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Latin terms and legal translation services.
Posted by: Michela
Ever looked at a legal document and got blurry eyes at the sight of all the Latin ‘legalese’?
Latin has such prevalence in legal language as ancient Rome’s legal system has had a strong influence on the systems of most western countries. As the Romans conquered nation after nation they taught the ‘barbarians’ their latin ways; how to think, act and be like the Romans. After the collapse of the Empire, many of the new orders who took over after the Romans left kept hold of and gradually adapted the existing legal system.
If you work in the legal translation services industry, especially working with English (UK or US) as a source or target language, it is vital that you understand these terms. Legal translation is a challenging job at the best of times, and if you are from a country where the legal system does not utilise these terms it is important that you are aware of them.
Here’s a list of a few of the more commonly used terms, I’m sure you’ll recognise some of them:-
| Latin: Affidavit | Original meaning: he pledged | Modern meaning: a sworn, written statement |
| Latin: bona fide | Original meaning: (in) good faith | Modern meaning: sincere, genuine |
| Latin: habeas corpus | Original meaning: may you have the body | Modern meaning: bring a person before a court |
| Latin: per diem | Original meaning: per day, by the day | Modern meaning: daily |
| Latin: pro bono | Original meaning: for the good | Modern meaning: done for free for the public good |
| Latin: status quo | Original meaning: the existing condition or state of affairs | Modern meaning: how things are currently |
| Latin: sub poena | Original meaning: under the penalty | Modern meaning: an order commanding a person to appear in court under a penalty for not appearing |
Have you come across any others whilst working as in the legal translation services industry?
For more information on legal translation, visit our legal translation services page.
Discussion
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January 6, 2012
It’s not just English that ‘borrows’ extensively from Latin. I know from my experiences with medical French that less formal English terms such as ‘headache’ are more commonly described using the Latin equivalent in French. Does anyone have any other examples of this?
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About the Author
Michela has been flitting between the UK and Italy for her whole life and grew up surrounded by the two languages thanks to her Italian heritage. This has instilled in her a lifelong awareness and passion for languages. She graduated in the Summer of 2011 with a degree in Italian Studies (2:1), is currently completing an MA in Translation with Language Technology (even though she is a self-confessed technophobe!) and is looking forward to building a career in the translation industry.