Rzeczpospolita Polska Parası

Comparative
Legilinguistics
International Journal for Legal
Communication

Institute of Linguistics
Faculty of Modern Languages and Literature
Adam Mickiewicz University
Poznań, Poland
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/

INSTITUTE OF LINGUISTICS
LABORATORY OF LEGILINGUISTICS
funduszeue.info [email protected]

KOMITET REDAKCYJNY/EDITORIAL BOARD

Editor-in-chief: Jerzy Bańczerowski
Co-editor: Aleksandra Matulewska
Adam Mickiewicz University Affiliated
Sekretarze/Assistants: Robert Bielecki, Swietlana Gaś, Karolina Gortych, Szymon Grzelak,
Joanna Grzybek, Karolina Kaczmarek, Joanna Nowak, Paulina Nowak-Korcz
External Members of the Editorial Board
Łucja Biel, PhD, University of Gdańsk, Poland
Christos Bintoudis, PhD, Greece/Poland
Susan Blackwell, PhD, University of Birmingham, UK
Professor Olga Burukina, Moscow State Linguistic University, Russia
Sheng-Jie Chen, PhD, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan
Agnieszka Choduń, PhD, University od Szczecin, Poland
Ewa Kościałkowska-Okońska, PhD, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland
Professor Larisa Krjukova, Tomsk State University, Russia
Artur Kubacki, PhD, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
Professor Maria Teresa Lizisowa, University of Arts and Sciences, Kielce, Poland
Professor Lavinia Nădrag, Ovidius University, Constanţa, Romania
Professor Natalja Netńunajeva, Public Service Academy, Estonia
Kiriakos Papoulidis, PhD, Greece/Poland
Professor Fernando Prieto Ramos, ETI, Université de Genève, Switzerland
Professor Judith Rosenhouse, Swantech - Sound Waves Analysis and Technologies, Ltd. (before
retirement: Technion I.I.T., Haifa, Israel)
Iwona Witczak-Plisiecka, PhD, University of Łódź, Poland
Professor Diana Yankova, New Bulgarian University, Sofia, Bulgaria

Adres Redakcji/Editorial Office

Instytut Językoznawstwa
Pracownia Legilingwistyki
Al. Niepodległości 4, pok. B
Poznań, Poland
[email protected]

Wydanie publikacji dofinansował Instytut Językoznawstwa

The issue has been published with financial grant from the Institute of Linguistics, Poland.

Copyright by Institute of Linguistics

Printed in Poland

ISSN

Nakład Egz.

Redakcja i skład: Pracownia Legilingwistyki
Druk: Zakład Graficzny Uniwersytetu im. A. Mickiewicza

2
[Wpisz tekst]

Table of Contents

ARTICLES
Preface 7
1. Legal Communication
Grażyna BEDNAREK (Poland), Translation of the European Arrest 9
Warrant in the Light of Intercultural Communication
Sergey KOROLEV (Russia), Procedural Misfires of Cross-Cultural 29
Legal Communication in the Perspective of J. Austin and
J. Langshaw Austin
Lavinia NĂDRAG, Manuela STROESCU (Romania), A 39
Psycholinguistic Approach to Inmate Argot in Romanian
Prisons

2. Sworn Translation and Court Interpreting

Sheng-jie CHEN (Taiwan), Computer Assisted Interpreter Training 49
for Students Who Are Not Foreign Language Majors

3. Legal Language and Terminology

Hanem EL-FARAHATY (UK), Features of English Legal 61
Discourse
Yuki HORIE (Poland/Japan), The Roots of Japanese Legal 81
Terminology
Diana KORNIECKA (Poland), Грамматика и стилистика 93
юридических текстов (на основе уголовного кодекса)
Vasily TOKARYEV (Ukraine), Споры о сущности права
в дискурсе правопорядка

REVIEWS
Legal Linguistics No Longer Neglected: review of Legal
Linguistics by Marcus Galdia (reviewed by Aleksandra
Matulewska)

3
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/

4
[Wpisz tekst]

Spis treści

ARTYKUŁY
Wprowadzenie 7
1. Prawo a komunikacja
Grażyna BEDNAREK (Polska), Tłumaczenie europejskiego nakazu 9
aresztowania w świetle komunikacji międzykulturowej
Sergey KOROLEV (Rosja), Proceduralne pomyłki 29
w interkulturowej komunikacji prawniczej z perspektywy J.
Austina and J. Langshaw Austina
Lavinia NĂDRAG, Manuela STROESCU (Rumunia), 39
Psycholingwistyczne podejście do żargonu więźniów
w rumuńskich zakładah penitencjarnych

2. Tłumaczenie przysięgłe i sądowe

Sheng-jie CHEN (Taiwan), Wspomagane komputerowo szkolenie 49
tłumaczy ustnych dla studentów kierunków
niefilologicznych

3. Język prawa i terminologia prawnicza

Hanem EL-FARAHATY (Wielka Brytania), Cechy angielskiego 61
dyskursy prawnego i prawniczego
Yuki HORIE (Poska/Japonia), Źródła japońskiej terminologii 81
prawnej i prawniczej
Diana KORNIECKA (Polska), Gramatyka i stylisyka tekstów 93
prawnych (na przykładzie kodeksu)
Vasily TOKARYEV (Ukraina), Spory o istotę prawa w dyskursie
i porządku prawnym

RECENZJA
Legilingwistyka już nie jest ziemią niczyją: recenzja książki Legal
Linguistics Marcusa Galdii (recenzowała Aleksandra
Matulewska)

5
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/

6
[Wpisz tekst]

Preface

This volume of Comparative Legilinguistics contains eight articles. Three of

them deal with various aspects of legal communication.
Grażyna BEDNAREK (Translation of the European Arrest Warrant in the Light
of Intercultural Communication) from Poland discusses translation as a process of
intercultural communication. In order to prove her point of view she gives an example of
the translation of the European arrest warrant into the languages of the European Union
member states.
Sergey KOROLEV from Russia in his text titled Procedural Misfires of Cross-
Cultural Legal Communication in the Perspective of J. Austin and J. Langshaw Austin
discusses theory and practice in the cross-roads area where legal theory meets linguistic
philosophy. Korolev argues that every lawyer may face miscommunication problems
resulting from differences in meanings of technical terms in the process of oral
translation of foreign lecture on law which in turn, may have dire consequences on the
communication process.
Lavinia NĂDRAG and Manuela STROESCU from Romania (A
Psycholinguistic Approach to Inmate Argot in Romanian Prisons) discuss the
phenomenon of inmate argot existing in Romanian prisons. They have identified over
argot terms and discovered that nearly none of them are to be found in Romanian
dictionaries including slang dictionaries.
Sheng-jie CHEN from Taiwan touches upon the aspects of training interpreters
with the usage of computer aids (Computer Assisted Interpreter Training for Students
Who Are Not Foreign Language Majors). His attention focuses on 18 students who were
not attending foreign language majors in a university in Taipei, Taiwan, in The
author has arrived at the conclusion that computer assisted interpreting training may be
developed into the interpretation method.
Four papers are devoted to legal language and legal terminology.
Hanem EL-FARAHATY from the UK, in her paper titled Features of English
Legal Discourse presents the common lexical and grammatical features of legal discourse
in English and Arabic in order to identify potential areas in English-Arabic pair which
may result in translation problems.
Yuki HORIE from Japan (The Roots of Japanese Legal Terminology) touches
upon the historical development of Japanese legal terminology. She focuses her attention
on the gap between Japanese and European legal terminology. What is more, she notices
that Japanese legal terminology is so deeply rooted in history, that it may be not easy to
comprehend even for contemporary Japanese.
Diana KORNIECKA From Poland (Грамматика и стилистика юридических
текстов (на основе уголовного кодекса)) concentrates on grammatical and stylistic
features of legal texts with special attention paid to the translation process of Russian and
Polish penal codes. The author distinguishes selected differences in macro and micro text
structures and semantics of analysed legal instruments and points to the sources of
potential translation mistakes.

7
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
Vasily TOKARYEV from Ukraine (Споры о сущности права в дискурсе
правопорядка) devoted his paper to the ontological structure of law. He discusses the
essence of law in the discourse on law and order and the impact of the political sphere on
the legal sphere.
Legal linguistics and legal translation witness a rapid development. There have
been two books on legal linguistics published recently: one by Mattila (Comparative
Legal Linguistics) and one by Galdia (Legal Linguistics). The review of the latter is
presented in this volume.

8
[Wpisz tekst]

TRANSLATION OF THE EUROPEAN ARREST

WARRANT IN THE LIGHT OF INTERCULTURAL
COMMUNICATION

Grażyna BEDNAREK
Katedra Lingwistyki Stosowanej, Wyższa Szkoła Gospodarki
Bydgoszcz, ul. Garbary 2
[email protected]

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to examine translation of the European arrest warrant in the light
of intercultural communication. The paper consists of three parts. The first part addresses major
aspects of judicial cooperation in criminal matters within the territory of the European Union (EU)
and introduces the European arrest warrant (EAW) as one of the major legal instruments of such
cooperation. The second part focuses on the notion of legal translation as an act of intercultural
communication. The third part illustrates, via translation of the European arrest warrant, how
certain differences between the two most important legal families of the world, the Common Law
and the Civil Law, influence the process of intercultural communication.

TŁUMACZENIE EUROPEJSKIEGO NAKAZU ARESZTOWANIA W ŚWIETLE

KOMUNIKACJI MIĘDZYKULTUROWEJ

Abstrakt: Niniejszy artykuł poświęcony jest badaniu nad tłumaczeniem Europejskiego nakazu
aresztowania (ENA) w świetle komunikacji międzykulturowej. Artykuł składa się z trzech części.
Celem pierwszej z nich jest przedstawienie głównych aspektów współpracy sądowej w sprawach
karnych w Unii Europejskiej (EU) oraz przybliżenie ENA jako jednego z głównych instrumentów
prawnych prawa karnego UE. Część druga omawia tłumaczenie ENA w świetle komunikacji
międzykulturowej. Część trzecia opisuje w jaki sposób pewne różnice pomiędzy dwoma
najważniejszymi systemami prawnymi, tj. prawem zwyczajowym oraz prawem cywilnym
(kontynentalnym) wpływają na proces komunikacji międzykulturowej.

Major aspects of judicial co-operation in criminal matters within the territory of the
European Union: introduction of the European arrest warrant

On 21 September , the European Council met in an extraordinary session to analyze

the international situation in the wake of the disastrous and deadly terrorist attacks in the
United States (cf. Conclusions and Plan of Action of the Extraordinary European Council
Meeting at funduszeue.info
funduszeue.info).

9
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
Under Article 2 of the Conclusions and Plan of Action of the Extraordinary
European Council Meeting related to the European Policy to Combat Terrorism, the
European Council approved the plan of enhanced police and judicial cooperation and
announced its agreement to introduce a European arrest warrant.
Hence, many assume that introduction of the European arrest warrant was an
immediate outcome of the said European Council meeting, while the necessity to reform
the extradition procedures was recognized 20 years ago (Gilmore ).
The beginnings of judicial cooperation in EU date back to December ,
when the Ministers of Interior met in Rome with a view to combat terrorism, radicalism,
extremism and international violence (Terrorisme, Radicalisme, Extremisme, Violonce
Internationale), the so-called TREVI Group, that met twice a year until when it was
substituted for the meetings of European Council for Justice and Home Affairs (JHA)
(Hofmański et al. 19).
The abolition of checks at the internal borders and creation of a single external
border under the Schengen Agreement of 14 June and Schengen Convention of 19
June , which came into effect in March , facilitated criminals‘ operational
mobility and entailed the undesired consequence of the increased transnational crime
(Fennelly ).
To counterbalance free movement of persons in EU and to guarantee security
within the territory of the Schengen States, the Schengen Convention included the so-
called ―compensatory measures‖, e.g.: the strengthening of judicial cooperation and
mutual assistance in criminal matters, mutual assistance for the purposes of preventing
and detecting criminal offences, creation of the Schengen Information System (SIS),
faster extradition procedures (cf. Schengen Acquis Official Journal of European Union
p. ).
The Treaty on European Union (TEU) signed on 1 February in Maastricht,
which came into effect on 1 November , established judicial cooperation in criminal
matters under the III pillar (JHA) (Hofmański et al. 21).
Under the Amsterdam Treaty signed on 2 October , which entered into
force on 1 May , Title VI – Provisions on Police and Judicial Cooperation in
Criminal Matters, the Union‘s objective was formulated as follows:
―to provide citizens with a high level of safety within an area
of freedom, security and justice by developing common
action among Member States in the field of police and
judicial cooperation in criminal matters…‖ (cf. OJ C of
10 November )
The Tampere European Council of October reiterated the significance of the
Union as the area of freedom, security and justice, however, its novelty relates to mutual
recognition of judicial decisions under article 33 (Gilmore ):

10
[Wpisz tekst]

―Enhanced mutual recognition of judicial decisions and

judgments and the necessary approximation of legislation
would facilitate cooperation between authorities and the
judicial protection of individual rights. The European
Council therefore endorses the principle of mutual
recognition which, in its view, should become the
cornerstone of judicial cooperation in both civil and criminal
matters within the Union. The principle should apply to
judgments and to other decisions of judicial authorities.‖
The Tampere Conclusions also urged to undertake steps with reference to extradition:
―With respect to criminal matters, the European Council
urges Member States to speedily ratify the and
EU Conventions on extradition. It considers that the formal
extradition procedure should be abolished among the
Member States as far as persons are concerned who are
fleeing from justice after having been finally sentenced, and
replace by a simple transfer of such persons, in compliance
with Article 6 TEU. Consideration should also be given to
fast track extradition procedures, without prejudice to the
principle of fair trial. The European Council invites the
Commission to make the proposals on this matter in the light
of the Schengen Implementing Agreement.‖ (cf. Tampere
European Council 15 and 16 October , Presidency
Conclusions).
The principle of mutual recognition as the cornerstone of judicial cooperation under III
pillar is of outstanding significance and the Framework Decision (//JHA) of 13
June , which introduces the European arrest warrant constitutes an example of its
implementation (Hofmański et al. 28).
The said Framework Decision on the European arrest warrant and the surrender
procedures between Member States, replace the following extradition proceedings
between Member States: the European Extradition Convention on the suppression
of terrorism, the European Convention on the suppression of terrorism as regards
extradition, the agreement of 26 May between 12 Member States on simplifying the
transmission of extradition requests, the Convention on the simplified extradition
procedure, the Convention on extradition, the provisions of the Schengen agreement
(cf. Framework Decision //JHA (4)).
The Framework Decision defines the European arrest warrant in Chapter 1(1) as:

11
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
―[…] a judicial decision issued by a Member State with a
view to arrest and surrender by another Member State of a
requested person, for the purposes of conducting a criminal
prosecution or executing a custodial sentence or detention
order.‖
Pursuant to Chapter 1, Article 1, Paragraph 2 of the said Framework Decision:
―Member States shall execute any European arrest warrant
on the basis of the principle of mutual recognition and in
accordance with the provisions of this Framework Decision.‖
A European arrest warrant may be issued for acts punishable by the law of the issuing
Member State by a custodial sentence or a detention order for a maximum period of at
least 12 months or, where a sentence has been passed or detention order has been made,
for sentences of at least four months (cf. Framework Decision (//JHA Article
2(1)).
The list of 32 offences giving rise to surrender pursuant to the European arrest
warrant includes, inter alia: participation in a criminal organization, terrorism,
corruption, forgery of means of payment, sexual exploitation of children and child
pornography, illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, murder,
grievous bodily injury, counterfeiting and piracy of products (cf. Framework Decision
//JHA Article 2(2)) .
The innovative character of the European arrest warrant is attributed to: (1) its
judicial nature, (2) partial abolition of double criminality check with reference to the
thirty two offences listed, i.e., the rule that an offence must be punishable both in the
country, where the requested person is located and in the country issuing the warrant, (3)
simplification and acceleration of the surrender procedures, (4) surrender of the requested
person under the principle of mutual recognition and mutual trust, (6) independence of
the requested person‘s surrender from his/her nationality (Gilmore ;
Hofmański et al. ; Pérignon, Daucé ).
Article 8 of the Framework Decision defines the content and form of the
European arrest warrant, which must contain the identity and nationality of the requested
person, the name, address, telephone and fax numbers and e-mail address of the issuing
judicial authority, evidence of enforceable judgment, the nature and legal classification of
the offence, a description of the circumstances in which the offence was committed,
including the time, place and degree of participation in the offence by the requested
person, the penalty imposed, if there is a final judgment, or the prescribed scale of
penalties for the offence under the law of the issuing Member State.
The European arrest warrant must be translated into the official language or one
of the official languages of the executing Member States.

