is by far the most widely learned foreign language on the planet, with French a distant second

Moreover, in terms of international economic integration and globalization, English

become one of the most important means to communicate and absorb the elite knowledge all over the world English is not only a vital tool to help people approach the most high-tech devices and learn from developed countries but also the advantageous one to spur the quality of material and spiritual life Because of its widespread use, English is always chosen as the common language for most sorts of international contracts and legal

agreements, in order to eliminate any disadvantage of misunderstanding to cause damage

to people or property

Language is the primary means of communication in all fields and social aspects

As a result, the legal translation method is significantly different from the literary

translation method However, each new assignment involves a mix of old routines and new challenges, depending on the translator's experience and the nature of the task at hand It should be noted that categories such as "scientific translation" and "literary

translation" are not completely self-contained Legal texts, like other types of texts, are hybrids: for example, knowledge of the history and culture maybe would be useful when translating international treaties or multilingual statutory instruments (Harvey, 2002) Therefore, legal translation requires a high level of expertise It's even been called the

"ultimate linguistic challenge" However, law firms or corporations that obtain

translations from self-employed translation practitioners frequently struggle to understand the complexities of the task Following extensive fieldwork examining how legal

translation is commissioned and performed in various contexts, this paper aims to create a mini handbook that illustrates the textual agency of the legal translator, with the goal of communicating the complexities of translation performance to clients and other

stakeholders It may also be used to train new legal translators and to make practicing translators more aware of their overall task The final result of this process will assist related people in understanding the significance of Legal English translation by providing reasons they need to understand, such as the full brief of the need for legal translators or the layers of skills involved That is the reason why this paper focuses on "Barriers in Legal English translation", recognizing the challenges and focusing on how new changes can influence the value of translated legal documents technique at the moment

Legal English is usually a root of phobia for those who work and study in the legal field, because if the translation is incorrect, it will immediately jeopardize many people's rights and duties in that transaction Obviously, the extremely difficult legal terminology and specific structure of legal documents prevent people from working with them As a result, in order to reduce the difficulty and complexity of the translation process, it should

be homogeneous according to common standards and methods To begin, the legal

translation must be precise, shortened, and clearly defined in both the source and target texts to avoid unforeseen misunderstandings during commercial discussions or

negotiations Then, in order to make the process of translating legal documents easier, it is critical to find ways to limit the obstacles encountered

The purpose of the law is to protect the legitimate rights and obligations of

individuals and organizations Law spreads widely and justifies all social relationships

The impact of law on social relations usually occurs in two directions:

- For social relations in line with the process of social development and

meeting the interests of the people, the law protects, strengthens, and creates conditions for them to develop

- For social relations that do not meet the interests of the people and do not conform to the rules of society's development, the law prevents and inhibits their

development and gradually excludes them from social life

Therefore, law affects all different aspects and fields, particularly the numerous jobs relating to international commercial transactions, such as purchasing, sourcing,

supply chain, logistic, and so on Employees in this field have to manage and deal with crucial English contracts and documents on a daily basis Small errors can have far-

reaching consequences for a company

Despite the importance of law as well as legal translation, it is still depreciated by law firms and other corporations It becomes apparent that the market is severely impaired because the final edited version of the translation is deficient in information To

consolidate this statement, Hargitt (2013) presents in his study that if our world continues

to globalize, the opportunities for legal language confusion and misunderstanding will grow This problem leads to the result that they are relegated to an outlying position on numerous occasions In such circumstances, it seemed worthwhile to seek ways to better target documents with market stakeholders – to benefit not only translators but also their clients through resulting quality improvements While some argue that a global legal

language could be the ultimate solution to such problems, the current state of international systems is unprepared to develop such a structure

Moreover, people increasingly depend on high technology to assist them in daily tasks However, in the legal translation field, technology development such as Google Translate only assists to support the translation process in part, in order to present legal papers correctly, a continuous process of learning and absorbing information, as well as investigating and amassing knowledge and experience, is required

Because English is not Vietnam's native language, the differences in language, political institutions, culture, history, people, and legal system make English in general, and Legal English in particular, extremely challenging, especially in countries where English is a second language Therefore, in this paper, I focus on the barriers in legal translation and solutions to eliminate them The document explores the complexities of legal translation based on four aspects: language, legal system(s), textual genre, and text purpose (Scott, 2017) which aims to encapsulate the complexities of legal translation performance in practice and communicate them to clients, trainee and practicing

translators, and other markets as well as educational actors

in 1986 (Abbott, Bentzen, Pham & Tarp, 2007) As a result, one of Vietnam's most

significant achievements for the country's development was its admission as the 150th member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on January 11, 2007 It is the process of

negotiating major agreements for the sake of Vietnam's economy that required a

significant amount of Vietnamese legislation to be translated into other languages and vice versa, with English serving as the primary language for international trade As a result, legal translation has emerged as an essential course of action that has aided in the acceleration of global integration, and the demand for skilled legal translators has risen dramatically Legal translation will continue to exist indefinitely as Vietnam's trade

expands

Back to the present, the need to find out difficulties in legal translation relating to some basic reason More and more law firms are being established to meet the demand for practical legal advice on cross-border transactions, and where there is a law firm to be built, there is a need for the legal translator(s) They will be in charge of supporting

lawyers in work related to papers, documents, and translation Because they are specific

in legal translation, law firms will save more time in handling cases Besides that, based

on the current situation in Vietnam, import and export activities are increasing As global corporations penetrate the Vietnamese market, they must also be familiar with

