Examining the difficulties in translating legal terms and suggesting some feasible solutions

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF LAW

GRADUATION THESIS
B.A. DEGREE IN ENGLISH
Major: Legal English

EXAMINING THE DIFFICULTIES IN TRANSLATING LEGAL
TERMS AND SUGGESTING SOME FEASIBLE SOLUTIONS

Supervisor: PHAN LE CHI, MA
Student: LE PHAM TUYET NGAN
Student ID:1952202010034
Class: LE44A

Ho Chi Minh City, 2023


ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The thesis “Examining the difficulties in translating legal terms and suggesting some
feasible solutions” results from my continuous research and efforts over 4 months. Having
said that, I could not have completed such a comprehensive thesis without the assistance of
my instructors, teachers, friends, and family. Now that, it is nearly finished my four-year
experience of learning and cultivating at Ho Chi Minh City University of Law. A really
dynamic environment with a faculty of devoted, motivated, and qualified people who play
a vital part in my educational studies.
With all of that thankfulness, I would like to convey my deepest appreciation to Mrs.
Phan Le Chi, a dedicated person who was always there to guide and assist me throughout
the research and implementation processes. Once again I sincerely say thanks to you again
and wish you good health.
Following that, allow me to express my heartfelt gratitude to my class advisor, Mr.

Luong Minh Hieu, who has been tutoring my class for the last four years, Ms. Le Nguyen
Thao Thy, who provided me with guidance and orientation on the topic, and many other
lecturers who have always assisted and given me the greatest advice. I'd like to thank all of
the faculty and lecturers who have guided us and patiently transmitted useful knowledge as
well as always creating the best conditions for us to complete the course.
I'd also want to take this opportunity to thank my friends for always sharing and
encouraging me when I was stuck.
Last but not least, I like to express my gratitude to my family members for constantly
accompanying, encouraging, and supporting me during this long journey.
Thank you for everyone's assistance, lessons, experiences, support, and trust. Thank you
so much for everything.
Sincerely thanks!


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
Terms
Source language
Target language

Abbreviations
SL
TL


LIST OF DIAGRAMS
Title

Page

Process of translation

14


TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background to the research ......................................................................................... 1
1.2 Rationale ..................................................................................................................... 3
1.3 Aim of the research ..................................................................................................... 6
1.4 Research questions ...................................................................................................... 7
1.5 The scope of the research ............................................................................................ 7
1.6 The significance of the research .................................................................................. 8
1.7 Research methodology ................................................................................................ 8
1.7.1 Research design .................................................................................................... 8
1.7.2 Data collections and data analysis ........................................................................ 9
1.7.3 Subject of the research .......................................................................................... 9
1.8 Outline of the thesis .................................................................................................... 9
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................... 11
2.1 Overview of translation ............................................................................................. 11
2.1.1 What is translation? ............................................................................................ 11
2.1.2 The translation history ........................................................................................ 12
2.1.2.1 History of European translation ................................................................... 12
2.1.2.2 History of Vietnamese translation ............................................................... 13
2.1.3 Process of translation .......................................................................................... 14
2.1.4 Factors of translation .......................................................................................... 15
2.2 Legal terminology ..................................................................................................... 15
2.3 Translation methods .................................................................................................. 16
2.3.1 Word-for-word translation .................................................................................. 17
2.3.2 Literal translation ................................................................................................ 17
2.3.3 Free translation ................................................................................................... 17

2.3.4 Idiomatic translation ........................................................................................... 18
2.3.5 Faithfull translation (Loyal translation) .............................................................. 18
2.3.6 Semantic translation............................................................................................ 18
2.3.7 Communicative translation ................................................................................. 18


