Translation of Legal Texts 1

Running head: DIFFICULTIES IN THE TRANSLATION OF LEGAL TEXTS

Lexis, Style, and Syntax: Aspects of Difficulty in the

Translation of Legal Texts
A review of the Literature

Yulia Elizabeth Aragn

Universidad Autnoma de Chiriqu

Introduccin a la Traduccin de Textos

Semester 1, Morning Session
Professor Yessenia G. de Vargas
July, 2012

Translation of Legal Texts 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Topic: Lexis, Style, and Syntax: Aspects of Difficulty in the Translation

of Legal Texts
I. Introduction
II. Legal language
1. Definition
1.1 What is legal language?
1.1.1 The nature of legal language
1.2 Legal Texts
1.2.1 Classification of legal texts
1.3 Legal translation
1.3.1 Translation of legal texts
2. Lexical characteristics of legal language
2.1 Lexical Characteristics of English legal language
2.2 Lexical Characteristics of Spanish legal language
2.3 Lexical difficulties in the translation of legal texts from English into Spanish
and viceversa
3. Stylistic characteristics of legal language
3.1 Stylistic characteristics of English legal language
3.2 Stylistic characteristics of Spanish legal language
3.3 Stylistic difficulties in the translation of legal texts
4. Syntactic characteristics of legal language

Translation of Legal Texts 3

4.1 Syntactic characteristics of English legal language

4.2 Syntactic characteristics of Spanish legal language
4.3 Syntactic difficulties in the translation of legal texts from English into Spanish
and viceversa
5. Possible solutions for the translation of legal text from English into Spanish and
viceversa
III. Conclusion
References

I. Introduction

Translation of Legal Texts 4

Translation is a very difficult activity in which a large number of variables are

involved. The type of text to be translated is an outstanding one among these variables.
In this sense, legal text and its subsequence translation, is a special and specialized area of
translational activity (Cao, 2007, p. 7). This has to be with the detail that the translation
of legal texts refers to legal statutes and such translation, not only involves difficulty in
linguistic aspects, but also in legal regulations. Nowadays, translating legal texts is a
common fact and a general aspect of the process of translation. It includes the total of
legal texts that are used in different legal settings like courts, public or private
organizations, a law book, a legal report, a birth certificate, a contract, etc. Therefore, it is
essential to consider the nature of legal language into the translation of statutory or
legislative texts and the influence it has on legal translation.

This literature review

outlines the process of translation of legal texts proceeding from the general to the
specific.
The first chapter will present the general definition of legal language, which is
linked to its normative, performative, and technical nature of language use and the
inherent indeterminate nature of language in general, Cao (2007, p.13).

Likewise, this

chapter will introduce a definition for legal texts, and the appropriate classification of
such texts. Lastly, in this chapter, the concept of legal translation will be defined and a
brief inside to the translation of legal texts will be presented. The second chapter will
demonstrate a little introduction to the lexical characteristics of legal language in general
and some of these characteristics among English and Spanish legal language will be
individually listed, then the difficulties in the translation of legal texts from English into

Translation of Legal Texts 5

Spanish and viceversa will be focused in a single section. The third chapter will explain
the stylistic characteristics of legal language. First, there will be an overview of such
general characteristics; then, stylistic features between English and Spanish legal
language will be presented separately in order to compare them and find out distinct
translation difficulties.

Chapter four will record a preamble in the syntactic

characteristics of legal language and such characteristics of English and Spanish legal
language will be independently showed in order to illustrate a section based on the
difficulties in the translation of legal texts from English into Spanish and viceversa.
Finally, chapter five will come up with the possible solutions for the difficulties in the
translation of the lexical, stylistic, and syntactic characteristics of legal language.
This term paper is based on online information gathered from fifteen different
websites such as journals, online books, reviews, Masters thesis, and articles and there
will also be citations as secondary sources taken from actual works, like the followings:
Alcaraz, E. & Hughes, B. (2002). Legal translation explained; Cao D. (2007).
Translating law; Benfoughal, A. (2010).

Students difficulties and strategies in

translation; The language of law - a stylistic analysis with a focus on lexica binomial
expressions; English language and literature; Tiersma, P. (1999). Legal language.
London: The University of Chicago Press. As stated by Cao (2007), legal translation
refers to the rendering of legal text from the SL into the TL (p. 10). In other words, when
translating legal documents, say from English into Spanish; the main goal is that people
who do not understand English, which in this case is the SL, comprehend what is written
on the legal paper. Thus, the purpose of this monograph is to find out possible solutions

Translation of Legal Texts 6

for the lexical, stylistic, and syntactic characteristics of legal language as aspects of
difficulty in the translation of legal texts from English into Spanish and viceversa.

II. Legal language

Translation of Legal Texts 7

1.

Definition

1.1

What is language?
Cao (2007) stated that legal language refers to the language of and related to

law and legal processlegal language is a type of register, that is, a variety of language
appropriate to different occasions and situations of use, and in this case, a variety of
language appropriate to the legal situations of use (p. 8). When talking about legal
language, it is impossible not to think about jargon, in other words, a special kind of
technical words used for communication in the field of law. Legal language is not a
common everyday speech used by every person, but by specialists in the field, like
lawyers and judges, in other words, it is used to transmit information from experts to
experts. That is to say that understanding such a language needs education. As stated by
Cao (2007, p. 10), legal language is not homogeneous, not just one legal discourse, but
according to Maley (cited in Cao, 2007, p. 10), a set of related legal discourses.

Its

distinctive can be seen in different characteristics that make it different from the ordinary
everyday language, since it is a specialized language that includes legal rules. However,
legal language is not completely apart from common everyday language (Smejkalov,
2009, p. 3), since most of its words are taken from the ordinary language. In fact, the
language of law influences everyday speech and there are legal terms that have been
adopted like common ones. The fact is that many words that have been incorporated
from the ordinary vocabulary to the legal one, has taken a different meaning, sometimes,
only understood by specialists when the conversation turns its context into the legal
setting, in this way, Orts (2005) propose words like consideration, promise, intention, and

Translation of Legal Texts 8

offer. Such words can be used for everyday speech, however, when talking about the
field of law, its meaning change completely because of the content in the conversation.