Vietnamese law Because of the two-way relationship, both parties have a clear

understanding of the law as well as each other's legal rights and interests, possibly

requiring the need for an increasing number of quality legal translators However, the reality in Vietnam has yet to meet that demand; translated documents in Vietnam are frequently of poor quality because translators do not understand legal terms and cannot define legal genres Furthermore, when people come across legal documents or contracts

in English, they become confused, which slows down the process of accepting and

receiving information

Another reason to conduct this research is that legal translation causes an

enormous barrier that makes it difficult for the readership to understand properly and use for the right purposes However, legal documents appear in almost every field and

directly affect the legitimate rights and interests of each individual and also a business Moreover, legal translation is no exception to the problems and difficulties that come with

specialized translation This is primarily due to the fact that legal systems differ from one country to another Besides that, Terminology and Grammatical Elements are two key difficulties and problems encountered in translating legal documents with specific

illustrations, according to Tram Nguyen (2015), which is clarified further in the following section In order to harmonize the above factors, legal translators need to be equipped with both legal knowledge and linguistic knowledge

In conclusion, in Vietnam, there is an idiom that says, "He who sees through life and death will meet the most success." Therefore, in order to dominate and master legal translation, we must first identify the translation process's impediments After identifying problems using the first principle thinking rule, the process of finding solutions becomes easier, and people will be able to access legal documents from there

1.3 Aims of the Study and Research Questions

With an increasing number of transactions, the number of employees who must adapt to the market and be equipped with specific language and legal knowledge must also increase As a result, in order to improve the quality of human resources and reduce the risks associated with the transaction and commercialization processes, this study must identify the barriers and methods for overcoming them Basing on the information

presented in the preceding sections, this study aims to accomplish the following main goals

Regarding the first issue, identifying the barriers that make legal translation

difficult is the primary goal Furthermore, recapitulating information from many experts allows people to gain a multi-dimensional overview, summarize the results, and make a final decision for the aforementioned answers, which helps employees and employers understand the difficulties of the legal translation process so that they can appreciate the translators' efforts

After figuring out the barriers, this study also devises a strategy or figures out the solutions for optimizing the methods which remove the obstacles Those solutions must change the situation and be practical so that they can be immediately applied in practice

to change part or all of the translation process becoming easier, faster, and more

convenient for people who are intending to approach legal English Last but not least, the final purpose of this one is developing the most comprehensive translation process to ensure consistency in the translation process Even novices and those just beginning to learn the legal language can use it to get the most literal translation

To gain those aims, this study is expected to provide answers to two major

research questions:

1 What are the obstacles that prevent translators from producing accurate target documents?

2 What are the possible solutions to tackle those obstacles?

3 What is the possible process of legal translation a translator need in the practical setting?

The primary goal of this paper could be achieved thanks to the answers to these questions, which is to discover a reality that legal translators cope with and avoid fault in their translation process

1.4 The Scope of the Study

According to the chart mentioned in the CSA Research about the Change in

Localization Demand by Sector, May and December 2020, the demand for legal

translation is decreased in the mid of the year because of the effect of the pandemic, however, it becomes steady demand at the end of 2020 Despite the fact that the pandemic has halted transactions, the demand for legal translation has remained steady and

consistent However, because the law in general, and the contract in particular, cover

other fields such as Logistics, Insurance, and so on, the actual number for the demand for legal translation requirements must be much higher than the survey above

Foremost, this paper is written not only for a law student or people working in the law field but also for anyone who works directly with legal documents First of all, this research aims to get information from lawyers, legal translators, and also employees working with international contracts frequently This paper collects perceptions from the interviews with Head of Finance, Purchasing Executive, and Legal Executive working in Dat Bike Viet Nam Company Limited – a manufacturing company with the mission to transfer all the gas vehicles into electronic vehicles Obviously, electric vehicles are not popular in Vietnam, that is why they have to import the components from other countries and export the product to foreign countries Employees in here work with international contracts and other legal documents every day, thus, they have enough information and experience for my research

Furthermore, the thesis includes a questionnaire that was distributed at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Law – the university which specifies in the education law field This university is also one of only two in Vietnam that have Faculty of Legal English The study collects notions from juniors and seniors who complete the Legal English course in the university about the difficulties that beginners and novices face when

beginning to translate On the other hand, this study also aims to fresh-graduated from this university about the frequency and their different perspective on this problem Then, this paper has an opportunity to collect more general ideas that can be applied to a wide range

of subjects, aspects, and fields As a result, this thesis will contain an abundance of

multidimensional information from a variety of professions, not just the law field

