TRANSLATION AND ADAPTATION OF LEGAL LANGUAGE IN ALBANIAN AND ENGLISH
Keywords:
legal translation, terminology, legal system, equivalence, contractAbstract
The paper deals with the challenges, features and practices of legal terminology translation between Albanian and English. Legal translation is a complex process, requiring in-depth knowledge of legal systems, legal concepts and cultural nuances of both languages. Albania’s civil law system differs from the common law system of English speaking countries and many legal terms have no direct equivalent in the other language which makes translation a challenge. The paper considers some real-world instances of legal terms, contracts, court statements and other legal documents. The focus is on the importance of functional equivalence rather than a literal translation and the need to follow international standards, e.g. ISO 20771:2020. The article also deals with the role of certified dictionaries, professional training of translators, and ways to provide accurate, functional and reliable translation, while preserving the legal effect and authority of documents. The study also stresses the need to create a special Albanian-English legal bilingual dictionary, which will be a useful tool for legal professionals and translators. The paper concludes that successful legal translation requires a combination of linguistic, legal and cultural expertise and careful attention to terminology and context to be able to produce translations that are legally valid, accurate and culturally appropriate
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