Translators’ and revisers’ competences in legal translation: Revision foci in prototypical scenarios
SilviaParra-Galiano
University of Granada
Abstract
This article proposes a hierarchy of translator and reviser competences in prototypical scenarios in legal
translation with a view to determining the most appropriate revision foci to ensure translation quality. Built on a prior
characterisation of the most common professional translator profiles in legal translation, the proposal for a hierarchy of
competences derives from two premises: (1) The professional profile of those who translate and revise legal documents is very
diverse in terms of competence and qualifications (training and experience), and (2) translation competence and specialist
knowledge in legal fields (i.e., domain competence) are fundamental when revising to guarantee the quality of legal translations.
The proposal is framed by quality assurance in legal translation through a revision process based on (1) the coherent management
of the work of the translators and revisers involved in the translation project, and (2) the appropriate methodology for revision
applied to legal translation by adapting the revision mode’s focus to ensure its effectiveness. Six common scenarios are
identified in light of the translators’ profiles, for which revisers’ profiles are then proposed in order to detect any legal
translation competence deficiencies among translators, and thus ensure quality.
Problems arising from insufficient or poor quality of translations can damage the image of the translation service provider (TSP),
due to the dissatisfaction and distrust generated both in the clients and the recipients of the translations. As most legal texts
serve a legal purpose, errors in legal translation (LT) “may and will give rise to serious legal consequences” (Hu and Cheng 2016, 235), especially when legal consistency and legal certainty are affected by accuracy or
adequacy gaps (Prieto Ramos 2014, 14). Therefore, in LT, the prevention of problems through
translation quality assurance (TQA) must be a priority for any TSP. For Mossop (2001, 92–93), “quality assurance is the full set of procedures applied before, during and after the
translation process, by all the members of a translating organization, to ensure that quality objectives important to clients are
being met.” Thus, quality control and quality assessment contribute to quality assurance, which includes procedures to ensure the
quality of the service, the physical product, and the translation process.
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