legal translation in saudi arabia

317 Pages·2013·1.21 MB·English

LEGAL TRANSLATION IN SAUDI ARABIA:
A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF LINGUISTIC
CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED BY PRACTITIONERS

By

Abdulfatah J. Bostanji

A thesis
presented to
the University of Western Sydney
In fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
January, 2010
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my deep thanks and appreciation to my principal supervisor,
Professor Stuart Campbell, for his great teaching, encouragement, invaluable ideas,
and inspiration. He was always there for me, providing great help and support with
patience throughout the years of my candidature.

My sincere thanks also go to my co-supervisors, Associate Professor Sandra Hale
and Dr Raymond Chakhachiro, for their constructive criticism, invaluable comments,
and great support.

Special thanks and gratitude go to my collegue Dr Abbas Brashi for his great and
continuous support.

I am also grateful to all legal translators and drafters who participated in the
empirical part of this thesis. Special thanks go to the legal advisor, Abdulmuneim
Zahir, for his great help in conducting the empirical study.

My deep thanks also go to Dr Paul Glew for his great help in the final stage of
editing some chapters of this thesis, and to Dr Stephen McLaren for his great support
in proofreading.

Finally, special and sincere thanks and appreciation go to my great wife and two sons
for their support and patience throughout the years of their homesickness.
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STATEMENT OF AUTHENTICATION

The work presented in this thesis is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, original
except as acknowledged in the text. I hereby declare that I have not submitted this
material, either in whole or in part, for a degree at this or any other institution.

Abdulfatah J. Bostanji

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................1
Abstract..............................................................................................................15
Chapter 1:...................................................................................................................17
Legal translation.........................................................................................................17
1. Introduction........................................................................................................17
1.1 Overview on the background of the research...............................................17
1.2 Research Objectives.....................................................................................19
1.3 Research Questions......................................................................................19
1.4 Methodology................................................................................................20
1.4.1 Contrastive analysis..............................................................................20
1.4.1.1 Level 1: Analysis of syntactic and semantic features....................21
1.4.1.2 Level 2: Analysis of textualization and stylistic festures...............21
1.4.2 Empirical study.....................................................................................22
1.5 Data set.........................................................................................................23
1.5.1 Materials................................................................................................23
1.5.2 Data Storage..........................................................................................25
1.6 Layout of the thesis ………………………………………………………..25
1.7 Limitations of the study...............................................................................27
Chapter 2:...................................................................................................................28
Legal language in English and Arabic.......................................................................28
2. Introduction........................................................................................................28
2.1 The nature of English legal language...........................................................28
2.1.1 The history of Legal English.................................................................28
2.1.2 Characteristics of Legal English...........................................................29
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2.1.3 Plain legal English................................................................................34
2.1.4 Legal writing and legal drafting............................................................35
2.2 The nature of Arabic legal language...........................................................35
2.2.1. Islamic law...........................................................................................37
2.3 English and Arabic legal texts: A contrastive analysis................................40
2.3.1 Syntactic features..................................................................................40
2.3.1.1 Nominalisation...............................................................................40
2.3.1.2 Choice of tense...............................................................................42
2.3.1.3 The use of the passive....................................................................44
2.3.2 Semantic features...................................................................................46
2.3.2.1 Modality.............................................................................................54
2.3.3 Textualization and stylistic features........................................................54
2.3.3.1 Layout...............................................................................................54
2.3.3.2 The use of long sentences..................................................................61
2. 3.3.3 The use of Complex Provisions........................................................62