1.1.1

The Nature of legal language

As stated by Cao (2007) legal language is identified and linked with the

normative, performative and technical nature of language use and the inherent
indeterminate nature of language in general. (p. 13). First of all, the normative nature of
law language derives from the fact that law has the basic function in society of guiding
behavior and regulating human relations. According to Jenkins (as cited in Cao, 2007 p.
13), law exists as a set of prescriptions having the form of imperatives, defining and
enforcing the arrangements, relationships, procedures and patterns of behavior that are to
be followed in a society. In this sense, it can be said that the language used in the
normative nature of law has to be prevailing, dominant and influential, since its purpose
will be to direct people in order to create a harmonious community and, in order to do so,
crated rules should be fulfilled. Hence, these rules will be expressed through language
usage. To continue, the performative nature of language determines that what people
accept, reject, propose or respond is marked by speech acts. Cao (2007) coined Words
are not only something we use to say things, we also use them to do thingslanguage
used in law can perform such acts as conferring rights, prescribing prohibition and
granting permission (p. 14). In other words, when talking about legal language setting, it
is essential to behave according to what the occasion suggests. For instance, a person
accused of murder could be called to declare about a situation occurred in a past event

Translation of Legal Texts 9

and this person will be aware of following any legal procedure required; ultimately, the
person could be found sufficiently responsible for the criminal act and be sentenced to
prison. This demonstrates that legal language is linked to its performative nature, since
an individual will act or perform according to what the law suggests. In this way, as
pointed out by Jori (cited in Cao 2007, p. 14), by merely uttering words, people accept
public and private legal responsibilities, assume legal roles and qualities, transfer legal
rights and impose or discharge obligations. Third, according to the technical nature of
legal language Cao (2007, p. 15) suggests two main positions regarding the nature of
legal language. One view holds that legal language is a technical language while the
opposite view is that there is no legal language, and, even if it exists, it is part of the
ordinary language. Consequently, there is a contrast whether legal language is or not a
technical language, since it could be part of the general language; from one perspective it
could be possible, since, as mentioned above; legal language is not completely apart from
common everyday language (Smejkalov, 2009, p. 3), and most of its words are taken
from the ordinary language. Then, what makes the language of law different from the
ordinary language should be discussed; thus, Cao (2007, p. 16) suggests that it is
necessary to go into diverse views about the nature of legal language as a technical
language. This will allow having a more extensive field on the concept of the language
of law, in order to decide if it can be taken apart from ordinary language. In this sense,
Caton (as cited in Cao, 2007, p. 16) argues that technical languages have the same syntax
as ordinary language, and speech acts performable in ordinary discourse are performable
in technical contexts, but only differ in vocabulary. Such a view lets it clear that legal

Translation of Legal Texts 10

language cannot be seen like a language parallel from the common everyday speech,
since a person is able to express himself or herself whether he or she is participating in a
special meeting or in an ordinary one. In comparison with Jackson (as cited in Cao, 2007,
p. 16), legal lexicon is autonomously constituted in the sense that legal institutions
determine which semiotic objects enter the legal lexicon. Based on this view, legal
language is unique, separated from usual speech, but especially self dependent, given that
the main institutions of law in industrialized countries, like courts and parliaments
regulate and define how the meaning of the words are created. As listed above, both
views of legal language determinate that it is a technical language. Even, it is not merely
a part of the general one, but, it could be distinguish from it in the way that it has its own
lexicon that has been drown according to legal statements necessaries to carry out certain
rules. After looking the above discussion, Cao (2007, p. 17) reports the inclusion of
register in the study of legal language and its technical nature. In this way, it is important
to mention the definition of register suggested by M. A. K. Halliday and R. Hasan (as
cited in Cao, 2007, pp. 17-18) register is what you are speaking at the time, depending
on what you are doing and the nature of the activity in which the language is
functioning. Taking this definition to the legal sphere, it is important to point out that
register takes one of the main parts in legal language, since register can easily define legal
language as a technical language that evokes formality in context and topic, for example,
when speaking in a court, a legal language speaker, say a lawyer, may be more likely to
adhere words commonly used in their profession and make them sound more credible to
their peers. When talking about register an only statement like: Please dont smokes vs.

Translation of Legal Texts 11

Please refrain from smoking or You must adhere to these guidelines vs. You must
follow these guidelines. Chambers (2010), makes a distinction in the formality of a
language, more exactly, makes a distinction in the register. At this point, it is suitable to
say that legal language possess a technical nature, since it relies not only on register as
one of its primarily references, but on lexical features that make of it a specialized
language in the field law, far different from ordinary language.

1.2.

Legal texts
According to Cao (2007) legal texts refer to texts produced or used for legal

purposes in legal settings (p. 9). In this sense, legal texts are usually produced to bear
some real-life consequences such as granting rights or imposing obligationslegal texts
usually contain legal norms and consequently carry an obligation to follow these legal
norms, otherwise a punishment might follow (Smejkalov 2009, p. 22). When talking
about text, there is a tendency in legal writing that claims towards a more and more
complicated and difficult terminology in texts which has its roots in an overstated need of
exactness in the legal practice nowadays. Nevertheless, Cao (2007, p. 20), suggests that
there have been efforts in English speaking countries in the legal profession to simplify
the language that law uses to make law more accessible to the average person (p.20).
This claims that the tendency towards legal exactness, has been changed for an opposite
sight which suggest that legal text should be written as simply as possible for an
important ultimate goal, which is that the laymen, a person who does not belong to a
particular profession or who is not expert in some field.(Hiskey, 2012), understand the

Translation of Legal Texts 12

written legal text. In other words, it is common these days that not only lawyers and
judges, but common people read a text containing legal information in a way that few
words would be unfamiliar or understandable. Currently, the closest the content of a legal
text is to the common everyday speech, the most understandable and, therefore, most
suitable to common people.

This will suggest that the law is enforced, based on

knowledge acquired through their texts, which may consist of different types.

1.2.1. Classification of legal texts

It has been seen that legal language is different from ordinary language. To some
extent, these differences could be explained since legal texts are most written using legal
language register. There are some ways in which legal texts are distinctive from other
kind of texts. This results from textual agreements among the law profession that allows
the creation of a text that once revised and approved is seen like an authentic expression
of the author intention. The creation of such texts tends to determine its meaning, which
most of the time tends to be interpreted. According to Hiltunen (as cited in Boesov,
2006, p. 17) there are three different types of legal writing to be distinguished. To begin,
academic texts, as its name suggest, are used for academic purpose, in such category,
academic research journals and legal textbooks can be mentioned, since they can be used
to support students, scholars and practitioners in all areas of the law. To continue,
juridical texts are textbooks focus on policy in its discussion of the judicial process. For
example, texts covering court judgments or law reports. Finally, there are the legislative
or statutory writings consisting on theories of legislation the process by which laws are

Translation of Legal Texts 13

enacted in certain countries (Laukkonen 2003); electoral and legislative structures;

external sources for statutory interpretation, and fundamental criteria of statutory
interpretation. Acts of parliament, contracts, and treaties, are examples of legislative
statutory legal texts.

