The Terminologies Are Too Different The legal terminologies between the source and target languages often vary widely – this is the standard difficulty faced by legal translators. When translating, the translator must constantly compare the two legal systems of the two languages s/he is tackling.
Differences in Culture The legal language and law of a country reflects its culture. The legal translator must understand the cultural differences of the legal systems of the two societies s/he is addressing in his/her legal translation.
Legal Style All legal languages are distinct languages unto themselves – each is highly specialized with its own style, shaped by the legal traditions and culture of the relevant country.
Degrees of Difficulty The difficulty in translating a legal text depends on the two legal systems referred to by the source and target language and the nature of the target and source languages themselves. Legal translations are in some ways more complex than other types of translations, although the translator's specialty should fit the project being translated. Translating children's books or movies, for example, requires a different skill set from legal translations.
For example, the difficulty of a legal translation may refer to:
Two legal systems communicated in legal languages that are similar – this may result in an easy translation.
Two similar legal systems communicated in two legal languages that are different, which may result in a not-too-difficult translation.
Two completely different legal systems with two legal languages that are closely related. Such a project would be of considerable difficulty for the translator.
Two distinctly unrelated legal languages and systems. This pairing of two cultures and languages is the hardest for a legal translator.
In other words, the level of difficulty in a legal translation depends completely on the affinity level between the relevant legal systems and source and target languages.
