Things I learnt from a journo about translating culture-specific terms: (2) Own criteria and audience come first
This is the second part to this post on what I took away from the final talk at the METM14 conference. Another aspect of...
How to translate “reserva de ley” into English (using a descriptive strategy)
Reserva de ley is the principle under which the Spanish Constitution specifies that certain areas of the law may only be regulated by primary...
Things I learnt from a journo about translating culture-specific terms: (1) Description trumps linguistic solutions
The final talk at the METM14 conference held recently in Madrid was an interesting and entertaining one by journalist Martin Roberts. Martin had a...
Example of a safe-bet translation
Someone recently emailed me asking for an example of a safe-bet translation, which I wrote about in this post. Safe bets are basically sitting-on-the-fence...
La casta política and where it came from
Here’s an interesting term that’s become popular in Spain: la casta as in la casta política. Literally, it’s the “political caste”, or the old...
Aforamiento: making us unequal before the law and wreaking havoc in bilingual dictionaries
When the King of Spain Juan Carlos de Borbón decided to call it a day and abdicate, he put everyone into a frenzy, the...
Safe-bet errors: a translation’s worst enemy
An easy way to wreck an otherwise good translation is to include the safe-bet translation of a term or two in it. What’s a...
A cognitive slip and something about the translation relationship
The following exchange on Twitter got me thinking about the difference between important and difficult translations and how I might have confused the two...
English <> Spanish legal glossary with a nice disclaimer
I just came across this glossary on Twitter: Glossary of legal (and related) terms and courthouse signs English/Spanish I have no idea of how...
Do you section articles or break sections into articles?
Should you translate artículo literally as “article” or should you use the English functional equivalent “section” when translating references to Spanish legislation into English? You...
Truce on bilingual dictionaries
It is often forgotten that dictionaries are artificial repositories, put together well after the languages they define. The roots of language are irrational and...
CPD and training for legal translators: the good, the ho-hum and the mind-breaking
Most translators recognise the importance of continued professional development (CPD) or training. It’s probably a requirement for just about all jobs these days. But...
Plain English ATO style and the cut and shuffle of legal translations
Meandering about the Web the other day, I stumbled across this pearl of surrealness from the Australian Tax Office (ATO): For the purposes of...
Legal translators have more fun — Part 1: Unique legal systems
A lot of fuss is often made about how difficult legal translation is. But, while it is challenging, it’s also interesting and rewarding. This...
Abstract and download of my dissertation on legal translation
I’ve just published the abstract to the dissertation I did for my MA on this page. You can also download the whole thing in...
Content and form: Two books on the law for legal translators
Target system: Form? Glanville Williams: Learning the Law is a useful book for legal translators. Although it’s written mainly for people considering legal careers...
The expat approach to translation: When not to translate a word
An expat chat When you listen to expats talking together about their new country of residence, sometimes you hear strange words pop up. This...
This week: Guest post on “From Words to Deeds”
A new and improved version of one of my first posts, Official translations of Spanish legislation and translating in a vacuum, has been published here...
My thoughts on my legal dictionaries
Here’s a quick rundown of my legal dictionaries and the use I get out of them: Bilingual Spanish-English legal dictionaries Spanish-English Dictionary of Law and...
The shrouded origins of the Louisiana Civil Code
In 1806, Moreau Lislet and James Brown were given the job of drafting Louisiana’s first civil code, which was to be a codification of...
Enforcing contracts: English resource on civil procedure in Spain
Here’s quite a useful resource on civil procedure in Spain from the International Finance Corporation that has a nice explanation in English of what...
Changed the way you translate me: What I got out of my MA
Last week I was in London for my 8th and last module of the MA in legal translation that I’m doing at City University....
Don’t throw your skopos out with the neologisms
To cut an academic story short… Legal translation was once very literal. It had a highly linguistic focus, and legal translators were shy to...
Beware of your dictionary, especially if it’s a legal one
According to this article by De Groot and Van Laer, most of the legal dictionaries that you’re likely to pick up may not be...
A blog brimming with resources for legal translators
Here’s a blog on legal translation that’s worth following: From Words to Deeds: translation & the law. It’s updated regularly, and there are a lot...