12
[Wpisz tekst]

The notion of legal translation as an act of intercultural communication

For the purposes of this paper translation of the European arrest warrant is understood as
an act of intercultural communication.
The evolution of translation understood as a static linguistic phenomenon to an
act of intercultural communication materialized in the s (Snell-Hornby 43;
Pisarska 26; Munday 87; Snell-Hornby ).
Snell-Hornby ( 43) speaks of three new approaches introduced in Germany
in the s: Hönig and Kussmaul , Reiss and Vermeer and Hölz-Mänttari

Hönig and Kussmaul in Strategie der Übersetzung () delineate the notion of
text understood as an integral part of a sociocultural background and stress the
significance of the function of a translation (Snell-Hornby 45). For them,
translation is dependent on its function as a text embedded in the target culture and the
translator may either preserve the original function of the source text in its own culture
(Funktzionskonstanz) or change the function to adapt to specific needs in the target
culture (Funktzionsveränderung) (Snell-Hornby 44). Vermeer in the book, which
he wrote with Katharina Reiss Grundlegung einer allgemeinen Translationstheorie
(), emphasizes that language is not an autonomous system, but is part of a culture. In
his view, the translator should not only be bilingual, but also bicultural (Snell-Hornby
52). In his lecture given in Zurich on 21 May , published as ―Translation as a
cultural transfer‖ Vermeer ( 33) defines translation as:
―[…] an offer of information in a language t of the culture
T1, which imitates an offer of information in a language s of
the culture S according to specified function. In other words,
a translation is not transcoding of words or sentences from
one language to another, but a complex form of action in
which someone gives information about a text (source
language material) under new functional and linguistic
conditions and in a new situation, while preserving formal
aspects as far as possible.‖
His explanation of translation abandons the linguistic definition of translation dominant
at the time and provided by Koller:
―In linguistic terms translation can be described as
transcoding or substitution; elements a1, a2, a3… of the
language system L1 are replaced by elements b1, b2, b3… of
the language system L2‖ (Koller as cited by
Snell-Hornby ).

13
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
The most important aspect of Vermeer‘s translation theory is the skopos (Greek word for
‗aim‖ or ‗purpose‘). According to skopos theory the major principle determining any
translation process is the purpose (skopos) of the overall translational action (Vermeer
15; Pisarska 27; Nord 27; Munday 79; Snell-Hornby 51).
Vermeer explains the skopos rule in the following way:
―Each text is produced for a given purpose and should serve
this purpose. The skopos rule thus reads as follows:
translate/interpret/speak/write in a way that enables your
text/translation to function in the situation in which it is used
and with the people who want to see it and precisely in the
way they want it to function.‖ (Vermeer a: 20 as cited
by Nord 29).
The skopos theory is part of the theory proposed by Hölz-Mänttari who defines
translation as an act of communication across cultural barriers. Hölz-Mänttari who
presented her theory of translation in Translatorisches Handeln. Theorie und Methode
(), reduces the status of the source text (Snell-Hornby 57) similarly to
Vermeer, who spoke of ―de-throning of the source text‖ (Snell-Hornby 54). In her
theory, she declines the notion of ―text‖ and introduces the notion of ―message‖
(Botschaft). Since both Vermeer and Hölz-Mänttari view translation as a cultural transfer
rather than linguistic, in which language is part of the culture (Snell-Hornby 54), it
follows that the concept of culture is essential for the functional approach to translation.
The concept of culture accepted by Vermeer is that of Heinz Göring‘s, which in turn is
based on the that of the American ethnologist Ward Goodenough (Snell-Hornby
54; Nord 33):
―Culture consists of everything one needs to know, master
and feel, in order to assess where members of a society are
behaving acceptably or deviantly in their various roles, and
in order to behave in a way that is acceptable or deviant for
that society, as far as one wishes to do so and is not prepared
to take the consequences arising from deviant conduct.‖
(Göring 10, as cited by Snell-Hornby 55).
Nord ( 33) emphasizes that Vermeer‘s own definition of culture concentrates even
more on norms and conventions:
―[culture is] the entire setting of norms and conventions an
individual as a member of his society must know in order to
be ‗like everybody‘ – or to be able to be different from
everybody‖. (Vermeer a: 28)
The concept of culture understood as a totality of knowledge, norms and conventions is
essential to the functional approach of translation as a form of communication and social

14
[Wpisz tekst]

action as opposed to abstract code-switching and was later broadened by Heidrun Witte
(Snell-Hornby 55).
As regards Chrsitiane Nord, similarly to the theories above, her concept of
translation is as she indicates ―basically functional‖ and the notion of ―function‖ is the
primary criterion for the process of translation (Nord 5).
Her model for translation-oriented text analysis contributes profoundly to
understanding of the intercultural text transfer. As expounded by the author, a model of
source-text analysis, which may be applied to all types of texts not only facilitates
understanding of the function of the elements or features in the content and structure of
the source text as a communicative occurrence, but also allows the translator to choose
the suitable translation strategies for the intended purpose of the particular translation
(Nord 5).
To summarize the functionalist translation theories, it must be indicated that in
contrast to the linguistic theories of translation, which saw translation as a static
phenomenon, an activity merely between languages, a linguistic transfer based on the
process of transcoding, the functionalist approach to translation is culture oriented, is
oriented towards the function of the target text, proclaims de-throning of the source text,
views texts as an integral part of the world, not an isolated specimen of language, and
finally, as stated above, understands translation as an act of cross-cultural communication
(Snell-Hornby 38).
As regards legal translation, Ńarčević ( 55) and Cao ( 5) too define
legal translation as an act of communication.
However, although one must acknowledge the profound impact of the
functionalist approach to translation studies in general, which as shown above
transformed the very meaning of the translation process, the present author wishes at this
point to present vital aspects of legal translation and explain why certain facets of the
functionalist approach may not be applied to legal translation.
As indicated by Ńarčević ( 12) and Cao ( 7) legal translation is a
specialized area of translational activity due to the fact that it involves law and entails not
only linguistic, but also legal consequences.
Bearing this in mind, translation of legal texts is regarded as a double operation
implying both interlingual and legal transfer (Constantinescu as cited by
Ńarčević 12).
In addition, the normative function and authority of the legal texts makes legal
texts special and entails significant consequences for legal translation (Ńarčević 11;
Cao 10).
Let us have a closer look at the typology of legal texts as presented by Ńarčević
() and Cao () to understand the nature of legal documents in the first place.

15
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
Ńarčević ( 11) divides legal texts into the following three groups according
to their function: 1) primarily prescriptive, 2) primarily descriptive but also prescriptive,
3) purely descriptive. The first group includes laws and regulations, codes, contracts,
treaties and conventions, and as indicated by Ńarčević, they are normative texts which
prescribe a specific course of action. The second group of legal texts consists of hybrid
texts, which are primarily descriptive but also include prescriptive parts. These include
judicial decisions and instruments used to carry on judicial and administrative
proceedings such as actions, pleadings, briefs, requests, petitions. The third group
contains purely descriptive texts written by legal scholars, like legal opinions, law
textbooks, articles.
Cao ( ) distinguishes the following categories of legal texts: 1)
legislative texts, i.e., domestic statutes and subordinate laws, international treaties and
multilingual laws, and other laws produced by lawmaking authorities, 2) judicial texts
produced in the judicial process by judicial officers and other legal authorities, 3) legal
scholarly texts produced by academic lawyers or legal scholars in scholarly works and
commentaries, 4) private legal texts including texts written by lawyers, e.g. contracts,
leases, wills, litigation documents, and texts written by non-lawyers, e.g. private
agreements, witness statements and other documents produced by non-lawyers and used
in litigation and other legal situations.
From the enumerated variants of legal texts it follows that legal translation refers
to the translation of the texts used in law and legal settings.
The vast majority of the named legal texts are normative in character as stated
above, that is they prescribe commands and prohibitions, grant permission and power,
create obligations and rights (Cornu ; ).
How does that compare with the functionalist approach to translation studies?
Why may certain aspects of the functionalist approach to translation not be applied to
legal translation?
Firstly, as indicated by Hönig and Kuβmaul () text is understood as an
integral part of the sociocultural background and its function is of primary importance,
the translator, as they say, may either preserve the original function of the source text
(Funktionskonstanz) or change the function of the source text (Funktzionsveränderung).
As regards legal translation, there is no doubt that the text is a communicative
occurrence (de Beaugrande and Dressler 3) and as stated above it belongs to a
given sociocultural background. However, in case of legal translation, the legal translator
may not change the function of the source text, because the legal translator‘s role is to
produce a text that is equal in meaning and effect to the source text. It is impossible to
change the function of the target text, because the legal translator is bound by the
principle of fidelity to the source text for preserving the letter of law (Ńarčević 16).
In case of the European arrest warrant translation, for instance, the function of
the source text may by no means be changed, because under Framework Decision of 13
16
[Wpisz tekst]

June , the European arrest warrant is a judicial decision and the legal translator is
bound by the fidelity to the source text while translating the document for the sake of
preserving the letter of law.
As indicated by Ńarčević ( 16), even when the legal translators won the
right to produce the texts in the spirit of the target language, the general indications and
guidelines still pointed to fidelity to the source text.
The same has been underlined by Herbot ( as cited by Ńarčević
72) the translator is obliged to produce a translation with ―the same legal signification‖:
―Le text d‘arrivée doit avoir la même signification juridique
(c‘est-a-dire qu‘il aura le meme consequences en droit) que
le texte de depart.‖
With reference to Vermeer‘s skopos theory of translation, there are certain aspects, which
may not be applied to legal translation either and here is why.
Firstly, Vermeer‘s skopos theory, as indicated above, treats translation as an
intercultural transfer (Nord 11, 34), whereas it must be remembered that in case of
legal translation, the transfer is not only intercultural, but primarily legal (Constantinesco
as cited by Ńarčević 12; Groot de 5).
Secondly, Vermeer‘s translation theory regards the source and the target text as
―an offer of information‖ (Vermeer as cited by Nord 12), which in case of
normative legal texts is not applicable, because if both the source and target texts are
normative in nature they are more than a source of information, that means they must be
duly executed.
Thirdly, Vermeer‘s theory of translation de-thrones the source text (Snell-
Hornby 54), which in the view of the present author should not be done. The
significance of the source text for legal translation is profound, if the legal significance of
the target text is to be the same.
Thus, if the target text of a European arrest warrant as a judicial decision is to
produce the same legal effect as the source text, it is advisable to conduct a careful
analysis of the source text bearing in mind that it is an example of both intercultural and
legal transfer, which as explained by Nord ( 24) shall enable the translator to
establish the actual function-in-culture of a source text and compare it with the function-
in-culture of the target text required by the initiator and enable him/her to choose the best
translation method.
In addition, following Vermeer ( 15), there is a skopos for each
translational act and different skopoi lead to different translations of the same source text.
As explained by Reiss and Vermeer ( ) the demand for fidelity is subordinated
to the skopos, so if the skopos requires a change of function, the required standard of
fidelity to the source text is not applied, the translator is then bound by appropriateness to

17
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
the particular skopos. This, however, does not hold true for legal translation, where the
skopos of the target text is exactly the same as that of the source text.
So, by way of illustration, if the European arrest warrant is a type of legal text of
normative character issued by a EU Member State with a view to the arrest and surrender
by another Member State of a requested person for the purposes of conducting a criminal
prosecution or executing a custodial sentence or detention order, then, due to its
normative character its function in the target text must be preserved.
Moreover, the translation of the European arrest warrant must be done by a
sworn translator, who is bound by the code of ethics of a sworn translator, which clearly
defines the principles of an authenticated translation including the aspects of legal
translation stated above, so any alterations to the texts are strictly forbidden (cf. Code of
Conduct of a Sworn Translator with a Commentary issued by TEPIS ).
Finally, in case of translation of legal texts of normative character, the
translation once vested with the force of law, or authenticated may not be referred to as
translation, but must be treated as an equally authentic, parallel, legal text (Ńarčević
20, 64); Wagner 1, ; Doczekalska ), hence, as stated above, any
amendments to the source text may only be done by its author, in case of the European
arrest warrant, it may be done by a judge of a Regional Court in Poland, let alone the fact
that such alterations must be indicated in the contents of the document together with the
reasons and date of amendment.
As further indicated by Ńarčević, despite the fact that Vermeer‘s theory refers to
all types of texts (Vermeer 99 as cited by Ńarčević 18), Vermeer failed to
convince the LSP translators that his theory was applicable to special purpose texts,
because specialists in LSP translations insisted that the primary goal of LSP translators
was to transfer the meaning or the message of the source text as precisely as possible
(Fluck ; Gémar II: as cited by Ńarčević 18).
In addition, as emphasized by Ńarčević ( 19), in claiming that the
translation strategy of legal translation can be determined on the function of the target
text alone, Vermeer failed to take account of legal criteria, while selecting the appropriate
translation strategy, since as regards contracts, for example, the choice of translation
strategy depends on the law governing the contract, viz., the contract may either be
interpreted to the source or target legal system and in terms of linguistics, this identifies
the system of reference, that is, whether the signs in the target text refer to objects and
concepts in the source or the target legal system.
To summarize the discussion of the applicability of the functionalist approach to
legal translation, it must be emphasized that the contribution of the functionalist approach
for the discipline of translation studies in general is vital and unquestionable.
There is no doubt that the definition of translation gained a new image of a
dynamic, bicultural, target oriented communicative event.

18
[Wpisz tekst]

Although, as shown above, certain aspects of the functionalist approach cannot

be accepted to legal translation, because ―on ne peut pas se permettre de traduire une loi
comme on traduit un autre texte, car la traduction est aussi loi‖ (Legault 19).
Having established the undeniable influence of the functional approach on the
discipline of translation studies and explaining how legal translation may benefit from
this approach and what facets of the said approach may not be applied to legal translation,
in what follows the present author wishes to point out some major implications of the
European arrest warrant translation in the light of intercultural communication.
However, before the analysis begins, let us first have a closer look at the study of
communication studies.
Fiske ( 2) defines communication as social interaction through messages.
Communication, as he points out, is central to the life of our culture, and without
communication any culture dies.
There are two main schools in the study of communication (Fiske ).
The first, which perceives communication as the transmission of messages, is concerned
with how senders and receivers encode and decode the messages, how the transmitters
use the channels and media of communication, which defines communication as a
process by which one person affects the behaviour of or state of mind of another. The
second, delineates communication as the production and exchange of meanings. It deals
with how messages, or texts, interact with people in order to produce meanings; that is it
is concerned with the role of texts in our culture. For this school, the study of
communication is the study of text and culture and the main study is semiotics. Each of
the mentioned schools interprets the definition of communication as social interaction
through messages in its own way. For the first one social interaction is the process by
which one person relates to others, or affects the behaviour, state of mind or emotional
response of another. The school of semiotics understands social interaction as that which
constitutes the individual as a member of a particular culture and society.
As further explained by Fiske ( 3) each of the schools has a different
understanding of what constitutes a message. The first one defines a message as that
which is transmitted by the communication process with intention as its underlying
factor. Semiotics, on the other hand sees a message as a construction of signs, which
through interacting with receivers, produce meanings.
It has on many occasions been established that translation in general is a
communicative event taking place in a communicative situation (Nord 17; Nord
13; Snell-Hornby 54).
As such, it differs from any ordinary communicative event, because it entails
participation of two cultures, two languages. In such a communicative situation, the
source and target texts are part of a communicative act.

