Conference session review: “Research Techniques for French to English Legal Translation” (session LAW-2) by Cynthia L. Hazelton, JD, Hazelton Translations

Review by Eugenia Tumanova, Quality Manager, Legal & Intellectual Properties, TransPerfect Translations. Contact: eugenia@tumanova.org. Session description here.

Most translators, including those who do not seek it out, are eventually asked to translate a legal document. Occasional and seasoned legal translators alike seek reliable dictionaries, glossaries, and well-organized reference documents and websites to help them achieve utmost accuracy and clarity in their translations. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that this presentation was eagerly awaited at the annual conference, as was evident from the number of people in attendance.

An affable and clear communicator, Cynthia L. Hazelton, JD, drew on her teaching experience and a background in law to guide us through the basic issues in legal translation, give us an overview of the types of resources used to research legal terminology, and illustrate the main points of the presentation through examples.

A legal translator has to ask some of the same questions as a translator in any other field: What is the purpose of the text? Who is its intended audience? What register should be used? However, the legal translator is further challenged by the convoluted style of legal writing, the use of common words having entirely different meanings in legal contexts, and a vocabulary otherwise absent from regular discourse. As if that were not enough, the legal translator must probe further to identify the legal system that serves as the framework of the document and recognize any additional differences in legal concepts and terminology that might exist between the country in which the document originated and the country where the translation will be used.

After a discussion of the broad differences between civil law, common law, combined civil and common law, and the various religious law systems that exist, Hazelton showed a map that illustrated that it is crucial for a French-English translator to be knowledgeable about the different systems of law: all four systems exist in the French-speaking world.

Hazelton identified three categories of resources available to the legal translator. Primary resources are the original legislative codes, laws, treaties, court decision, and trial transcripts. Secondary sources interpret, evaluate, and comment on the primary documents and can take the form of articles in scholarly journals, criticism or commentary, magazine or newspaper articles. Many international organizations, such as the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the World Trade Organization, and the World Health Organization, to name a few, publish works that fall in this category, and frequently these publications are in English and French. Finally, tertiary sources, which include encyclopedias, dictionaries, glossaries, and textbooks, distill information from primary and secondary sources. While these are undeniably useful resources, translators must not become “stuck” working solely with tertiary resources, and should be prepared to dig through secondary and primary resources when searching for the right term.

Finally, Hazelton reminded us to never underestimate the value of an expert’s opinion. As we build our own lists of favorite resources, develop our personal glossaries, and nurture our professional networks, it would behoove every dedicated legal translator to build contacts with experts in the fields of legal translation and law, colleagues that could be called on in a pinch to demystify a tortuous sentence or resolve a terminology conundrum.

Resources

Suggested Reading on Common and Civil Law

Cairns, W. 1995. Introduction to French Law. Routledge Cavendish.†

Canadian Bar Association – Ontario, et. al. 1994. The New Civil Code: A Practical Guide to What Every Ontario Lawyer Needs to Know about Québec Law. Ottawa: CBAO.

David, R. and De Vries, H. 1958. The French Legal System: An Introduction to Civil Law Systems. Oceana Publications.†

Glendon, M., Carozza, P. and Picker, C. 2008. Comparative Legal Traditions in a Nutshell. West.

Kempin, F. 1990. Historical Introduction to Anglo-American Law in a Nutshell. West Group Publishing.

Merryman, J. and Perez-Perdomo, R. 2007. The Civil Law Tradition: An Introduction to the Legal Systems of Europe and Latin America. Stanford University Press.

Séroussi, R. 2003. Introduction aux droits anglais et américains. Dunod.†

Weston, M. 1991. An English Reader’s Guide to the French Legal System. Berg Publishers.

Monolingual Legal Resources (Print)

Garner, B. ed., Black’s Law Dictionary†† (English)

Boyé, E. 2001. L’anglais des contrats internationaux. Litec.†

Cohen, M. 2007. Legal Research in a Nutshell. Thomson West.

Corbière, F. 1993. Les mots-clés du droit. Breal.