1.5 The Significant of the Study

This thesis is designed to provide learners with a general understanding of

translation and the translation of delivery terms in legal documents Aside from that, the

outcome of this analysis gives benefits readers who want to learn more about translation, particularly translation of Legal English Furthermore, the research can be used by

translators to practice translation and by lawyers and law students or purchasing

executives to expand their vocabulary of legal terms

Moreover, the paper also allows legal learners to easily access documents and scientific articles from a variety of countries, broaden their legal knowledge, and create favorable conditions for acquiring legal information during the learning and researching process Moreover, finding the obstacles provides everyone with an overview of the difficulties that are preventing the translation process, which directly interferes with the workload carried Finally, this study will find a solution to prevent misunderstanding between parties in a contract so that transactions are carried out quickly and conveniently, thereby increasing contract success rates

Furthermore, this thesis will be a good source of accurate and useful information, the findings revealed in this thesis may help future researchers conduct new research or test the validity of other related findings

1.6 Study Methodology

1.6.1 Study Design

The thesis makes use of both qualitative and quantitative research

- With quantitative research: This is defined as a systematic investigation of information and data using statistical and mathematical techniques to comprehend these figures A questionnaire of 16 questions will be conducted to collect data from the

subjects mentioned in the previous section, and the data will be analyzed to determine the major roadblocks in the work of translation

- With qualitative research: consulting experts via the interviews and

meetings which arranges between us Then, for the thesis, summarize and draw

conclusions In addition, senior translators and also seniors in other fields will be

interviewed to answer questions and clarify outstanding issues The interviewee was asked questions to clarify and supplement the concepts and views mentioned earlier, as well as to clarify the questions surveyed in the questionnaire

1.6.2 Data Analysis

The tool used to collect data for the above-mentioned research is Google Form, which is then displayed in the form of charts using Microsoft Excel To better describe this process, we first create a data table using Google Form software After everyone has taken the test, the results will be sent out Furthermore, in order to collect enough data for statistics, questionnaires were printed and distributed to students at the school Following the collection of sufficient data for quantitative and qualitative research, the next step is data processing, which includes statistics about the level and quantity of information as well as the problem mentioned in the questionnaire table Finally, using the Microsoft Excel application, the data is transformed into a column, line, or table chart The author will have an overall view to analyze, evaluate, and compare it to arrive at the final result Similarly, in the case of interviews, the information gathered from interviewees will be statistically analyzed and arranged to provide a multi-dimensional view in addition to the usual perspectives derived from theoretical knowledge

1.6.3 Subject of the Study

In order to diversify the fields, information is gathered from a variety of industries Those chosen for data collection, on the other hand, were from Dat Bike Limited

Company and Ho Chi Minh City University of Law The reason why I chose Dat Bike is that it is a production company that specializes in manufacturing electric motorbikes Bike components must be imported; additionally, import and export transactions or

investment calls are held on a regular basis from domestic and international suppliers and vendors To ensure that those transactions go as smoothly as possible, a team of legal consultants must review the contract and provide advice before the parties enter into the

contract With this survey, the author will assess the challenges that businesses face when dealing with international contracts, reducing the time spent reviewing contracts as well

as the risks to the trading method

In addition, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law was chosen as a research

location Because this is considered the leading law school in the South of Vietnam, students receive extensive exposure to the legal system Students will encounter certain barriers in acquiring knowledge or finding documents There are some difficulties that are realized in the progress of studying and comparing the international documents Legal English is a faculty member here, and students in this major will be trained in general knowledge in both language and law, which totally meets the demand of the market As a result, they will have specific knowledge and experience for this survey

This survey will help to improve the quality of the translation service industry in

Ho Chi Minh City and throughout Vietnam, benefiting both schools and businesses As a result, international businesses and investors have a foundation to believe in Vietnam's human resource language ability

1.7 Outline of the Study

This paper is divided into five chapters, which are listed below in the following order

First, in the Introduction chapter, some general issues (the background, rationale, goal, research questions, significance, scope of the study, and methodology) are

discussed

Then, in Chapter 2 - Literature review, the key terms relating to this topic are given In addition, in this chapter, I examine some previous studies that have already been completed in my topic area

The issue of how to conduct the study is covered in Chapter 3 – Methodology, which works on all of the related theories In addition, the study's conceptual framework

is established in this chapter

Chapter 4 of the thesis, also known as "the body," contains the findings and

discussion of the results; in other words, this chapter serves as the answer to the research questions

Last but not least, in the final chapter – Chapter 5 – I reach my conclusion and may

be some limitations to the study as well as some suggestions for future research

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Translation in General

2.1.1 Definition of General Translation

In a broad sense, translation is the process of converting text from one language to another without changing its meaning in order to reproduce various types of texts, such as religious, literary, scientific, and philosophical texts, and thus make them available to a wider readership It is also a method to connect the understanding of people worldwide without vanishing the specific culture and history of that Nation Another definition of this term is the study of a source language text's lexicon, grammatical structure,

communication situation, and cultural context in order to determine its meaning, and then reconstruct this same meaning using the lexicon and grammatical structure appropriate in the receptor language and cultural context There are numerous expert opinions on the term "translation" According to Robinson's book, translation is an intelligent activity that necessitates creative problem-solving in novel, textual, social, and cultural contexts Wilss (1982, pp.134) has another definition for this term, translation is a transfer process that aims to transform a written Source Language text into an optimally equivalent Target Language text, which includes syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic understanding and also analytical processing of the Source Language text This is a nearly comprehensive

viewpoint, which is similar to Larson (1984)'s, who states that translation is a study of linguistics of both source and target languages and that translators are responsible for determining the meaning of the text and reconstructing this same meaning with elements

of language that are appropriate to the receptor language and its cultural context, as he noted that translation is the study of the lexicon, grammatical structure, communication situation, and cultural context of a source language text in order to determine its meaning, and then reconstructing this same meaning using the lexicon and grammatical structure appropriate in the receptor language and cultural context