19
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
As emphasized by Nord ( 14) the prerequisite for such a communicative
event is the existence of a situation in a given time and space, and participants wishing to
communicate for a certain purpose by means of a text.
The text understood as ―the totality of communicative signals used in a
communicative interaction (Kallmeyer et al. as cited by Nord 16) has a function
and is transmitted via a channel.
The model of communication developed for the purpose of translation by Sager
( 93) distinguishes between several functional agents participating in the act of
communication: producers of texts and massages, communication agents, i.e., senders of
texts, recipients of texts and messages and mediators, i.e., translators.
Under the said theory of communication, the message is encoded in a system of
signs (Sager ).
As emphasized by Ńarčević ( 56), ―legal communication can be effective
only if interaction is achieved between text producers and receivers‖.
Who are the participants of the process of intercultural communication with
regard to translation of the European arrest warrant?
The procedures relating to issuing and execution of the European arrest warrants
have been stipulated in the Polish Code of Criminal Procedure (cf.
funduszeue.info~kpk/eaw/legislation/Poland_National_legislation_funduszeue.info).
Under chapter 65a of the Code of Criminal Procedure on requesting EU Member
States for surrender of prosecuted persons on the basis of a EAW and 65b requests from
EU Member States for surrender of prosecuted persons on the basis of a EAW the
participants of the intercultural communication process in the aspect of the European
arrest translation include as follows:
Firstly, the text producer, a Judge of a Regional Court in Poland, a representative
of a judicial authority responsible for production of the EAW. On the official request of
the Regional Public Prosecutor, a Judge of a Regional Court fills out the EAW form in
the Polish language, which relates to a given person who had committed an offence,
referred to, under the mentioned above Framework Decision, as ―requested person‖.
Secondly, under article c § 2 a Warrant should be translated into an official
language of the executing state. All the official documents must in Poland be translated
by a sworn translator. The profession of the sworn translator is regulated under Act of 25
November of (cf. Official Journal No. , item ).
The sworn translator is sent the EAW original in the Polish language together
with the translation brief, which is a decision of a Judge of a Regional Court appointing
the sworn translator for the task of conducting the translation of the EAW.
The translation brief includes the following information: the name of the Judge
of the Regional Court who appoints the sworn translator for translation of the EAW and
the name of the Court Clerk, the name of the Public Prosecutor at whose request the
EAW is issued, the name of the requested person, the name of his parents, name and
20
[Wpisz tekst]

number of his identity card or passport, place of residence, if available. The Judge states
the reasons why a given EAW must be issued, that is, s/he describes what offence or
offences were committed by the requested person. The committed offences relate to
specific articles of the Penal Code which must be pointed out. In addition, the translation
brief includes the date of expiry of the statute of limitation. The reason, which impacts
directly the issue of the EAW is the fact that the requested person, which committed an
offence wishes to evade justice and is sought after abroad in the territory of the European
Union on the basis of the EAW. Finally, the translation brief includes the deadline by
which the translation must be returned.
The translated EAW is then returned to the Regional Court and is sent to a
specific EU Member State judicial authority, in cases when the place of residence of the
requested person has been established, if not, the data from the European arrest warrant
are put into the Schengen Information System, which is supposed to facilitate the
establishment of the place of residence of the requested person and next his/her detention,
temporary arrest and execution of the EAW and finally his/her extradition to Poland.
The judicial authority of the EU Member State which receives the translated
EAW plays the role of the immediate target text receiver. The role of the target text
receiver as the judicial authority responsible for the execution of the EAW is regulated by
the Framework Decision and involves the hearing of the requested person under Article

The Translation of the EAW in this case, as explained above may not be referred
to as translation, it performs the function of the judicial decision in the foreign language
and is subject to execution. Hence it must be considered as a parallel legal text.
The role of the translator in the process of the intercultural and legal transfer is
twofold. First, s/he is the mediator who bridges the gaps between two legal cultures.
Secondly, s/he plays the role of the author of the target text.
The role of the author of the legal text is subject to a number of constraints
accompanying the process of translation, which constitute the final part of this paper.

Legal, linguistic and cultural constraints in the translation of the EAW

For the purposes of this paper, major implications relating to translation of the European
arrest warrant refer to: (1) different legal systems and laws, (2) linguistic differences, (3)
cultural differences.
Cao ( 23) stresses that ―law and legal language are system-bound, that is,
they reflect the history, evolution and culture of a specific system‖. ―Legal language is
not a universal technical language but one that is tied to a national legal system (Weisflog
, as cited by Cao 23).

21
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
Under Article 8 of the Framework Decision, all Member States adopted an
identical form and content of the European arrest warrant, which is attached in Annex 1
to Framework Decision, to quash the diversity relating to legal systems in the EU.
Although, as indicated by Górski and Sakowicz () and Hofmański et al.
() the European integration of Member States and unification of law in the European
Union for the purposes of an accelerated surrender of the requested persons, the translator
carrying out translation of the European arrest warrant must bear in mind that the
expressions used in point (b) devoted to decision on which the warrant is based: ―judicial
decision‖ and ―enforceable judgment‖ connote different ideas under two legal families,
namely that of the civil and that of the common law.
Zweigert and Kötz ( 69) emphasize that:
―The tradition of the English Common Law has been one of
gradual development from decision to decision; historically
speaking, it is case-law, not enacted law. On the Continent
the development since the reception of Roman law has been
quite different, from the interpretation of Justinian‘s Corpus
Iuris to the codification, nation by nation, of abstract rules.
So Common Law comes from the court, Continental law
from the study; the great jurists of England were judges, on
the Continent professors. On the Continent lawyers, faced
with a problem even a new and unforeseen one, ask what
solution the rule provides; in England and the United States
they predict how the judge would deal with the problem,
given the existing decisions‖.
Hence, one of the challenges the legal translator deals with is the incongruency of legal
systems.
Under point (e) of the European arrest warrant, the translator translates the
description of the circumstances in which the offence or offences was/were committed. It
is under this point, where linguistic implications arise.
As far as the linguistic constraints are concerned, Cao () and Ńarčević
() attribute linguistic difficulty in legal translation to the absence of equivalent
terminology across different languages. De Groot ( ) claims that to achievement
of full equivalence in translating the terminology is only possible when the source and
target languages relate to the same legal system, which is applicable only in bilingual or
multilingual legal systems, like in Belgium, Finland, Switzerland and to a certain degree
in Canada.
Despite the fact that under the Framework Decision the EU Member States
adopted a common definition of the thirty two offences, the translator is aware of the fact
that a definition of a particular offence in the 27 Member States implies different
definitions in each State.
22
[Wpisz tekst]

Lack of vocabulary equivalence has already been indicated by Humboldt, who

stated that:
―No one when he uses a word has in mind exactly the same
thing that another has, and the difference, however tiny,
sends its tremors throughout language. … All understanding,
therefore, is always at the same time a misunderstanding …
and all agreement of feelings and thoughts is at the same
time a means for growing apart.‖ (Humboldt quoted in
Cowan , as cited by Jandt ).
In his seminal article Why Isn‟t Translation Impossible Joseph ( ) cites
Schopenhauer, Schleiermacher, Humboldt, de Saussure who addressed the issue of lack
of vocabulary equivalence in their works. For instance, Schleiermacher stated:
―But if one looks at a master‘s word formations in their
totality, at his use of related words and word-roots in a
multitude of interrelated writings, how can the translator
succeed here, since the system of concepts and their signs in
the translator‘s language is entirely different from that in the
original language, and the word-roots, instead of being
synchronically identical, cut across each other in the
strangest directions. It is impossible, therefore, for the
translator‘s use of one language to be as coherent as that of
his author.‖ (Schleiermacher [ ], as cited by
Joseph ).
By way of illustration, under Article section 1 of the Polish Criminal Code fraud is
defined as follows:
―Whoever, with the purpose of gaining a material benefit
causes another person to disadvantageously dispose of his
own or someone else‘s property by misleading him, or by
taking advantage of a mistake or inability to adequately
understand the action undertaken, shall be subject to the
penalty of deprivation of liberty for a term of between 6
months and 8 years.‖
By contrast, under Theft Act in UK, this offence is defined under Chapter 60
Article 16(2)(c) as follows:
―A person who by any deception dishonestly obtains for
himself or another any pecuniary advantage shall on
conviction on indictment be liable to imprisonment for a
term not exceeding five years.‖

23
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
Attention should be paid to two different expressions in the Polish Criminal Code – the
―material benefit‖ and in the UK Act - the ―pecuniary advantage‖. The UK term implies a
monetary advantage, while the Polish term connotes a broader benefit, which may be
expressed in pecuniary terms.
Cultural differences are the subsequent source of difficulty. In translation,
language should not be regarded as an isolated phenomenon suspended in a vacuum but
as integral part of culture, while the text is embedded in a given situation conditioned by
its socio-cultural background (Snell-Hornby 2, as cited by Cao 31). The
strong relationship between language and culture is a well established phenomenon and
has on many occasions been underlined (Whorf ; ); Sapir 16; 69;
Hofstede 21).
Curran ( ) described the characteristics of the language of the law in the
following way:
―The language of law is bound to the inner grammar of legal
systems, cultures, mentalities, which in turn impede
communication in words that are borrowed from another
legal system, culture, and mentality.‖
She also points out that in comparative law translation is often carried out by
approximation, so, for example, ―the French word ‗procès‘ is generally translated into
English as ‗trial‘. She indicates, however, that certain attributes of ‗procès‘ are not
attributes of ‗trial‘. Hence, similarly, the French or Polish ‗judge‘ is not the English
‗judge‘, the ‗cour‘, or ‗sąd‘ is not the ‗court‘, and last but not least, the French
‗jugement‘, or ‗wyrok‖ is not exactly ‗judgment‘.
Furthermore, Curran ( ) argues that:
―If law is embedded in culture it may be that the study of law
can be undertaken realistically only by adopting the
standpoint of someone ‗inside‘ a culture, by a kind of
‗immersion‘ in it. According to this approach, the
comparatist must understand law in the same way that people
who participate in its culture do. Such a study must recognize
the integrity, identity, or coherence of the culture in which
law exists, and the interwoven characteristics that make that
culture unique and distinguish it from others. […] Law
cocooned inside a culture, it might be claimed, is necessarily
different from law that exists in another culture.‖
Hence, legal translators must successfully deal with cultural barriers between the SL and
TL.
This leads us directly to the implications related to conceptual equivalence,
which refers to abstract ideas that may not exist in the same fashion in different
languages.
24
[Wpisz tekst]

By way of illustration, the word ―law‖, or ―judicial decision‖ connote different

ideas in Poland and in the UK, because under the common law, the word ―law‖ refers to
the body of case law, based upon judicial decisions and embodied in reports of decided
cases, while the ―law‖ as understood by the civil law refers to the enacted law and codes
(Zweigert and Kötz 69).
The translation process has been compared to that of the comparative legal
analysis by Bernhard Großfeld, a professor of law (Großfeld ).
Thus, the translator, similarly to the comparatist lawyer:
―comes across legal institutions, procedures, and traditions
which have no counterpart in the Continental legal world
with which he is familiar. At every step he comes across
legal institutions, procedures, and traditions which have no
counterpart in the Continental legal world with which he is
familiar.‖ (Zweigert and Kötz )
The last but not least implication relating to legal translation is that of the choice of an
appropriate translation strategy, which for a long time has been a contentious issue.
As indicated by Ńarčević, some advocate literal translation for the sake of
preservation of the letter of law (Cesana 5 as cited by Ńarčević 37; Didier
, , as cited by Ńarčević 16; Weisflog , as cited by Ńarčević
17), while others favour idiomatic translation and creativity (Koutsivitis ,
as cited by Ńarčević ).
Although the said issue remains unsolved, ―substance must always prevail over
form‖ (Ńarčević ).
This brings us directly to another issue, namely that of equal effect of the
authenticated translations.
Ńarčević cites Didier, who claims that ―while lawyers cannot expect translators
to produce parallel texts which are equal in meaning, they do expect them to produce
parallel texts which are equal in legal effect‖ (Didier , as cited by Ńarčević
71). Hence, as emphasized by Ńarčević the role of the translator is to ―produce a
text that will lead to the same legal effects in practice‖ (Ńarčević 71).
In view of the above, translation of the European arrest warrant must in practice
lead to its execution by competent judicial authorities of the executing EU Member State.
Isabelle Pérignon and Constance Daucé ( ) and Hofmański et al. (
) claim that the European arrest warrant is considered by the EU Commission to be a
growing success story, and the Commission looks forward to strengthening the
instrument in the subsequent years. In conclusion of the Report presented by the
Commission of European Communities based on Article 34 of the Council Framework

25
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
Decision of 13 June on the European arrest warrant and the surrender procedures
between Member States of 24 January we read that:
―despite undeniable initial delay, the European arrest warrant
is now operational in most of the cases provided for. Its
impact is positive, since the available indicators as regards
judicial control, effectiveness and speed are favourable,
while fundamental rights are observed.‖
Hence, it follows that despite certain implications, which the translation of the European
arrest warrant entails, the process of intercultural communication so far has been
successful.

Bibliography

Baker, J.H. An Introduction to English Legal History. Fourth Edition. London:
Butterworths.
Cao, D. Translating Law. Clevedon, [etc.]: Multilingual Matters, cop.
Curran, V. Comparative Law and Language. in: M. Reimann and R. Zimmermann
(Eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Law. Oxford & New York: Oxford
University Press. pp
Doczekalska, A. Drafting or Translation – Production of Multilingual Legal Texts.
in: F. Olsen, A. Lorz, & D. Stein (Eds.) Translation Issues in Language and
Law. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: PALGRAVE & MacMillan.
Gilmore, B. The EU Framework Decision on the European Arrest Warrant: An
Overview from the Perspective of International Criminal Law. ERA-Forum, No.
3, pp.
Górski, A., Sakowicz A. Prawo Karne Procesowe: Europejski nakaz aresztowania
– nowy instrument Unii europejskiej w walce z przestępczością. Edukacja
Prawnicza, Nr 4(61), kwiecień
Groot, G.-R. de. Problems of Legal translation from the Point of View of a
Comparative Lawyer. in: Netherlands Reports to the Twelfth International
Congress of Comparative Law. The Hague: T.M.C. Asser Institute. pp
Groot, G.-R. de, Legal Translation. In: Smits, J.M. (Ed.), Elgar Encyclopedia of
Comparative Law. funduszeue.info: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. pp.

Großfeld, B. Kernfragen der Rechtsvergleichung. in: V. Grosswald Curran (Ed.)
Comparative Law: An Introduction. Durham North Carolina: Carolina
Academic Press. pp. ;
Hofmański, P., et al. (Eds.) Europejski Nakaz Aresztowania w teorii i praktyce
państw członkowskich Unii Europejskiej. Warszawa: Wolter Kluwer Polska Sp.
z o.o.
26
[Wpisz tekst]

Hofstede, G. Culture‟s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviours, Institutions

and Organizations Across Nations, Thousand Oaks/London/New Delhi: Sage
Publications International Educational and Professional Publisher.
Holliday, A., et al., (Eds.) Intercultural Communication: an Advanced Resource
Book. London and New York: Routledge.
Jandt, F.E. An Introduction to Intercultural Communication: Identities in a Global
Community. Thousand Oaks/London/New Delhi: SAGEPublications, Inc.
Jopek-Bosiacka, A. Przekład prawny i sądowy. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo
Naukowe PWN.
Joseph, E. J.. Indeterminacy, Translation and the Law in Translation and the Law.
In: M. Morris (Ed.) Translation and the Law. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John
Benjamins Publishing Company.
Kielar, B. Language of the Law in the Aspect of Translation. Warszawa:
Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego.
Kierzkowska, D. Tłumaczenie prawnicze. Warszawa: TEPIS.
Lyons, J. Language and Linguistics: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Mellinkoff, D., The language of the Law. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.
Munday, J. Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications. London
and New York: Routledge
Nord, Ch. Translating as a Purposeful Activity: Functionalist Approach Explained.
Manchester, UK & Northampton MA: St. Jerome Publishing.
Nord, Ch. Text Analysis in Translation: Theory, Methodology, and Didactic
Application of Model for Translation-Oriented Text Analysis” second edition.
Amsterdam-New York: Rodopi B. V.
Pérignon, I., Bauc C. The European Arrest Warrant: a Growing Success funduszeue.info:
ERA Academy of European Law, No. 8: pp.
Pisarska, A., Tomaszkiewicz T. Współczesne tendencje przekładoznawcze. Poznań:
Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Adama Mickiewicza.
Sager, J.C. Language Engineering and Translation Consequences of Automation.
Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Sapir, E. Culture, Language and Personality. in: D.G. Mandelbaum, (Ed.):
Selected Essays. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Ńarčević S. New Approach to Legal Translation. The Hague: Kluwer Law
International.
Snell-Hornby, M. Translation Studies An Integrated Approach.
Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

27
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
Scollon R. and Wong Scollon S. Intercultural Communication A Discourse
Approach Second Edition. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Snell-Hornby, M. The Turns of Translation Studies New paradigms or shifting
viewpoints. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Tiersma, P.M. Legal Language. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Vermeer, H.J. A Skopos Theory of Translation (Some arguments for and against).
Heildelberg: TextconText.
Wagner, E., Bech, S., and Martínez, J.M. Translating for the European Union
Institutions. Manchester, UK and Northampton MA: St. Jerome Publishing.
Whorf, B. Language, Thought, and Reality. in: J.B. Carroll (Ed.) Selected Writings
of Benjamin Lee Whorf. The United States of America: The Massachusetts
Institute of Technology.
Zweigert, K. and Kötz, H. An Introduction to Comparative Law. Oxford:
Clarendon Press.