2.4 Translation technique ................................................................................................ 18
2.4.1 Borrowing ........................................................................................................... 18
2.4.2 Calque ................................................................................................................. 19
2.4.3 Adaptation ........................................................................................................... 19
2.4.4 Equivalence ......................................................................................................... 19
2.4.5 Modulation technique ......................................................................................... 19
2.4.6 Transposition technique ...................................................................................... 19
2.4.7 Compensation ..................................................................................................... 19
2.4.8 Reduction ............................................................................................................ 20
2.5 What is legal translation? .......................................................................................... 20
2.6 The difference between Legal translation and General translation .......................... 20
2.7 What makes translating legal terms difficult?........................................................... 22
2.8 Previous study ........................................................................................................... 23
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .................................................................................. 25
3.1 Description of methodology...................................................................................... 25
3.2 Data collection .......................................................................................................... 25
3.3 Data analysis ............................................................................................................. 26
CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION ........................................................................................... 27
4.1 Difficulties in translating legal terms ........................................................................ 27
4.1.1 Factors directly related to the terms.................................................................... 27
4.1.1.1 Not mastering technical terms. ..................................................................... 27
4.1.1.2 Polysemy of legal terms ............................................................................... 27
4.1.1.3 Synonymy of legal terms.............................................................................. 29
4.1.1.4 Collocations, legal phrases, and phrasal verbs ............................................. 29

4.1.1.5 A combination of synonyms or near-meanings words ................................. 31
4.1.1.6 Archaic terms ............................................................................................... 31
4.1.1.7 Legal illogical expressions ........................................................................... 32
4.1.1.8 Equivalent words .......................................................................................... 32
4.1.1.9 Latin words ................................................................................................... 34
4.1.2 Other factors affecting the translation of legal terms ......................................... 34
4.1.2.1 Knowledge of Legal Background ................................................................ 34


4.1.2.2 Differences in the legal system .................................................................... 35
4.1.2.3 Differences in the language system .............................................................. 36
4.1.2.4 Cultural differences and context .................................................................. 39
4.1.2.5 Complex sentence structure and grammar ................................................... 40
4.2 Research questions .................................................................................................... 41
4.2.1 The common difficulties encountered when translating legal terms .................. 41
4.2.2 Useful methods for making term translation more straightforward and more
accurate ........................................................................................................................ 43
4.2.2.1 Enhance and broaden understanding of both language and law .................. 43
4.2.2.2 Translation tools ........................................................................................... 44
4.2.2.3 Choose the most appropriate translation method ......................................... 45
4.2.2.4 Discover and comprehend the culture of both languages ............................ 46
4.2.2.5 Apply translation process ............................................................................. 47
4.2.2.6 Solutions for equivalent words ..................................................................... 48
4.3 Findings and recommendations ................................................................................ 48
4.4 Tips for translation legal terms ................................................................................. 50
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ........................................................................................ 52
5.1 Conclusion................................................................................................................. 52
5.2 Limitations of the study ............................................................................................ 53
5.3 Further studies ........................................................................................................... 53
REFERENCE.................................................................................................................... 54

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the research
In this day and age of globalization, a nation's growth is substantially impacted by its
capacity to interrelate culturally, financially, politically, and socially with the world.
Nevertheless, the exchange between countries is often complicated due to the language
barrier. Therefore, translation is the bridge that smoothens the process of collaboration and
communication with the world, making it faster, easier, and more convenient. It is a tool
for achieving effective communication between different cultures, and also the means that
can help people to know various works and broaden their knowledge of the world.
According to Statistics and data research on the most spoken languages in 2022. As
regards the number of native speakers, English is not the most universally spoken language
worldwide. It just ranks third with about 372.9 million speakers as a mother tongue, but it
is a language used by more than 1080 billion people as a second language. Because of this
reason, it naturally becomes the preferred language of choice in all aspects, which are
mainly in the fields related to international, commercial, and legal fields.
Many people may wonder whether it is necessary to translate English documents
anymore when almost everyone is using English today. Although English is spoken by a
significant number of people worldwide, not all people speak it, and their English
proficiency varies. They may not have much trouble answering, communicating in English.
Having said that, truly comprehending the problems in a specialized document or a contract
is another matter. Not to mention the fact that different fields involve different terms,
especially those in the legal field which necessitates understanding of both the law and the
language. Consequently, numerous individuals may find it difficult to read and understand
specialized papers without the assistance of translation. As a result, translation will always
have its place in this era.
Viet Nam is continually evolving and becoming more innovative. As a result, the amount
of documents, contracts in administrative operations, trade, and international collaboration
has expanded dramatically, just like (Duraner, 2014) comments, today's world involves an