Furthermore, Newmark (1988) defines translation as the process of rendering the meaning of a text into another language in the manner intended by the author Due to a variety of factors, translation can be affected and lead to some kinds of meaning loss As a result, a good translation is examined not only by changes in language but also by the transfer of messages Catford (1965), on the other hand, claimed that translation is the replacement of textual material in the source language with equivalent textual material in the target language This is similar to the views of Nida and Taber (1969), who argue that translating entails reproducing in the receptor language and the closest natural equivalent

of the source language message, including both terms of meaning and style As a result, translation should consider not only the transfer of the closest meaning from the source language into the target language text, but also the language's style

In a new perspective from Kaiser-Cooke (1994, pp.137), he states the importance

of problem identification and solving, from the perspective of expert activity, translation

is primarily a problem-solving activity, which involves problem recognition as well as decision-making because recognition of the problem necessarily precedes decisions as to the various strategies which can be taken to solve it

Based on the definitions given above, it is possible to conclude that translation is a process of transferring messages from the source language into the target language, and the text in the target language is expected to be understood by readers The translator plays an important role in modifying the readability of a text when translating it As a result, the translator must have solid knowledge and experience in the source language and target language, as well as textual and conceptual aspects

2.1.2 Translation Method

According to Newmark (1988) in his book: A Textbook of Translation, he divided his translation methods into three categories: word, grammar, and context Following that, eight major methods for translating various types of documents are presented

2.1.2.1 Word-to-word Translation

This type of translation is also known as interlinear translation because the word in the source language is translated into the target language without regard for the context of the document The primary application of word-to-word translation is to comprehend the mechanics of the source language or to interpret a difficult text as a pretranslation

process

2.1.2.2 Literal Translation

This kind of translation technique diverts an expression in the source language into the target language and makes changes to the conformity of source language grammar to target language grammar (Lestari, 2017) The source language grammatical constructions are converted to their closest target language equivalents, but the lexical words are

translated separately and out of context This indicates the problems to be solved as a translation process

pre-2.1.2.3 Faithful Translation

The faithful translation is a kind of translation that aims to produce the accurate equivalent meaning of the target document within the involvement of target language grammatical structures The cultural term must be transferred, but the degree of

grammatical and lexical 'abnormality' (difference from source language norms) in the translation is preserved It makes every effort to be completely faithful to the intentions and text-realization of the source language writer

2.1.2.4 Semantic Translation

To begin, the obvious distinction between faithful and semantic translation is that semantic translation must take more account of the aesthetic value (the beautiful and natural sound) of the SL text while compromising on 'meaning' As a result, there is no assonance, wordplay, or repetition in the target language text to jar the reader The second distinction is that the first is uncompromising and dogmatic, whereas the second is more flexible The creative exception to 100% fidelity, however, allows for the translator's intuitive empathy with the original Furthermore, less important cultural words may be

translated by the culturally neutral third or functional terms but not by cultural

equivalents

2.1.2.5 Adaptation

Translation technique that replaces cultural elements from the source language with cultural elements from the target language If the element of those cultures have equivalents in the target language, this technique can be used (Noviarti, 2017) This is the 'most liberated' form of translation It is primarily used for plays (comedies) and poetry; themes, characters, and plots are typically preserved, the source language culture is

converted to the target language culture, and the text is rewritten Many poor adaptations have resulted from the deplorable practice of having a play or poem literally translated and then rewritten by an established dramatist or poet, but other adaptations have 'rescued' period plays

2.1.2.8 Communicative Translation

Communicative translation attempts to render the original's exact contextual

meaning in such a way that both content and language are easily acceptable and

understandable to the readership

2.2 Legal Translation

2.2.1 Definition of Legal Translation

Legal translation, in contrast to other types of LSP translation, such as medicine, science, or technology, tends to involve more cultural-specific rather than universal

components It is largely due to the system-bound nature of legal terminology, as legal concepts are typically the product of a national legal system Legal systems have their own history, organizing principles, and reasoning patterns that have been developed to meet the needs of a specific nation This invariably leads to inconsistencies in legal

concepts between national systems There are few legal languages and legal translation publications that do not acknowledge this fact; however, few go beyond mere

acknowledgment As a result, more research into the nature of incongruity is required

Translation of law has played an important role in the contact between different cultures in history and in our globalized world with the ever-increasing demand for legal translation Lestari (2017) defines legal translation as a subset of translation activity in his journal This is because legal translation involves law, and such legal translation can and frequently does produce not only linguistic but also legal impact and consequence, as well

as because of the unique nature of law and legal language Legal translation, which can take many forms, ranging from statute laws to contracts to courtroom testimony, is a practice that exists at the intersection of legal theory and language theory