28
[Wpisz tekst]

MISFIRES OF CROSS-CULTURAL LEGAL

COMMUNICATION IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF J.
AUSTIN AND J. LANGSHAW AUSTIN

Dear interpreter, no matter what You do,

no matter how You try,
somewhere sometime
You are bound
to fall short of excellence.
For a reasonable interpreter
there is only room
between two flexible poles:
―highly approvable‖ and ―acceptable‖
– with no place for ―perfect‖

Sergey KOROLEV
Doctor juris habil., Head of the Comparative Law Department at the State and Law
Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow),
scientific supervisor and long-standing interpreter at the German-Russian Centre of Legal
Studies (Moscow-Muenster).
, State and Law Institute, Znamenka str. 10, Moscow
[email protected]

Abstract: The article is meant to serve both theory and practice in the cross-roads area where legal
theory meets linguistic philosophy. The legal perspective is represented by the famous command
theory of John Austin, who is often regarded as the founding father of anglo-american branch of
legal positivism. The linguistic perspective is represented by the speech acts theory elaborated by
John Langshaw Austin.
It is argued that the command theory is only of marginal use for any process of cross-
cultural legal communication. The reason behind this argument is that the command theory is
grossly reductionist in its nature (―colonel – lieutenant‖) and cannot therefore embrace a trilateral
reality of cross-cultural legal communication (speech originator – interpreter – audience). But the
imperative theory may be useful if applied to ―misfires‖ of the whole process of legal oral
translation. By transforming the said trilateral reality to any dichotomy in the sense of the command
theory, i.e. by bracketing together any two of the said agents and by insulating the third one- we
inevitably arrive at some sort of ―misfire‖ or even collapse of the whole procedure. Further the
common view is challenged that the only source of such ―misfires‖ lies in poor quality of
interpretation. It is argued that both the speech originator and even somehow inadequate audience
may share the final failure.
The eventual outcome of the article may be described as an attempted synthesis of the
speech acts theory of John Langshaw Austin and sociology of law as elaborated by German
professor Werner Krawietz. The interdisciplinary approach to discussed ―misfires‖ of cross-cultural
legal communication resulted in formulating a series of bilateral rules, which are obligatory both

29
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
for the speech originator and the interpreter if the most unacceptable ―misfires‖ of legal oral
translation are to be avoided.

«ОСЕЧКИ» КРОСС - КУЛЬТУРНОЙ ЮРИДИЧЕСКОЙ КОММУНИКАЦИИ В

ПЕРСПЕКТИВЕ ДЖОНА ОСТИНА И ДЖОНА ЛЭНГШО ОСТИНА

Abstract: Статья носит одновременно теоретический и прикладной характер. В ней

предпринята попытка совместить юридическую и лингвистическую перспективу при
анализе кросс – культурной юридической коммуникации. Юридическая перспектива
представлена императивной теорией Джона Остина - родоначальника англо-американской
версии юридического позитивизма. Лингвистическая перспектива представлена теорией
речевых актов яркого представителя лингвистической философии Джона Лэнгшо Остина.
Показано, что императивная теория ввиду ее крайне редукционистского характера
(«начальник – подчиненный») не может полностью охватить характер отношений типа
«лектор – переводчик - аудитория». Все три агента являются авторами конечного продукта,
т.е. удавшейся лекции. Однако императивная теория полезна при анализе различных
редукционистских констелляции, в который один из трех агентов может быть выведен «за
скобки» как величина, которою можно пренебречь. Критикуется распространенная точка
зрения, что в неудачах юридического перевода всегда повинны переводчики. Нередко они
разделяют вину с «носителем первичного текста» и даже с не вполне адекватной
аудиторией.
В заключении предпринята попытка конвергенции теории речевых актов Джона
Лэнгшо Остина и социологии права в духе Вернера Кравица. Разработаны билатеральные
правила устного перевода, которые без ущерба для процесса кросс-культурной юридической
коммуникации не могут игнорировать ни носитель первичного текста, ни его переводчик.

This article deals with the so called grey zone in which any legal interpreter may
find himself in the process of oral translation of foreign lecture on law. Our main concern
is a phenomenon of procedural ―misfires‖ in cross-cultural interaction of national legal
cultures, which is likely to take place during oral translation of any foreign lecture. These
misfires may have their origin in slightly different meanings of national technical terms
(for example, ―contract‖ versus ―Vertrag‖) or in the absence of any reliable analogy for a
term to be translated. Thus, the meaning of the term ―Zumutbarkeit‖ may be rendered in
Russian only by means of description, not by designation. The difference of some basic
principles, which may play similar roles in different legal cultures, may have divergent
ideological or metaphysical origins (for example, ―rule of law‖ versus ―Rechtsstaat‖).
There are, of course, many practical difficulties, which fall into the realm of
what may be called sociology of legal interpretation. Thus, it may occur - and indeed
often does - that the interpreter must stick to the point notwithstanding the fact that the
initial speaker is ―carried away‖ into the realm of metaphor and – more or less –
irrelevant examples.
It is argued that a theoretical base for coping with problems of this kind may be
the speech acts theory of John Langshaw Austin. In some respect there is a strong
correlation between the said theory and the legal command theory of another and earlier
John Austin - the founder of the anglo-american version of legal positivism.
Although this article deals primarily with a theoretical problem of partial cross-
cultural incongruities, which may confront any legal interpreter, some preliminary
remarks of ideological nature would not be altogether out of place. One often alludes to
30
[Wpisz tekst]

intrinsic and more or less obvious subservient features of any oral translation, or
interpretation. It is often acknowledged or even taken for granted by interpreters
themselves. ―We are bound to sing an alien song‖ – this is what a professional interpreter
said to me on one occasion, when quite on the contrary I tried to communicate my
sympathy to his vocation. My today`s comment on this remark would be as follows:
―Woe is him who cannot prevent his structural alienation from infecting the process of
interpretation itself‖.
The same problem we are likely to encounter if we regard the general attitude to
legal oral translation of academic discourse. Not only laywomen and laymen outside
legal professions, but also lawyers and lecturers on law tend to regard legal academic
interpretation as kind of subaltern activity always open to criticism and suspicion.
This special (―professor-like‖) arrogance I would like to challenge partly from
within, while lending arguments from the scientific legacy of John Austin (),
who is sometimes regarded as the founder of legal positivism in its Anglo-American
version. In this article I would refer to him as Austin ―I‖.
On the other part, I would like to challenge the ontological dualism (the legacy
of Platon), which may be pernicious to the process of legal interpretation, if the agents
concerned overtly or tacitly confess this sort of philosophical belief. In this part of my
endeavor I would like to lend arguments from another Austin ( – ), who is one
of the founder of the so called speech acts theory. I would refer to him as Austin ―II‖.

Command theory and early legal positivism

I would like to begin with the famous command theory of Austin ―I‖. More
specifically, I will try to probe the validity of the Austin`s ―I‖ dichotomy ―superiors vs.
inferiors‖ which lends itself to be part of a legal interpretation theory. At least we may
regard this dichotomy as a rough conceptual base for any relevant interaction between the
speech originator and the interpreter. Moreover, let us accept the possible correlation
between the dichotomy ―speech originator vs. interpreter‖ on the one hand, and the
juxtaposition ―master – apprentice‖, or even ―colonel vs. lieutenant‖, on the other 1.
There are at least three aspects of Austin`s ―I‖ life and his intellectual
background, which may be useful for our brief research:
i. influence of his teacher Jeremy Bentham
ii. his brief life episode as a military officer
iii. his (tacit) identification of law and (political) might
We have to reduce the Bentham`s theoretical legacy to his famous principle of
utility2, which is but the pragmatic consequence of the main axiom of utilitarianism
(―mankind is placed under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure‖).
According to this initial axiom human beings inevitably try to minimize anything leading

1
One influential philosopher was almost cynical in his assessment of translators and interpreters
when he said, that all original texts are produced by great minds, but these texts are always to be
translated by small minds.
2
Bentham
31
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
to pain and to maximize anything leading to pleasure. Despite the initial duality (pain
versus pleasure) utilitarianism is monistic in its instrumental dimension: it is solely
pleasure, or happiness that counts with the notion of pain serving as a contrastive term to,
or the logical negation of the dominant criterion of pleasure.
It is worth noting that in this perspective the term ―utilitarian legislation‖ would be
an utter tautology, because according to Bentham there is no foundation for rational
legislation beyond the boundaries of the principle of utility. Moreover the term
―utilitarian legislation‖ is synonymous with the term ―law‖ as such making the term
―natural law‖ void of any meaning and instrumentality. Natural law doctrines eo ipso lose
not only their value ―pretensions‖ but also their content and sense.
It is in this anti-natural law bias that the influence of Jeremy Bentham is mostly
felt in the writings of John Austin ―I‖. It is the human legislator, i.e. a legislative body
who is the sole sovereign having the authority to determine what is the sum total of
human happiness (individually as well as collectively) and how this happiness is to be
achieved. Abstract natural law principles have no say in this endeavor. Translating this
original Bentham`s approach into realities of military life Austin ―I‖ found out that there
remains only one instrument worth sticking to if we are serious enough about the
utilitarian goal, and this instrument is a command.
Through Bentham`s influence Austin's ―I‖ command theory may be regarded as a
reductionist relapse beyond John Locke`s constitutionalism. Like Hobbes both Bentham
and Austin ―I‖ confess voluntarism as a motivation force of any human legislation. No
wonder that Austin`s ―I‖ command theory has little in common with the Rule of Law
principle.3 Public government strictly speaking is not subject to law. The government
agencies use law as an instrument of power in the first place, not as an instrument of
―justice‖ or other natural law concepts.
Against this conceptual background we may now lean ourselves trying to
transplant the Austin`s ―I‖ command theory into a legal interpretation context. The main
concern for us is legal academic interpretation and more specifically the process of
consecutive translation of lectures on legal subjects. Legal interpretation may be defined
here as a set of interactions between the primary agent, or the speech originator and the
secondary agent, or interpreter.
It is obvious, that Austin`s ―I‖ command theory may be understood as a series of
tacit commands of the speech originator addressed to the interpreter who is bound to meet
the originator`s tacit expectations. But there is always another sort of the speech
originator expectations, which aim at the audience. Thus, two different sets of the speech
originator expectations are always at play, although they are often of different importance
to the speech originator himself.
In one case more attention may be attached to the ―quality‖ of the interpreter. In
another case the ―quality‖ of the audience weighs more heavily in the eyes of the speech
originator. As we see in our case, the Austin`s ―I‖ assumed bilateral relation between the
―superior‖ (officer) and the ―inferior‖ (soldier) is inevitably transformed into a trilateral
relation (the speech originator – the interpreter – the audience). In any case the audience
as such is likely to preserve the black box characteristics even if the speech originator

3
Cotterell , 70
32
[Wpisz tekst]

makes attempts to establish and maintain some sort of feedback with individual
representatives of the audience.
Although there is no way to eliminate this black box feature of the audience
altogether, it is the interpreter – not the ―defective‖ audience – often a target of the
speech originator critique if no proper contact with the audience is established. This
critique often makes sense if the initially established contact with the audience is
constantly diminishing. And this disconnection between the poor impact of the
interpretation and the high quality of the original speech holds on despite the certitude of
the speech originator that the audience was always carried away just at this stage of his
presentation.
But if we approach this problem rationally it becomes obvious that the axiom ―the
interpreter is always to blame‖ does not hold water. In any trilateral interaction each of
the three may be initially responsible for any such failure. Again this responsibility may
be of alternate nature: either the interpreter (which is, of course, most often the case) or
the audience or – alas! – the speech originator himself has to stand up for the poor
outcome. In the most disastrous case the responsibility may be of cumulative, or
collective nature: each of the three agents of this sort of communication may fail actual
expectations of the other two.
At this stage of our investigation we have to make further corrections of the
Austin`s ―I‖ command theory. We come to a paradoxical and – for legal positivists
perhaps – absurd question: Does a term “sovereign”, or “superior” make sense in our
trilateral interaction process?
If this question must be answered in the affirmative, then we are bound to ask
another question: How should we locate this sovereign? If the sovereign is the speech
originator - as Austin ―I‖ himself would have it – then again at least three insurmountable
difficulties remain:
1. What commands of the speech originator can ―call to order‖ an obviously
mismatched interpreter? For example, how can an English professor of law ―control‖ a
highly skilled Russian interpreter who notwithstanding his general qualification lacks the
knowledge of technical terms either in Legal English, or Legal Russian or both? Even if
the English professor in our case knows some legal terms in Russian, it will be of no use
to improve the overall quality of translation even at the expense of the interpreter`s
reputation…
2. How can a young master of law in his function as a speech originator control his
elder interpreter who is good both at general and legal interpretation, because he is
professor of law in his own country and is years ahead of his counterpart as a scientific
researcher? In some respect this is an inversion of the previous case: it is the speech
originator, not the interpreter, who may be a ―mismatch‖ here…
3. How can the speech originator have the audience at his command, if we regard
the process of interpretation as a rational interaction flow in the first place and
consequently put aside such factors as ―charisma‖, ―psychological subjugation‖ etc.?
Now we may conclude, that there is no place for the notion of sovereign or
superior within the legal interpretation process. All depends on the circumstances of the
individual case. In many cases the speech originator is or at least thinks to be a
33
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
―sovereign‖ of the whole process. In other cases it may be the ―capricious‖ audience,
which dominates the speech originator.4 In not so exceptional and– I would say – critical
cases the interpreter would take the lead, for example, in order to save the whole
endeavor from the impending disaster.
So we can find alternative and more appropriate terms in sociology of law. They
are ―interaction system‖ or ―cross-cultural communication system‖, the latter being the
matrix of the first. We may coin an abbreviation for the second term (the system of 3Cs).
In other words we may find lots of various interaction systems (IS) within the more
prolonged and institutionalized system of 3Cs.
Conclusion Nr 1: Only reliable functioning of the system of 3Cs counts with all
three ―subjects‖ (the speech originator – the interpreter – the audience) submerged and
depersonalized in it.
Conclusion Nr 2: The term ―command‖ makes some sense only on the level of
the whole system, but it is more appropriate to use the neutral term ―rule‖ instead.
Rule Nr 1 of the system of 3Cs: The interpreter may not substitute the speech
originator in principle.
Rule Nr 2 of the system of 3Cs: The speech originator may not substitute the
interpreter in principle, either.
Rule Nr 3 of the system of 3Cs: With two unknown quantities (the interpreter +
the audience) the ―interpreter risk‖ tends to be more crucial than the ―audience risk‖ for
the speech originator. Hence a reasonable speech originator would adapt himself to the
intellectual horizon and the specific style of the actual interpreter with only marginal
heed to the ―intellectual horizon‖ of the audience.
Rule Nr 4 of the system of 3Cs: With two unknown quantities(the speech
originator+ the audience) the ―speech originator risk‖ tends to be more crucial than the
―audience risk‖ for the interpreter. Hence a reasonable interpreter would adapt himself to
the intellectual horizon and the specific style of the actual speech originator with only
marginal heed to the ―intellectual horizon‖ of the audience.
Rule Nr 5 of the system of 3Cs: If the interaction system ―the speech originator –
the interpreter‖ is successfully established, the factor ―audience‖ loses most of its initial
relevance.
Rule Nr 6 of the system of 3Cs: Any rupture of the interaction system ―the speech
originator – the interpreter‖ may drastically spiral up the ―audience risk‖ which may
result in the final miscarriage of the whole endeavor.