Bilingual Legal Resources (Print)

Bridge, F. H.S. 1994. The Council of Europe French-English Legal Dictionary. Council of Europe.††

Dhuicq, B. and Frison, D. Lexique bilingue de l’anglais juridique. Pocket.†

Guillien, R. and Vincent, J. 2010. Lexique des termes juridiques. Dalloz-Sirey.

Kurgansky, A., et al. 1992. Dictionnaire économique et juridique. L.G.D.J.

Robert & Collins Super Senior French to English and English to French Dictionary. 2 Volumes. ††

de Saxcé, F. 2007. Dictionnaire comptable, fiscal et financier. French & European Publications.††

Monolingual Legal Resources (Online)

Avocat On-line *** (French)

BBP Avocats *** (French)

Droit Pratique *** (French)

Duhaime’s Legal Dictionary *** (English)

French Ministry of Justice: Les Mots Clés de la Justice *** (French)

Harvard Law School: One-L Dictionary *** (English)

Harvard Law School: Canadian Legal Research Guide ** (English)

Petite Lexique de la Justice *** (French)

Tjaden, T. 2008. Doing Legal Research in Canada - Introduction: The Canadian Legal System http://www.llrx.com/features/ca_intro.htm ** (English)

United States Code * (English)

Bilingual or Multilingual Legal Resources (Online)

French Civil Code in French (PDF format) and in English here and here. *

Greffe du Tribunal de Commerce de Paris, French-English Dictionary for Use at the Greffe du Tribunal de Commerce de Paris (PDF format) ***

International Court of Justice *

Jugements de la Cour suprème du Canada *

Juriterm **

NATO Glossary of Abbreviations Used in NATO Documents and Publications (PDF format) ***

Québec Civil Code (in English and in French) *

General Online Resources ***

InterActive Terminology for Europe (IATE)

Grand Dictionnaire Terminologique

Termium

Word Reference

United Nations Multilingual Terminology Database

* Primary sources

** Secondary sources

*** Tertiary sources

† Out of print/limited availability, check your library and second hand stores

†† Indispensable, according to the presenter.

Disclaimer:

Hyperlinks to Amazon.com listings are provided for information only and is not an endorsement of this bookseller over any other.

Conference session review: “Anatomy of a Patent” (session LAW-8) by Dr. Bruce D. Popp

Review by Stephanie Strobel

Bruce D. Popp was awarded a Ph.D. in astronomy by Harvard University. A former telecom professional, he now translates technical subjects from French to English. He has near-term plans to sit for the US Patent and Trademark Office registration exam to become a Patent Agent.

Dr. Popp shared a slice of his intimate knowledge of US and European patents during his presentation “Anatomy of a Patent” at the 50th ATA Annual Conference held in New York City. At the start of the session Dr. Popp provided a list of resources (see the end of this article).

Prior to the dissection of the selected specimen, Dr. Popp shared some of the types of patents that exist: Utility, Design, and Plant. Among other things, we learned what can be patented: “any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof,” and what cannot be patented: natural phenomena, mathematical algorithms and purely mental concepts.

The subject of the dissection was the patent for an item we could easily grasp: a humble pizza box with an improved closure, US Patent 5,702,054. Dr. Popp discussed the cover page of our specimen, pointing out what to expect and noting what was missing from this particular patent.

We got an up close and personal look at the form and content of the claims section. To be able to file a patent application, it must have at least one claim. Claims can be independent or dependent. An independent claim stands on its own and might describe a widget for example, while a dependent claim refers back to a previous claim and further restricts the subject of the claim, perhaps specifying that the widget is blue. Dr. Popp stated that the US Patent Office charges additional fees for patents with over three independent claims or more than 20 total claims.

Dr. Popp highlighted the differences, US vs. Europe, regarding “multiply dependent” claims. A multiply dependent claim is a dependent claim that refers back to more than one previous claim. European practice makes extensive use of multiply dependent claims, while US Patent Office rules limit the use of multiply dependent claims and charge additional fees when they are used. One interesting and possibly confusing feature of the US patent is that even though it has numerous headings, the most important section, the claims section, ironically has no heading at all.

Though the queries from attendees tempted him, Dr. Popp deftly avoided delving into the physiology of the patent and remained focused on its anatomy.