The golden rule for the legal text "the stricter the better," which is advocated by almost every legal translator and lawyer today To preserve the original content and

legalities of the SL text, the principle of fidelity to the source text has traditionally been bound by legal translators As a result, it was widely assumed that the legal translator's task is to recreate the form and substance of the source text as closely as possible Didier (1990, pp.285), for example, claims that legal translation relating to jurisdiction and other normative texts requires absolute literalness On the other hand, the judgment can be translated more freely, thus implying that recognizing a text also plays a role in

determining a legal translation strategy Weisflog (1987, pp 195), a lawyer translator, has the same idea of this problem, he is also thorough in his differentiation of text types,

noting a distinction in function by distinguishing between authentic texts of national legislation and legislative texts translated "purely for information purposes, i.e., for the information of foreign lawyers, businessmen, and other foreign readers." In regard to translation strategy, he advocates literal translation regardless of text type and function In particular, he gives prominence to the fidelity of literal translation regardless of the text of national legislation (authentic or non-authentic), international treaties and conventions, as well as instruments of primary and secondary Community law (treaties, regulations, directives.)

Legal terms, in turn, can be viewed as points of entry to concepts and prompts for conceptual operations that activate relevant background knowledge It is necessary to refer to other cognitive domains that are presupposed by and incorporated into a legal concept in order to characterize it To understand the Articles of Association, for example,

we must invoke the domain of company, incorporation, and members; we may invoke promoters, Companies House, Table A, and so on

A legal concept is an abstract general notion or idea that serves as a category of legal thought or classification, the title given to a collection of facts and circumstances that meets certain legal requirements and has certain legal consequences These and

similar concepts are legal terms in the sense that doctrines, principles, and rules are built

on them, and legal consequences are attached to them So, if a court rules that a

relationship between two people was a "marriage," all of the legal consequences that many statutes, cases, and authoritative books have prescribed as the legal consequences of marriage, such as the duty to adhere and aliment, the inability of either to marry another and so on, are immediately attached to them

Nonetheless, whether the authenticated translation should be literal or free is a contentious issue Translation techniques and methods, as practice shows, frequently differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, even for the same type of text Koutsivitis, an EU Commission translator, believes the opposite of Didier and Weisflog He emphasizes sense, arguing that the translator's mission is to convey the original's sense

In his journal, Smith (1995) defines successful legal translation as meeting the following requirements in his journal:

1) Precision and attention to detail;

2) Understanding of the legal system in both the source and target languages; 3) Knowledge of relevant legal terminology;

4) Confidentiality

5) Documents must be delivered on time

A legal translator must have a fundamental knowledge of legal systems in both the source and target languages, as well as familiarity with relevant legal terminology When translating the Agreement from English into Vietnamese, for example, a translator must

be knowledgeable about all aspects of culture, the state business system, and the law of the State of English as the source text and Indonesia as the target text Legal or sworn translators must take confidentiality seriously and be able to provide a non-disclosure agreement

2.2.2 When is a Document a Legal Document?

A more straightforward interpretation of the phrase "legal language" is a unique method of communication only used for specialists, excluding cases relating to exchange and consultation between lawyers and non-lawyers Contracts, judgments,

correspondence with lawyers and legal authorities, and so on, which comprise a large portion of the translator's workload, are thus eliminated because the restriction mentioned above by Sarcevic (1997) disqualifies them

However, each lawyer and layperson plays a distinct role In some cases, the

lawyer acts as an intermediary or surrogate addressee, "translating" the word of the law into everyday language; in others, the layperson acts as a substitute lawyer (e.g., as a juror

or lay justice) and makes utterances with legal effects (wills, "Guilty/not guilty" verdicts,

or the words "I do" during a wedding ceremony) Other authors have different

perspectives on the aforementioned issue Law is widely used by all citizens around the world and existed everywhere in daily life For example, if we want to travel abroad, we need a passport; if we want to make a legal business deal, we need a contract document or

a written agreement to prove our business There are many different types of legal

documents, including real estate, intellectual property, personal documents, court

documents, and so on

Thus, the problem of legal language only being used and understood by specialists has been lampooned over the centuries by authors ranging from Molière to Swift, until recently, when the Plain English campaign was launched to address that complication Furthermore, this issue only exists in the legal field; people rarely complain that they do not understand the language of nuclear physicists or biochemists because they rarely have the opportunity to meet them Obliviously, transactions and lawsuits become more and more complicated nowadays that leading to the existence of the uncountable legal

situation, each type of situation has its own particular legal document In the case the translators lack the knowledge of those kinds of genre, communicative functions, text types, and culture, the translations can be distorted Thus, the translator and lawyer need

to discuss about what is the legal text

Foremost, the legal text or legal document is any written instrument that defines, declares, limits, or expands a person's or entity's legal rights or privileges The legal

document can be signed, notarized, or include times and dates of events, conversations, or other activities The documents can be stored in a lawyer's office, a safe deposit box, or

by a consumer until they are required (Lestari, 2017)