Speech acts theory and misfires of oral legal communication

Let us now try the speech acts theory of Austin ―II‖. He begins with an analysis
of the conventional statement theory, with its distinction between
i. true statements and
ii. false statements.5

4
By the way it is not inevitable that the interpreter follows the speech originator in his servility
towards the audience.
5
Austin J.L
34
[Wpisz tekst]

According to the initial presumption of Austin ―II‖ neither all possible utterances
may be called ―statements‖ in the proper sense, nor the distinction between ―true‖ and
―false‖ is always intended by the speaker in the first place. This initial presumption is
then presented by Austin ―II‖ in the dichotomy:
i. constatives and
ii. performatives.
Constatives have to designate or describe facts, so constatives may be true or false.
Performatives are ―speaker-centered‖ action-utterances, like promises, bets, damnations,
congratulations etc. Any meaningful constative both makes sense and has a reference.
The constative ―His son is bald‖ makes sense but if he happens to have no son in fact,
this constative has no meaning.
If we stick to this Austinian distinction, it becomes clear that many abstract legal
terms (for example, the English fiction of a reasonable person or the German principle of
Menschenwuerde, or human dignity) may be criticized as being void of meaning. Here
we are confronted with the first procedural misfire of oral legal translation: ―The flow of
constatives (i.e. statements to the point) acquire performative aspects at the moment
where the speech originator uses an abstract term, like ―equity‖, ―reasonable person‖,
culpa in contrahendo‖ etc. But no lecturer on law can do without such highly abstract
terms lacking any actual reference. It is impossible for the interpreter to strictly
discriminate between constatives and performatives in the target language if this
discrimination is not intended in the source language.
It may further occur that all of a sudden the speech originator implants in his
constative context a ―pure performative‖, for example changing from the role of a
lecturer into that of a judge or a barrister. He may do it quite consciously but without any
hint to the interpreter. Thus, the interpreter must be vigilant enough to grasp this sudden
change of the course from an object-oriented content of the lecture to the speaker-
oriented utterance(s).
Here we are confronted with the second procedural misfire of oral legal
translation: ―The content of a lecture on law to be translated has always two ―horizons‖: a
horizon of constatives and a horizon of performatives. But the actual interpreter may not
be in position to timely take heed of this sudden change of horizons in the source
language. In other words, one never knows which of the two horizons will prevail in the
course of oral legal translation.‖
Moreover, neither the speech originator nor the interpreter may be conscious of
that. The interpreter is usually better equipped in linguistics but even so he never knows
i. whether the speech originator is inclined to minimize or – on
the contrary – to maximize production of performatives and
ii. whether he has a rational plan to timely switch from
constatives to performatives during the course of his lecture
and vice versa.
The lecture in fact may be structured around a set of performatives, each initiating
a more or less prolonged series of constatives. However, more often a performative may
be used as a closing remark or a clarifying example of a series of constatives.

35
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
In his later research Austin ―II‖ found out that it is almost impossible to strictly
differentiate between the constatives and performatives and he further elaborated his
initial dichotomy into a version of speech acts theory. In this theory he discriminates
three types of utterances:
i. locutions (object-centered utterances)
ii. illocutions (speaker-centered utterances) and
iii. perlocutions (audience-centered utterances).
According to Austin‖II‖ almost any utterance may have three dimensions
simultaneously. For example, the utterance ―There is some difference between the rule of
law principle and the principle of ―Rechtsstaat‖ (=locution) may be easily transformed
into ―I insist that there is some difference between the rule of law principle and the
principle of ―Rechtsstaat‖ (=illocution) and into ―You can not challenge the fact that there
is some difference between the rule of law principle and the principle of ―Rechtsstaat‖
(=perlocution).
Almost any defect of the utterance at its ―locutionary level‖ may infect both its
illocutionary and perlocutionary levels. The complicated interaction between the source
language and the target language in oral legal translation may further aggravate or – on
the contrary - heal this situation. Thus, in many ―normal checks‖ and ―minor
misunderstandings‖ between the speech originator and the interpreter it is not the
interpreter, who is always to blame, although he is rightly presumed to be so.
The content of the originator`s speech is likely to make sense to the public if and
only if at least two preconditions are met:
i. The speech originator`s assumptions about the scope of motivation and
mental capacity of the audience do not ―misfire‖, i.e. the originator has
managed to properly identify motives and expectations of the audience
ii. The speech originator of the legal academic speech is flexible enough to
adapt himself and his speech to the projected reasonable wants of the actual
audience.

Model rules for oral legal translation

Rule 1: The process of interpretation needs a short warming up in order to

establish an intentional state of mind of the interpreter, or the speech originator -
centered interpreter`s congeniality (SOCIC).
Rule 2: The SOCIC may need a preliminary casual phase of a speech originator
- interpreter interaction for further formal cooperation.
Rule 3: The SOCIC yields the best results if it penetrates the subconscious of the
interpreter`s mind.
Rule 4: The SOCIC is secured when the interpreter`s mind has shifted to a light
trans-like state.
Rule 5: The items of the source language are restructured by the interpreter as a
set of contextual units of the target language.
Rule 6: Each contextual unit of the source language coincides with one or more
interpretable units of the target language, they may reduce or – on the contrary – exceed
the length of the speech units of the source language.

36
[Wpisz tekst]

Rule 7: The borders of each interpretable unit are fixed by the interpreter, not be
the speech originator.
Rule 8: The speech originator and his interpreter interact in such a way, as to
mutually adapt the length of the original item of the source language and the
corresponding item of the target language.
Rule 9: The interpreter translates the meaning of the interpretable unit. If the
term is meaningless, he translates only a more or less approximate ―dictionary sense‖ of
the term.
Rule If the interpreter loses the control of the context, he switches from the
translation of contextual units to the word-by-word translation, with a reasonable hope
that the audience is able to get the meaning all the same despite the rupture of the SOCIC.
Rule The interpreter activates a special feed-back technique in order to
restore the SOCIC.
Rule The above-mentioned feed-back technique may amount to a contextual
question, meaning to evoke the elucidation of the whole, not the missed part from the
speech originator.

Bibiliography

Austin, John, The Province of Jurisprudence Determined. W. Rumble (ed.),

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (first published in ).
Austin, J.L. How To Do Things With Words. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Bentham, Jeremy (/), An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and
Legislation. J. H. Burns & H.L.A. Hart, eds., Oxford: Oxford University Press
(first published in ).
Bix, Brian H. On the Dividing Line Between Natural Law Theory and Legal
Positivism. Notre Dame Law Review –
Cotterell, R. The Politics of Jurisprudence: A Critical Introduction to Legal
Philosophy. 2nd ed. London: LexisNexis.
Krawietz, W., Recht als Regelsystem. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag.

37
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/

38
[Wpisz tekst]

A STUDY OF INMATE ARGOT

IN ROMANIAN PRISONS
Prof. Lavinia NĂDRAG, Ph.D
Ovidius University, Constanţa
[email protected]
Manuela STROESCU, Ph.D

Abstract: The lexis and structure of prison argot reflect the personalities of inmates who employ
them, as well as the conflicts and tensions inherent in prison settings. It is shown in this article that
the distinctiveness of prison argot is largely a product of the character of penal context. Its extent of
use varies with the extent of penal discipline. Appreciation of this complex relationship might
facilitate improved communication between prisoners and custodial authorities. In addition,
knowledge of prison argot meanings has a potential to improve the management of prison-based
programs and thus appears helpful in the complex process of prisoners' rehabilitation and social
reintegration.

UN STUDIU ASUPRA ARGOULUI DIN PENITENCIARELE ROMÂNEŞTI

Rezumat: Lexicul şi structura argoului din închisori reflectă atât personalitatea condamnaţilor care
le utilizează, cât şi conflictele şi tensiunile inerente în închisori. În acest articol, se arată că
particularităţile argoului din închisori sunt, în mare măsură, un produs al caracterului contextului
penal. Utilizarea sa variază în funcţie de disciplina penală. Cunoaşterea acestei relaţii complexe ar
putea facilita comunicarea dintre persoanele private de libertate şi autorităţile care le au în custodie.
În plus, cunoaşterea sensurilor argoului penitenciar are potenţialul de a îmbunătăţi managementul
programelor din penitenciar şi, astfel, poate fi de mare ajutor în procesul complex de reabilitare şi
reintegrare socială a condamnaţilor.

Key words: study, argot, slang, inmate, prison

1. An obvious reason for choosing to concentrate on slang is because slang itself

has become a controversial and spectacular social and linguistic phenomenon - it has
gone global and it is one of the most important linguistic tools and verbal communication
methods of people.
Slang pervades speech alarmingly and its popularity can be measured by the
rush of journalists, politicians and promulgators of popular culture to take up the latest
word or phrase to spice up a newspaper headline, defy speech, an advertisement or a
television script. On the other hand, prescriptive guardians of standard language and
morality complain of slang's "degrading" effect on public discourse and culture. Slang is
unconventional, hard-hitting, metaphorical, colloquial, sometimes vulgar and always
innovative. With slang, each generation or subculture group has the chance to shape and
propagate its own lexicon, and in so doing, to exercise originality and imagination.
The recorded slangs of the past have been characterised by Halliday () in
terms of 'antilanguages', the secretive codes of transgressive or deviant subcultures -
39
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
criminals, beggars, travelling entertainers - with their salient features of relexicalisation
and overlexicalisation.
The world has been radically transformed by immigration, industrialization,
urbanization and mass communication. Because of these changes slang has permeated
everyday speech.
Sociolinguists have focused on the role of adolescent slangs in the construction
of social identity, among, for example, street gangs or high school students (Labov ,
Eckert ), showing how acceptance into and exclusion from peer-groups is mediated
by slang nomenclature and terminology. Researchers into slang usage have tended to
concentrate on the links between language and hierarchies, status and deployment of
social capital.
Eble () has shown that the slang of middle-class college students is more
complex and less a product of alienation than has been assumed in the past. Her
recordings of interactions reveal that the selective and conscious use of slang itself is only
part of a broader repertoire of style-shifting in conversation, not primarily to enforce
opposition to authority, secretiveness or social discrimination, but often for the purposes
of bonding and 'sociability' through playfulness.
There are now local hybrids - not only in the English lexis - often incorporating
alongside the pervasive effects of dominant inner-circle varieties such as the high school
argot propagated by Hollywood movies and TV soaps, and the black street codes of rap
and hip-hop. The concept of authenticity is complicated by the development in the media
and in literature of pseudo-slangs. So called virtual or electronic literacies developing for
the Internet, email or text messaging have generated new slangs and an enormous
proliferation of websites designed to decode them.
2. Slang's primary reason for being is to establish a sense of commonality among
its speakers. When slang is used, there is a subtext to the primary message which speaks
about the speaker's and listeners' membership in the same "tribe". Slang plays a critical
role whether it delineates winner (e.g. the Romanian forms bastan, barosan; Diesel, cool,
trendy) from loser (defect, distrus, terminat), or oppressor (bazat, ciumec, faraon, mascul
alfa, patron, şmecher) from oppressed ( retard).
Slang is much more effective than standard language when it comes to
describing sports, sex, intoxication, economy, religion or even foreign policy. Informal
and spoken rather than formal and written, slang is not the same as dialect, nor is it equal
to swearing, although it may take on a vulgar edge, and it almost always evokes negative
attitudes.
Slang is also known for its fertility; it reproduces itself in abundance with each
new generation. At any given moment, there are many slang words and expressions in
use across the country. By a semantic process akin to natural selection, only the strong
terms or phrases survive, spreading from the regional, cultural, age or ethnic group in
which they are coined. The rest are quickly discarded and forgotten (Astaloş ).
Some of the factors that are the most likely to produce slang are youth,
oppression, sports and vice. They provide an impetus to coin and use slang for different
sociolinguistic reasons. Most slang coinages are local in both time and place; much of it,
like other cultural phenomena, originates in large cities. What differentiates slang from
other categories of speech (such as jargon or argot) is one's reasons for using it.

40
[Wpisz tekst]

Eric Partridge () identifies several reasons for using slang, including the
desire to be different, novel, or picturesque; to enrich the language; to engage in
playfulness; to identify oneself with a certain school, trade, or social class; to reduce or
disperse the pomposity or excessive seriousness of an occasion; to be secret. Slang is
always used self-consciously, with a desire to create a particular identity.
3. The previous reluctance of Romanian scholars in the 's to admit slang
terms has given way to a slight tendency of embracing this informal level of lexis.
English etymology would place vocabulary labelled fam., pop. and vulg. in Romanian
under the general heading slang. The term argot has distinguishably passed into English
by being more secret, less public, less generally available and "less respectable"
(Edwards 23). Slang and argot possess low social value, but it seems that slang has
a highly significant role to play in the linguistic life of the community. Some researchers
consider that the rigid codification of the standard language triggers a proliferation of
non-standard forms. These "deviant" forms cannot be ignored by linguists.
Slang has been approached differently. Romanian researchers A. Stoichiţoiu-
Ichim () and R. Zafiu (), for example, demonstrate the interest contained in the
morphology of contemporary Romanian slang. Traditional interest in slang is heavily
prescriptive, being preoccupied with grading colloquial words according to their fitness
for use in polite society. Argot has received close attention, being a field of enquiry rich
in the exotic and the bizarre, and it has been studied with enthusiastic intensity elsewhere.
For sociolinguists, the colloquial, vernacular usage, far from being something to
be eliminated, is the main focus of interest. Variation in language, instead of being an
accidental, dysfunctional element which impedes efficient communication, and which
should be suppressed, is crucial to the effective functioning of a language. Three features
of language variation are taken as axiomatic by sociolinguists {see Labov ):
(i) Variability is inherent in language and central to its social role. Without it we
would be incapable of communicating all types of nuances in our everyday use of
language, in particular, vital information about our personal identity;
(ii) There are no natural breaks between language varieties, no pure
homogeneous styles and dialects, no neat word boxes, only gradations along social and
stylistic continua;
(iii) Language variation is emphatically not "free". It is not randomly occurring
or
linguistically redundant. It correlates in a complex but nevertheless structured way with
factors outside language, speaker variables like age, sex, social class, etc., and situational
variables like the degree of formality, the relationship with the addressee, etc. Slang is
also a self-therapy, the defence of the ego against the oppressing community.
Little is known, however, about how slang is used as part of everyday spoken
and written discourse. Survey-based studies tend to present their findings in the form of a
mini-lexicon or glossary, in which terms are listed alphabetically and definitions are
supplied by the researcher on the basis of survey responses. A more discourse-centered
approach can redress some of the omissions of earlier scholarship.
In discourse, slang is a resource that speakers use to lay claim to a variety of
identities based on age, region, race and ethnicity, and subcultural participation, as well
41
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
as to achieve particular local goals in interaction. And it is within discourse that the
meaning of slang terms emerges - both at the semantic level of sense and reference and at
the semiotic level of speakers' identities, ideologies, and practices.
4. In considering slang as a discursive phenomenon, this paper expands on
traditional approaches to the lexicon within sociolinguistics, in which lexical items from
a particular semantic field (e.g. kinship, metalinguistics) or linguistic variety (e.g., slang,
regional Romanian) are extracted from discourse and organized in the form of an
inventory or taxonomy. As scholars are well aware, however, linguistic phenomena are
not decontextualized structures but contextually embedded social practices (an insight to
which our lexical research contributed).
The present study (see Stroescu ) builds on the insights of previous
researchers to argue that by its very nature, slang is a rich resource both for the
negotiation of meaning and for the production of social and interactional identities linked
to these meanings. Slang is particularly well suited to the construction of identity for
several reasons. First, as part of the lexicon, it operates above the level of conscious
awareness and thus is easily used and recognized. Second, as one of the most socially
meaningful kinds of lexis, it can provide nuanced and detailed information about the
speaker's identity. And third, because it is prone to rapid change, its progress across the
social terrain can be tracked with relative ease.
The elicitation of slang is an invaluable source of ideologies relating to social
identities, particularly language ideologies. In addition, we found evidence for slang use
in practice in prisoners'vernacular writing such as diaries, letters, graffiti, and personal
notes, as well as in the observation and recording of interaction. The combination of
ideology-based and practice-based perspectives revealed the multifunctionality of slang
in the discursive construction of various kinds of identity among inmates at a Romanian
penitentiary. The main characteristics of the prison environment and confinement life are
mirrored in prisoners' communication and argot. Our study shows that an inmate argot
exists in Romanian prisons and its components significantly derive of prisoners' inner
world. Prisoners develop their own system of norms, values, and behaviors which serves
as the core of inmate subculture. Communication in prisons is accomplished both through
common language and through argot, the prisoners' own language (inmate jargon) that
conveys its specific messages and defines its rules and behaviors. Moreover, mastery of
argot reflects the personal background of a criminal and their status in prison.

