Contract Translation Through Legal Contract Translation Services

Among legal and legal translation circles there is a popular saying at All contractsrnare agreements but all agreements are not contracts As we can see, therntranslation of legal deals and papers is a distinctly specific and expert arearnof translation. It needs to combine the technicalities of legalese andrnlanguages. An international agreement crosses boundaries, legal contexts,rncommunities, and culture. Translation does get lost in vague wordings andrntranslator’s interpretation. Furthermore, the legal international translationsrnand wordings which can have various legal impacts, so it’s imperative that thernlanguage used is both appropriate and unambiguous. 

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To decipher a legal contract or document with absoluternexactness, here are some things you should keep in mind:

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Avoiding VitiatingrnFactors Through Expert Translators

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Vitiating factors are issues that might spoil the contract. The mainrnvitiating factors of a contract are inaccuracy, undue influence, duress,rnmisrepresentation, frustration, unconscionability, incapacity, and illegality.rnAn example of a vitiating factor is when a party has been lied into enteringrninto the contract due to false claims or misrepresentation. These vitiatingrnfactors can be avoided by the use of expert translators when drafting arncontract.

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Torntranslate a legal contract precisely, a translator must have exceptionalrncommand over legal lingo. As mentioned improper translation can lead tornconfusion, or be open to misinterpretation. Be aware that your work could bernthe object of scrutiny later on. Legal contracts and documentation are relatedrnto the law of the land - a good translator should be familiar with local lawrnand also to the fact that these laws can change.

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Selection of Wordsrnand Phrases 

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The translation should convey the message of the original contract bothrnsuitably and in its totality. In legal contracts, any statement that containsrnvagueness could be subject to concentrated scrutiny. Also, the use ofrnappropriate punctuation is crucial, since misappropriation could result in arnmodification of the original meaning.

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 Arnknowledgeable translator or translation agency must recognize that between anyrntwo languages, it is often arduous to refashion even a simple sentence withrnsimilar wordings. Besides, doing so can result in syntactic inconsistencies andrnwill sound disjointed. Colloquial phrasings and construction often aid towardsrnclarity.

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Asrnsuch dense literature has been written to help assist the process of contractrntranslation. A good read might be a Systematic Approach to Translating Contractsrninto English by Robb Lunn. A legal contract might essentially be divided intorn-

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• Set formulas which are the phrases laden with legalese,rn
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• Structural elements like clause numbering,
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• Housekeeping clauses which provides the details of contracts, which arern formulaic but differs greatly among languages. They also contain morern legalese and set phrases than other clauses.
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• Headings (of clauses, sections, and the contract).
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• Style and syntax the verbs, tenses, and sentencern structure in the operative clauses. The most important part of thern contract.

Regional Variations

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Thernlegal phrasings and construction of contracts for global languages are not thernsame. Even for countries with the same language, the construction of contractsrnwill vary. Legal contracts in Mexico widely vary from Spanish contracts - therntranslation depends on the legal conventions of a country. Native experts are arnnecessity for legal translations.

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Confidentiality

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The contract being translated may contain information that should be hiddenrnfrom competitors. A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is essentially a contractrnthat demands confidentiality from agreeing parties. The contracts beingrntranslated may refer to an on-going investigation or process. During moments ofrnuncertainty, it’s best to assume that the contents of a legal document cannotrnbe shared.

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Therernare certain tips that one can methodically use to avoid translation errors (asrnDescribed by Rob Lunn). Here are some that can be used to translate to and fromrnEnglish:

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1. Do change verbs and tenses -rn Various languages use various language categories (the language ofrn obligation, discretion, prohibition, etc.) for which verbs and tenses needrn to be modified accordingly. For example it is a word used as the languagern of discretion - many languages might not use the word at all to signifyrn discretion.  
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2. Use shall properly (if at all) - as it is a language ofrn obligation
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3. Use hereby properly (if at all) - because it is a legalrn register
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4. Recast, a lot, especially to activern voice - cut and join the sentences according torn requirements 
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5. Be specific and consistent (even when the sourcern text isn’t) - such as using the party name many times, English favorsrn clarity and repetition over variety (thus use actual terms in place ofrn synonyms and pronouns), and make sure all terms are uniform (such asrn capitalization).
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6. Be judgmental in use of legalese -rn there is certain legalese to avoid such as here/there, pursuant to, duly,rn not limited to, etc.  
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7. Decide on the register of the noticeable bits - Signpost languagesrn (hereinafter, of the one/first part, whereas) should be used optionally.
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8. Don’t use doublets – Don’t reproduce any redundancy in the source text.rn Don’t use English doublets in your translations and synonymize thern doublets to the respective terms (make and enter into - enter into, etc.).rn
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9. Avoid non-equivalent English terms - non-equivalent termsrn avoid the exact meaning of the expression, however, might also addrn additional meaning to the expression.

Various Translation Modalities - Contract Translation Services

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1. Tradition translation methods
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Hiringrna traditional translator makes sense whenever one thinks of translating fromrnone language to another. Experienced translators definitely provide preciserntranslations. Translations today are, however, not limited to a single languagern- the requirement of accurate translation is a global phenomenon. The old-stylernmethod for translation, thus, for contracts into multiple languages is unwieldyrnand inefficient.

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2. Machine translation method
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Machinerntranslation is inexpensive (sometimes free). It is also speedy and providesrnprovisions for all the major global languages. Automated translation, however,rnis inaccurate. Exactness for logographic vernaculars lies in the range ofrn70-80%, and in the case of contract translation, this is impracticable.

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3. Online Contract Translation Services
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Contractrntranslations are made easy with online translation services. Legal contractrntranslation services employ native legal experts during the translation processrnto ensure that the translation is accurate, leaving little ground forrnmisrepresentation. Confidentiality is maintained through end-to-end encryptionrnand NDA during communication and translation. After the completion ofrntranslation, in house quality controllers ensure closure of every legalrnloophole. The finished contract translation is provided all under the providedrntimeline. The complete Business Contract Translation Services progression isrnefficient, effective, and errorless.  

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