Finding the Elusive Equivalents in Chinese/English Legal Translation

Abstract

This paper investigates one aspect of legal translation between English and Chinese, the lexical equivalence and non-equivalence that often present special challenges to Chinese/English translators. It identifies three lexical features and discusses the meanings, equivalents and translation strategies associated with them. The paper suggests the essential requirements for translational competence of a legal translator and argues that, in legal translation, it is essential to consider the contextual factors and pragmatic effects of legal usage in both the SL and TL and to strive to achieve the optimal communicative results given the relative nature of equivalence and the difficulties in cross-cultural and cross-jurisdictional communication. This may also have implications for the training of legal translators in basic knowledge of the relevant legal systems and legal languages, apart from the general translation skills required.