METHOD
The design of the study was intentionally flexible to accommodate the data as
they emerged and, thereby, enhance both the quality and the authenticity of the findings
(see Briggs, ). This approach allowed access to contents that were not anticipated a
priori and exploration of the research topic from the standpoint of the research
population, namely, the inmates (see Silvermann ).
The contextual-dynamic method was used to collect information from the inmate
participants. This method is mainly concerned with observation and dialogues (see
Slama- Cazacu, , , ). The interview was based on general guidelines to
ensure that all those being interviewed would be subject to similar stimuli and, thereby,
allow for a common base for data analysis.
POPULATION
42
[Wpisz tekst]

The participants in the study consisted of 20 randomly selected Romanian-

speaking male prisoners serving different term sentences (between 1 and 10 years) in the
Romanian prison system.
PROCEDURE
The interviews were held in different locations and at different time sessions,
each lasting from lo minutes to approximately 1 hour. Interviewees were encouraged to
share their experiences with the interviewer in a setting conducive to a sense of
interpersonal involvement. The concerned parts of the interviews were written down with
the consent of the interviewees.
DATA ANALYSIS
In view of their essentially qualitative nature, the data were subjected to content
analysis (see Strauss & Corbin ; Weber ). The argot terms were divided into six
main categories: (a) prisoner status (informers, inmate rank), (b) drugs, (c) sexual
relations in the prison, (d) violence, (e) nicknames for police officers and prison staff, and
(f) other.
We assessed the importance assigned to a given category or topic as reflected by
its connotation (e.g., positive, negative) and the number of terms assigned to it (see
Krippendorff ). The analysis is, therefore, essentially thematic and based on
categorization of content areas. This system serves to pinpoint the most salient norms and
values of the inmate code and the thinking patterns that typify the research population.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The findings showed that an inmate argot clearly exists in Romanian prisons.
Over argot terms were identified. The unique nature of the argot terms and
expressions is clearly demonstrated by the fact that virtually none of them are to be found
in the pages of a regular Romanian dictionary, nor in the very few ("general") slang
dictionaries existent in Romania.
• PRISONER STATUS: INFORMERS, INMATE RANK
A significant number of argot expressions reflected the importance of loyalty
and adherence to the inmate behavioral code such as "never to inform on a fellow
inmate". Argot expressions related to this aspect of the prison subculture were associated
with high intensity: at least ten different terms were used to describe informers. This high
intensity reflects the strong negative sanctions applied for infraction of this code (verbal
and physical violence, social isolation, withholding food, withdrawal of commodities
such as cigarettes and drugs).
On the other side of the same coin, eight expressions were identified describing
prisoners who adhere to the code and never betray their prison mates. Such inmates
(called "right guys" or "good guys" in the US) are characterized not only by loyalty to the
code of conduct but also by their ability to stay "cool", maintain their selfrespect, never
show weakness, and help other prisoners, irrespective of the severity of sanctions
imposed on them by the custodial staff.
This point is very important in view of personal benefits - psychological and
social - stemming from opposition to prison policies. Such prisoners gain satisfaction
from active or passive acts against the prison authorities. The aim of such acts is not to
"win" but to demonstrate a degree of personal autonomy. In return, they are held in high
43
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
esteem by their fellowinmates and, over the course of time, may become leaders or
arbitrators.
• DRUGS
Prison inmates naturally seek out ways to compensate themselves for the "pains
of imprisonment" (see Bondesson ); hence, the active, albeit covert, commodity
market within the prison. Participation in the market also serves an important
psychological function for inmates -creating a sense of control over their destiny and
satisfaction at outwitting the prison supervision system.
Drugs are the most highly valued commodity in the inmate economic system.
Indeed, drugs are so central and dominant in prison life that it can be fairly stated that
they form the backbone of inmate culture. Their high demand stems from the large
financial profit to be gained from drug sales, the fact that many inmates are regular drug
users, and the tendency of many nonusers to seek temporary "escape‖ from the stresses
and tensions of prison life by means of drugs (see Parisi ). The importance of drugs
and drug dealers in the prison is expressed by a wide variety of argot terms. These terms
can be grouped into several subcategories: names of drugs, quantity of drugs, ways of use
or administration, smuggling methods, drug effects, and the state of the drug market.
The critical importance of drugs in the prison sometimes serves to override the
primacy of inmate loyalty. A number of inmates reported that they would be ready to
betray their friends and the inmate code of conduct for the sake of the drug. Some stated
that they would even be ready to harm a drug user who returned from leave without
bringing back a drug supply.
• SEXUAL RELATIONS
Deprivation from heterosexual relationships constitutes one of the most
significant pains of imprisonment (see Bowker ; Hawkins & Alpert, ).
Data indicate that the incidence of homosexual intercourse has decreased and the
argot once used neutrally to describe it is now used derogatively to express negative
sanctioning of such behavior. Although many of the argot expressions in this area have
not changed, their contextual meaning has, for example, hamburger is used to describe
homosexual intercourse, pipa is used to describe oral sex. In the line with delegitimation
of sex among the inmates, many sexual terms are now used to express contempt of
prisoners, regardless of their sexual preference or conduct.
• VIOLENCE
Power struggles between different groups of prisoners, often expressed by
violence, are a common feature of prison life. This phenomenon creates a climate of fear
in the prison and serves to accentuate gaps between weaker and stronger inmates. There
is a strong connection between environmental conditions and conduct (e.g., mental
illness, violence, habitual offences).
There are some other characteristics of the prison environment and inmate life
which clearly pertain in Romanian prisons: overcrowding, boredom, economics.
• NICKNAMES FOR POLICE OFFICERS AND PRISON STAFF
According to Irwin (), when people are forced to cope with stress, they seek
out optimal ways to avoid pain and gain social support. The prison regime sets
exceptionally severe obstacles to inmate adjustment. Irwin () and Johnson ()
argue that prison policies and their implementation (formal and informal) contain a clear
element of intentional malice and cruelty. This is because members of the penal system,
44
[Wpisz tekst]

like most of the public, believe that inmates are bad people who deserve to be rejected
and treated mercilessly. As a totalitarian institution, one of the main aims of the prison is
to ensure inmate subordination by imposing strict rules and restrictions with harsh
penalties for noncompliance.
The humiliation experienced by the inmate peaks when he finds himself housed
in an overcrowded cell (Irwin, ) and when he discovers that his custodians know him
by the details connected to his crime but have no interest in his individual needs,
anxieties, or other personal problems. As a rule, inmates relate to the prison authorities in
a negative manner, expressing contempt and tremendous anger toward them. The argot
nicknames assigned to prison staff are as humiliating as possible, and encounters with
staff are described in terms of power and inequality (David and Goliath), the weak
prisoner always suffering and the bad, powerful prison guard always abusive. These
descriptions are seasoned with aggressive expressions and a strong drive for revenge.
However, it should be noted that inmate attitudes toward the custodial staff are
characterized by ambivalence: on the one hand, hatred, distrust, and negativism
(Bondesson ) and on the other, due to their power and capacity to influence the lives
of inmates, deference and subordination (Johnson ).
• ARGOT STYLE
According to Irwin (), the harsh realities of prison life induce linguistic
inventiveness and improvisation. Clemmer () noted that of all the different factors
that influence the development of a unique vocabulary in prison, humor, imagination, and
cynicism are the most salient. Indeed, the linguistic recreation and humor that
characterize the inmate argot is perceived as a way of coping with the harsh conditions of
the prison environment (overcrowding, excessive noise, lack of basic comforts) and
achieving in-group exclusivity (secrecy) and social cohesiveness (Partridge, ).
Imagination and creativity are highly evident in the argot of Romanian prisoners, and
many of the argot expressions feature a degree of cynicism.

5. CONCLUSIONS
The findings of the present study show that an inmate argot clearly exists in
Romanian prisons. The findings also support the notion that inmates do not feel any
obligation to adhere to codes and norms. Accordingly, prisoners develop their own
system of norms, values, and behaviors which serves as the core of inmate subculture.
Like any language, argot is dynamic and likely to change: new words and
expressions are invented, and old words acquire different meanings in new contexts - in
this case, the prison context (Elaine, ). The findings of this explorative study clearly
demonstrate the contextual roots and the underlying mechanisms of Romanian inmate
argot. Innovation and changes in the content of the argot are dynamic, imaginative, and
creative and spread quickly throughout the inmate community. Metaphors and creative
elements are adopted for their entertainment and illustrative value, for their power to
attract the attention of listeners, as well as to soften the harsh realities of prison life and to
ensure secrecy and group cohesiveness (Partridge, ). These elements are clearly
apparent in Romanian inmate argot.

45
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
The present study, the first of its kind to be conducted in Romania, succeeded in
identifying several aspects of the prison subculture and the code of Romanian inmates
through their use of argot. Qualitative analysis of the attention and intensity of the argot
expressions revealed the importance and significance attributed to components of the
code by the prisoners. The highest level of intensity was found for "adherence to the
inmate code and loyalty to fellow prisoners." Attention was highest for "drugs," as
indicated by the many argot terms related to this category. Note, however, that this may
stem from the need for a large vocabulary to accommodate the wide variety of drugs and
the need for terms to describe their transfer, sale, and so forth. Violent behavior and
domination are also expressed through argot, and the terms and expressions themselves
may have a significant effect on a prisoner's status. Indeed, in many cases, not only do
these terms describe the situation of an individual but they also serve to create it.
In sum, the present research into the argot used by prisoners succeeded in
uncovering a number of important aspects of the norms and values of the inmate
subculture of Romanian prisons as well as significant components of their inner world. It
is suggested that in-depth understanding of this type may, in turn, serve as a supporting
tool in assessing the pain, distress, and needs of prisoners in an attempt to help them
overcome such difficulties and seek out efficient coping strategies.

Bibliography

Astaloş, George. Pe muchie de şuriu: cânturi de ocnă cu microglosare

argotice. Bucureşti: Tritonic.
Bondesson, Ulla. Prisoners in prison societies. New-Brunswick. NJ:
Transaction.
Bowker, L. H. Prison victimization. New York: Elsevier.
Briggs, Charles. Learning how to ask: A sociolinguistic appraisal of the
role of the interview in social science research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Clemmer, Donald. The prison community. New York: Rinehart.
Eble, Connie. Slang and Sociability. London and Chapel Hill: University
of North Carolina Press.
Eckert, Penelope. Jocks and Burnouts: Social Categories and Identity in
High School. New York: Teacher's College Press.
Elaine, Chaika. Language: The social mirror, Rowley, MA: Newbury
House.
Halliday, M.A.K. Language as Social Semiotic: The Social Interpretation
of Language and Meaning. London: Edward Arnold.
Hawkins, Richard., and Alpert Geoffrey. American prison systems,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Irwin, John. Prisons in turmoil. Boston: Little, Brown.
Irwin, John. The jail. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Johnson, E.H. Handbook on crime and delinquency prevention. New
York: Greenwood Press.
Krippendorff, Klaus. Content analysis, An introduction to its
methodology. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

46
[Wpisz tekst]

Labov, Teresa. Social structure and peer terminology in a black adolescent
gang. Language and Society 2:
Parisi, Nicolette. Coping with imprisonment. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Partridge, Eric. A Dictionary of American Slang and Unconventional
English. New York: Macmillan.
Partridge, Eric. Slang today and yesterday. London: Routledge, Kegan &
Paul.
Silvermann, David. Interpreting qualitative data: Methods for analyzing
talk, text and introduction. London: Sage.
Slama-Cazacu, Tatiana. Limbaj şi context. Bucureşti: Ed. Ştiinţifică.
Slama-Cazacu, Tatiana. Psiholingvistica, o ştiinţă a comunicării.
Bucureşti: Ed. ALL.
Slama-Cazacu, Tatiana. Stratageme comunicaţionale şi manipularea. Iaşi:
Polirom.
Stoichiţoiu-Ichim, Adriana. Vocabularul limbii române actuale.
Dinamică, influenţe, creativitate. Bucureşti: Ed. ALL.
Strauss, Anselm, and Juliet Corbin. Basics of qualitative research:
Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Stroescu, Manuela. Argoul în comunicarea interlopă dobrogeană, [On-line].
Available: funduszeue.info
Weber, R. P. Basic content analysis, Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Zafiu, Rodica. Diversitate stilistică în româna actuală. Bucureşti: Ed.
Universităţii din Bucureşti.

47
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/

48
[Wpisz tekst]

COMPUTER ASSISTED INTERPRETER TRAINING

FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE NOT FOREIGN
LANGUAGE MAJORS

Sheng-jie CHEN, PhD.

Department of Applied Foreign Languages
National Taiwan University of Science and Technology
43, Keelung Road, Section 4, Taipei City, Taiwan
[email protected] or [email protected]

Abstract:The aim of the existing case study was to investigate the implications of applying
computers to teaching interpreting to students who were not foreign language majors. Some
researchers argued that interpreting courses are very difficult, so they should be offered to qualified
post-graduate students instead of undergraduate students. However, most undergraduate programs
in Taiwan offer interpretation courses. In addition, in China two-semester interpreter training
courses have even been offered to most undergraduate students who were not foreign language
majors. Furthermore, computers have been widely used in interpreter training, but no research has
been available that investigated how to apply computer assisted interpreter training (CAIT) to
teaching interpreting to students who are not foreign language majors. Qualitative research methods
have been used to collect and analyze the data to complete the report in this study. Participants
consisted of the author and the 18 students, who were not foreign language majors, taking a
computer assisted interpreter training course that the author offered in a university in Taipei,
Taiwan, in The results of the study indicated that CAIT may be developed into IM (the
interpretation method) of foreign language teaching to teach students who are not foreign language
majors.

非外文系電腦輔助口譯教學
摘要
本個案研究旨在探討如何運用電腦輔助口譯教學於教授外系(非外文系)的學生。有些專家主
張口譯課很困難所以只能在研究所開設給有資格的學生學習，而不應該開給大學部的學生
。但是在台灣大部份的大學部都有開口譯課。在中國甚至大部份的外系(非外文系)都在開為
期兩個學期的口譯課。電腦廣泛的運用於口譯教學，但是卻很少研究探討如何運用電腦於
外系的口譯教學。本研究採用質的方式收集與分析資料完成本論文，實驗參與者包括筆者
與選修筆者年在台北一所大學開設的電腦輔助口譯課的18位外系的學生。本研究結果
顯示電腦輔助口譯教學可以發展成為獨樹一格的教學法，以透過教授口譯訓練技巧的方式
教外系學生外文。

Special terms

49
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
• Interpreting: Orally translating a spoken message from a source language into a
target language.
• Interpreting Method (IM): Using interpreter training tasks, such as reading
aloud, shadowing, summarizing, consecutive interpreting, and simultaneous
interpreting with the assistance of computers to enhance students‘ foreign
language listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and interpretation skills.
• Shadowing: Listening to a spoken message and repeating after it word by word
at the same time.
• Consecutive interpretation (CI): While the speaker is speaking, the interpreter
listens and takes notes. When the speaker pauses after speaking for a certain
period of time (as short as a sentence and as long as half an hour or even longer),
the interpreter refers to the notes and interprets into the target language.
• Short consecutive interpretation (short CI): The speaker speaks and pauses after
every one or two sentences. During the pauses, the interpreter interprets into the
target language.
• Simultaneous interpretation(SI): When the speaker starts speaking, the
interpreter starts interpreting at the same time; when the speaker finishes
speaking, the interpreter finishes interpreting at the same time although there is a
short lag between the speaker‘s speech and the interpreter‘s rendition.

