Uzbekistan state world languages university translation faculty english language translation theory department

Structurally this course paper consists of: introduction, two chapters, conclusion, reference list and appendix.
An introduction depicts brief information about whole course paper and analyzes the problems that are going to research and discuss in the project. It is apparent that this course paper informs the aim of this research, tasks of the work, scientific novelty, theoretical value, practical value and other features of the course paper.
The first chapter focuses on the theoretical aspects of translation, types of legal documents, as well as stylistic characteristics of legal documents.
The second chapter is mostly based on showing the peculiarities of the translation of legal documents, in its framework studied the translation of legal terms, as well as studied the relevance of translation as the basis for reproducing the functionality of legal documents.
The conclusion demonstrates the general results of the course paper, or more precisely, the two chapters are summarized and conceive of as united theoretical material on the practical use.
The reference list presents the names of authors and their scientific work on theoretical issues of subject matter and some internet recourses relating to the theme.

CHAPTER I. MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TRANSLATION OF LEGAL TEXTS

1.1. Definition of the Concept of "Legal Translation", its Features and Requirements

The definition of the concept of translation is rather controversial and partly problematic, since translation is quite multifaceted and has specific aspects that need to be fixed in its definition. Linguists give different interpretations of the concept of translation. For example, A.V. Fedorov, a famous philologist, linguist, author of many scientific works, understands translation as, firstly, a process that takes place in the form of a mental act and consists in the fact that a speech work (text or oral statement) that has arisen in one - the original language, re-created in another - the target language, and secondly, the result of this process, i.e. a new speech work into the target language.¹

