Keywords
legal terminology
equivalence
translation direction
French
Czech
languages with limited diffusion
How to Cite
Abstract
The concept of equivalence, despite the criticism it has received in the past decades, remains a useful framework for the study of correspondence between legal terms. In the present article, I address the question of direction-asymmetric equivalence in legal translation, i.e. equivalence that does not obey the “one-to-one” principle, and which usually implies that the translator’s decision-making is more difficult in one direction than in the other. This asymmetry may be triggered by intrinsic semantic characteristics of legal terms (synonymy and polysemy), by differences between legal systems (system-specific terms, the procedures used for their translation and their handling in lexicographic sources, competing legal systems, tension between cultural boundedness and neutrality), or by social factors (L1 vs. L2 translation). The instances of directional asymmetry discussed are illustrated with examples from French and Czech.
Funding
Charles University
This research was supported by the Charles University project Progres Q10, “Language in the shiftings of time, space, and culture”.
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Online resources
LEGILEX-FR. http://lex.ff.cuni.cz/legilex-fr/Index (accessed April 2, 2021).
Sworn Interpreters and Translators Act, Act Nr 354/2019. https://www.zakonyprolidi.cz/cs/2019-354 (accessed April 11, 2021).
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