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...
Book Review: The Civil Law Tradition
The Civil Law Tradition by John Henry Merryman and Rogelio Pérez-Perdomo is excellent background reading for translators in any language combination crossing the civil–common law...
The confusing and mysterious world of being an imputado
What is an imputado? So many politicians in Spain are imputados that a recently arrived Martian might assume you have to be an imputado...
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...
Should translations be literal?
This summer, quite unexpectedly, I got the chance to hear about a direct client’s experience buying translations. A friend of mine and his family...
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...
What’s an escrache?
An escrache is what you do when politicians aren’t listening to your pressure group—not even to your rallies, proposals for acts of parliament and...
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...
European court points out the bleeding obvious
The European Court of Justice yesterday ruled Spain’s eviction laws to be incompatible with EU law on unfair terms in consumer contracts. The decision...
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...
SOS Spain: It’s the transition’s fault!
On top of the never-ending financial crisis, we now have a political crisis. The Bárcenas (ex-treasurer of the governing Partido Popular (PP)) and Ana...
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 Invention of Spain” and a prickly question
A radio show that looks at Spain’s regional diversity from a historical perspective is currently being aired on the BBC. You can listen to...
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...
The bearded don’t shave! Who buys good translations?
Coming across a badly translated website can be painful, particularly if you’re a translator. Sometimes, the translation is so bad, and the pain is...
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...
How home repossessions in Spain could have been reduced
Postscript to the posts part 1 and 2 on Spain’s home repossession nightmare There would have been fewer home repossessions in Spain if the...
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...
City University gets rid of part-time option for its MA in legal translation
City University has decided to stop offering its MA in legal translation as a part-time course. This decision came at very short notice, only...
The mystery of the civil code triangle
I couldn’t understand why the civil codes of Louisiana and Spain seemed so similar in both form and content when all that I read...
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...