Legal translation is the translation of legal documents and texts using legal terminology and a specialized dictionary. It has its own characteristics that distinguish it from the translation of ordinary texts.
Features of the relationship between language and law have long been of interest to linguists and jurists.
Based on the classification of the research group for the study of the language of law of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences, the following most important areas of research in the field of language and law in science can be distinguished:
1. Communication in court - linguistic behavior of the parties before the court. This broad area of ​​research includes, in particular, issues of rhetoric, stylistics, text linguistics, as well as various purely linguistic aspects, for example, social and dialectal differences in the linguistic behavior of communication participants;
2. Legal argumentation - ways and possibilities of expressing legal arguments "by means of natural language, taking into account its ambiguity, variability and uncertainty." Legal logic is thus viewed through the prism of the possibilities and properties of the language;
3. Legal linguistics - the study and development in legal practice of technical methods of investigation with the help of linguistics, etc.;
4. Language norms in law - "legal regulations regarding speech in court, requirements for legal translations, issues of linguistic designations, for example, in the field of the right to a name, trademark law, etc."
5. The legal force of language actions - the validity of laws and legal norms, "the types of their language marking", as well as special cases of language actions.
6. Criteria for interpreting texts - the interaction of proper linguistic patterns and extralinguistic criteria that allow clarifying the meaning of the text, such as legal culture, communicative situation, the amount of knowledge of communication participants, etc.;
7. Language requirements for legal formulations, in particular, in connection with the requirement of clarity and unambiguity. "Systematic development of linguistic criteria for the correlation of the linguistic form of a legal text and its clarity and unambiguity."²
Questions about whether the language of law is a special language and whether this special language is internally unified constitute one of the traditional areas of research in legal linguistics.
There are different opinions about the extent to which the language of law can be considered unified. This assumption is supported by the fact that lawyers, that is, the main speakers of this language, receive the same education on the basis of a single language. In addition, "in all areas of law, the language of legal practice is based on a single language of law" An argument against this statement can be various criteria by which the language of law can be structured. These are the differences between legal institutions, in which the language of law is the means of communication, and the different levels of knowledge and competence of the participants in this communication (it should not be overlooked that the boundary between the amount of legal knowledge of a lawyer and a non-lawyer can be blurred), and many ways communication (e.g. oral or written) and other aspects.
1. the language of laws: general, abstract legal norms intended by the legislator for both specialists and non-lawyers;
2. language of court decisions;
3. the language of legal science and expertise: comments and discussion of special issues by specialists for specialists;
4. language of departmental written communication: forms, memos, agendas, etc.;
5. administrative jargon: informal discussion of special and semi-special issues by specialists.
These language layers differ from each other in terms of the need for precise, detailed and concise expression of concepts in the language.
Attempts to structure the legal language are often made in linguistics and terminology, since the question of the structure of the language is closely related to its functions, and, accordingly, to the objectives and goals of its study. Therefore, there are many points of view and criteria for considering the issue of the internal structure of the language of law.
Among the features of the legal language that are most often criticized by linguists, many researchers cite the following:
- the use of legal terms that coincide with the words of a natural language (for example, terminological words: possession (владение, обладание), item (вещь, объект));
- the use of archaisms;
- compact style (complex nominal groups, passive constructions, intricate syntactic constructions and complex sentences, etc.).
In this regard, attention should be paid to the fact that the reasons for the emergence of problems of understanding between lawyers and non-lawyers in the legal and administrative field are not in vocabulary and language structures, but rather in the abstractness of special legal conceptual relationships.
Main features of legal translation:
Accuracy and accurate transfer of the meaning of terms. In legal texts, each term has a specific meaning, and in order to ensure the correct perception of the document, this meaning must be accurately conveyed. When translating, it is necessary to use the appropriate terminology and a specialized dictionary.
Clarity. Legal translation should be clear and understandable for all users. The translator must use clear and concise phrases to avoid ambiguity.
Compliance with legal systems. Legal texts often refer to laws, rules and regulations that vary from country to country. The translator must have a good knowledge of legal systems and provide correct references to laws.
Reliability and accuracy of translation. In legal documents, even a small mistake can have serious consequences. The translation of legal documents must be reliable and accurate.
Differences in the legal systems of countries. Differences in political systems, socio-economic factors of development, as well as in their cultural traditions of countries have led to the fact that in different states national legal systems have been formed that have features that are not characteristic of other legal systems.
Legal document for signing. Differences in legal systems affect translation. It happens that a term from one system of law is not represented in another system. For example, in Russian legal language, the side of the defense in court is represented by a lawyer, while in the UK the term “адвокат” is translated not only as laywer, but also as “barrister, solicitor, attorney”, depending on the context.
It turns out that for an accurate translation of the text, the translator must understand the legal system of both the country of the original text and the country of translation.
Terminological richness. One of the main features of legal documents is the abundance of terms. Most of the text on legal topics consists of specialized vocabulary. Despite the fact that many words and phrases have a well-established translation, in order to establish the correspondence of a term in the target language, the translator often has to conduct a whole study.
Often, for one Russian-language term, a number of seemingly synonymous terms in English are supposed to be, and vice versa. In fact, not every synonym is suitable for legal translation, which does not tolerate even the slightest distortion of meaning. For an accurate translation, you have to focus on the context.
To this day, some legal terms do not have an unambiguous translation in legal dictionaries. For example, the word “cross-claim” in some dictionaries is listed as “перекрестный иск”, while the correct translation is “встречный иск”.
It is often impossible to accurately translate a term without resorting to a translation commentary. For example, the term “plea agreement”, used in the US jurisprudence, at first glance, is translated as “соглашение о сделке”.
However, in the fullest sense, a plea agreement – это сделка между сторонами в суде о признании подсудимым своей вины, что в итоге может привести к смягчению приговора. In this case, a translation commentary is appropriate to clarify the meaning.
Cliche. Cliches and stamps ensure the accuracy of the language of law, facilitate business communication, and contribute to the rapid and accurate preparation of a document. The task of the translator is to establish equivalence between the stamps of the original language and the target language, avoiding literal translation.³
Emotional neutrality. The legal text does not contain an emotional component, its purpose is to state the facts briefly and without unnecessary digressions. Neutrality, impersonality allow you to concentrate on the presentation of facts.
Specific syntax. The legal language is characterized by the completeness and uniformity of syntactic constructions. A number of homogeneous members and homogeneous subordinate clauses complicate the perception of a legal text by an ordinary person, but it is necessary to exclude ambiguous interpretations.
Requirements for legal translation:

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  Experience and qualifications of an interpreter in this field.
  
