Legal terms are difficult to understand, and the sentences are more complicated. Even to translators that possess related educational background, reading legal documents might still be difficult. Translating legal documents into another language is much more challenging and requires more effort from translators. Following is the analysis about the accuracy and readability of legal translation.
I. The accuracy of legal translation. The accuracy of legal translation is not just for the word choices, but it is also for the meaning of the whole text. That is to say, the accuracy of legal translations of a Chinese translation company means that word choices, phrases, sentences and the meaning of the whole text need to stay consistent. Certainly, legal translators cannot use big words and complicated sentence structure only to create additional effects to the text. Painting the lily won’t be helpful in keeping the accuracy of translations. If translators can’t fully understand the original text, the translations will certainly deviate from the originals, distorting readers’ understandings toward the text.
Therefore, before getting on with translating, translators need to fully understand the original text. When there are legal terms that are unfamiliar, consult experts immediately. Otherwise, a misunderstanding of just one word may lead to the misunderstanding of the whole sentence, finally making a great difference on understanding the whole text. Then the translation will turn out to be a failure and have to start all over again. In addition, if the legal translation isn’t accurate enough, not only will it make mistakes on legal status between parties of the contract, but it will even result in financial losses for both sides. Not to mention, clients may also lose trust in the translation company. Furthermore, when it comes to aspects of law, it is required to be rigorous for the accuracy of legal translation is extremely vital. If a mistranslated word causes clients financial losses, it will not just harm the reputation of the Chinese translation company, but the company may have to compensate for client’s losses or even undergo legal proceedings. Therefore, the accuracy of legal translation is not only important to the company, but it is also essential to translators.