The legal translation must be justified and adjusted for each text type According to Sarcevic (1997), unlike other areas of special-purpose translation, the primary goal of legal translators cannot be to produce a text with the same meaning as the message of the source text This statement is correct but insufficient; it is still valid for parallel texts intended to produce equal legal effects, but it is difficult to apply to more daily tasks such

as translating police documents for refugees or witness statements by foreign-language

speakers A broader definition of a legal text would include documents that are or may become part of the judicial process, such as contracts, wills, court documents, witness statements, and expert reports, all of which are "bread and butter" activities for lawyers and legal translators This definition encompasses not only the word of the law but also the word of the participant in the legal process; by embracing both authoritative and non-authoritative statements, it may shed new light on the ostensibly special status of legal translation

Sarsevic (1997) divides legal documents into three categories based on their

function First, there are primary prescriptive documents such as laws, regulations, codes, contracts, treaties, and conventions Second, judicial decisions and legal instruments used

in judicial and administrative proceedings, such as actions, pleadings, briefs, appeals, requests, and so on, are both descriptive and predictive Third, purely descriptive works, such as those written by legal scholars

Legal documents are also necessary for business transactions and personal matters Legal documents can serve as agreements between two parties on how each will act in partnership and as a defense if one of those parties violates the terms of that agreement and is taken to court There are numerous definitions of agreement A business agreement

is defined as a negotiated and usually legally enforceable understanding between two or more legally competent parties Although an agreement can (and frequently does) result

in a binding contract, an agreement typically documents the give-and-take of a negotiated settlement, whereas a contract specifies the minimum acceptable standard of performance

2.2.3 Characteristics of Legal Translation

2.2.3.1 The Nature of Legal Discourse

The English legal discourse is full of formulaic expressions with a "very rigid structure." Many phrases also contain binomial expressions, complex prepositional

phrases, and adverbial constructs with anaphoric or cataphoric values Furthermore, legal documents written in English are distinguished by very long sentences, which are used to

avoid ambiguity and misunderstandings, as well as to demonstrate solidarity among members of the legal fraternity (Giampieri, 2019)

In light of the foregoing, approaching English legal discourse can be difficult, especially given the system-specificity of legal terms (De Groot & Van Laer 2008) This implies that each term should not only be rendered from a source language into a target language, but also adapted to the target legal system (provided that this is possible)

According to the literature, translators are always looking for the best translation

candidates to use in a given context, whereas lawyers are more interested in how

comparable different legal systems are

The legal effect is the fundamentally prescriptive nature of legal discourse, which gives legal translation a unique status Sarcevic (1997) divides legal documents into prescriptive and descriptive texts, as well as hybrid texts that serve both functions (e.g judicial decisions, appeals, petitions) This definition excludes texts with a primary

expressive function Translators must find equivalent legal terms or terms with an

equivalent legal function in the target language Non-legal texts, obviously, cannot have legal effects, and texts on astrophysics must-have effect for astrophysicists Because other target text must have effects in the special subject area, it is a tautology to say that legal translation is different from other forms of translation because the target text has legal effects

A document's function is determined not only by its inherent nature but also by the communicative situation Before translating any type of document, we must determine the readership's needs and select an appropriate function for that text Pragmatic

considerations, as in other forms of communication, are the most reliable way of

determining function A contract, for instance, is binding on the parties involved but also serves as a source of information to a third-party observer who consults it for future use

The proper definition of the prescriptive function is saying exactly what must happen, particularly by issuing an instruction or establishing a rule As a result, when

focusing on the prescriptive document in the field of law, this function emerges primarily

in communication between lawyer and layperson (e.g., counsel addressing a jury), which risks overlooking the expressive or persuasive function that inevitably occurs in a form of discourse founded on rhetoric There are, however, examples of persuasive

communication between lawyers, such as the explanatory parts of a judicial decision or a scholarly article explaining why a change is required (or was misguided) In such cases, the goal is to persuade rather than prescribe or describe, which is a common function in professional communication Furthermore, the prescriptive function is present in other special-subject areas: instructions and manual advice are prescriptive once readers have

"entered the pact," symbolized by breaking the seal if the instrument is to perform its intended task In practice, instructions for using medical equipment, or even a household implement, are both descriptive and prescriptive (De Groot, Gerard René and Conrad J

P Van Laer , 2008)

2.2.3.2 A System-bound Discipline

Each country is responsible for its own legal system Therefore, approaching the legal system plays a crucial role in translation David and Brierley classify the world legal family into 7 categories: RomanoGermanic Law (Continental Civil Law), Common Law, Socialist Law, Hindu Law, Islamic Law, African Law, and Far East Law But the two largest groups accounting for 80% of the countries are the Common Law and the Civil Law (Romano-Germanic) systems Here are some examples of two main categories: Common Law countries include the United States of America, Australia, England and Wales, Canada, New Zealand, and some of the former colonies of England in Africa and Asia such as Nigeria, Kenya, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong Countries having Civil Law jurisdiction are France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Latin American countries, Turkey, some Arab states, North African countries, Japan, and South Korea However, this classification just brings the relativity in some ways, there are a lot of countries having mixed jurisdiction with the influence of both Civil and Common Law systems, such as Israel, Scotland, the Philippines and Greece, the Province of Quebec in

Canada, Louisiana in the US, South Africa The most complicated jurisdiction is China system, which is a hybrid of traditional Chinese law, Civil Law, and Socialist Law