In conclusion, the classification of legal texts should be

distinguished whether they are academic, juridical, or legislative or statutory writings,

since the above classification may have an impact on legal translation.

1.3 Legal translation

Cao (2007) stated that legal translation refers to the rendering of legal text from the
SL into the TL (p. 10). In other words, when translating legal documents, say from
English into Spanish; the main goal is that people who do not understand English, which
in this case is the SL, comprehend what is written on the legal paper, for example, on a
certificate, testament, contract, article, and so on. For doing this, it would be necessary to
transport out the content of such documents into Spanish, which in this case is the TL;
only then, people would comprehend what was written on the SL. This translation of legal
text is really essential, especially when talking about juridical issues, since many
instances that has to be with pending cases with the law may be affected by the point of
view of the translation.

1.3.1

Translation of legal texts

According to Sarcevic (as cited in Cao, 2007 p. 9), legal translation can be

classified according to different functions of the legal texts in the SL. To start, there are

Translation of Legal Texts 14

the purely descriptive texts, whose aim is to show rather than tell the reader what
something or someone is like, for instance, legal opinions, law textbooks, articles, etc.
Descriptive texts have an informative purpose, this means that in the translation from the
SL to the TL, the document having force will continue be the SL, since that translated into
the TL will be used by purely personal information (Cao, 2007, p. 11). In this case, a law
student from a given country, like Panama, whose aim is to present a speech about the
United States Constitution, will have the necessity to translate that Constitution from
English into Spanish.

This translation would be made from the SL to the TL,

nevertheless, the one having validity remains the SL, that is, the United State Constitution
in English. To continue, there are the normative texts, which, as mention above, are
mainly established on rule regulations, like laws, codes, contracts, treaties, and
conventions. In the translation of the normative functions, text are first drafted in one
language and then translated into another language or languagesthey may also be
drafted simultaneously in both or all languages (Cao, 2007 p. 10). In other words, if
there is a marriage certificate, which is primarily requested for getting married in a given
country, like Panama, law is regulated in the way that marriage certificates should be
traduced from the SL to the TL and both documents should be authenticated for having
validity. Finally, there are the primarily descriptive and also prescriptive texts, which aim
influence the behavior of the reader, like judicial decisions and legal instruments that are
used to carry on judicial and administrative proceedings such as actions, pleadings, briefs,
appeals, requests, petitions, etc. The translations of these texts are for general legal or
judicial purposesuch translation are primarily for information, and are mostly

Translation of Legal Texts 15

descriptive. (Cao 2007 p. 11) This kind of translation is mainly used to support the rights
of an individual in a court. For instance, a contract may function to prove that a person is
the owner of a property; however, if such a contract is written in the TL, it should be
traduced into the SL, in the case that the court participants, like lawyers, judges, clients
and so on, do not understand the content of the text. In this way, the translated text will
serve as an evidence to prove the rights of the person. To sum up, it is clear that legal
documents may be difficult to comprehend as compared with other documents of a
specialized area. That is why, it is important to examine this language carefully as a
whole, since common and singular linguistic features can be identified across different
legal languages (Cao, 2007 p. 20). Such linguistic features can be manifested with
respect to different characteristics.

Lexical Characteristics of Legal Language

As mentioned above, legal language is not a common everyday speech used by

every person, but by specialists in the field of law, as a result, common linguistic features
identifying legal language are its lexical characteristics, thus, Cao (2007) stated:
In terms of legal lexicon, a distinctive feature of legal language is the complex and
unique legal vocabulary found in different legal languages. This is a universal
feature of legal language but different legal languages have their own unique legal
vocabulary. It is the most visible and striking linguistic feature of legal language
as a technical languagewithin each legal lexicon, there are also peculiarities,
and they do not always correspond in different legal languages. For instance,

Translation of Legal Texts 16

studies have identified specific linguistic characteristics of the English legal

languagefull of archaic words, formal and ritualistic usage, word strings,
common words with uncommon meanings and words of over-precision, among
others (p. 21)
In other words, lexicon is one of the most outstanding aspects in legal language; it
is the most important feature that separates legal language from the ordinary one.
However, as mentioned by Cao, there is a special vocabulary to different legal languages,
like those used in the English and Spanish.

2.1

Lexical Characteristics of English legal language:

Since legal language has its own lexis, it is necessary to point out some of the

characteristics involved in such lexis. In this connection, Bouharaoui (2008) proposes

some lexical characteristics when talking about English legal language.
First, there exist some archaic adverbs as a mixture of deictic elements, as the ones
proposed by Alcaraz & Brian (as cited in Bouharaoui, 2008): here there and where
with certain prepositions: of, after, by, under etc. Some examples taken from Bouharaoui
(2008) are:
The parties hereto agree as follow.
Hereinafter referred to as wife.
The total rent for the term hereof is the sum of___.
Second, archaic use of the modal shall in legal English pose a level of difficulty in
both interpretation of clauses containing it and the translation of such clauses. According

Translation of Legal Texts 17

to Tiersma (as cited in Bouharaoui, 2008), traditionally, the modal shall, in legal texts,
carries an obligation or a duty as opposed its common function: expressing futurity, like
in the following example offered by Bouharaoui (2008):

a- All such payments shall be made to Landlord at Landlords address as set forth in
the preamble to this Agreement on or before the due date and without demand.
Third, unusual use of the words the same, such and said in legal English language
are quite different from using them in ordinary language. The word the same usually
implies comparison to a similar object or person, but in legal use it refers to sameness of
reference. According to Tiersma (as cited in Bouharaoui, 2008) the following example is
proposed:
- The tenant shall pay all the taxes regularly levied and assessed against Premises and
keep the same in repair.
In this example, the same refers to the word Premises. According to Tiersma
(as cited in Bouharaoui, 2008) the pronoun it can conveniently substitute the phrase the
same. Also, word like such means normally that sort or this sort. Concerning the
function of the word said in legal drafting, Sabra (as cited in Bouharaoui, 2008) concludes
that it is used as an article or a demonstrative pronoun. To illustrate this, Tiersma points
out the following example:
-

Lessee promises to pay a deposit. Said deposit shall accrue interest at a rate of five

percent per annum.

