从“文化转向”的视角浅析法律翻译的困难

摘要

在翻译工作者和翻译研究者之中存在着一个普遍的声音,即“翻译难,法律翻译更难”。究其原因,主要是因为法律语言是一种非常专业化的语言,其内在的精英性对译者而言是一道很难逾越的鸿沟。更不用说,文化因素同样给译者带来一定的障碍。从跨文化的视角审视翻译,不难得出这样一个论断,即文化因素是翻译过程中最主要的障碍,特别是在对法律文化依赖颇深的法律翻译之中。众所周知,法律翻译是一种跨文化的交际活动,因此,法律翻译中隐含着不同法律文化之间的碰撞。法律翻译是一种双语研究,涉及法律语言与文化两个方面。抛开法律语言所蕴涵的文化内涵去研究法律翻译,难免会造成歧义或引起误解。作者从文化转向的视角出发,通过中英之间在法律概念,法律词汇,以及法律文本句式结构等层面的对比分析,试图揭示出法律翻译中隐含的文化荆难,以期对法律翻译工作者及学习者在法律翻译的学习和实践中有所启示。
　　除引论及结论外,本文主要由两个部分构成。在第一部分中,作者从法律,文化以及翻译之间的相互关系入手,试图分析在不同的文化背景下,如何在法律翻译中体现法律术语的特定文化内涵,法律概念的特征。第二部分中,就法律翻译中的荆难,作者提出了相应的翻译策略。其中,在汉英法律翻译中,简明法律语言亦被采用作为解决法律翻译障碍的一种翻译策略。

目录

Acknowledgements

Abstract

摘要

Contents

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rational for the study

1.2 Statement of the thesis

1.3 Scope and limitation of the study

1.4 Layout of the thesis

CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Previous studies on legal language

2.1.1 Language and law

2.1.2 A brief introduction to legal language

2.2 Previous studises on legal culture

2.2.1 Definitions of legal culture

2.2.2 Correlation between legal language and legal culture

CHAPTER THREE LEGAL TRANSLATION AND CULTURE

3.1 Previous studies on legal translation

3.1.1 General introduction to legal translation

3.1.2 Development of legal translation

3.2 Cultural turn in translation studies

3.2.1 Proposal of cultural turn in translation

3.2.2 Significance of cultural turn in translation

CHAPTER FOUR DIFFICULTIES IN LEGAL TRANSLATION

4.1 Sources of difficulties in legal translation

4.1.1 Linguistic differences

4.1.2 Cultural discrepancies

4.2 Lexical difficulties in legal translation

4.2.1 Lexical discrepancies in legal translation between English and Chinese

4.2.2 Terminological discrepancies in legal translation between English and Chinese

4.2.3 Lexical gaps in legal translation

4.3 Structural difficulties in legal translation

4.3.1 Syntactic discrepancies between English and Chinese

4.3.2 Discrepancies in the use of predicate verbs and subject-predicate sentences

4.3.3 Discrepancies in the use of conjunctions

4.3.4 Discrepancies of voice

4.3.5 Discrepancies of thinking mode

4.4 Pragmatic theorical issues in legal translation

4.4.1 Pragmatic features of legal languages under different legal systems

4.4.2 Pragmatic features of modal verbs

4.4.3 Pragmatic rhetoric in legal translation

CHAPTER FIVE STRATEGIES FOR CROSS-CULTURAL LEGAL TRANSLATION

5.1 Application of cultural compensation in legal translation

5.1.1 Keys of cultural compensation in lexical translation

5.1.2 Cultural compensation in pragmatic rhetoric translation

5.2 Techniques for legal translation

5.2.1 No translation and omission

5.2.2 Neologism and substitute

5.2.3 Paraphrase or explanation

5.3 Application of plain languages in legal translation

5.3.1 Simplification of words

5.3.2 Simplification of syntactic structure

CHAPTER SIX CONCLUSION

Bibliography