Legal Translation Practice

Course Description for Legal Translation Practice


Modified December 26, 2004

1. Course Code:
2. Course Name: Legal Translation Practice
3. Course Type: Compulsory
4. Class Hours: 2 per week; 36 in total
5. Credits: 2
6. Prerequisites: Legal English (I) & (II), E-C Translation, C-E Translation, Legal English Writing, Jurisprudence, International Business Law
7. Objectives and Requirements:This course is designed for fourth-year students of English for International Business Law with a view to helping them overcome the discrepancy between Chinese and English legal knowledge at the levels of word, terminology, sentence and discourse. Students are offered several stylistically-based lectures on legal vocabulary, typical legal sentence patterns and legal discourse. They are also offered lectures and seminars on the principles, methods and strategies on legal translation. The ultimate objective for the students is to familiarize the students with the similarities and differences between legal Chinese and legal English and the related translation rules for them so as to prepare them for top-quality translation service in idiomatic and professional legal language and even legalese.
8. Course Content:
1) First Week: Introduction to the course;
2) Second Week: Basic Knowledge of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Law: A Lexical Approach;
3) Third Week: Basic Knowledge of Civil Law and Civil Procedure Law: A Lexical Approach;
4) Fourth Week: Ten Types of Legal Vocabulary;
5) Fifth Week: Key Sentence Patterns in Legal English;
6) Sixth-Eighth Weeks: There will be no classes because students are away for their internship at the China Export Commodities Fair;
7) Ninth Week: Principles and Methods of Legal Translation;
8) Tenth Week: Five Discourse Types for Legal Translation;
9) Eleventh Week: Translation of Legislative Discourse;
10) Twelfth Week: Translation of Contracts and Agreements;
11) Thirteenth Week: Translation of Bill of Prosecution, Jury Instructions and/or Rulings/Judgments;
12) Fourteenth Week: Translation of Expert Witness Testimonies (DNA);
13) Fifteenth Week: Translation of Statements of Public Prosecutor and Defense Counsel;
14) Sixteenth Week: Translation of Law Reports (Quill Corp. V. North Dakota ex rel. Heitkamp);
15) Seventeenth Week: Translation of Insurance Policies;
16) Eighteenth Week: Translation of Prospectuses and Annual Reports of Listed Companies;
17) Nineteenth Week: Review;
18) Twentieth Week: Final exam.
9. Textbook:A. ZHANG, Xinhong (ed.). A Course in English-Chinese Legal Translation. Beijing: International Business and Economics Press (2005).B. Course materials compiled by the teacher(s)
10. References:
1) LI, Kexing & ZHANG Xinhong, 2004. Legal Texts and Legal Translation. Beijing: China Translation and Publishing Corporation.
2) DU, Jinbang & ZHANG Xinhong (ed.), 2002-04. Core Course in English for Law (Books 1, 2 and 3). Beijing: International Business and Economics Press (2002-2004).
3) HE, Jiahong, 1998. Legal English. Beijing: Law Press.
4) HUANG, Weixin & Paul Livesey,1998. An Introduction to English Style and Rhetoric. Beijing: Police Officer Education Press.
5) QIN, Xiubai, 1995. Introduction to Stylistics. Changsha: Hunan Education Press.

11. Assessment: Participation, course assignments and projects (40%) + Terminal Examination (60%)