Translation of Legal Texts 18

In such an example, the word said could be substituted by the article the or the
demonstrative pronoun this and meaning would be the same.
To conclude, one of the most outstanding aspects in legal language is its lexicon,
and it can be distinguished according to different characteristics, as suggested by
Bouharaoui (2008), such characteristics are archaic diction of legal English; archaic use
of the modal shall in legal English; and unusual use of the words the same, such and
said. In this sense, the lexical characteristics of legal language differ to a great extent
from the ordinary one.

2.2 Lexical characteristics of Spanish legal language:

According to Hernndez, (as cited in Gutirrez, 2007) there is a distinct entity of
Spanish law in asserting that different areas of knowledge have, if not its own language, a
language with peculiarities and semantic idioms, and lock themselves in their background
because a device involving a departure from common use, [...] and it is true that around
law has been forming a specialized technical language that is familiar to the cultivators
surprises the uninitiated. According to this view, it is appropriate to say, once more, that
the essence of legal language is its own register, and such a circumstance is a key to the
effects of its understanding. What is more, Spanish legal language is a specialized one
and once involved in its meanings the results could be of a gratifying learning. In such
terms, Spanish legal language provides a set of different lexical characteristics.
To start, according to Var (as cited in Gutirrez, 2007 p. 27) the creation of new
terms, is one of the tendencies characterizing Spanish legal language. Thus, the creation

Translation of Legal Texts 19

of new terms implies the use of words that have been changed in its form, but not
meaning. Gutirrez (2007) propose the following examples:
Precisamente el recurrente sostiene que por hacer una cosa no pudo hacer la otra,
lo que le supuso la inasistencia al acto del plenario.
Este nuevo categorismo se asienta en la idea de conceder medidas de proteccin
al arrendatario Prembulo de la Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos de 1994.

As seem above, both sentences contain uncommon words such as recurrente and
categorismo whose translation into English would be recurrent and categorism even
though the word categorismo and categorism do not even exist in the dictionary.
Gutirrez (2007) proposes the classic and modern classification of lexical features
for Spanish legal language. First, there are the classic sources, which according to
Gutirrez (2007) consist of two branches of Latinisms and Greek or Helenism format
worships.

On the one hand, raw Latinism includes words like, ab initio: desde el

principio, ab intestato: sin testamento, alibi: coartada, iuris tantum: presuncin que admite
prueba en contrario, iuris et de iure: presuncin que no admite prueba en contrario, etc. On the
other hand, juridical words derived from Latin. For example, the word abogado proceeds
from the Latin word advocatus, abortar comes from abortare, heredar originates from the
word hereditare, etc. Besides that, the classic sources include Greek or Helenism formant
worships, with words like amnista, democracia, hipoteca, sinalagmtico, and the
arabisms, with few words that form the legal language in Spanish, for example, albacea,
alevosa, alguacil, alquiler. Second, there are the modern sources, which, according to

Translation of Legal Texts 20

Gutirrez (2007) includes words like anglicisms, for instance, absentismo, firma, caso,
common law, civil law, etc; galicisms, for example, aval, chantaje, cupn, sabotaje, etc;
Italianisms, like pliza, folleto, bancarrota, etc; and germanisms, such as marca, guerra,
guardar, ropa, rico, tregua, etc.

Finally, Spanish legal language do have its own

characteristics when talking about lexis, such characteristics includes the creation of new
terms; classic organization of lexical features like raw Latinisms and juridical words
derived from Latin; and modern classification of lexical features such as Anglicisms,
Gallicisms, Italianisms, and Germanisms.

2.3

Lexical difficulties in the translation of legal texts from English into Spanish

and viceversa
As listed above, some characteristics differentiate legal language lexis from
English and Spanish, hence, there are some difficulties when translating legal documents
from English into Spanish and viceversa. To start, as mentioned before, there exist some
archaic adverbs as a mixture of deictic elements, as the ones proposed by Alcaraz & Brian
(as cited in Bouharaoui, 2008): here there and where with certain prepositions: of,
after, by, under etc. Some examples taken from Bouharaoui (2008) along with their
Spanish translations are:
English
The parties hereto agree as follow.

Spanish
Las partes aqu acuerdan lo siguiente.

Hereinafter referred to as wife.

En adelante referida como la esposa.
The total rent for the term hereof is the La renta total de la vigencia del mismo es
sum of__.
la suma de___.

Translation of Legal Texts 21

As listed above, archaic adverbs are not of common use nowadays, in fact, an
ordinary person, even a non experienced translator would read it and probably wont
understand what the meaning of the previous sentences are; in this way, it is important to
look for the appropriate translation for them, but excluding that the meaning of the real
text gets altered.
In other instances, it was seen as a characteristic of the English legal language that
the modal shall is used and considered of archaic use, in this way, there are the following
examples along with the Spanish translation:
English
-Wife shall have the right to retain her
married name or shall also have the right
to return to her maiden or former name:
______.
Husband shall have the following rights of
title and ownership in the family residence:
_____________.

Spanish
- La esposa tendr derecho a conservar su
apellido de casada o tambin tendr el
derecho a regresar a su apellido de soltera o
anterior: _____________.
- El esposo tendr los siguientes derechos
de titularidad y propiedad en la residencia
de la familia: _____________.

Even the use of shall states that someone has a duty, sometimes it is used in a way
that can be confused for the translator since it could be used to denote obligation, future
tense or a false imperative. So, continue with Bouharaoui (2008), there are the following
examples along with the Spanish translation:
English
Spanish
Tenant shall comply with any and all laws, El inquilino deber cumplir con todas y
ordinances, rules and orders of any and all cada una de las leyes, ordenanzas, reglas y

Translation of Legal Texts 22

governmental
or
quasi-governmental
authorities affecting the cleanliness, use,
occupancy and preservation of the
Premises.
All such payments shall be made to
Landlord at Landlords address as set forth
in the preamble to this Agreement on or
before the due date and without demand.

rdenes de cualquier y todas las autoridades

gubernamentales o cuasi gubernamentales
que afectan a la limpieza, uso, ocupacin y
conservacin de los locales.
Todos los pagos debern hacerse al
Arrendador a la direccin del Arrendador
como se establece en el prembulo del
presente Acuerdo a ms tardar la fecha de
vencimiento y sin demanda.