1


increasing number of negotiations, agreements, and disputes between nations and
individuals. The text translation industry can be found in a variety of fields, but the
translation of legal papers is becoming more popular than ever as the demand for
international collaboration and understanding of foreign laws develops.
The legal English text is far more difficult to translate than general English text since
legal English translation involves not only transferring meaning but also identifying
appropriate legal terms in TL (Karjo, 2015). Indeed, legal document translation has tougher
requirements when it comes to accuracy, even 100% accuracy. This complicates legal
document translation, particularly in a country like Viet Nam where rules and regulations
are continuously changing. Translating legal documents is the most challenging task
because literal translations will not suffice to communicate the author's intended message
accurately. Moreover, losing a small piece of information or even a single mistranslation
can also lead to misunderstandings and, as a result, bring about profound legal implications
that potentially affect parties' rights and privileges. Given its significance, translators have
to be responsible for the accuracy of their translations without changing the concepts and
information that the source content communicates, he must be sworn in the language he is
translated into (Khaydarova, 2019).
G. Willow Wilson from Alif the Unseen believes that there is a reason why languages
differ, you can't switch ideas without losing something. Hence getting a translation that
conveys exactly what the author wants is extremely difficult. To achieve precise
translations that accurately express the author's intent, translators must have an
extraordinary comprehension of both the SL and the TL. The legal translator relies on his
experience and knowledge of the subject to translate (Khaydarova, 2019). Therefore, if a
legal document needs to be translated, it is essential to employ someone who is well-versed
in legal language and practices. Legal translation goes beyond any conventional issues and
it necessitates a high level of precision, which frequently leads to the translation process
(Karjo, 2015). In addition to providing a high-quality translation, having a general

understanding of legal background is not enough. Legal documents include specific
2


morphological, grammatical, terminological, semantic, abbreviations, pragmatic, and
stylistic elements that make translation difficult (Hargitt 2013). Therefore translators in the
legal field have to be professionals who are highly skilled in language and understand the
implications of legal terminology to guarantee that the legal translations are carried out with
the utmost precision.
Due to an array of transactions, legal documents are becoming increasingly important,
which makes legal translation crucial and even indispensable (Duranner, 2014). The most
obvious evidence is that domestic businesses and individuals have a high demand for legal
translation of a wide range of documents. As a result, inaccurate translations of these
documents will cause serious legal consequences, creating misunderstandings between
corporations and individuals. Even though the quality of legal translations is critical, many
legal translations in Viet Nam do not satisfy the standards. In reality, when dealing with
legal translation, there will be multiple obstructions. One of the most common mistakes
which is deemed one of the most common blunders is the mistranslating legal terminology.
This hindrance originates from numerous elements, such as different points of view and
judgments, the translator’s experience, an absence of comprehension of the term, cultural
differences, lawful frameworks, and numerous other reasons. Because of this reason, many
translations today have been “distorted”, even going against the author's intentions.
Acknowledging the seriousness and urgency of this issue, it is extremely essential to
comprehend and clear up these issues. Because doing so benefits not only the translator but
also the client, who is the primary beneficiary of the translation. Solving these concerns
will enable the translator to enhance the quality of the translation and avoid rehashing those
blunders.
1.2 Rationale
There are numerous reasons why this research should be conducted, below are the
primary and most pressing ones:

First and foremost, corporations are emerging in modern society as a result of the
economic restructuring trend and so the demand for foreign commerce is also increasing
3


rapidly. This means that legal documents are critical in today's world since they can convey
legal information to guide behavior and at the same time also settle issues arising from
international relationships. Nonetheless, each country will have its own set of rules to
govern and manage behavior, as well as to defend its citizens' rights. Therefore, the need
for translation is increasing because it assists the parties in understanding the terms and
information in the contract. Today, legal documents occur in nearly every industry and it
allows customers to take advantage of resources to protect their legitimate rights and
interests. Mistranslation of a term or information, on the other hand, will certainly result in
distinct legal implications. Cross-border transactions are occasionally threatened due to
terminological inconsistency and incoherence (Gotti and Williams 2010). A translation that
does not convey the correct meaning of terminologies can easily lead to misunderstandings
and thus cause unnecessary damage like causing disputes later, in the worst case, the
consequences can affect the property, and reputation of the customer.
Another driving factor is, due to the nature of the legal profession, legal language poses
a unique set of obstacles, as even native speakers, who are laypersons, also struggle to
comprehend the meaning of these specialist words. Not to mention that English is not the
mother tongue of Vietnamese people, making it much more difficult to translate legal terms
from English to Vietnamese and vice versa.
Moreover, due to the complexity of legal systems, legal phrases can have various
meanings and nuances. To be specific, common law and civil law are two systems with
significant differences, for instance, the principal legal source of common law systems is
case law, whereas the major legal source in the civil law system is a highly codified legal
text with the presence of many legal documents, such as laws and codes. However, in Viet
Nam, the majority of the papers that need to be translated are from the common law system,
which will be difficult for us to interpret (following the civil law system).

