e: [email protected] | t: 03 9972 5433 | a: Level 3, 480 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Understanding the legal documents is tough. Even for lawyers and judges who know the language and the law, it's not easy. One wrong-translated word can change someone's life forever. But what makes the Legal Document Translation so difficult? Let's find out more in this post.
Legal translation is the process of translating legal documents from one language to another while preserving their original meaning, tone, and legal terms. These documents can be of any type of
It requires a good knowledge of both the source and the target language, as well as of the legal systems and cultures of the involved countries.
Legal translation is complex, and that is why translators must treat it in a professional way. Here are the key challenges legal translators face in their daily work.
Every country has their own legal system, and so do its specific documents. Variety in the legal papers can create ambiguity in translation. Often, there are guidelines from international organizations that provide best practices to help translators change the document from one language to another without changing the meaning.
However, it does not make work simple for the language expert. Instead, the translator should know the different variations and similarities of both the source and target language.
Experts need to know when there are words that don't have a direct match or have more than one meaning in the language they're translating.
The legal system not only differs but also keeps changing and updating. The guidelines or templates that used to work when you started working may not be relevant when you reach the deadlines. A legal translator should keep up with the regulations that often change. It means staying updated on what is happening in both countries will help to keep an eye on new legislation to improve the quality of deliverables.
Legal executives often use special jargon that is hard for even native speakers to understand. It is quite common for legal documents to be rigid.
Translators need to always interpret and comprehend the source document without changing the meaning behind it. However, they have limited flexibility in selecting the right words for legal translations. In this context, creativity is less important than accuracy and precision.
It is where working with solid translation memory is the best way to overcome challenges related to translating legal documents.
The most critical part of translating the legal documents is their syntax. Often, most of these documents use a series of words that make them hard to read.
It is standard in the legal industry to follow the passive voice, complex sentences and an infinite number of commas, apostrophes and semicolons.
Apart from this, punctuation rules are not also universal. So, even a missed comma or any kind of omission can change the terms or create ambiguity in the legal contracts. That is why it is best that you hire professional translation services or local specialists who can help check the documents before handing them to clients.
Legal documents often are tied to events that involve deadlines, courtrooms or corporate actions. One of the common things all of them is timescales. Any kind of delay can lead to unpleasant events for translators, the client, and the client's business partners.
As you can find out, translating legal documents requires a high level of experience to meet the requirements. Connect with Beyond Translation and get your legal document translated hassle-free. We are the trusted and NAATI-accredited Legal Translation Service provider in Melbourne for precision and confidentiality.
Beyond Translation is one of Australia’s leading language translation service agencies. We aim to provide a one-stop translation solution for all your language requirements. We provide interpreting services, website localisation, multi-language typesetting, multilingual media and apps, voice over subtitle production, design and printing and many other language translation services.
Level 3, 480 Collins Street,
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Tel: 03 9972 5433
Email: [email protected]
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Ultimo NSW, 2007, Australia
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