According to Bouharaoui (2008), the above examples do not have consequences

on the juridical person (wife or husband). Obviously, the use of shall on legal texts are
frequent, thus, the above translation into Spanish, could be like this: La esposa deber
tener derecho ao tambin deber tener derecho a in this case, the use of shall
could denote obligation or a false imperative, this present certain difficulty in the
translation. To continue, as propose by the article Professional Translation for Companies
Worldwide (2011), Spanish into English translation refers to the lexical mismatches that
occur between a source text and their translated version. In this sense, the existence of
false cognates is proposed in such article as one of the main difficulties when translating
legal documents. In this sense, it is necessary to point out that cognates are words that
look the same but have different meanings. To sum up, when translating legal documents
from English into Spanish and viceversa, the archaic use of English words, the use of the
modal shall, and the existence of cognates can be aspects of difficulties.

Stylistic Characteristics of Legal Language

Translation of Legal Texts 23

According to Mellinkoff (as cited in Smejkalov 2009, p. 15), the language of law
has a strong tendency towards certain mannerisms such as being wordy, unclear, pompous
and dull. Likewise, Cao (2007) stated that legal writing is characterised by an impersonal
style, with the extensive use of declarative sentences which simply states a fact, argument
or idea, without requiring either an answer or action from the reader, pronouncing rights
and obligations. She also coined that in terms of legal style, legal language is a highly
specialised language use with its own style. When talking about legal language, it is
important to remember that there is a certain variation in the way legal language can be
distinguished among other styles, most of the time, such variations has to be with its
formality, since in any legal document the needs and expectations of the audience is
assessed. For instance, a legal document that has to be sent to the highest instances,
should apply a formal style, this involves, the use of certain splendid discourse, which
could look kind of boring or dull to the ordinary people, but shows respect to the
addressee. A different example is that of a document; say a letter sent to a friend; such a
letter wont have the same formal writing it would have if sent to a client, based on the
status of a legal matter, the first letter is appropriately informal. In spite of the above
mentioned, it is important to have clear that style can also be distinctive when talking
about different legal languages, since each language may have its own style.

3.1

Stylistic characteristics of English legal language

David Crystal (2004) proposes a stylistic influence upon English legal language.

To start, since legal English was influenced by Latin, French and Anglo Norman

Translation of Legal Texts 24

languages, ambiguity influenced the language of legal English. In this sense, to avoid
ambiguity, legal doublet pairs of words, consisting of two or more words which are near
synonyms, were incorporated from different languages into the legal English. As a result,
ambiguity became part of the style of legal English. Examples of mixed language
doublets, proposed by Crystal (2004) are: "breaking and entering" (English/French),
"lands and tenements" (English/French). Examples of English-only doublets, taken from
Crystal (2004) are: "let and hindrance", "have and hold. To continue, legal English style
is characterized by the vagueness of information to approach a simple meaning, in this
case, Wayne, Dickerson, ibid (as cited by the Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute,
2003), propose as a good example of too much detail and over specificity in the legal
language style, the following:

When an ordinary man wants to give an orange to another, he would merely say,
"I give you this orange." But when a lawyer does it, he says it this ways: "Know
all men by these presents that I hereby give, grant, bargain, sell, release, convey,
transfer, and quit claim to all my right, title, interest, benefit, and use whatever in,
of, and concerning this chattel, otherwise known as an orange, or citrus orantium,
together with all the appurtenances thereto of skin, pulp, pip, rind, seeds, and juice
for his own use and behalf, to himself and his heirs in fees simple forever, free
from all liens, encumbrances, easements, limitations, restraints, or conditions
whatsoever, any and all prior deeds, transfers or other documents whatsoever, now
or anywhere made to the contrary notwithstanding, with full power to bite, cut,
such, or otherwise eat the said orange or to give away the same, with or without its
skin, pulp, pip, rind, seeds, or juice."
The above example shows the way in which legal language style was apply, since
for a simple meaning; a long, dull discourse was fully elaborated, containing long,
complex messages, difficult to understand, at least for the ordinary people. Finally, style
in legal English has to be with its lexical repetition or redundancy; hence its tendency

Translation of Legal Texts 25

toward lexical repetition, and therefore to functional redundancy. For instance, there is an
English sentence taken from Bouharaoui (2008):
- The Lessee shall pay to the Lessor at the office of the Lessor.
It is obvious how redundancy is presented in the above example; however, it is
clear enough to avoid any misunderstanding, which could emerge if a pronoun like his
is used instead of at the office of the Lessor since it could cause confusion.
Summarizing, the influenced by Latin, French and Anglo Norman languages, led to
ambiguity, and at the same time, to the use of doublet pairs of words, likewise, over
specificity should be mentioned as an important issue when talking about legal English
style and lexical specificity or redundancy.

3.2

Stylistic characteristics of Spanish legal language

There are different features of the style used in Spanish legal language. According

to Alcaraz (as cited in Bouharaoui, 2008), there are some trends that characterize the style
of Spanish law, among these characteristics, there is the preference for the stilted and
archaic. To start, when talking about the stilted in Spanish legal language, Bouharaoui
(2008) shows the following example: No existiendo costas en la apelacin de la presente
causa, resulta ocioso pronunciarse sobre las mismas. In this sense, the greatness and
highness style in the above example, shows that Spanish legal language sometimes is
guilty of exaggeration or affectation, as agree with Bouharaoui (2008), when analyzing
the given example, no decision on costs or costas may be nonexistent and tear and even
non-existent rule on costs or costas may be useless or unnecessary, but use the term idle

Translation of Legal Texts 26

or ocioso is exaggerated. On the other hands, the use of archaic elements that are
perceived by ordinary people can be observed in the style of the Spanish legal language.
In this way Bouharaoui (2008) proposes an example taken from the Spanish Constitution
of 1978, artculo155, in which a tendency to postpone the unstressed pronoun exists:
Si una Comunidad Autnoma no cumpliere las obligaciones que la
Constitucin u otras leyes le impongan, o actuare de forma que atente
gravemente al inters general de Espaa, el Gobierno, previo requerimiento al
Presidente de la Comunidad Autnoma y, en el caso de no ser atendido, con la
aprobacin por mayora absoluta del Senado, podr adoptar las medidas
necesarias para obligar a aqulla al cumplimiento forzoso de dichas
obligaciones o para la proteccin del mencionado inters general.

Also, when talking about Spanish style, redundancy is a characteristic; it is

common to think about words, phrases or sentences that follow another one, whose
meaning states the same message the first one did. In such case, Gutirrez (2007) implies
the following example:

Sentencia N 1.105/1993 SEGUNDO.- Por presentada, turnada y repartida la

anterior demanda en este Juzgado

It is observable that the words presentada, turnada y repartida or in English

presented, turned over and spread are different words whose meanings take a similar

Translation of Legal Texts 27

one in the context of the sentence. In conclusion, stilted and archaic elements that are
perceived by ordinary people, together with redundancy can be observed in the style of
the Spanish legal language.

