Translation of the Language of the Common Law into Legal French: Myth or Reality

Abstract

Translating (and so construinga specialized source text) means producing afunctional text in a linguaculture target textthat is needed for specific communicativepurposes by processing the information given ina previous text in a different linguaculturesource text. Consequently, the comparison oflegal texts and terms from English to Frenchinevitably involves a theory of equivalence –if ever possible. The aim of this article is toreview the various hindrances or pitfalls inlegal translation and also a possible theory ofhow to avoid misunderstandings between thesource and the target texts.