Quality Assurance in Legal Translation: Evaluating Process, Competence and Product in the Pursuit of Adequacy

Abstract

Building on a functionalist framework for decision-making in legal translation, a holistic approach to quality is presented in order to respond to the specificities of this field and overcome the shortcomings of general models of translation quality evaluation. The proposed approach connects legal, contextual, macrotextual and microtextual variables for the definition of the translation adequacy strategy, which guides problem-solving and the rest of the translation process. The same parameters remain traceable between the translation brief and the translation product both in pre-delivery (self-)revision and in post-delivery assessment. They are the yardstick for identifying predictable evaluative criteria and competence requirements for translators and quality controllers. The implications of the approach on quality assessment (including training contexts) and quality management practices are also discussed. Overall, the model illustrates the potential benefits of enhancing predictability and reducing subjectivity on the basis of specific legal translation methodologies. It supports the need for legal translation expertise in quality evaluation and the relevance of Legal Translation Studies to raising standards in professional practice.Keywords Legal translation quality Á Translation quality assurance Á Translation adequacy Á Translation quality assessment Á Translator decision-making Á Legal translation competenceIf we treat text merely as a self-contained and self-generating entity, instead of as a decision-making procedure and an instance of communication between language users, our understanding of the nature of translating will be impaired [21, p. 3].

The impact of specialised translator training and professional experience on legal translation quality assurance: an empirical study of revision performance

“…Our study was designed as part of the last phase of the LETRINT project, 1 which examines legal translation practices and LTQA in international institutional settings, including aspects related to competence, process and product (Prieto Ramos 2015 ). More particularly, the focus of this research is on the relationship between LTC and translation quality evaluation through the correlational analysis of several indicators: academic background and years of experience in legal translation (as variables associated to profile specialisation), and revision performance patterns, including multiple correction scores.…”

Lexical Readability as an Indicator of Quality in Translation

“…Quality is a very broad concept with multiple facets. Only by combining reflections on context, competence and product may we draw a comprehensive overview of the level of quality of a legal (translated) text, as encapsulated in the holistic approach as the one proposed by Prieto Ramos (2015). Any analysis of the product, as is the case of this chapter, there is still a wide range of aspects to be considered.…”

Machine Translation in the Field of Law: A Study of the Translation of Italian Legal Texts into German

“…Legal texts have always been among the most complex specialized texts (Killmann 2014, Prieto Ramos 2015. They have a range of featureswith differences related to legal systems, branches of law and text typesthat still pose major challenges to machine translation.…”