Furthermore, this difference also causes many gaps in terminology that make it
challenging to find a precise equivalent in the TL. Obviously, under common law, there are
crimes, titles, and positions that are not available in the civil law system. For example, in
4


common law, solicitor and attorney are two distinct titles that perform distinct functions,
but in Viet Nam, we just refer to them as lawyers. Then how do we translate these terms
correctly?
Besides, people in different legal systems will have distinct notions and thoughts, as well
as diverse viewpoints and approaches to problems, which may be influenced by the culture
and environment in which they live. In addition to a wide range of legal terminologies,
Latin words will be utilized in the text. If translators do not comprehend the terms correctly,
the translation's quality will not be ensured. To sum up, it is critical and truly a real problem
that we need to care about.
Due to its complexity, many people are increasingly seeking assistance from translation
support programs. These tools can be Google Translate and many other applications.
However, translation tools mainly use algorithms to generate the target texts, therefore the
contexts may not be appropriately understood. Typically, the supporting apps only give the
literal meaning, but cannot translate the author's intentions. That’s why despite the
assistance of technologies, the quality of legal translations remains poor. Another reason
and also the main one is that translators misinterpret legal terms. As a result, after
completing the translation, the translator may mistranslate some words in comparison to
the original text. Mistranslation of ordinary documents is a big problem in and of itself, let
alone the mistranslation of legal documents, which play an essential role in regulating
relationships. Furthermore, legal translation is an expert field, and relying on translation
support tools will not be able to solve the root of problems, only through understanding the
source, and knowing the reasons why these difficulties derive, then finding ways to
harmonize these hindrances is the right thing to do.
Apart from that, a legal document's most crucial and fundamental component is its

terminology. Legal terminology is a tool that writers use to convey content to readers, thus
it can be claimed that this is a significant issue to consider. Especially, our language system
in Viet Nam, inspired by historical circumstances, borrows many terminologies from other
countries. When translating an English term into Vietnamese, the terminology often
5


disagrees with conceptual substance, or it poses obstacles for translators to locate equivalent
phrases.
All things considered, to master legal terminology we must first figure out the root of
the problems. This will make it easier for us to come up with the most effective and
appropriate solutions that contribute to making the translation process easier and more
quality. At least, the information that this thesis provides will be worthwhile in a variety of
ways.
1.3 Aim of the research
As aforementioned, legal documents are more and more popular and appear in all fields,
so the need to find skilled and professional translators is increasing. However, the majority
of translators in Viet Nam do not meet this standard. The fact is that most translation works
are carried out by undergraduates, and postgraduates, who have little experience and
knowledge, therefore they usually cannot express the author's deep intentions, and
mistranslation is inevitable. In consideration of this reality, the research on challenges in
legal terminology translation is extremely practical and serves the following purposes:
The main objective of this thesis is to demonstrate the problems that translators face
when translating legal terms, which can lead to misconceptions and even adverse effects.
These challenges can arise as a result of differences in culture, language, legal system,
history, and so on. Moreover, knowing these concepts not only broadens your knowledge
but also allows you to gain experience and avoid falling into those “traps”.
Also, from the perspective of a learner who is learning about Legal English. It is tough
for me to understand the meaning of legal terminology. Indeed, legalese is a specialist term
that only lawyers and individuals working in this sector use. In essence, not understanding

the meaning of the term means that translating a correct paragraph is troublesome, let alone
translating a legal document with countless specialized terms. I experienced this difficulty
during the learning process. This proves why this topic is a necessary study.
Furthermore, this thesis figures out obstacles in the process of translating legal words,
then proposes some solutions to increase the precision of legal term translations. The
6