Introduction

The Interpretation Method (IM) of language teaching, advocated by Dr. Sheng-

Jie Chen of the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology in Taiwan, is an
innovative foreign language teaching method developed from CAIT (computer assisted
interpreter training) (Chen, a), which based itself on the experiments of using
interpreter training tasks and multimedia computers to teach interpreting in a graduate
institute of translation and interpretation and other post-graduate interpreter training
courses in Taiwan for five years. The existing study was an attempt to investigate the
implications of using IM in teaching interpreting, listening comprehension, speaking, and
reading, through performing interpreter training tasks, to students who were not foreign
language majors and to establish an alternative foreign language teaching method. Hardly
any research has been available that investigated the use of IM in teaching students who
were not foreign language majors. This study attempted to bridge the gap. I decided to
offer the interpretation course in IM to non-foreign language majors for the following
reasons: First, in mainland China, interpreting is currently taught in most BA programs as
a one-year course in the senior year (Dawrant and Hong, ). Second, in Taiwan, many
individuals who became interpreters had diverse backgrounds including both those who
majored in foreign languages and those who didn‘t; most interpreters were specialized in
at least two fields; many outstanding interpreters were not English or foreign language
majors (Guo Li Tai Wan Shi Fan Da Xue Fan Yi Yan Jiu Suo
and Tai Wan Jing Ji Yan Jiu Yuan, ). Third, it is hoped that IM may
enhance the competitiveness of the non-foreign-language majors in the university
involved and to offer them an opportunity to learn a second skill—interpreting. Fourth,
50
[Wpisz tekst]

several professors in Taiwan, who were not foreign language majors, have told me that
over twenty years ago when they had just returned to Taiwan after advanced studies in
the United States, they were asked to interpret at conferences without receiving any
previous training. Similar things are still happening in Taiwan. Finally, IM may be
offered as an alternative foreign language teaching approach in the foreign language
classroom.

Literature review

The following review was excerpted form Chen (a).

According to Sandrelli and Hawkins (), CAIT is using multimedia computers to
facilitate interpreter training, an interpreter training idea derived from Computer Assisted
Language Learning (CALL) (Sandrelli ).

Existing types of CAIT

Chen (a) indicated that CAIT may be divided mainly into the following
categories: (1) Websites that offered audio, video, and text learning materials for
interpreter training (Yang, , Yang, a, & Yang, b); (2) Moodle online
learning community (Chang, ); (3) computer software packages, including the
Liaison Interpreter Training CD ROM (Sandrelli, ), Interpreter Training CD ROMs,
Black Box (Sandrelli and Hawkins, ), and Interpretations (Sandrelli, ), that
carried video or audio materials for students to interpret and compare their interpretations
with the instructor‘s interpretation models or source language scripts (Sandrelli,
;Sandrelli, ); (4) fully fledged software that simulated interpretation booths
(Sandrelli and Hawkins, ); (5) the most advanced Virtual Interpreting Environment
(VIE) that offered software that facilitated interpreting booths for interpreter training
(Sandrelli and Hawkins, ); (6) and virtual learning environment (VLE) that
contained many learning tools (Sandrelli, A. & Jerez, M, ). Chen (b) conducted
a Black Board Learning System based interpreter training course in the graduate school
of applied foreign languages at a university in Taiwan that involved the use of Eight
working languages (Mandarin Chinese, English, Taiwanese, Cantonese, French, Russian,
Buryat, and Spanish).CAIT was used throughout the course.

Research design

I used grounded theory (GT), a qualitative research method, to conduct the

existing study. GT is a methodological qualitative research method used in such areas as
social sciences and education emphasizing the generating of theory from data throughout
the research process (Strauss & Corbin, ). GT works differently from traditional
research in that instead of starting by researching and developing a hypothesis, the first
phase of research in GT is data collection by using various methods (Allan, ), such
as field notes, audio or video recording, interview….etc. Multiple data collecting
methods were used in the existing study, and the data consisted of the
teacher/researcher‘s observation notes, head notes, and reflective notes, as well as the
51
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
students‘ oral and written output. Open coding, axial coding, and selective coding
(Strauss & Corbin, ) were used to analyze the data to complete the report.

Participants
The participants of the existing study consisted of the instructor and 18 students
of a course titled ―Basic Interpretation‖. The teacher has been teaching interpreting in
college for more than 10 years and has been an active conference interpreter of English
and Chinese for 12 years. He has also been conducting research in interpreter training,
CAIT, and non-language specific interpreter training. The student participants consisted
of 18 students, who were not foreign language majors. They came from different
departments in a university of science and technology in northern Taiwan. Mandarin
Chinese is their first language and English their second language. They have all studied
English for approximately 8 years.

Research Questions
This study attempted to answer the following questions related to IM:
1. What is IM?
2. What are the theoretical backgrounds of IM ?
3. How to design a course in IM for teaching students who are not foreign language
majors?
4. How to implement a course in IM?
5. What are the materials and equipments used?
6. How are the tests administered?
7. How did the students react?

An interpretation course in IM for students who are not foreign language majors

IM
In IM, interpreter training tasks, e.g. shadowing, sight translation, consecutive
interpreting, summarizing, CI note taking, and simultaneous interpreting, are used to
enhance students‘ English and interpretation skills. CD ROMs together with a textbook
are used as teaching materials. The instructor plays the CD ROM on the computer and
turns on the subtitles of both the source language and the target language, the video, and
the audio. As the training proceeds, the students interpret by referring to the subtitles and
watching the video. Both the training tasks and materials are recycled in each class
session. As the training continues, the subtitles are turned off one by one until finally
both English and Chinese subtitles are turned off and the students have to interpret by
only watching the video and listening to the soundtracks.
Theoretical basis
IM is solidly based on learning theories involving social cognitive theory,
modeling, explanation, scaffolding, zone of proximal development, and offering
feedback. This section deals with the theoretical backgrounds on which IM is based.
Relevant theories will be introduced followed by explanations on how they may be
applied to IM, which in turn will be followed by examples.
Social cognitive theory: Social cognitive theory is derived from social learning
theory proposed by Miller and Dollard (), who posited that people may be motivated
52
[Wpisz tekst]

to learn a particular behavior by observations. The observer may solidify that acquired
behavior by mimicking the observed actions and would then be rewarded with positive
reinforcement (Miller and Dollard, ). In IM, students are motivated to observe as the
instructor plays the video in the CD ROM. They imitate the interpretation by watching
the video and listening to the soundtracks of the source language (English), watching the
video, and reading the subtitles while the instructor reinforces positively by approving the
interpretation and asking the next student to interpret or to do another task.
Modeling: Modeling, the first phase in instructional scaffolding, is defined as
―teaching behavior that shows how one should feel, think or act within a given situation.‖
(Hogan and Pressley, , 20). The three types of modeling are: think aloud modeling,
talk-aloud modeling, and performance modeling. In IM, think aloud modeling is used to
explain the strategies of performing a training task as demonstrated by the instructor. In
IM, talk-aloud modeling is a showing of the completion of the interpreter training task
accompanied by explaining the thought process or problem solving strategies that
brought the instructor to his conclusion. Finally, performance modeling is simply the
demonstration of the interpreter training task to be completed without giving further
verbal explanations.
Explanation: It is essential for the instructor to explain in addition to modeling.
Explanation should be ― explicit statements adjusted to fit the learners‘ emerging
understandings about what is being learned (declarative or prepositional knowledge),
why and when it is used (conditional or situational knowledge), and how it is used
(procedural knowledge)‖ (Hogan and Pressley, , 17). In IM, the instructor not only
models, by demonstrating how to perform a certain task, but also delineates various
training tasks and modes of interpreting and explains how to perform them in a way
comprehensible to the students.
Scaffolding: Scaffolds are structures that are temporarily set up at the
construction site to support workers when they are performing tasks that they cannot do
without those supports (Herber and Herber, , ). According to Herber and Herber
(), instructional scaffolding is a pedagogical strategy resembling construction
scaffolds. To help learners understand new contents and processes at the preliminary
phase, the instructor provides scaffolding. As soon as the students become familiar with
the contents and processes, the instructor removes the scaffolding for the students to
perform the task by themselves. In IM, the instructor offers scaffolding by explaining to
the students how to perform the interpreter training tasks, e.g. consecutive interpreting,
showing them how to do them, and requiring the students to perform them by the
supports of the subtitles, audio, and video. As the training proceeds, the instructor
removes the scaffolding by stopping giving instructions, and turning off the subtitles one
by one until finally the students have to perform various training tasks and perform
various modes of interpreting without any support of the subtitles.
Zone of proximal development (ZPD): Vygotsky posited that a child imitates an
adult's example and gradually develops the skills to perform tasks without assistance; in
addition, according to Vygotsky, the zone of proximal development is defined as:
―The distance between the actual developmental level as determined by
independent problem solving and the level of potential development as
53
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
determined through problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration
with more capable peers.‖ (Vygotsky, , 86).
Although Vygotsky's ZPD were intended strictly for problem solving, Tharp and
Gallimore () indicated that ZPD may be expanded to investigate other kinds of
skills, such as cultural zones, individual zones, and skill-oriented zones. In IM, the ZPD
is skill-oriented, and it is the distance between the actual development level as
determined by students‘ ability to interpret independently and the potential interpretation
ability that students attain through imitating the interpretation by repeating after the
speaker (e.g. when reading aloud) and reading the subtitles on the computer screen (e.g.
while doing consecutive interpretation) under the instructor‘s guidance and by working
with peers who are more competent.
Offering feedbacks: As the students learn the new materials, the instructor
should constantly check their comprehension and give positive feedback or corrective
feedback ―verifying and clarifying student understanding ‖(Hogan and Pressley, ,
). In IM, when the students make obvious mistakes in pronunciation or interpreting,
the instructor offers corrective feedback. The instructor offers affirmative feedback to
encourage students to develop interpretation flexibility when the interpretation is
innovative. It is important to offer affirmative feedback when students interpret in
different but acceptable ways because students need to develop flexibility and such
interpretation strategies as paraphrasing, summarizing, and condensing.

The implementation of the interpreter training course in IM to students who are not
foreign language majors

The three phases of IM: According to Chen ( a), to encourage diversity,
each CAIT session should be divided into three phrases: warm-up, workout, and cool-
down. In the warm-up phase, students are asked to talk in English about (but not limited
to) what happened to them last weekend, or what they have read, to enhance their oral
skills. The other students listen and take turns interpreting into another language. In the
workout phase, students perform interpreter training tasks, with the assistance of CD
ROMs and the computer, to enhance their interpretation skill. In the cool-down phase
students, who have been designated to research on a specific topic on interpreter training,
give PowerPoint presentations to enhance their interpretation knowledge and hone their
public speaking skills.
Materials and equipments: Two types of materials are used in the classroom: (a)
a textbook Putting Everyday English into Practice (Live ABCInteractive English
Teaching Conglomerate, ),
that comes with CD ROMs and, (b) articles and related audios from the Special
English section of Voice of America (funduszeue.info), chosen by each student
for classroom interpretation practice. Students are encouraged to use VOA special
English for practicing interpreter training tasks by themselves. The materials are chosen
based on the assumption that they should cover a wide variety of topics and that they are
supposed to be easy to understand and relevant to what the students are interested in
learning. The content of the textbook is quite useful, including such topics as
backpacking, ordering food in the restaurant, booking a room for a trip, changing money,

54
[Wpisz tekst]

etc. The instructor and students all have access to microphones, multimedia computers,
and the Internet in the interpreter training laboratory.
A typical procedure of the workout phase in IM:
• Summarizing: The instructor plays the video and then asks students to
summarize it in either English or Chinese.
• Paraphrasing: The instructor plays the video and then asks students to listen and
then repeat in their own words what they have heard.
• Reading aloud: The instructor plays the CD ROM on the multimedia computer
and turns on both the Chinese subtitles and the English subtitles for students,
who are designated at random, to take turns reading the subtitles aloud. One
student reads the English subtitles and then calls on, at random, the next student
to read the Chinese subtitles. Attention is given to accuracy in pronunciation
specifically in English in terms of voice, intonation, pitch, time, tune, emotion,
and emphasis.
• Reading aloud and consecutive interpretation: The instructor turns on the
English subtitles and turns off the Chinese subtitles. A student is called on, at
random, to read the English subtitles aloud. This student does it and then calls
the next student, at random, to interpret consecutively, without the support of the
subtitles.
• Shadowing and simultaneous interpretation: The instructor plays the CD ROM
and turns off both the Chinese and the English subtitles. A student is called on to
shadow, and another student is called on to interpret simultaneously into
Chinese. This can be done by students doing pair works in the classroom by
whisper interpreting, or ―chuchotage‖.
• Reading aloud in Chinese and consecutive interpreting into English: After the
students have practiced interpreting a lesson in the CD ROM, the instructor
plays the same lesson, turns off the English subtitles and audio, but turns on the
Chinese subtitles. One student reads the Chinese subtitles aloud and then calls
on the next student at random to interpret into English. They take turns doing so
until the completion of the unit. This task may also be performed in the
simultaneous mode.
Interpreting in the booth: Toward the end of the semester, students take turns
interpreting in the booth of talks delivered by the other students, who take turns brain
storming. Each student is required to interpret in the booth for ten minutes. Students, who
are assigned to be speakers, are required to talk about what they have done over the
weekend, about a controversial topic, or about an article they have read. Their speeches
are usually predictable and not very difficult, so when interpreting such talks in the booth,
the students concentrate on enhancing their SI skills.
Self-training: Because the students have different language backgrounds,
language abilities, and motivations, self-training becomes the most important factor that
can affect their learning. All the tasks practiced in the classroom can also be practiced
during self-training or practicing with peers. Students also have the CD ROMs that come

55
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
with the textbooks. All the tasks may be practiced by using MP3 players or CD ROMs in
personal computers or cell phones. It is up to the students to decide how much time they
would like to spend on self-training.
Testing and evaluation: Each student‘s grade is assigned based on class
attendance, classroom participation, a PowerPoint presentation, and interpreting for ten
minutes at the end of the semester.
 Mid-term examination: In the mid-term examination, which is spread through out
the semester, each student gives a minute PowerPoint presentation per semester
on a topic related to interpreter training, e.g. sight translation, consecutive
interpretation, or simultaneous interpretation with the purpose of enhancing their
interpretation knowledge and honing their public speaking skills because a good
interpreter must also be a good public speaker.
 Final examination: In the final examination, the students are required to interpret
for ten minutes in a mode of interpretation they have chosen. The students‘ grades
are assigned based on the difficulty of the mode of interpreting they use, the
difficulty of the materials they choose, and the language they choose to interpret
into. They download audio or video materials from the Internet, such as VOA, and
practice as many times as they need before interpreting in front of the class without
referring to any texts. They get a higher grade if they perform long consecutive
interpretation (that lasts for over one minute) with note-taking, medium grades if
they perform SI, and lowest grades if they perform short CI. Students who interpret
into English receive higher grades than those interpreting into Chinese. Several
other factors may also affect their grades. They include: difficulty of the materials,
interpretation quality, and consistency of the quality. The entire testing processes
are video recorded for self critiques, peer reviews, and detailed grading.