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  Use of specialized vocabulary and terminology.
  
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  Knowledge of the legal system and legislation discussed in the paper.
  
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  Strict observance of all customer requirements and rules for the translation of language pairs.
  
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  Additional editing of the text after translation to ensure the accuracy and correctness of the translation.
  

Thus, legal translation requires a highly qualified translator, knowledge of the law and specialized terminology. Each such translation must be correct and accurate, therefore, customers turn only to professional translators who specialize in this field.

1.2. Description of the Main Types of Legal Texts and Their Structure

A legal document is a material carrier of legal information. As a rule, legal documents are texts that exist on paper. Their array is huge. Almost every person has to deal with certain legal documents: in some cases - as the creator of the text of a legal document, in others - when implementing a rule of law, as an addressee (executor of legal prescriptions).⁴

Depending on the nature of legal information, all legal documents can be divided into four large groups:
1) normative acts;
2) acts of law enforcement;
3) contracts;
4) other types of legal documents.⁵
1. Normative acts. A normative act is a unilateral authoritative legal document addressed to an indefinite circle of persons, designed for repeated use and regulating typical (recurring) relations. A number of factors should be taken into account in the process of developing a regulation:

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  the range of social relations subject to legal regulation is correctly chosen;
  
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  the purpose of the legal impact is determined;
  
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  the legal norm was developed in a timely manner;
  
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  an adequate form of a normative legal act has been established.
  

2. Law enforcement acts. Enforcement acts typically include:

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  decisions of the court or state authorities and local self-government on specific legal issues or disputes,
  
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  decisions of law enforcement agencies on the recognition of rights or the imposition of measures of responsibility.
  

The law enforcement act specifies the rule of law in connection with individual situations, relationships. The rights and obligations of the addressees in the law enforcement act are indicated precisely and definitely. Such an act is mandatory not only for its addressees, but also for other entities that are obliged to execute it or take into account its legal significance.
3. Contracts. By its legal nature, the contract is a voluntary agreement of equal parties. Distinguish between normative and non-normative contracts. The former include agreements on the delimitation of jurisdiction and powers between the federation and its subjects, between subjects of the Federation and municipalities, collective agreements. Unlike normative non-normative contracts do not contain new rules of law. Non-normative, for example, include all contracts for the circulation of goods, works and services, labor agreements, etc.
The largest group is made up of civil law contracts.
When drawing up a contractual relationship, a number of rules of legal technique should be observed.
Any contract must contain mandatory details - the name of the parties, the terms for fulfilling the obligation, the subject of the contract, the value of the transaction (the price of the goods, services or the amount of wages).
The contract is drawn up in several copies, according to the number of parties. All copies have equal legal force.
The contract is signed by authorized representatives of the parties and contains an indication of their full name (organizational and legal form for organizations, details of an identity document for individuals), location (legal address for organizations) and contact phone number.
The terms of the contract may not contradict the law. But this does not mean that legislative formulas should be rewritten in the contract. It is enough to make a reference to the number of the relevant article of the law.
4. Other types of legal documents. Other types of legal documents include statements of claim, claims, complaints, petitions, all forms of legal correspondence.
Currently, there are the smallest number of formal requirements for this range of documents.
A statement of claim (исковое заявление) (claim) is a written appeal to the court demanding the protection of a violated right. It must indicate the defendant, his name, address, the essence of the legal dispute, the norms of the law that, in the opinion of the plaintiff, are violated by the defendant, and a specific request addressed to the court. The claim is drawn up in several copies, according to the number of parties plus one for the court.⁶
A claim (претензия) is a written demand addressed to the debtor to eliminate violations of the performance of an obligation. The document is provided for at the pre-trial stage of the settlement of a legal dispute.
An application (petition) is a written request addressed to an authorized state body on issues of its competence.
Complaint - a written request addressed to the authorized state body on the elimination of violated rights and legitimate interests.
The legal documents listed should be as concise as possible and express the request of the applicant concisely.
Depending on the type of documents being translated, the translation of legal documents can be divided into the following types:
1. translation of personal documentation:

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  translation of a passport, translation of a work book, translation of a marriage certificate;
  
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  translation of a divorce certificate;
  
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  translation of a birth certificate;
  
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  death certificate translation;
  
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  translation of the marriage contract;
  
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  translation of consent to leave a minor child, etc.;
  

2. translation of business documentation:

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  translation of the contract of sale;
  
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  translation of the insurance contract;
  
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  translation of an insurance policy;
  
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  translation of the lease agreement;
  
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  translation of the lease agreement;
  
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  translation of an employment contract;
  
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  translation of the loan agreement and agreement;
  
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  translation of international agreements and contracts;
  
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  translation of financial orders and guarantees;
  
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  translation of accounting and financial statements;
  
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  translation of certificates and certificates;
  
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  license translation;
  
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  translation of a power of attorney;
  
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  print translation
  
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  translation of technical documentation, etc.;
  

3. translation of procedural documents:

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  translation of minutes of court sessions;
  
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  translation of court decisions;
  
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  translation of statements of claim;
  
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  translation of applications, etc.
  

4. translation of normative legal acts of the legislation;
5. translation of diplomatic documents;
6. translation of other legal documents.
In order to adequately convey the information contained in the original text of a legal document, the translation must be absolutely clear, accurate and as reliable as possible. In some cases, the translation of legal texts is considered a subspecies of technical translation. But, for example, if the translator makes a minor mistake in describing the characteristics, there will be no serious consequences, unlike an error in the translation of a power of attorney or a notarial certificate.
Among the features of the translation of legal documents is the fact that the translated document is in all cases organized in accordance with the legal system of the country in which it was compiled. Legal language and specific terms also reflect the characteristics of their legal system. But still, the translated document is intended for use in another country with its specific legal formulations, and their translation must be performed as accurately as possible. For a translator, this can be a difficult task, since lexical equivalents that fully correspond to the original are sometimes simply not available. When translating documents, it should be taken into account that textual conventions in the original language often depend on cultural and mental characteristics and sometimes, when translated literally, completely lose their meaning.
The semantic accuracy of the translation of a legal document is largely due to the accuracy of word usage, that is, the use of words according to their meanings. The word in the text of the document should be used in only one meaning, accepted in legal practice. In this regard, words-paronyms (words similar in sound, related, cognate words that differ in meaning) can cause difficulties in use.
It is highly undesirable to use professionalisms in the texts of legal documents. The scope of professionalisms is, as a rule, oral speech, their use in documents is a stylistic mistake.
When using terms in legal documents, care must be taken to ensure that the term is understandable to both the author and the addressee. If the term is of little use and its meaning may not be clear, you should resort to one of the suggested methods:

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  give the official definition of the term, for example: factoring - sale of the right to collect debts;
  
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  clarify, expand the content of the term with words of neutral vocabulary, for example: failure to comply with the contract due to force majeure - failure to comply with the contract due to force majeure (rainfall washed out the communication lines with the plant);
  
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  remove the term and replace it with a commonly understood word or expression.
  

Difficulties in translating a legal document can be caused by the unjustified use of borrowed words. The most typical mistake is the unmotivated use of foreign words of the source language instead of those already existing in the target language to denote concepts of familiar words, for example:

•