The culture and history of one society affect hugely the way that the legal system

is formed Due to those aspects, the source text cannot be translated into the target text simply if the translator bypasses the elements of incongruousness between two legal systems in documents (David, Brierley, R A., & John., 1985) As a result of the

prevention of national and linguistic boundaries, translators and lawyers have difficulty in converting a text from the source language to the target language Unlike mathematical laws, one of the most striking epistemological features of the law is the absence of a common knowledge base People are afraid of translating legal documents due to

systemic diversity and the difficulty in finding equivalents for culture-bound terms,

particularly those related to concepts, procedures, institutions, and personnel Law is not the only field affected by the system-bound feature; religion and political science, which are historically linked to law, are inextricably linked to the concept of systems They pervade literary texts and appear in all fields of knowledge that are not completely

standardized Given the growing importance of European and international law, it is reasonable to expect that the law will become more standardized over time

2.2.3.3 Fidelity

One of the most important factors in determining the quality of a translation's product is fidelity Fidelity in translation includes not only fidelity to the text, but also the preservation of the context's meaning According to Lawrence Lessig (1999), "meaning is made from something in the foreground (text) and something in the background (context)

To preserve meaning both grounds must be tracked."

Legal translators have traditionally been bound by the principle of fidelity to the source text in order to preserve the letter of the law As a result, it was widely assumed that the translator's task is to recreate the form and substance of the source text as closely

as possible

The debate over fidelity to the "letter" or the "spirit" in legal translation is a

longstanding one, dating back to the days of the Roman empire when it was decreed that formal correspondence between source and target text was essential to preserve the

meaning of both Biblical and legal documents However, some specialists argue that this debate is useless because each document has a specific meaning and legal effect fixed by the author, translator or interpreter has no control Specialists in legal translation now define fidelity as achieving an equivalent impact on the target reader, which may justify substantial changes to the original text to respect the stylistic conventions of the target legal culture

Taking this idea further, Sarcevic proposes a redefinition of legal translation, measuring success in terms not of formal correspondence between source and target text but of equivalent legal effects, in particular when the text is construed by the courts The translator must understand both the legal culture from which the source text derives and the legal culture to which the target text will apply In legal translation, this often includes understanding complex legal theoretical contexts In the case of parallel drafting, where there is no original text to translate but an original intent to render in several languages, the notion of fidelity is stretched even further, the first consideration of the translator is no longer fidelity to the source text but rather fidelity to the uniform intent of both

documents, i.e what the legislator or negotiators intended to say

It is worth noting that the concept of equivalence has evolved significantly, owing

in part to the influence of cognitive science To begin with, equivalence is a scalar

continuum (Tabakowska 2005, pp 244) By extension, it is no longer regarded as an identity relationship, but rather as a similarity relationship (Tymoczko 2005, pp 1092) or

"the optimum degree of approximation" (Alexieva 1993, pp 103) Despite the traditional reverence for the original, this shift has been observed in legal translation (Wagner 2005, pp.223) PieMkos (1993, pp 298-307) emphasizes that identicality is not possible in legal translation, and Alcaraz and Hughes (2002, pp 179) admit that it is elusive and illusory

On the other hand, a lawyer translator, Weiflog (1987), distinguishes between authentic texts of national legislation and legislative texts translated "purely for

information purposes, i.e., for the information of foreign lawyers, businessmen, and other foreign readers" (1987, pp.195) In terms of translation strategy, he believes in literal translation regardless of the text type or function Weisflog sees little to no room for interpretation in translations of texts of national legislation (authentic or not),

international treaties and conventions, and instruments of primary and secondary

Community law (treaties, regulations, directives, and so on) (1987, pp.191)

If the target text is from a very different legal system, extensive explanation,

flexibility, and creativity will be required to achieve an equivalent meaning To achieve the equivalent standard, the legal translator must find a way to neutralize, or at the very least minimize, the change in context In other cases, translators may come across a new legal term that does not have an equivalent legal meaning in the target language

Translators may be forced to use neologisms or repeat the word in its original language with an appropriate explanation or definition incorporated into the text or listed in a

glossary in such cases

Another important aspect of legal concepts is their intertextuality, or how their meaning can be shaped and stabilized by other sources such as legislation and case law

As a result, there is reason to believe that sets of facts and sets of consequences will rarely

be identical in two legal systems; thus, terms will almost never have the same semantic potential in the SL and TL This naturally raises the issue of equivalence in legal

translation

2.2.3.4 Ambiguity and interpretation

Language is a mirror of life that takes its material from it As a result, the law does not stand alone; it is part of the same body of knowledge as politics, ethics, and

metaphysics, all of which exist within the realm of rhetoric: their reliance on natural language causes them to be "rotten with ambiguity" (Raymond 2000)

However, deliberate ambiguity is a unique method of drafting legal documents that are only used by professionals They use ambiguity in order to gain an advantage In a contract, for example, it can be used to reach a compromise or to create uncertainties that one of the parties will later seek to exploit Ambiguity can be used as a diplomatic tactic

in international treaties In this regard, the legal text is comparable to the literary text, in which ambiguity is regarded not as a flaw but as an inherent feature that should be

preserved in translation (Harvey, 2002)

