Article published In: Between specialised texts and institutional contexts – competence and choice in legal translation
Edited by Valérie Dullion
[Translation and Translanguaging in Multilingual Contexts 3:1] 2017
► pp. 20–46
Contextualizing translation decisions in legal system-bound and international multilingual contexts
French-Arabic criminal justice terminology
Published online: 1 June 2017
https://doi.org/10.1075/ttmc.3.1.03hal
https://doi.org/10.1075/ttmc.3.1.03hal
Abstract
The present study uses the notion of frames as a model of concept representation to map the investigation process in three criminal justice realities: the Algerian, Egyptian and French Criminal Procedure. Specifically, the mapping of the investigating process is carried out with the aim of examining conceptual variations when national laws interact with one another and highlighting problems of contextualization in translation. The study shows that, when considering legal translation from an international perspective, all instances of reciprocal connection between laws and international multilingual legal communication should be examined in order to present relevant contextual variables in translation. This approach brings to light specificities at the procedural level that the legal translator and legal expert must be aware of in determining the translation situation, if conceptual inaccuracies, terminological discrepancies and awkward calques are to be avoided.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.The translation purpose: instrumental or documentary?
- 3.Acquiring legal knowledge: the example of the investigation process
- 4.Representing the investigation process with frames
- 5.Contextualizing translation decisions from a comparative perspective
- 5.1Preliminary examination under the Algerian, Egyptian and French Criminal Procedure Codes: a case study
- 6.Contextualizing translation decisions from a descriptive perspective: Overcoming terminological obstacles in an international legal system
- 6.1Heterogeneity
- 6.2Discrepancy
- 6.3Confusion
- 7.Conclusion
- Notes
References
References (30)
Barsalou, Lawrence. 1992. “Frames, Concepts, and Conceptual Fields.” In Frames, Fields and Contrasts. New Essays in Semantic and Lexical Organization, ed. by Adrienne Lehrer, and Eva Feder Kittay, 21–74. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum. [URL]
Caruso, Charles A. 2006. “Legal Challenges in Extradition and Suggested Solutions.” In Denying Safe Haven to the Corrupt and the Proceeds of Corruption, 57–68. Manilla: Asian Development Bank and Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. [URL]
Dancette, Jeanne, and Sonia Halimi. 2005. “La représentation des connaissances; son apport à l’étude du processus de traduction.” Meta 50 (2): 548–559. [URL]
Elliot, Catherine, Catherine Vernon, and Eric Jeanpierre. 2006. French Legal System. 2nd ed. Edinburgh: Pearson Education Limited.
European Union. 2000. Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between Member States. EUR-Lex [URL]
Filali, Ali. 2012. “Bilinguisme et bijuridisme ; l’exemple du droit algérien.” In Le bilinguisme juridique dans les pays du Maghreb, ed. by Didier Baisset, and Ali Filali, 70–115. Perpignan: Université de Perpignan.
Garzone, Giuliana. 2000. “Legal Translation and Functionalist Approaches: a Contradiction in Terms.” In La traduction juridique : Histoire, théorie(s) et pratique/Legal Translation: History, Theory/ies and Practice, 395–414. Bern: ASTII; Geneva: ETI. [URL]
Halimi, Sonia. 2008. “Optimizing Specialized Translation Process by Knowledge Oranization.” In Globalization and Aspects of Translation, ed. by Said Shiyab, Marilyn Gaddis Rose, Juliane House, and John Duval, 88–99. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Harvey, Malcolm. 2000. “A Beginners Course in Legal Translation: the Case of Culture-bound Terms.” In La traduction juridique : Histoire, théorie(s) et pratique / Legal Translation: History, Theory/ies and Practice, 357–369. Bern: ASTII; Geneva: ETI.
Hickey, Leo. 2013. “Translating for the Police, Prosecutors and Courts: The Case of English Letters of Request.” In Legal Translation in Context: Professional Issues and Prospects, ed. by Anabel Borja Albi, and Fernando Prieto Ramos, 123–141. Oxford: Peter Lang Verlagsgruppe.
International Committee of the Red Cross. 2015. The Domestic Implementation of International Humanitarian Law: A Manual. Geneva: ICRC. Accessed October 2016. [URL]
Kiraly, Donald C.. 1995. Pathways to Translation, Pedagogy and Process. Kent: Kent State University Press.
Koskinen, Kaisa. 2000. “Institutional Illusions. Translating in the EU Commission.” The Translator (6) 1: 49–65. [URL]
Lundquist, Lita. 1998. “Cadres et espaces mentaux dans la structuration cognitive des connaissances – et des discours – juridiques.” In Discours professionnels en français, ed. by Yves Gambier, 123–150. Berlin: Peter Lang.
Menhem, Lena, Chamel Bassil, Claire Bechara, and Romy Rahmé. 2010. Lexique des termes juridiques: français, arabe, anglais. Paris: Dalloz; Beyrouth: Librairie du Liban.
Minsky, Marvin. 1974. A Framework for Representing Knowledge. MIT-AI Laboratory Memo 306. Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL). [URL]
Najjar, Ibrahim, Ahmad Zaki Badawi, and Yusuf Shallâlah. 2006. Nouveau dictionnaire juridique, Français-Arabe. Beyrouth: Librairie du Liban.
Nord, Christiane. 1991. Text Analysis in Translation: Theory, Methodology, and Didactic Application of a Model for Translation-Oriented Text Analysis. Amsterdam: Rodopi.
Orozco-Jutoran, Mariana. 2014. “The EULA’s Labyrinth: Mapping the Process.” Across Languages and Cultures. 15 (2): 199–217. [URL]
Prieto Ramos, Fernando. 2014. “Parameters for Problem-Solving in Legal Translation: Implications for Legal Lexicography and Institutional Terminology Management.” In The Ashgate Handbook of Legal Translation, ed. by Le Cheng, King Kui Sin, and Anne Wagner, 7–21. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing Limited.
Robertson, Colin. 2012. “EU Legal English: Common Law, Civil Law or a New Genre?” European Review of Private Law 20 (5/6): 1215–1240. [URL]
Sandrini, Peter. 1996. “Comparative Analysis of Legal Terms: Equivalence Revisited.” In TKE ’96: Terminology and Knowledge Engineering, ed. by Christian Galinsky, and Klaus-Dirk Schmitz, 342–350. Frankfurt: INDEKS Verlag.
Šarčević, Susan. 2000. “Legal Translation and Translation Theory: a Receiver-oriented Approach.” In La traduction juridique : Histoire, théorie(s) et pratique / Legal Translation: History, Theory/ies and Practice. Bern: ASTII; Geneva: ETI. [URL]
United Nations. 1990. UN Model Treaty on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters. Accessed July 2016. [URL]
. 2000. United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Accessed July 2016. [URL]
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. 2012. Strengthening the United Nations Human Rights Treaty Body System. Accessed October 2016. [URL]
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 2012. Manual on Mutual Legal Assistance and Extradition. Vienna: United Nations. Accessed July 2016. [URL]
Wilss, Wolfram. 1996. Knowledge and Skills in Translator Behavior. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Cited by (3)
Cited by three other publications
Alowedi, Noha
Halimi, Sonia A.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 21 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.