By the way, Dr. Popp’s personal favorite patent is US Patent 5,406,549 in the telecom sector.

Here are Dr. Popp’s recommendations for those interested in developing patent translation skills:

1. Find a patent in your target language, in a domain you are comfortable with, and become familiar with the format and terminology.

2. Press on. Patents repeat information three times. So if you don’t understand something, continue reading and it may be explained more clearly later in the document.

3. Your translation must be faithful to the original text. Don’t add anything. If you find an error (suppose the source says “up” when it should obviously say “down”), it is best to make a note of this on a separate sheet of translator’s notes. You may also make a note of any other problem. Making corrections is the patent practitioner’s job. The translator’s notes will make that job easier. Your client may of course have a different preference.

Resources

Print Resources

Carroll, Alison, ed. The Patent Translator’s Handbook. Alexandria, Virginia: American Translators Association, 2007. (http://atanet.org/publications/index.php).

Pressman, David. Patent it Yourself, 14^th edition, Nolo Press.

Internet Resources

Copies of Patents

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/ US, EP, PCT, and Patent Abstracts of Japan (English interface)

http://ep.espacenet.com/ EP, US, many other countries (English/French/German interface)

http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/ PCT Applications (interfaces in various languages)

http://www.wipo.int/patentscope/en/search/national_databases.html Links to national patent offices

Sources for Legislation, Regulation and Treaties

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/mpep.htm (Title 35 of U.S. Code and Title 37 of Code of Federal Regulation, also Manual of Patent Examination Procedure)

http://www.epo.org/patents/law/legal-texts/epc.html European Patent Convention (governs European Patent Office) published in three languages, presented in parallel

http://www.wipo.int/pct/en/ Patent Cooperation Treaty, available in various languages

http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/initRechCodeArticle.do (on the pull-down, choose “Code de la propriété intellectuelle”)
0 
0 

Conference session review: “Organisations Internationales : Un Défi À Relever” (conference seminar F-4) by FLD distinguished speaker Dr. Maite Aragonés Lumeras

Review by Alan Dages (photo below)
 

Dr. Aragonés began her presentation by saying that international organizations (IOs) represent a considerable share of the translation market and thus provide a steady flow of work. However, since the 1970s, their translators have had to follow manuals with rigid guidelines that cannot always be applied to the wide range of texts to be translated. At the present time, text revision is subjective in that reviewers make changes based on habit, preference and ideology. Much remains to be done to harmonize the revision function so revisers understand that their role is to control quality and provide training and not to call the translator’s ability into question. Greater tolerance is needed.

The IOs entered a “golden age” of translation in the 1970s and 80s as their mission turned to promoting multilinguism and multiculturalism. Translation became mandatory to the extent it became a part of the IOs’ corporate image. Organizations recruited large numbers of translators and interpreters to handle a growing workload. The United Nations (UN) unveiled its Manuel à l’usage des traducteurs in 1988 intended to train in-house translators and better harmonize their translations since several individuals could be working on a single text. By the mid-1990s, translation budgets had grown to the point that IOs hired fewer translators in house to reduce costs. They also began making greater use of outside translators for short-term projects just as the advent of the personal computer permitted outsourcing work to freelance translators working at home.

With the new millennium, outsourced translations were being revised in house and quality control became a hot topic. A growing volume of material to be translated, together with budget cuts, caused IOs to turn to terminology solutions such as databases and translation memories.

As things stand now, both the UN and the World International Property Organization (WIPO) use a thoroughly linguistic approach to translation based on a prescriptive method based on specific examples. By way of illustration, Dr. Aragonés cited examples from manuals, glossaries and guidelines developed at the UN and WIPO, where she has been a translator and reviser working in Chinese, English, Spanish and French since 1998. The manuals take a restrictive, case-by-case approach to guide the translator, and le mot est maître. The UN manual states, “Les stagiaires ont intérêt à lire très attentivement..." and “Il convient, comme dans le cas de tous les textes à portée normative, de suivre l’original dans toute la mesure possible. […] En particulier : ne pas faire deux phrases là où l'original n'en comporte qu'une ou vice versa."