research paper is intended to serve as a document to which others can refer and read to gain
a more thorough awareness of the particular terminology translation challenges that those
who speak English as a second language may suffer.
1.4 Research questions
A plurality of the public holds a belief that translation is simply the transfer of content
from one language to another. Acknowledging this constraint, the translation trend is now
seen as more than just content transfer, but also demonstrates the equivalence between the
exchange of the original text and the translated text. Yet, in practice, it is extremely tough
to satisfy this requirement due to the variation across languages, notably the diversity in
legal terminology between countries. Even with professional translators, there are
considerable risks. To overcome these challenges and achieve the stated objectives, as well
as to guide the development of the research paper, here are the two main questions that the
thesis is expected to answer:
1. What challenges do translators face when translating legal terms?
2. How to translate legal terms more accurately and easily?
The purpose of the study will be achieved when the above questions are answered.
1.5 The scope of the research
In essence, when translating, the translator is prone to catching numerous hindrances,
nevertheless, in this study, I mainly focus on the challenges associated with the term factor,
as, in my viewpoint, understanding the terminology is essential to translate successfully.
Knowing more terms, just like in General English, will make translating legal English easier.
Here the difficulties will be split into two categories: those linked to the terminology itself

and those that are affected by other factors. However, this thesis mainly focuses on the
challenges associated with the term itself, while the translation process influenced by other
factors will be briefly outlined as a recommendation to provide more information.
The study focuses on determining the obstacles that inexperienced translators (students)
face in translating legal jargon. Uyen, Van, & Ngan (2016) stated that while many research
articles have been conducted in the field of legal translation, foreign language universities
7


in our country have not received much attention. As a result, my thesis will focus primarily
on analytical papers in which students are the primary subject of study.
1.6 The significance of the research
Terminology is an integral part of the legal field. Usually, when meeting a legal term,
each person uses a unique technique to transcribe, transliterate, or maybe construct a new
term in Vietnamese. However, not all translations and interpretations are correct. One cause
for this is the lack of understanding of the term or they are influenced by other factors. As
a result, further investigation and study are needed to figure out the limitations of translating
terminology.
It was observed that documents regarding legal term translation issues are still limited.
Although many authors concentrate on issues in legal translation, few individuals discuss
difficulties in terminology. There are foreign documents that emphasize the difficulties in
translating legal terms, but they study based on their own language, not specifically
discussing our language – Vietnamese. Moreover, the difficulties associated with legal
translation vary depending on the language (Qian 2021, Sammut 2021) and so the results
varied depending on the language, region, and setting (Yungao & Shudong 2020). In fact,
there are very few research papers on legal terminology in Viet Nam, and most of them do
not go into depth but only briefly discuss them. It is time to do further research on legal
terminology. If we do not actively learn about our language, who will actively study this
problem? The findings of this study will be beneficial in an array of ways. It can serve as a
general document for freshmen to study and prepare in advance, for junior and senior

students, the research paper will show them difficulties and suggest some solutions. In
addition, for those who are interested in translation, the document will provide them with a
lot of new knowledge. It can be seen that this is a highly applicable and practical study that
can be applied in practice.
1.7 Research methodology
1.7.1 Research design

8


This study used the synthesis method. This is a method of categorizing information
acquired from existing documents. In simple words, it is the process of merging different
ideas or things to create new and distinct things from the elements considered. After
gathering information, it will proceed to discover the general patterns or characteristics of
the study object. Later, important information that is directly relevant to the purpose of the
study will be selected and preserved. From this, a foundation for the theoretical system of
the research topic will be established.
1.7.2 Data collections and data analysis
The majority of the information will be gathered via books, articles, and research related
to legal translation, legal terminologies, and problems that translators face when translating.
Aside from that, research and analysis of other documents connected to translation and their
challenges will also be conducted to provide the real difficulties. The information gathered
should then be analyzed and evaluated, and appropriate solutions should be proposed.
1.7.3 Subject of the research
Legal terminology is one of the most complicated issues for a translator to deal with. It
is worth noting that university students frequently do not comprehend the meaning of a
legal word and regularly mistranslate these terms from English to Vietnamese and vice
versa, resulting in a challenging learning experience where the quality of the translations is
also not appreciated. Realizing that studying these challenges will be a highly useful duty,
not only assisting them in shortening the time spent for translation but also decreasing the

difficulties during translation of legal jargon. Furthermore, students are also a source that
is expected to become a necessary human resource in the translation and law industry in the
future. Studying the difficulties encountered by this group will become extremely necessary.
1.8 Outline of the thesis
The study paper will be structured into six major chapters, which will be described as
follow:

9


Chapter 1 is an introduction, which contains general information about the thesis, such
as the background, rationale, goal of the research, research questions, scope, significance,
and research methodology.
Chapter 2 discusses the literature review by providing an overview of translation and
displays some previous research in this area.
Next, the thesis moves on to Chapter 3 - Problems in translating legal terminology. Here
the obstacles that the translator encounters will be highlighted and carefully studied to
provide a more complete picture.
Chapter 4 is devoted to Methodology. This section addresses ways for gathering
information as well as how to design and process the data gathered.
Following that is Chapter 5 - Discussion, which entails evaluating and evaluating
information, drawing conclusions, and offering appropriate solutions.
The series concludes with Chapter 6 - Conclusion. Summarizing the points mentioned
and coming to a general conclusion, while also stating the limitations encountered in the
process of data collection and thesis research.

10


CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Overview of translation
2.1.1 What is translation?
The process of interpreting the meaning of a passage or text from one language (source
text) and converting it into another language (target text) to create a new text while
maintaining the same meaning and exact content as the original text is known as translation.
In other words, to guarantee that the target text delivers the same message, emotion, and
attitude as the original material, translators have to achieve a fair balance between
maintaining the original meaning as well as making the content seem natural in the TL.
However, translation is dependent on many other elements, and hence experts define
translation differently depending on their point of view. The most notable one can be named
among them is Newmark (1988), he defined translation as the activity of translating the
message of a document into another language in the manner intended by the author. While
Wiratno (2003) supposed that translation is the process of translating meanings from the
SL to the TL. Overall, these definitions emphasize that without meaning, good structure is
meaningless.
On the other hand, Nida and Taber (1982) believed that translation consists of recreating
the closest equivalent by nature of the SL in the receptor language. Nida also remarked that
the meaning and the style are the two most important aspects to consider during the
translation process. This is also true for Rochayah Machali (2001) and Mona Baker (1992),
who indicated that the equivalent word is the crucial factor to examine. Here, a relation
between the problems of word equivalence, tone, and style is emphasized.
Another definition, which was announced by Hatim and Munday (2004) focuses more
on the process of translation supposed that the process of converting written material from
the source (SL) to the target (TL). This one is not stressed on the structure, and message
but rather emphasizes on the process of translation.
There are also definitions of translation that deal with cultural aspects, Toury (1955)
mentioned that translation is always carried out inside a specific cultural context, and as a
11

result that translators act primarily for the advantage of the culture in which they are
translating. An expert in translation – Kridalaksana agreed with this viewpoint, he believed
that the conveyance of messages between cultures and languages is known as translation.
In a nutshell, if the culture of the SL differs from the culture of the TL, then word choice
and sentence building will also differ across the two languages.
Now that various definitions have been provided. It is feasible to draw the conclusion
that translation is the process of translating meaning from one language to another so that
the content of the original text is preserved. Furthermore, the translator must also pay
attention to other elements such as cultural aspects, grammatical, and sentence structures
to ensure the phrases in the translation are straightforward and the translation quality is
more precise and natural.
2.1.2 The translation history
2.1.2.1 History of European translation
“Translation” is the word originated from the Latin phrase, meaning “to carry or bring
across . Another explanatory phrase is “metaphrasis,” which means “to speak through” in
Ancient Greek. Also, metaphrasis is used to signify the style of “word-for-word translation”.
The need for translation has become increasingly essential from the earliest days when
people interacted with each other, whether it was for emotional, commercial, or survival
purposes. The initial clues indicate that translation began in an oral form and gradually
transitioned to a written form. To be specific, in around 2500 BC, the first evidence of
written translation, was discovered in ancient Mesopotamia when clay tablets were used
for rudimentary tasks such as counting bags of wheat. At that time religion is a major means
of communication between languages. Consequently, a well-known collection of texts from
Hebrew Bible were translated by a group of 70 Jewish scholars who translated a collection
of scriptures called the Septuagint in Greece between the 1st and 3rd centuries BC. Their
works were word-by-word translated, but it gradually exposes the issue of the conflict
between the “meaning” of the original texts and the changes in words used. This creates the
oscillation between the two poles - maintaining word-for-word accuracy or being accurate
12