Results and discussion

Students‟ reactions in the interpretation course in the IM approach have mostly

been positive. I asked the students to provide feedback at the end of each class session
and adjusted the teaching accordingly. The students‘ reactions to this course have been
quite positive as shown below.
At the beginning, everything was difficult, but as the course continued, tasks
became easier to handle: Most of the students commented that this course was quite
challenging but full of fun. Some students posited that the textbook was too easy, but
most of the other students said that it was ok. They all felt that at the beginning
everything was very difficult, and they had to concentrate all the time, but as the course
proceeded, the tasks became easier and easier to perform.
Many factors can affect learning: Students indicated that their learning was
affected by the following factors, which were mainly related to the source language input:
difficulty of learning materials, accents, speed of delivery, and required background
knowledge. However, they indicated that the most difficult part was memory and
consecutive note taking. They said that short consecutive interpreting was ok for them,
but long consecutive interpreting was problematic because even with CI note taking, they
did not have the ability to remember what the speaker had said. However, the most

56
[Wpisz tekst]

difficult tasks were summarizing and paraphrasing. More training is definitely needed for
them to be able to interpret proficiently.
IM motivated students to interpret and arouse their interest in learning
interpreting: At the end of the semester, I asked the students if they were asked by their
future company to interpret at a workshop or conference, would they accept the job. They
said that if they had been given plenty of time and related materials to prepare in
advance, they would be able to know how to prepare and would be able to interpret well.
Assignments were reasonable: The students said that the assignments were
acceptable but they unanimously agreed that they should not take more assignments or
homework in this course because they had other assignments from other courses,
especially their required courses, that they had to work on.
Students were motivated to perform the most challenging tasks during the final
exam: Due to student empowerment, the students all interpreted for approximately 10
minutes during the final examination without referring to the text as required. Their
interpretations were video recorded for detailed grading. Thirteen students performed
short CI, obviously to play it safe. Three students did medium CI, and 2 students did SI.
All the students interpreted from English into Chinese except one, who interpreted from
Chinese into English. Two students used the cell phone to play the speech audio and
interpreted consecutively. They said that that was how they practiced. It is quite an
innovative way to practice interpreting. Would they take the course again if there is a
chance? Most students agreed that this interpretation course was fun and interesting and
that they would take it if it would be offered again under a different course number. For
this reason, I offered ―Introduction to Interpretation II‖ under a different course number
the following semester. However, one student said that it was difficult for her to
overcome the nervousness when she was called upon at random to interpret in the
classroom. Finally they unanimously agreed that nobody had ever showed them that
studying English could be so much fun.
The results of the existing study indicated that IM is a feasible alternative
method for teaching English as a foreign language at an intermediate level to students
who are not foreign language majors. The students prefer Basic Interpretation to other
English courses because it was interesting and fun, it made them concentrated all the
time, and the learning results were easily noticeable. From my observations, IM can
enhance students‘ pronunciation, public speaking, reading comprehension, listening
comprehension, interpretation, and communication skills in English. Based on my
observations of the students taking the tests, those students who had learned in IM
systematically and attended classes regularly outperformed those who had missed several
classes. In other words, there was an obvious correlation between learning in the
classroom and testing results at the end of the semester.
Diversity is the key to successful implementation of a course in IM. Diverse
learning materials and training tasks should be used to arouse students‘ interest in
learning. The training materials should cover diverse topics and should be easy and
interesting enough for students to learn but not so difficult as to frustrate them. Earlier
studies indicated (Chen, , Chen, ) that CAIT training processes should be in the
form of a sandwich that include warm-up, workout, and cool-down. Training tasks and
57
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
materials should be recycled to enable students to concentrate on the development of
their pronunciation skills, public speaking skills, interpretation skills, and paralinguistic
skills.
Students should be empowered to choose the most challenging tasks and
materials they can handle in the test. The sky is the limit. It is surprising to see how
students could interpret difficult materials consecutively or simultaneously at the end of
the semester. This study is limited in that it used the qualitative research method and data
were collected through classroom observations and students‘ written and oral output.
Researchers are encouraged to use quantitative research methods in future studies.

Conclusion

The results of the existing study indicated that IM is an interesting alternative of

interpreter training and foreign language teaching method to students who are not foreign
language majors. This study is significant in that interpretation courses have been offered
to undergraduate students who are not foreign languages majors throughout the world; in
addition, computers are being used more and more often in interpreter training
laboratories, but hardly any previous studies have investigated the implications of
applying CAIT in teaching students who are not foreign language majors. It is hoped that
this existing study may shed light on both interpreter training and foreign language
teaching. This existing study has methodologically investigated the theoretical basis,
training task structuring, training materials, testing and evaluation, and students‘
reactions. Other researchers are encouraged to use this unique interpreter training
approach in their specific settings, foreign languages, and students to determine its
effectiveness. In addition, EFL instructors are encouraged to use this innovative foreign
language teaching method in their classes with students of different language levels or
use it as an alternative foreign language teaching method.

Bibliography

Allan, George. A critique of using grounded theory as a research method.

Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods 2(1):
Chang, Chia-chien. The creation of an online learning community in interpreter
training. Tai Wan Di Shi Yi Jie Guo Ji Kou Bi Yi Jiao
Xue Yan Tao Hui Lun Wen Ji (The Proceedings of the 11th
International Translation and Interpretation Conference in Taiwan):
Chen, Sheng-jie. Computer assisted interpreter training, a pilot study. Paper
presented at NUCITTA Conference at the University of New Castle upon Tyne,
10 November in New Castle, United Kingdom.
Chen, Sheng-jie. a. Computer assisted interpreter training: a case study. Studies in
English Language and Literature
Chen, Sheng-Jie. b. Applying the Blackboard Learning System to a mixed-language
interpreter training course A Taiwan pilot study. Paper presented at the
international conference, ―Emerging Topics in Translation and Interpreting”,
18 June , at the University of Trieste, Italy.

58
[Wpisz tekst]

Guo Li Tai Wan Shi Fan Da Xue Fan Yi Yan Jiu Suo, and Tai
Wan Jing Ji Yan Jiu Yuan. Tai wan fan yi chan ye
xian kuang diao cha yan jiu zong jie fen xi bao gao. Tai
Bei: Tai Wan Xing Zheng Yuan Xin Wen Ju (Graduate Institute of
Translation and Interpretation, National Taiwan Normal University, and Taiwan
Institute of Economic Research. A final report on the current situations of
the translation industry in Taiwan. Taipei: The Government Information Office
of the Executive Yuan, Taiwan).
Herber, Harold L., and Joan Nelson Herber. Teaching in content areas with
reading, writing, and reasoning. Needham Heights, M.A: Allyn & Bacon.
Hogan, Kathleen, and Michael Pressley. Scaffolding student learning: Instructional
approaches & issues. Cambridge, M.A: Brookline Books, Inc.
Live ABCInteractive English Teaching Conglomerate.
Lao wai jiao ni shuo ying yu shi zhan ying yong pian (Putting
everyday English into practice). Tai Bei (Taipei): Xi Bo Lun Gong Si.
Miller, Neal. E., and John Dollard Social learning and imitation. New Haven: Yale
University Press.
Sandrelli, Annalisa. Teaching liaison interpreting: Combining tradition and
innovation. In Mason, Ian. Triadic Exchanges. En. Manchester: St Jerome
Publishing:
Sandrelli, Annalisa. New technologies in interpreter training: CAIT. Textologie
und translation. In Gerzymisch-Arbogast, Heidrun; Eva Hajicová; and Petr
Sgall, Zuzana Jettmarová, Annely Rothkegel, Dorothee Rothfuß-Bastian.
Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag (Jahrbuch Übersetzen und Dolmetschen 4/II).
Eds.:
Sandrelli, Annalisa, and Jesús de Manuel Jerez. The impact of information and
communication technology on interpreter training. The Interpreter and
Translator Trainer 1(2):
Strauss, Anselm, and Juliet Corbin. Basics of qualitative research: Grounded
theory procedures and techniques. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Strauss, Anselm, and Juliet Corbin. Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and
procedures for developing grounded theory, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Tharp, Roland G., and Ronald Gallimore Rousing minds to life. New York:
Cambridge University
Press.
Vygotsky, Lev Semyonovich Mind and society: The development of higher
mentalprocesses.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Internet Bibliography

Dawrant, Andrew, and Jiang Hong. Conference interpreting in Mainland China.
funduszeue.info?page_id= (accessed November 20,
).
59
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/
Sandrelli, Annalisa, and Jim Hawkins. Computer assisted interpreter training
(CAIT): What is the way forward?
funduszeue.info (accessed July 30,
).
Voice of America. (funduszeue.info (accessed July 30,).
Yang, Cheng-su Kou yi jiao xue de shu wei hua yu wang lu
hua (Digitalizing and online interpreter training). funduszeue.info
(accessed July 30, ).
Yang, Cheng-su. a. Kou yi de wang lu jiao xue： shi ti ke tang yu
xu ni ping tai de hu dong guan xi (Online interpreter training:
The interactions between real classrooms and virtual classrooms).
funduszeue.info (accessed July 30, ).
Yang, Cheng-su. b. Tai Wan yin ying quan qiu hua qu xiang de
kou yi ren cai pei xun fang an jie an bao gao shu (A
project report on the training of interpreters for Taiwan to meet the needs of
globalization). funduszeue.info (accessed July 30, ).

60
[Wpisz tekst]

LEXICAL AND SYNTAX FEATURES OF ENGLISH

AND ARABIC LEGAL DISCOURSE: A COMPARATIVE
STUDY
Hanem El-Farahaty, PhD researcher in
University of Leeds, UK
Assistant Lecturer, University of Mansoura, Egypt

Department of Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies

School of Modern Languages and Cultures
University of Leeds
LS2 9JT
UK
[email protected]
[email protected]

Abstract: This paper discusses the common lexical and grammatical features of legal discourse in
English and Arabic.6 The rationale behind this analysis is to compare and contrast the discourse of
both languages, list the similarities and differences between them and come up with the most
problematic areas in legal translation. It is worth mentioning that features of Arabic legal discourse
have not been researched before, thus, I have taken the features of legal English as headlights
according to which I will analyze the corpus of Arabic legal documents. These features, however,
are not specific to one particular type of written language of the law. By type of language is meant
the different types of legal texts such as legislations, contracts, official documents, court
proceedings, etc. For this purpose, authentic samples of different English and Arabic legal
documents have been consulted. These texts, obtained from law professionals, include private legal
documents such as tenancy agreements, employment contracts, correspondences between solicitors
and clients, reports to the court, birth certificates, and marriage certificates. Other documents
include selected legislative and international documents. To this effect, the United Nations (UN)
website, other translation books such as Mansoor (), Hatim, Shunnaq and Buckley () are
consulted.

6
Other textual and stylistic features are beyond the scope of this paper.
61
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/

1 Introduction

Mellinkoff (, 3) defines the language of the law as ‗the customary language
used by lawyers and includes distinctive words, phrases, modes of expression, certain
mannerisms of composition not exclusive with the profession but prevalent to have
formed a fixed association‘. For Goodrich (, 3), however, legal discourse is a
linguistic register that can be defined in terms of its systematic appreciation of legally
recognized meanings, accents, and connotations, and its simultaneous rejection of
alternative and competing meanings and accents, forms of utterance and discourse
generally, as extrinsic, unauthorized or threatening. I have found Ńarčević‘s definition
(, 9) of legal text as a ‗communicative occurrence produced at a given time and
place and intended to serve a specific function‘ as naïve due to the fact that each text is in
fact a communicative occurrence and aims to achieve a pragmatic function. Schäffner
(, ) holds that ‗it is usually the case that the source text (ST) itself fulfils a
particular function in the source language (SL) community, at a particular place,
addressed to a more or less specific audience with knowledge about the subject of the text
and probable text-typological conventions.‘

Most of the researchers who studied the language of law focused on written legal
documents whereas spoken legal discourse was neglected until the advent of the s.
Nowadays, much work has been done on the oral genres of legal discourse such as court
hearings, witness examination, and cross-examination. This is the specific area of
forensic linguistics.7

2 Features of English and Arabic Legal Discourse

As mentioned earlier, the richness of literature discussing the features of English

Legal discourse 8 lies in sharp contrast with the lack of reference books dealing with
Arabic Legal discourse. That is why such study is challenging. For the Arabic Legal
features, I have consulted some books on Arabic linguistics, Arabic stylistics as well as
Arabic translation. My aim is to figure out the main features of Arabic in general, and see
how much of these features apply to the language of legal Arabic. It is noteworthy that
Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) will be the language variety used in the corpus of

7
For more information about this genre of legal English, refer to: O‘Barr, ; Conley and
O‘Barr, ; Gibbons, ; and Coulthard and Johnson,

8
For English legal discourse, we have found the works of Mellinkoff (), Crystal and Davy
(), Danet (, ), Erickson et al. (), Charrow and Crandal (), Charrow and
Charrow (), Kittredge and Lehrberger (), Goodrich (), Alexy (), Sarcevic
(), Trosborg (), Conley and O'Barr (), Garre (), Alcaraz and Hughes (),
Asensio (), Haigh (), and Cao () very helpful.
62
[Wpisz tekst]

documents under investigation. Also, examples from the Arabic corpus will be followed
by their English translation.

Lexical Features

Legal discourse has its own 'legalese'; likewise, media discourse has its own
'journalese'. Goodrich (, ) argues that ‗legal vocabulary is primarily symbolic
lexicon which places great stress upon the legal signifier or legal word as an entity in
itself. It is a vocabulary of possibilities purportedly comprising a comprehensive system
of meanings that are internal or latent within the lexicon itself‘. Lexis in legal discourse
can be generally divided into (i) 'technical words' (i.e. barrister, solicitor, court, and case
law: a letter from a solicitor to a client), (ii) 'semi-technical' (i.e. assessment, enclose,
compensation: correspondences between a solicitor and client); and (iii) 'every day
vocabulary' (i.e. report, record, access, repair, examine, injury: correspondences between
a solicitor and client). These common features apply to English and Arabic legal
discourse. Arabic, likewise, involves (i) ‗technical words‘ such as ( / case), /
court); (ii) ‗semi-technical‘ as in ( / evidence), ( / compensation); and (iii)
‗common everyday words‘ like ( / report), ( / file) and ( party) as in (
/ the first party and the second party) in contracts and agreements, (
/ the defence (the lawyer)), as is always the case in court hearings. These words are also
used in non-legal contexts, for instance, ‗ ‘ in:

It is the right of each citizen to defend his freedom. (my translation)

Some Legal Arabic genres such as legislative and international legal Arabic
share some lexical features with other Arabic genres such as diplomatic, political, and
media Arabic. The following are examples of the occurrences of some phrases that co-
occur in legal Arabic as well as in the three-pre-mentioned Arabic genres the first of
which is taken from The Pact of the League of the Arab States:

(Mansoor a, 9)
The independence of the state, its sovereignty or its terroritial integrity, settlement of
the dispute, if a military aggression takes place. (Mansoor b, 4)

Other examples are cited in the preamble of The Arab Charter of Human Rights:

… the right of nations to self-determination, …believing in the rule of law.

It is also worthwhile to note that Arabic legal discourse shares other features of
literary Arabic such as figures of speech. This proves what Gu (, ) states about
the roots of Arabic compared to English in the following quotation:
Whereas legal English adopted a Romanic vocabulary to build its legal (as distinct from
literary) language, legal Arabic grew out of literary language and became more
sophisticated with the development of its literary counterpart. In fact, there was neither a
clear-separation between legal, religious, linguistic and literary Arabic nor an absolute
division of labour between grammarians, theologians, and jurists in early Islam.
63
Comparative Legilinguistics 4/

Metaphors occur in specialized language for some reasons given by Matulewska (,
):
Metaphors are rather unusual in languages for special purposes because they introduce a
certain lack of precision. However, they still may be found in legal discourse. Some of
them enter into legal discourse because judges use them while performing their job, and
others are a result of applying the same rules which govern the colloquial language to a
language for special purposes. There are also metaphors which penetrate the language as
literal translations from Latin metaphorical phrases e.g. nudum pactum resulted in a naked
or nude contract … it is very important for translators to be able to identify them and find
their legal meaning in order to translate them successfully and to avoid discreditable
translations.9

An example of the metaphoric nature of legislative texts is taken form the preamble of
The Iraqi Constitution ():

We, the people of Mesopotamia, the homeland of apostles and prophets … Upon our
soil the saints and companions of the prophet prayed, philosophers and scientists
theorized, and writers and poets excelled … and burnt by the flames of grief of the
mass graves … and drying out of its cultural and intellectual wells …

The preamble of The Iraqi Constitution represents a masterpiece of the Arabic

prose style which is alien to English legal discourse. For example, the above excerpt
which is just a small quote a two-page long preamble contains alliteration, rhyme,
parallelism, and metaphors as in the first instance: ( / burnt by
the flames of grief of the mass graves). This metaphor gives an image of the grief and
sorrow as burning fire. It is also used to express a very complicated status of sorrow. The
second phrase / drying out of its cultural and intellectual wells …) is
also metaphoric because it talks of cultural and intellectual properties as wells which
were dried out because of conflicts.
Archaic, Latin and French Words
Archaic words are known as ‗the frozen patterns of language‘ according to
Baker (, 63), or as ‗routines‘ according to Hatim and Mason (, ) . Legal
English, is characterized by its old or 'antiquated language' Alcaraz varó and Hughes
(, 5). These date back to the Anglo Saxons' old English and Middle English since the
Norman Conquest in ( AD). The following examples are cited in the authentic
corpus analyzed:

9
It is important to point out that English legal discourse is also said to have metaphors for the same
reasons given by Matulewska (). Examples of these are given by Alcarez and Hughes
(): ‗to stand mute by visitation of God‘. In the corpus of English documents analyzed, no
metaphors have been cited.

64

Владислав IV на портрете XVIII века Марчелло Баччарелли

Речь Посполитая во время правления Владислава IV, ок.

Медаль г. в память о победах Владислава IV над Россией, Турцией и Швецией