When talking about foreign language translation and interpretation and foreign languages in the legal sense, it is natural to think in terms of the act of translating a legal document or testimony from one language to another. However, when used in the context of international law, this concept also means translating and interpreting foreign laws from one legal language to another.
The law itself can be considered a foreign language – and when dealing with the laws of two countries this means not only translating foreign language texts but also the legal language, specific to that particular country. The words of a foreign law exist within the context of a legal culture that cannot be translated through the typical foreign language translation process. To translate them, one often needs the services of a foreign language translator who is also an expert in international and comparative law. Thus, this translator will be able to not only interpret the actual language of the law, but also understand the way that the law of one country works in comparison to another nation’s law.
For more information, see Deborah Cao‘s Translating Law, published by Multilingual Matters Limited.
To read our earlier legal translation blog post “Translations, FTC and Foreign Language Complaints”, click here.
And to read “French-English, German-English, and Hebrew-English Translations of Foreign Laws Available for Free”, click here.
To read “Spanish Legal Translations, English-Spanish Translation for In-House Law Departments, and Purchasing Real Estate in Mexico”, click here.
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