Designing a Course in French Legal Translation
by Thomas L. West III There are several reasons why legal translation is a particularly attractive field for foreign language students who are native speakers of English. First, much (and perhaps most) of the legal translation work in the United States is into English for use by American lawyers, whereas the other large segments of the translation industry—and particularly software translation—are practically off limits to native speakers of English because the vast majority
10 Ways to Improve Your Legal Translations
1. Read all that you can about the differences between the U.S. legal system and the civil law tradition. Two useful introductions: John Henry Merryman and Rogelio Perez-Perdomo, The Civil Law Tradition: An Introduction to the Legal Systems of Western Europe and Latin America. 3rd edition. Stanford Univ. Press, 2007. Mary Ann Glendon et al., Comparative Legal Traditions. 3rd edition. West Publishing Co., 2008. 2. Realize that not everything you need is on the Internet; refe
Costas, costes y costos
The fact that there are three words for "cost" in Spanish can be confusing. The general word meaning the price of something (what it costs) is "coste" in Spain and "costo" in Latin America. Thus, for example, the "cost of living" is "el coste de la vida" in Spain and "el costo de la vida" in Latin America. The word "costa" is used on both sides of the Atlantic to refer specifically to court costs. Note that the Diccionario de la Real Academia gives "gastos relacionados con un
