Some Observations on the Translation of Legal Terminology in the Albanian Language

Abstract

The translation of legal terminology faces various difficulties that affect the comprehensibility of legal text in the receptive language. This article will analyse the major problems related to the translation of legal terminology, by pointing out various errors that occur during this process through examples in Albanian. The problems associated with the translation of legal terminology will be analysed in two separate groups. First the problems that arise from the specificity of International Law will be analysed. The existence of different legal orders constitutes one of the main causes from where the controversy of concepts and legal institutions or their absence in different orders originates. Each state has its own legal system, therefore its own legal terminology, means that many referents (concepts and institutes) do not have equivalent terms in the language they enter. From this fact translation errors arise related to wrong neologisms or the use of terms that express only partially the meaning of the terms of the language from which they were borrowed. Secondly, the problems arising from language will be analysed, referring to the relationship between the word and concept that varies in different languages. In this case, examples will highlight the positive or negative connotations of some terms, which have affected the choices of terminology in various occasions and in different periods of time. We will also emphasize through examples the ways in which the entirety of meanings of legal terms affects not only the ability to translate them but also the linguistic transparency. At the end we will present findings concerning the problems arising during the process of translation as well as the possible solutions to avoid errors encountered in the translation of legal terminology.

DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2015.v4n3p109