In another sense, the ambiguity method places the legal translator in a tough

position Thus, legal communication oscillates between opposing poles: an affinity for ambiguity on the one hand, and the fiction of univocal interpretation on the other, which can reveal the true intention of the legislator According to Malcome, legal translating is never an easy task If decoding a text is difficult for a lawyer, it is even more difficult for

a translator It is frequently stressed that the translator must avoid "interpreting"

ambiguities because this is a task for trained lawyers And yet, if legal translators are true

"text producers" in a dynamic relationship with both sender and receiver, they will

inevitably have to deal with interpretation issues

2.3 Complexities of the Legal Translator

2.3.1 Language

The differences between the Common Law and Civil Law systems, as well as the resulting differences in the language used in law in the two systems, have an impact on legal translation The diverse range of linguistic differences is one of the most difficult aspects that the legal translator faces, regardless of which legal language is involved It's a significant source of difficulty in legal translation The degree of difficulty in legal

translation is increasing not only because of the degree of affinity of the legal systems but also the language used in that country Each society has an individual legal language system to communicate law In conclusion, the wider “system gap” between one national legal system and another result in linguistic differences, and a wider legal language gap in the translation field

The legal translator's agency in relation to the text is extremely complicated and arduous At the source and target language levels, the first legal translator's task is similar

to that of other domain translators, albeit within a specific segment of general language: legal discourse Such discourse contains a plethora of linguistic peculiarities that must be mediated Legal documents frequently contain language features that are not found

elsewhere You've probably seen longer sentences than the text of this article, which spans more than one page Another example is that when writing lists in legal documents,

it is almost universal practice to use semicolons instead of commas to separate items in the list The goal is to try to convey through punctuation that all items on the list should

be equally important

2.3.2 Legal System

The legal translator's work becomes even more complex at the second level, as they 'negotiate' solutions between the source and target legal and judicial system(s) and their respective concepts, which may be vastly different Some legal systems and jurisdictions have concepts that do not have a comparable term or concept in others The magnitude of these differences varies greatly and can pose a challenge for any authorized translation service The fact that legal systems in different countries can be quite different is one of the most difficult aspects of legal translation that linguists must solve This means that legal translators must deal not only with two different languages and cultures but also with two completely different legal systems To make matters worse, legal systems can differ even within a single state with a common language In England and Wales, for example, common law serves as the foundation for the legal system, but not in Scotland Even more perplexing, while common law governs the United States, it does not fully govern Louisiana, which has a mixed legal system

2.3.3 Genre

Third, the legal translator must ensure that the given source genre or subgenre is appropriately transposed into the target genre, such as by considering the relevant

sublanguage, macrostructure, and/or layout

Choosing the fitting language is one part of this process For language purposes,

we will be talking about five “legal languages” ( even if there are more text categories outside but I just mention five main common languages)

– Normative: language used in statutes, codes, regulations

– Judicial: language used by the judiciary in the texts issued by the courts and the court administration

– Administrative: language used by the administration/government in its

relations with the general public and by the citizens in their relations with the administration/government

– Language used in public documents issued or authorized by a public officer (in some countries referred to as notarial language)

– Language used in private documents (such as contracts)

the cultural characteristic and applying it to each situation, this process is extremely

crucial to be able to obtain the successful target text

2.4 Strategies of Legal Translation

The translation is the study of a source-language text's lexicon, grammatical

structure, communication situation, and cultural context in order to determine its meaning, and then reconstruct this same meaning using the lexicon and grammatical structure

appropriate to the receptor language and cultural context

According to Velykodska (2015, pp.58), the translational process is divided into three stages:

1 Comprehension and understanding of the original text; analysis of the source text, situation, and background information;

2 The translation itself; synthesis of the translation model;

Figure 1: The complex factors affect to legal translation process

3 Editing and result analysis of translation; verification of the model against the source and target context (semantic, grammatical, stylistic), situation, and background information, resulting in the generation of the translation

Each stage highlights specific discourse features to aid comprehension of

specialized texts Active reading is required to fully understand the text, particularly those parts that may be difficult from a grammatical, lexical, stylistic, or pragmatic standpoint Moreover, reading is the most important stage in the legal translation process for the purpose of comprehension, identifying main ideas, target subjects, translator problems (difficulties) about terminology, and grammar peculiarities which are all part of the pre-translation stage Text pretranslation analysis:

a) Documentary research — investigation of any valuable extra-linguistic data; b) Understanding the author's intention and main message;

c) Analysis of text organization (logical connectives, cause and effect

relationships);

d) Look for translation equivalents;

e) Concentrate on the text's stylistic aspects (genre, register, stylistic devices); f) Interpreting and adapting units of measurement, abbreviations, and proper names (Burak 2002, pp.11-13)

Success in developing legal translation competence is far from guaranteed without the methodological know-how required to activate and coordinate all relevant components

in problem-solving, regardless of how well skill components are defined According to Fernando Ramos (2011), translator professor, the integrative methodology for legal

translation practice is developed by legal translation experts through practice testing in many different fields and contexts, as well as teaching at all levels in various universities, particularly in the course on legal translation at the University of Geneva As a result, the model is geared toward both acquisition and competence reinforcement The results have