to the meaning. This debate lasted until the 19 century, when a whole new translation
conception evolved, “translation studioi” and “translatio imperii.” The concept of
“translatio studio” (transfer of knowledge) information was transferred from Greece to
Rome, then from Rome to the Christian community. The transfer of knowledge paralleled
the transfer of power (translatio imperii).
In the 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer can be mentioned as one of the first writers to
translate foreign literature into native English, paving the path for subsequent translators to
develop a rich literary world. Thousands of translators work in different fields such as
Priests translating ecclesiastical books, scientists translating medical books, lawyers
translating legal books, and painters and art experts translating art and architectural
publications.
In the 15th century, Johannes Gutenberg invented the printer. Printing technology
became extremely crucial in book publishing, and translation began to flourish. At that
point, translation is divided into two schools: interpretation and translation. School of
interpretation: interpreting the source text most simply so that it can be understood by the
majority of the population without being of the intellectual class, by contrast, school of
translation, which entails translating the original text into multiple languages to facilitate
the transmission of knowledge and cultural interchange, particularly in religious or
scientific works. The need for translation continued to grow with the expansion of spiritual
theories and religious texts and continues to grow to this day.
2.1.2.2 History of Vietnamese translation
The history of translation in Viet Nam is intertwined with the history of the written word.
Since our country's writing is divided into three stages: Chinese, Demotic script, and
Vietnamese script. Each stage of the written word needs to convey information and
language to spread cultural ideas to different groups of people. Despite the development of
Chinese characters, the Demotic script was born to suit the demands of Vietnamese people
to express themselves in the language (especially clearly in the 6th century). However,
Vietnamese writing doesn’t stop at that level, it takes a step further in fulfilling its purpose
13

of sharing and expressing ideas and thoughts most understandably. Bishop Alexandre De
Rhodes invented the use of Latin characters and after numerous attempts and significant
modifications, the Vietnamese script now resembles the Vietnamese writing system that we
use today.
Since then, there have been a number of foreign works translated into Vietnamese, but
it is apparent that the translation of texts, and poems have not bloomed. The translation is
primarily reserved for the upper class as well as students. The Vietnamese translation
industry truly started to develop after 1945. Immediately after the August Revolution, a
series of translations of advanced works of global literature were printed into books. Started
press translations of literary theory translations, documents on socialist realism in the Soviet
Union, China, Eastern Bloc... and many other well-known foreign translations.
2.1.3 Process of translation
The translation process contributes to better translation quality. That’s why it is vital to
understand the translation process before beginning to translate.
According to Margono (1999), the translation process is divided into three major parts,
which can be observed as follows. Not only does Margono divide so, but also specialists
such as Larsan (1984) and Nababan (2003) agree with this viewpoint.

The diagram above clearly shows that there are three critical steps.

14


The first step is analysis, which means reading the entire source text to fully comprehend
what the author wants to convey. Then the author must analyze the grammatical features,
and understand the target's culture.
The second step is to transfer. At this point, the translator finds analogous terms to
convey the meaning he or she grasped in step one of the SL.

The final step is restructuring. The translations at this step are quite rough, so to make
sure that the text sounds natural, the translators need to reinterpret or break the sentences
so that the meaning provided is easy to digest and equivalent to the original text.
2.1.4 Factors of translation
Mr. Rokhman believes that the contextual factor and the translator's factor are the two
most important aspects influencing translation. But beside that, there is also a textual factor.
Contextual factors are those that are related to the text itself like languages, history,
culture, area, religion, social distinctions, circumstances, and so on can all be considered.
Textual factors are formed from factors such as word choice, sentences, phrases,
punctuation, and grammar.
Having said that, the translator is the most important one. It is reflected through the
ability of translators, their breadth of knowledge, experiences, perceptions, and the tools
they utilize in the translation process.
2.2 Legal terminology
Legal terminologies are terms that are used to describe and explain a phenomenon,
content, and legal status in the law profession. Because of its complexity and inaccessibility,
many people consider this to be a unique language because reading and understanding these
terms needs specific knowledge and training. Usually, these terms are referred to as “the
term of art” or “legalese”. Legalese might be words or phrases that are used in the legal
profession for a specific purpose and their origins also vary from each other. In general,
they are divided into three major categories: specialized terminology, foreign terminology,
and archaic terminology.
15


