A Report On The C-E Translation Of The Criminal Judgment In The Hog Smuggling Case

The report is based on the C-E translation of the criminal judgment in the hog smuggling case.The purpose of selecting the material is based on the following two considerations.Firstly,although there are many English judgments “going in”,few Chinese judgments are “going out”.Therefore,from the perspective of spreading legal information,more Chinese judgments being translated into English is beneficial for English readers to understand the Chinese legal system.Secondly,the criminal judgment in the hog smuggling case has the distinctive features of both Chinese and legal language.An analysis of the stylistic features of this Chinese judgment is helpful for legal translators to master the translation methods of the same type.The Chinese judgment being studied in this report has four distinctive features.First of all,like other legal genres,the judgment makes frequent use of legal argots and fixed expressions.Second of all,the reference number of court cases is deliberately cited in the form of abbreviations and codes.Third of all,it uses a topiccomment structure to describe the identity information of the defendant.Lastly,sentences consisting of serial verb construction appear frequently.For the translation of legal argots and fixed expressions,translators can consult relevant online materials.The case study section of this report focuses on the translation difficulties that cannot be solved entirely by consulting online materials.In terms of the reference number of the court cases,transliteration and footnotes can be used.In regards to the identity information of the defendant,listing rather than sentence-making can be employed.Finally,for the Chinese sentences containing serial verbs,translators should reorganize the sentences based on semantics and logic.Throughout the process,the translator should abide by the six operating principles of legal translation,namely,accuracy and precision,consistency and identity,clarity and concision,professionalism,standardized language,and team work.Two conclusions are drawn from this report.The first conclusion is that translators should make “conveying the meaning” their primary task when translating legal texts.The second conclusion is that a certain degree of freedom still exists in translating legal instruments.Given that the purpose of legal translation is to convey the meaning,appropriate techniques can be used to minimize the barriers caused by language differences.