3.3

Stylistic difficulties in the translation of legal texts from English into Spanish

and viceversa
After stating the stylistic characteristics among legal English and Spanish, it is
appropriate to mention its difficulties in translation. In this way, it can be brought to the
difficulties of English and Spanish translation and viceversa, the words from Ghazala (as
cited in Benfoughal, 2010 pp. 36-38), who stated that the confusion between two styles
will jumble their functions, and would affect the meaning since style is always relevant to
meaning; it is a part of it. In this sense, Benfoughal (2010), made a comparison among
complex and simplex text as a style in translation. Though, such style could be brought to
the legal scenario, where long sentences are a common style. Benfoughal (2010) pointed
out that the translation is not required to be simplified if complex, nor to be complicated
if simple, rather it is required to be carefully distinctive the one from the other. In other
words, when translating legal documents, it is necessary to keep the same style the
original paper has, nothing should be rest or add. Benfoughal (2010) gives the following
example:

- The shooting of the hunters is extraordinary.

Translation of Legal Texts 28

The explanation, taken from Benfoughal is that translating such a sentence is

somehow complicated because its meaning is not clear. For example the expression
"shooting" has two meanings: Killing the hunters and killing the birds/animals. This
means that the meanings are not clear in the sentence. Consequently, when translating
such sentence into Spanish, it should keep the same unclear message. Likewise, when
talking about legal documents the translation should keep the same meaning whether it is
clear or not; from a Spanish source into an English one and viceversa, this would lead to
avoid misunderstanding of the text. Another difficulty when translating legal texts from
English into Spanish and viceversa is the called Fronting, according to Benfoughal
(2010), Fronting is when the writer places a word, phrase, clause at the beginning of the
sentence in an unusual structure. Thus, an example proposed by Benfoughal (2010), is:
"Suicide he committed" instead of "He committed suicide". According to Benfoughal,
such fronting is intended by the SL writer to make the reader get a special point or feel a
particular meaning; it is intended to achieve a stylistic function, linguistic touch of some
kind; emphasizing a given point of view, a basic information or idea. In other words, the
writer wants to call the attention from the reader by emphasizing a given point.

Such

style is a kind of troublesome when translating legal texts, in this sense, the translator
should have enough knowledge for both languages in order to avoid the so called
misunderstandings.

As the last difficulty in the legal translation from English into

Spanish, specifically in style is the lexical repetition or redundancy. This has to be with
exactness of reference; it is necessary for not causing misunderstandings. Moreover, it is

Translation of Legal Texts 29

helpful in the translation. In the example taken from Bouharaoui (2008), the following
sentence is presented but this time along with its Spanish translation:

English
- The Lessee shall pay to the Lessor at the
office of the Lessor.

Spanish
- El Arrendatario pagar al Arrendador en la
oficina del Arrendador.

It could be confusing whether to know if the office belongs to the Lessor or to the
Lessee. Therefore, this kind of redundancy could be helpful when translating; the problem
will rise from documents which do not specify, for instance, which word the pronoun is
referring to.

In conclusion, when translating English legal texts into Spanish and

viceversa, it is important to keep the same style from the source text, nothing should be
rested or added in order to keep the same intended meaning as it maintains the same style,
effect of the SL text, also, it is important to take into account the fronting style for not
losing the authors intention and the special exactness that redundancy permits.

4. Syntactic characteristics of legal language

According to Vachek (as cited in Smejkalov, 2009, p. 11), sentences in legal texts
are longer and more complex yet clearly built up, using various typographical devices of
distributing phrases, division of the text into parallel paragraphs and capitalizing certain
crucial points of the document. As mentioned above when talking about style, legal
language includes redundancy. This, together with some other features of legal language,
implies the use of long, very long syntactic sentences. In this matter, the Pacific Islands

Translation of Legal Texts 30

Legal Information Institute, (2003) pointed out that the reason lies in the prescriptions
(of drafters who follow the traditional style) regarding the order of clauses within a
sentence. As a result, the use of long sentences cannot be avoided since legal language
rarely uses simple sentences containing a verb and a predicate.

4.1 Syntactic characteristics of English legal language

According to Danet (as cited in Dmova, 2007, p. 19) syntactic features are
probably more distinctive of legal English than are lexical ones, and certainly account for
more of the difficulties of lay persons in comprehending it and she pointed out that
distinctive features include syntax in legal English. First, the use of long sentences, since
a sentence in legal English language may be up to 200-300 words, with multiple
subordination and postponement of the main verb until very late in the sentence. Second,
complexity,

which

includes

abundance

of

restrictive

connectors,

such

as:

notwithstanding, under, subject to, having regard to, relating to, pursuant to, in order to,
in accordance with, whereas, and others. Third, abundant use of the passive voice often
used to establish rules which apply universally, for example no late submissions will be
accepted, and payment must be made within seven days. The implied subject is too
obvious to require stating. Fourth, conditionals and hypothetical formulations. In texts
like statutes, contracts and handbooks containing procedural rules, many possible
situations and exceptions must be provided for. The result is that the language in which
they are written, and legal language generally, is full of syntactic indicators of condition
and hypothesis, which may be either positive (if, when, where, whenever, provided that, in

Translation of Legal Texts 31

the event of, and many others) or (unless, failing, shouldnot, except where and so on).
Five, active and passive parties in legal relationships: the suffixes er/-or and ee. Most
legal activity is concerned with the creation, exercise and extinction of rights and with
disputes concerning those rights. In criminal cases the two parties are the State (or the
Crown in England) and the accused, or the prosecution and the defendant. In this way, a
feature of legal relationships created at the desire of the parties is the use of the suffixes
er/-or and ee. For example: the party who grants a right is a grantor and the party who
receives it is a grantee. In contracts, a party which makes a promise is a promisor, and the
party receiving is a promisee. Other examples are: lesson/lessee, licensor/licensee, and
assignor/assignee. Summarizing, when talking about Syntax in English legal language,
there some special features proposed by Danet (as cited in Dmova, 2007, p. 19), the use
of long sentences, complexity, abundant use of the passive voice, conditionals and
hypothetical formulations, and active and passive parties in legal relationships, specially
the use of suffixes like er/-or and ee.