Specialized terms are terminology derived from the legal system and are used to indicate
a specific meaning in the law. For instance: a brief (a written statement made by one party
in trials to explain to the court its perspective on the facts of a case and the applicable law),
affidavit (statement in writing of facts affirmed by the oath of the party making the
statement), docket (a record comprising brief notes of court proceedings or a list of cases

to be heard by a court), tort (misconduct or injury to another person or property). Another
type of specialized term is an ordinary word that is used in everyday life but has a different
meaning under the law. Examples of such terms include damages (a sum of money granted
by a court to a person who has been hurt as a result of another's unlawful act or negligence),
complaint (the initial paperwork submitted in a civil action details the claim and the alleged
wrongs committed by the defendant), decision (a judgment decided or rendered by a court
of law).
Foreign terminology originated in non-English language nations, primarily from France
and Latin. Instead of being translated into English, these words are commonly kept and
widely utilized in the law because they are short and accurately express the meaning of the
term. For example, mens rea (guilty mind), actus reus (guilty act), alibi (an explanation or
defense is given to claim that he was not present at the time or place of the crime), bona
fide (in good faith), force majeure (an unanticipated occurrence, such as war, crime, or
disaster, that stops someone from carrying out a legal obligation).
The last type of term is archaic terms, which are ancient words that are essentially
phrases condensed into single words. hereto, thereto, thereupon to name but a few.
2.3 Translation methods
In fact, many studies have been conducted on translation methods, and the classification
of translation methods also varies according to the expert's point of view. Catford (1965)
suggests three kinds of translation methods, while Newmark (2004) identifies eight.
Depending on the characteristics of the language, national culture, field, etc., translators
should choose and combine appropriate methods to achieve the highest translation
efficiency. Here are the most basic translation methods.
16


2.3.1 Word-for-word translation
Word-for-word translation means converting the SL into the TL only by sequentially
translating: word to word, clause to clause, and sentence to sentence. Word-for-word
translation approaches are frequently confusing for readers since the translator does not pay

attention to the whole meaning and merely translates the meaning of words from one
language to another. In this way, the vocabulary is transformed into the TL yet the words
and sentence order remain unchanged. As a result, the whole translation tends to be tricky
to understand and may have completely different connotations when compared to the
original.
2.3.2 Literal translation
A literal translation is a transfer of the original language's grammatical structure to the
closest structure of the translated language, but the vocabulary is translated in the most
common sense, separate from the context but still closely following the literal meaning.
This method may first be implemented by translating word-for-word, but then it makes
changes to the original text's sentence and word structure. This type of translation can be
thought of as a preliminary translation, allowing the translator to see and understand the
core concept and at the same time assisting the translator in identifying the problem that
has to be solved in the translation. A literal translation is commonly used in phrases. If two
language systems are identical, such as grammatically similar, they can still be understood,
otherwise, it sometimes confuses readers.
2.3.3 Free translation
The translator transcends the restrictions of the original language, they use the translated
language to interpret the meaning of the original in a natural manner that is appropriate to
the context and culture of the translated language.
This form of translation will concentrate on the content of the translated text, and the
translator may add words (if necessary) to clarify the meaning. Typically, sentences
translated using this method are lengthier, but it gives the reader the most understandable
meaning.
17


2.3.4 Idiomatic translation
The idiomatic translation is a translation approach in which the translator expresses
ordinary information to idiomatic information in the translated language. The translation

provides various ways to express idioms, including idioms that were not available in the
original. The translation is colorful and seamless, as well as natural and near to the reader
in the translation language.
2.3.5 Faithfull translation (Loyal translation)
In terms of form, the translation is still close to the original. Translators try to reproduce
the meaning of the translation while maintaining the grammatical structure of the translated
language.
2.3.6 Semantic translation
Semantic translation is different from faithful translation, but it focuses on how the
destination text appears. Requiring the translator to rephrase the original's meanings of the
original text, including meaning creating aesthetic value. The translation becomes smoother
and less rigid because it is less reliant on the original's grammatical rules than faithful
translation and also accepts the translator's creations.
2.3.7 Communicative translation
Communicative translation is a type of translation in which people translate the original
text's meaning precisely, providing translations with content and form that are acceptable
and understandable to people reading in the translated language. The main goal of this
method is to ensure the “communication” of the translation process, therefore, this is a
commonly used translation method to translate informational texts.
2.4 Translation technique
When translating, translators must always be adaptable and use a variety of translation
techniques to accommodate different sorts of materials. The following are the most
commonly used translation methods
2.4.1 Borrowing
18