Translators are admonished to keep to the source text in a literal way while at the same time expressing the equivalent meaning in the target language's style and quality. Proper grammar must be used. Simplicity, clarity and conciseness are key. These general prescriptions are meant to serve equally well for all subjects, be they general, legal, technical, budgetary, political, administrative, economic or financial without factoring in the concept of text genre. Hence, the UN prescribes, “Dans ce genre de textes, on se gardera tout autant d'interpréter l'original ou d'ajouter des mots qui n'y figurent pas.  Par exemple, une phrase telle que “Agrees in principle to the need of an expert group to assist the Committee...” est à traduire par “Reconnaît en principe qu'il est nécessaire qu'un groupe d'experts aide le Comité...” et non par "Reconnaît en principe la nécessité de créer un groupe d'experts pour assister le Comité”. Dr. Aragonés mentioned that it would, however, be possible to write “reconnaît en principe la nécessité de se référer/de s’en remettre à un groupe d’experts …” Even though a word has been added, the meaning has not changed.

Yet this prescriptive method inevitably results in apparent contradictions as in this quote from the UN manual under the heading, Qualité: “Le bon traducteur ne traduit pas mot à mot ni même phrase par phrase; d’instinct comme de raison, il se réfère à chaque instant au contexte.” This would appear to go against the previous advice to adhere to the source text while maintaining its sentence structure at all times.

IO guidelines contain a wealth of equivalencies, i.e. recommended translations from English to French of examples that may bear little resemblance to normal patent usage. These address such minutia as specific word choices as shown below:

• Need : besoin, nécessité OMPI 08; exigence, impératif; s’impose ONU 88
• compelling need à Il est absolument nécessaire
• In need of à ayant besoin de, nécessitant (see “patient”)
• patient/subject in need thereof à patient/sujet ayant besoin (d’un tel traitement), patient dont l’état nécessite (un tel traitement).

This proposal is in fact a translation that does not respect the conventions of patents written in French where the preferred use is “patients” or “malades” alone. Indeed, little is left to chance using this approach, but does it yield better translations?

IO manuals also contain examples of different types of texts that could be improved, which are offered only to illustrate the range of possible subjects the translator might encounter. Other guidelines include advice on abbreviations, capitalization, spelling and the use of gerunds.

Dr. Aragonés held out text genre as the guiding principle for a linguist working at the UN or WIPO, calling it the translator’s “GPS”. Aristotle was the first to study and write about text genre, but the notion took hold in literature and, much later, in cinematography. During the 1980s it turned up in sociolinguistics and rhetorics, particularly for teaching foreign languages to experts (Language for Specific Purposes, or LSP). Text genre originates from recurring situations and can be identified by the members of discursive communities who use it as a communications platform. The translator, as an outsider, can use text genre to glean missing contextual information, given she knows neither the issues and conventions nor even the intentions and objectives of the authors and readers. Far from being just a formal prototype, text genre socializes the members of a community, serving as a constantly changing model for negotiation among parties. Hence, it also socializes translators through the use of a corpus of texts, which becomes their documentation tools. This familiarizes them with IO conventions, thereby making it easier to produce a readable translation that meets the user’s expectations while keeping faithful to the author’s intentions.

Dr. Aragonés is currently training two fellows at WIPO’s PCT Translation Department based on text genre, which is the core of her teaching method known as “contextualization”. She uses this method to teach trainees how to translate from Chinese into French. The results are convincing, and the translation quality after two months’ training is excellent. The trainees now respect the formal patent conventions without betraying the intentions of the patent engineers and inventors.

A discussion ensued following the presentation in which a translator said the UN will train and restrict you at first, but if you are really competent, you will be given greater latitude. Another UN translator pointed out that manuals ensure adherence to conventions and harmonization.  Dr. Aragonés responded that there is still a great deal of disagreement between translators and revisers and among revisers themselves at international organizations. The subjectivity of language often results in drawn-out, fruitless and polemical debates if objective criteria are not defined. Translators and revisers must not impose their subjective choices; rather they should adhere to the text genre and formal conventions already chosen and negotiated between authors and their readers, who together form an integral part of a discursive expert community with clear objectives.
0