The rationale of this module is to introduce students to the demanding genre of legal translation, and enhance both their legal knowledge and their linguistic knowledge. Its aim is to familiarize students with legal environments as a basis to carry out translation work and any further translation-related research in the field. It also offers students the opportunity to study key issues of British law and Greek law and gain significant insights into the differences between common law and civil law and the problems that these differences pose to translators both at the conceptual level and, by extension, to the terminological level. This module also seeks to develop the students’ translation skills in a variety of legal registers and styles and also teach them how to carry out efficient documentation and make appropriate use of research tools in solving translation problems specific to legal texts.

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:

• understand the principles of legal translation and the main concepts of Legal Translation Studies
• understand the importance of comparative law for legal translation
• understand the idiosyncracies of legal language and its illocutionary force
• understand the lack of conceptual equivalence and use appropriate strategies for addressing it
• use legal terminology in well-developed and properly structured texts
• translate semi-specialised and specialized descriptive and prescriptive legal texts accurately and coherently
• justify their translation choices on the basis of translation

Week 1: Introduction to Law: definition and description of different legal systems, contrast of common law and civil law systems.

Week 2: Language and the Law:  intrinsic relationship between the two. Emphasis on the linguistic form of Law (Law cannot exist without language/legal validity cannot be established without language/the illocutionary force of legal discourse). Hands-on session: Comparison and contrast of original and translated prescriptive legal texts.

Week 3: Non-equivalence at the conceptual level: Terminology (equivalence, quasi-equivalence, non-equivalence). The case of the Court structure in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Greece. Strategies for overcoming the arising terminological problems. Hands-on session: Translation into English of a text on the sources and types of Greek law.

Week 4: Non-equivalence at the conceptual level: Hands-on session: Translation into English of a text on the sources and types of Greek law (continued).

Week 5: Non-equivalence at the conceptual level: Hands-on session: Translation into English of a text on the Court structure in Greece (Civil Courts).

Week 6: Non-equivalence at the conceptual level: Hands-on session: Translation into English of a text on the Court structure in Greece (Criminal Courts).

Week 7: Non-equivalence at the conceptual level: Hands-on session: Translation into English of a text on the Court structure in Greece (Administrative Courts).

Week 8: Non-equivalence at the conceptual level: Hands-on session: Translation into English of a text on the Court structure in Greece (Special Jurisdiction Courts).

Week 9: Key characteristics of language in legal settings (colloquial terms used in specialized ways, legalese: use of Latinisms, use of lengthy noun phrases, heavy use of passive voice, multiple negatives, and complex grammatical structures, including multiple embedded clauses and unusually placed subordinate clauses, etc.). Hands-on session: Translation into English of a Last Will and Testament.

Week 10: Vagueness: nightmare and necessity (focus on the dire consequences of the lack of comprehensible language in jury instructions and the dire consequences of clear language in contracts). Discussion on the basis of authentic texts and exploration of possible translation strategies. Hands-on session: Translation into English of a Warranty Contract.

Week 11: Intertextuality in Law. Hands-on session: Translation into English of a Warranty Contract (continued).

Week 12: Lexical traps for the translator: false cognates, polysemy and unconscious calques. Hands-on session: Translation into English of an Affidavit.

Week 13: Hands-on session: Translation into English of a Power of Attorney. Recap session, Q & A.

Main Textbook:

Νανάκη, Ε. (2016) Ελληνοαγγλικό Νομικό Γλωσσάρι. Εκδόσεις Ε. Νανάκη

Suggested Reading:

Agallopoulou, P. (2005) Basic Concepts of Greek Civil Law. Athens: Sakkoulas.

Alcaraz Varó, E. & Hughes, B. (2002) Legal translation explained. Manchester: St Jerome.

Βαλεοντής, Κ.Ε. &  Κριμπάς Π. Γ. (2014) Νομική γλώσσα, νομική ορολογία: θεωρία και πράξη. Αθήνα: Νομική Βιβλιοθήκη/Ελληνική Εταιρεία Ορολογίας 

Bhatia, V.K. (1993) Analysing Genre: Language in Professional Settings. London: Longman.

Βαλεοντής, Κ.Ε. & Κριμπάς, Π.Γ. (2014) Νομική γλώσσα, νομική ορολογία: θεωρία και πράξη. Αθήνα: Νομική Βιβλιοθήκη/Ελληνική Εταιρεία Ορολογίας.

Bowers, F. (1989) Linguistic Aspects of Legislative Expression. Vancouver: University of British Columbia.

Cao, D. (2007) Translating Law. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Desblache, L. (ed) (2001) Aspects of Specialised Translation. Paris: La Maison du Dictionnaire.

Gibbons, J. (ed.) (1994) Language and the Law. London: Longman.

Harris, P. (2006) An Introduction to Law. Cambridge: CUP.

Kerameus, K. & Kozyris, P. (eds.) (2006) Introduction to Greek Law. Athens: Sakkoulas.

Langford, I. (2000) "Forensic Semantics: The Meaning of Murder, Manslaughter and Homicide," Forensic Linguistics, 7: 1, 72-94.

Mayoral Asensio, R. (2003) Translating Official Documents. Manchester: St Jerome.

Matoesian, G. (1999) "Intertextuality, Affect, and Ideology in Legal Discourse," Text, 19:1, 73-109.

Morris, M. (1995) Translation and the Law, American Translators Association Scholarly Monograph Series, Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Nelken, D. (ed.). 1996. Law as Communication. Brookfield: Dartmouth Pub. Co.

Posner, R. A. (1988). Law and Literature: A Misunderstood Relation. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Šarcevic, S. (1997) New Approach to Legal Translation. New York: Aspen Publishers.

Schäffner, C. (1998) “Parallel Texts in Translation”. In L. Bowker, M. Cronin, D. Kenny & J. Pearson (eds) Unity in Diversity: Current Trends in Translation Studies. Manchester: St Jerome.

Spencer, A. 1980. Noun-verb expression in legal English. Birmingham: Language Studies Unit, University of Aston.

Storey-Whyte, K. (1999) "KISSing the Jury," Forensic Linguistics, 4, 280-286.

Tomaszczyk, J. (1999). Aspecs of Legal Language and Legal Translation. Łodz: Łodz University Press.

Turnpin, C. & Tomkins, A. (2007) British Government and the Constitution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

The lesson has a hybrid lecture-workshop format. It is largely based on the interaction with students and classroom discussion. Hands-on-sessions focus on practical aspects of the issues covered and described during the lectures. Students have hands-on sessions translating various prescriptive economic texts with reference to the TS theory they learn. The class material is made available on the e-class platform.

Several ICT tools are used, mainly ppt presentations, online videos and Internet resources. The class material is made available on the Open e-class platform.

Students have to complete a written examination (80%), i.e. a translation from Greek into English of an economic text of approximately 300 words together with a commentary on specific translation problems. The use of monolingual, bilingual and multilingual dictionaries, both specific and general, is permitted. The use of lecture notes is not permitted. They also have to hand in individual work (20%), i.e. of a glossary based on judicial decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in areas such as competition law, taxation, common foreign policy, culture, etc.