Plain Language Movement and Legal Translation : An Analytical Study of Two Translations of a Contract of Lease from Arabic into English

Abstract

The present paper addresses one of the most challenging topics in translation; namely legal translation in the framework of two different approaches; the classical (formal) and the more recent (functional). The latter approach is the outcome of the process of simplifying legal language known technically as Plain Language Movement. The advent of this movement dates back to the 1950s, in response to the widely-held complain about the awkwardness of the legal register. Within this framework, the salient features of legal language, at the various linguistic and textual levels, underwent reconsideration in favor of more publicly digested expressions. The paper then subjects two translations of a lease contract to analysis in the light of the formal/functional dichotomy. These two texts are taken from textbooks widely accredited to train students legal translation at the Iraqi universities. The analysis revealed that the translators did not adhere to one specific approach; rather they moved smoothly from one approach to another. This is a promising change in attitude towards the rather flexible approach, and departing from the rather static one. The paper finally suggests some guidelines for investing this new tendency in training translators who have been complaining about the rigorous nature of legal translation.