4.2

Syntactic characteristics of Spanish legal language

According to Larramendi (as cited in Gutirrez, 2007), high abstraction, controlled

and fixed syntax is one of the many characteristics applying legal language in Spanish.
Including long noun phrases, consisting of several nouns joined by prepositions and one
or more adjectives and adverbs. Given the tendency to use long sentences and syntactic
structures in Spanish law, this feature can be annoying sometimes. Now, in defense of
lawyers, it is important to keep in mind that the use of long noun phrases is due to the

Translation of Legal Texts 32

need for precision and accuracy demanded by the science of law, in order to avoid
difficult interpretation, and prevent ambiguities. The following example taken from
Gutierrez (2007), illustrates this syntactic characteristic of Spanish legal language:
Se crea una comisin consultiva nacional, que tendr por funcin el asesoramiento
y consulta a las partes de las negociaciones colectivas de trabajo en orden al
planteamiento y determinacin de los mbitos funcionariales de los convenios.
The example listed above, shows that there are three noun phrases in a single
sentence.

Those noun phrases are comisin consultiva nacional;

partes de las

negociaciones colectivas de trabajo; and mbitos funcionales de los convenios. Then,

each noun phrase is joined by conjunctions like que, por, y, de, en; and by
adjectives and adverbs. In addition to the syntactic characteristics of Spanish legal
language, Larramendi (as cited in Gutirrez, 2007), proposed passive constructions. This
is, the frequent use of passive voice in legal parlance denoting impersonality,
concealment, disclaimer, and distance from the person who holds a position of
hierarchical superiority conferred by display of power, either legislative or judicial. In
this way, an example of passive reflected in legal texts of Spanish legal language is the
one taken from the Family Code of Panama, Section 471: El patrimonio familiar se
constituye por resolucin judicial y a peticin de uno o ms miembros de la familia. El
establecido por las leyes especiales, se rige por lo que stas disponen. En ningn caso
puede constituirse ms de un patrimonio familiar en beneficio de los miembros de una
familia. Such an example includes the sense of the passive voice introduced by the
Spanish preposition por, which was used three different times:

por resolucin

Translation of Legal Texts 33

judicial, a peticin de uno o ms miembros de la familia and por lo que stas

disponen.

Finally, when talking about syntactic features of Spanish legal language,

Larramendi (as cited in Gutirrez, 2007) propose this time the syntactic ambiguity, as the
phenomenon that occurs when there are two or more meanings for a unique sentence.
Such meanings are connected to the parts of the sentence structure, this means; the
grammatical construction of the sentences. As proposed by Gutierrez, (2007) we have an
example of syntactic ambiguity in Section 619 of the Penal Code from Spain "... Sern
castigados con la pena de multa de diez a veinte das los que dejaren de prestar asistencia
o, en su caso, el auxilio que las circunstancias requieran a una persona de edad avanzada
o discapacitada que se encuentre desvalida y dependa de sus cuidados. This kind of
sentence can be confusing because it is not clear whether the classification of desvalida y
dependa de sus cuidados applies to both: a una persona de edad avanzada y
discapacitada, or only to a una persona discapacitada. It is very important for a
specialist the correct interpretation of the law because if he or she chooses to have a
standard meaning, he or she will have a standard result, but if he or she selects a different
meaning, then he or she will have a different result.

In conclusion, according to

Larramendi (as cited in Gutirrez, 2007), in Spanish legal language, the following
stylistic characteristics could be included: long noun phrases, consisting of several nouns
joined by prepositions and one or more adjectives and adverbs; passive voice
constructions, denoting impersonality, concealment, disclaimer, and distance, and
syntactic ambiguity, as the phenomenon that occurs when there are two or more meanings
for a unique sentence.

Translation of Legal Texts 34

4.3

Syntactic difficulties in the translation of legal texts from English into Spanish

and viceversa
Among the syntactic problems that can be found in the translation of legal texts
are those based on complexity. Thus, when talking about syntactic complexity,

legal

discourse in English is characterized by the excessive use of long and complicated

sentences. Similarly, Spanish legal sentences are lengthy and complex, a fact that causes
difficulties in translating from English into Spanish and viceversa. It is common to find
long sentences forming a whole paragraph. Consequently, a sentence consists of a number
of subordinating and coordinating clauses that are joined by many subordinating and
coordinating conjunctions which may be peculiar to the TL. Thus, long and complex
sentences of legal discourse result in ambiguity. This is a structural ambiguity which is
purposefully made to create uncertainties and also for diplomatic reasons (Harvey, 2002
p. 181).

Misinterpretation of such structures may leads to mistranslation. Another

syntactic problem that can be found in the English-Spanish translation and viceversa is
the use of the passive voice.

According to El-Farahaty (2008), English legal discourse

excessively manipulates passive forms. However, it is very infrequent in the Spanish

language; in this way, it exists in Spanish grammar; for example, El carro fue vendido
or The car was sold; but compared to the English language, its use is very occasional in
the Spanish language. If, in Spanish translation, the translator retains even half of the
passive voices of the source text, then he or she will be guilty of creating a target text that
sounds unnatural. As a final point, among the syntactic difficulties when translating legal

Translation of Legal Texts 35

texts from English into Spanish and viceversa there are the ones coming from excessive
use of long and complicated sentences forming a whole paragraph which can lead to
structural ambiguity, and the English excessively manipulation of passive forms.
5. Possible solutions for the translation of legal text from English into Spanish and
viceversa
As any problem looking for a solution, the translation of legal texts from English
into Spanish and viceversa should have its own. In this sense, this chapter will show
some of the possible solutions regard to the lexical, stylistic, and syntactic characteristics
of legal language.
To start, when the lexical difficulty in the translation of legal texts comes from the
use of archaic words like hereto, hereinafter, and hereof, which are not of common
everyday speech; such words can be replaced in the translation for a more actualize or
common one, in this way, instead of hereto aqu is used, the word adelante for
hereinafter, and the expression del mismo for hereof such translation is accepted,
since it wont affect the meaning of the context in the translation. Likewise, as mentioned
in chapter two, the modal shall in English is used and considered of archaic use, in this
way, according to Payne, (2012), the solution to avoiding the false imperative of this
modal is to substitute a short definition in place of the imperative to determine if it makes
sense. If the following mental substitutions are made, then the language will remain
logic:
shall:

has a duty to

shall not:

has a duty not to

Translation of Legal Texts 36

If it is considered using "shall" or "shall not," it will be needed merely substitute

the definition and consider whether the definition makes sense. For example, "The
commission shall keep a cash reserve," reads "The commission has a duty to keep a cash
reserve." If the substitute phrase makes sense, then the use is proper. Here is another
example, "Service shall be made on the parties," reads "Service has a duty to be made on
the parties." This is nonsense. Service does not have volition. Service cannot even exist
until it is made. Therefore, it is a command that service brings itself into existence. This
provision needs to be rewritten.
When there are words such as cognates which are words that look the same but
have different meanings. Kaplan (2011) gives the following example:

English
Spanish
- Las partes han acordado celebrar el The parties have agreed to celebrate this
presente contrato con el fin de construir un contract for the purpose of building a
puente.
bridge.
Then, at first glance, this translation of the underlined Spanish and English
cognate look like quite reasonable. But the context prevents from taking this easy route,
because when used to denote actions involving contracts, the translations of this verb is
incorrect. In this sense, Kaplan suggests that the statement refers to the formation or
making of the contract. For both oral and written contracts, this can be expressed in

Translation of Legal Texts 37

English by the term enter into. Therefore, Kaplan proposes that the sentence could be
properly translated as follows:

The parties have agreed to enter into / execute this contract for the purpose
of building a bridge.

(The parties might celebrate with champagne after the execution of their contract, but
they would not celebrate the contract per se.)
To continue, according to stylistics difficulties in the translation of legal texts from
English into Spanish and viceversa, there can be difficulties when trying to keep the same
intended meaning whether the original version of a text is complex or simplex; when
trying of not losing the authors intention, and the special exactness that redundancy
permits. A possible solution for such stylistic problems could be the one suggested by
Harvey, (2002), who proposes fidelity as a characteristic of legal translation. In this way,
according to Kasier (as cited in Harvey, 2002 p. 180), the notion that a legal text has a
spirit tends to be understood as a signal that it has a single, fixed meaning, fixed by the
author, over which meaning the interpreter or translator has no control. In other words,
when a problem in translation arises because of a stylistic problems, like complexity in
the meaning of content of the text, it should not be fixed by imposing owns interpretation
of the legal text. The literal view of fidelity reflects the positivist tradition in legal
interpretation, which holds that the meaning of a legislative text is declared, rather than
being construed or created, by the person interpreting it (Kasirer, cited in Harvey, 2002).

Translation of Legal Texts 38

As stated by Sparer and Covac (cited in Harvey, 2002), 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. Thus, such an equivalence impact should be a creative process, but not
always easy. Likewise, when translating legal texts, it is commonly advocated to keep the
same redundancy of the original text since it is a redundancy that is functional. So, the
translator should ensure that the version proposed is without ambiguity as its original
counterpart.
Additionally, there are the possible solutions for the syntactic characteristics of
legal language. If the sentence has a complex structure, El-Farahaty (2008) suggests that
the translator is advised to divide the sentence into independent and dependent clauses.
This process simplifies his understanding of the main pieces of information given in each
sentence, though it is not an easy task; he or she then may have a choice of following the
same structure of the ST which most legal translators do. Yet, this method could result in
ambiguity. In the translation, it may be also considered the syntactic structure of the TL
and stick to the content displayed in the sentence. However, El-Farahaty, advices that it is
worth noting that this technique involves risk as it may lead to subjectivity or lack of
accuracy. That is, content may be altered for achieving formal adequacy of the TL. To
continue, for syntactic ambiguity, El-Farahaty suggests that the translation may also need
to stick to the most common structures that have been famously used in dealing with
similar syntactic difficulties. That is, he seeks advice and searches for genuine solutions
rather than look for alternatives. However, according to Lane, Beyer & Conradsen (as

Translation of Legal Texts 39

cited in Harvey, 2002) the translator must avoid interpreting ambiguities since this is a
task for trained lawyers. In other words, it can be said that legal translation needs
interpretation, however, the restriction of such interpretation; leads to not having a quality
translation. On the other hands, when talking about the solution for a syntactic difficulty
of translating the passive voice in legal texts, reformulating the sentence in the active or
passive voice, from Spanish into English and viceversa could be an option. Likewise, the
Spanish translation could be effective by trying to use a reflexive verb, generally a
reflexive verb in the third person with the pronoun se.
In English, it is not possible to construct a sentence in the active voice without specifying
the name of the person, who, or the thing that is performing the action. However, Spanish
allows a sentence in the active voice to be constructed without specifying the name of the
person, who, or the thing that is performing the action. Hence, the Spanish translation of
the English sentence Nury was arrested can and should be Arrestaron a Nury. The
English sentence is in the passive voice, and does not name who arrested Nury, the
Spanish sentence is in the active voice, and it does not name who arrested Nury either.
This, then, would be an easy way of translating simple English sentences in the passive
voice into the Spanish active voice. Synthesizing, when talking about Spanish legal
translation into English and viceversa, there are different possible solutions. In lexis,
archaic words may be replaced in the translation for a more actualized or common term;
in the same way, a definition may be substituted and considered whether the definition makes
sense. On the other hands, when talking about style, a possible solution may be fidelity, since it

reflects the positivist tradition in legal interpretation. Likewise, if there is redundancy in

Translation of Legal Texts 40

the original text, it can be kept into the translation, since it is a redundancy that is
functional. Finally, when talking about syntactic, a possible solution when translating
legal complex structures may be to divide the sentence into independent and dependent
clauses; and when translating the passive voice in legal text, reformulating the sentence to
the active voice from English into Spanish and the opposite may be effective.

Translation of Legal Texts 41

III. Conclusion

This final term paper is the result of a wide long investigation based on the
problems presented when translating legal texts. More specifically, it showed that there
are three types of legal texts including the ones used for normative, performative and
technical purposes. Three different characteristics were stated as aspects of difficulties
when translating texts with juridical foundations. Such characteristics involved lexis,
style, and syntax; since a variety of problems appeared in the already mentioned
translation when talking about archaic and unusual use of some words in English lexis;
the creation of new terms and the use of cognates in Spanish lexis; ambiguity, lexical
repetition or redundancy in the English style; preference for the stilted and archaic in the
Spanish style; the use of long sentences, the use of the passive voice, and conditionals
together with hypothetical formulations in the English syntax; and the use of long noun
phrases, passive constructions, and ambiguity in the Spanish syntax. In spite of the
existence of such characteristics as aspects of difficulties when translating law, there will
always be possible solutions and this should be taken into account, since the translation of
legal texts undoubtedly implies specific considerations during the process of transferring
a language into another.

Translation of Legal Texts 42

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Translation of Legal Texts 43

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