TRANSLATING THE LEGAL ENGLISH BINOMINALS INTO ARABIC
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18623/rvd.v23.6347Palabras clave:
Legal Translation, Legal Doublets, English–Arabic Translation, Formal EquivalenceResumen
A characteristic of English legal language are legal doublets, like null and void and cease and desist, which are created by combining almost similar terms to guarantee accuracy, comprehensiveness, and legal certainty. Although these structures, namely, binominals have major historical and stylistic roles in common law systems, translating them into Arabic, a language that frequently values succinctness and semantic economy, can be very difficult. This study looks at the methods used to translate legal doublets from English into Arabic and assesses how they affect legal correctness, and clarity. Three prevalent strategies are identified by research, which is based on a corpus of contracts, legislation, and court documents: formal equivalence, semantic reduction into a single term, and functional paraphrasing. The analysis shows that while reduction runs the danger of losing minor legal distinctions ingrained in the source text, formal equivalence may preserve the intended legal meaning in the target text. Despite being context-dependent, functional translation seems to provide the most equitable approach by upholding legal meaning and adhering to Arabic drafting traditions. The study emphasizes how crucial contextual interpretation, legal knowledge, and comparative legal awareness are to producing accurate translations of legal doublets between Arabic and English.
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