2.4 Legal Translation.........................................................................................63
2.4.1 Overview of Legal translation...............................................................63
2.4.2 The context of legal translation in Saudi Arabia...................................65
2.4.2.1 Procedures and practices..................................................................65
2.4.2.2 Specific legal translation difficulties in the context of Saudi Arabia66
2.4.3 Collaboration between legal translators and legal drafters..................66
2.4.4 The prevailing language in translated contracts....................................66
2.4.4.1 The prevailing language issue in various international contexts...66
2.4.4.2 The prevailing language issue in Saudi Arabia..............................67
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2.5 Conclusion.......................................................................................................67
2.6 Research questions...........................................................................................68
2.7 Knowledge gaps...........................................................................................69
Chapter 3....................................................................................................................70
Linguistic contrastive analysis...................................................................................70
3. Introduction........................................................................................................70
3.1 Level 1: Analysis of syntactic and semantic features..................................70
3.1.1 Results and Discussion of the English Version.....................................72
3.1.2 Results and Discussion of the Arabic Version......................................83
3.1.3 A comparison of structural and stylistic features of Arabic and English
language of contract.......................................................................................97
3.1.3.1 The use of modals..........................................................................97
3.1.3.2 The use of perfect participles...........................................................105
3.1.3.3 The use of the present active........................................................109
3.2 Level 2: Analysis of Textualization and stylistic features.........................113
3.2.1Cohesion 113
3.2.2 The use of archaic words and expressions..........................................115
3.2.3 The use of technical terms and expressions restricted to legal language
117
3.2.4 The use of collocations........................................................................119
3.2.5 The use of binomials...........................................................................121
3.3 Summary....................................................................................................123
3.3.1 Syntactic and semantic features..........................................................123
3.3.2 Textualization and stylistic features....................................................125
Chapter 4..................................................................................................................127
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Empirical Study........................................................................................................127
4. Introduction......................................................................................................127
4.1 Questionnaire 1: Legal Translators............................................................128
4.1.1 Research Design..................................................................................128
4.1.2 Methods and Data Collection..............................................................128
4.1.3 Research questions..............................................................................129
4.1.4 Results and Discussion Questionnaire 1: Legal Translators...............133
4.1.5 Results and discussion........................................................................135
4.1.5.1 Distribution of the sample according to qualifications................135
4.1.5.2 Descriptive statistics for the years of experience.........................136
4.1.5.3 Translation of texts other than legal text......................................136
4.1.5.4 The level of difficulty in the translation of legal texts compared to
the translation of other text types.............................................................137
4.1.5.5 The level of difficulty in the translation of legal texts from Arabic
into English compared to the translation from English into Arabic.........138
4.1.5.6 The frequency of legal text translation, by type...........................139
4.1.5.7 The level of importance given to the translation of different types
of documents or agreements.....................................................................141
4.1.5.8 The level of difficulty in translating commercial contracts and
agreements from English into Arabic and vice versa...............................143
4.1.5.9 Contribution to the difficulty of translating commercial contracts
and agreements from English into Arabic................................................144
4.1.5.10 Contribution to the difficulty of translating commercial contracts
and agreements from Arabic into English................................................146
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4.1.5.11 Different methods to overcome difficulties in translating
commercial contracts and agreements from English into Arabic and vice
versa.........................................................................................................147
4.1.5.12 Collaboration between legal translators and legal drafters when
translating commercial contracts and agreements....................................148
4.1.5.13 The need for greater or less collaboration between legal translator
and legal drafters when translating commercial contracts and agreements
from English into Arabic and vice versa..................................................149
4.1.6 Summary.............................................................................................151
4.1.7 Evaluation of the respondents’ sample translations............................160
4.1.7.1 English into Arabic translation....................................................161
4.1.7.1.1 A comparison of the respondents’ self evaluation of their
competence and their actual competence from English into Arabic........165
4.1.7.2 Arabic into English translation....................................................167
4.1.7.2.1 A comparison of the respondents’ self evaluation of their
competence and their actual competence from Arabic into English........172
4.2 Questionnaire 2: Legal Drafters.................................................................174
4.2.1 Research Design..................................................................................174
4.2.2 Methods and Data Collection..............................................................174
4.2.3 Research Questions.............................................................................175
4.2.4 Results and Discussion Questionnaire 2: Legal Drafters....................177
4.2.4.1 Description of years of experience...............................................177
4.2.4.2 Collaboration between legal drafters and legal translators when
translating commercial contracts and agreements....................................177
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4.2.4.3 The need for more or less collaboration between legal translators
and legal drafters when translating English into Arabic and vice versa..178
4.2.4.4 Basis of selection of the prevailing version of a translated
commercial contract.................................................................................179
Questions to legal drafters................................................................................179
4.2.4.5 The importance of having a certain level of knowledge in legal
translators.................................................................................................180
4.2.4.6 The quality of commercial contract and agreement translation
practice in Saudi Arabia...........................................................................181
4.2.4.7 Suggestions to improve the quality of legal translation practice in
Saudi Arabia.............................................................................................181
4.2.4.8 Suggestions towards qualifications of legal translators in Saudi
Arabia, e.g. a system of accreditation......................................................182
Chapter 5..................................................................................................................183
Conclusion and Recommendations..........................................................................183
5. Introduction......................................................................................................183
5.1 Summary of this research and its findings.................................................183
5.1.1 Summary of the research.....................................................................183
5.1.2 Summary of the findings.....................................................................185
5.1.2.1 The structural and stylistic features of English and Arabic legal
texts..........................................................................................................185
5.1.2.2 The difficulties in translating legal texts......................................189
5.1.2.3 The effects of collaboration between legal drafters and translators
..................................................................................................................195
5.1.2.4 The prevailing of one language version of translated contracts...199
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5.2 Recommendations......................................................................................200
5.2.1 SWOT analysis...................................................................................200
5.2.2 Stakeholders........................................................................................202
5.2.3 Recommendations for stakeholders....................................................204
5.2.4 Contributions of this study..................................................................218
5.2.5 Directions for further research............................................................219
Bibliography.........................................................................................................221
Appendices
Appendix 1. A case of translation tried in the Saudi Bureau of Grievance 232
Appendix 2. Consent forms for the empirical study 233
Appendix 3. Questionnaire for the empirical study: Legal translators 240
Appendix 4. Translation exercise: English to Arabic 245
Appendix 5. Translation exercise: Arabic to English 247
Appendix 6. Questionnaire for Legal Drafters 248
Appendix 7: SPSS Analysis 250
Appendix 8. A legal document “deed” dating back to the Ottoman period 262
Appendix 9. The FIDIC contract (Fédération Internationale Des Ingénieurs-
Conseils) 263
Appendix 10. Industrial land lease executed in Saudi Arabia by the Royal
Commission for Jubail & Yanbu and Petromin Lubricating Oil Company 302
Appendix 11. Agreement to arbitrate boundary dispute between two countries
(Arbitration Compromise) 313

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