What is the role of a legal translator?
A career as a legal translator can be very rewarding. The profession will always be in demand and there is plenty of opportunity for professional development. So, what do you need to do to become a legal translator? Let’s take a look and find out how you can enter this interesting profession.
What is the role of a legal translator?
The role of a legal translator is to accurately translate legal documents from their original language to a different language while maintaining the context and meaning of the content. Legal translators work freelance or for a translation company or agency. At Espresso Translations, we have a global team of translators, many of whom are career legal translators and specialise only in this type of translation.
A range of documents fall under the title ‘legal’ including contracts, patents, identity papers like a passport or birth certificate, wills, litigation documents or medical files. Legal translators must translate these documents from their source language to a target language. While doing so, the translator must retain the legal terminology so that none of the meaning and legal context of the document is lost. This is extremely important and for this the translator must have experience in the legal profession.
What are the education requirements to become a legal translator in UK?
In the United Kingdom, becoming a legal translator requires a Bachelor degree or a Masters degree, usually in languages or linguistics. However, it is also possible to acquire a degree-level certificate in translation from the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL). There are specialist courses in legal translation that you can take once you are qualified as a certified translator.
As a translator, you must be fluent in at least two languages so you really need to have studied your preferred language prior to studying at university or through a route of equal merit such as the CIOL. At this level, you will be expected to have a good understanding of the language already.
What training is required to become a certified legal translator?
A professional translator must be bilingual at a minimum but multilingualism is highly advantageous. Of course, there are standards of language proficiency that must be met. All of the translators at Espresso Translations, translate into their mother tongue and are fluent in the source language.
To work as a certified translator, you can be accredited by joining a translators association such as the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI) or CIOL. There is no official route to becoming certified. Rather it is through membership of one of these professional bodies which demonstrates your professionalism and competence.
If you wish to become a professional legal translator, you will also need to have a legal background. This is because you will be dealing with legal terminology and concepts in your work and need to have a deep understanding of them in order to translate accurately.
Challenges of Being a Legal Translator
Any translator must be able to translate with complete accuracy and faithfulness to the original document or file. However, in legal translation, this precision is even more important.
While mistranslation in any form can cause issues and is not desirable, when this occurs with legal documents it can have very serious consequences. These could be legal, financial or even cause someone to be wrongly convicted in a criminal case. Of course, there is also the loss of reputation for the translator who made the mistake.
Many legal translations are time sensitive so deadlines can be a challenge for a translator. However, the quality of the translation and its faithful representation of the original document should take precedence as an error can have considerable repercussions.
As well as the need for fluency in the language pair, the translator needs expertise in the legal systems of the source and target languages. The way the law works in separate countries varies and it is important for the translator to understand the different legal systems.
What qualification do I need to be a translator?
A language professional in the UK will need at least a Bachelor’s degree in translation studies or modern languages. Alternatively, you can take a combined degree of a language with translation studies at university. You can also take a translation course with ITI or CIOL.
Language interpretation is a different skill and involves working with speech rather than written documents. Both require specific qualifications and are used in legal situations such as court hearings.
What should you study to become a legal translator?
The route to becoming a legal translator doesn’t necessarily follow a specific path and there are several routes you can take. Of course, as mentioned you will need to study at least one other language apart from your mother tongue. Remember, you must also have a very good grasp of your own language’s grammar rules, vocabulary and spelling.
As well as your language skills, to be a legal translator you will also need experience in the legal industry. This is why many legal translators are lawyers as they have a sound knowledge of legal terminology. Once qualified translators have become certified translators, they can expand their experience.
Therefore, if you want to become a legal translator, you can look for employment where you can gain the necessary knowledge, legal experience and additional training to become a legal translator. There are many roles in the legal profession where you can become familiar with legal terms, court proceedings and study legal texts.
Where do legal translators work?
Legal translators work in a variety of industries and services from government agencies to language service providers such as translation agencies. They also work in the courts, in business, medicine, and as freelancers. Wherever legal documents need to be translated from one language to another, there will be a need for legal translators.
How much does a legal translator earn?
The average salary of a legal translator in the UK is about £26,000 with a pay range of £20,000 and £34,000 per year.
The exact amount that a legal translators earns will depend on a variety of factors including:
- Experience
- Language skills e.g. fluency in a rare or unusual source, target language
- Legal specialisation
- Whether they work as a freelancer or in-house
- Technical skills e.g. formatting
Working as a translator on legal projects or as part of a legal translation service is a rewarding career. With training, certification and experience, you can work for a professional translation agency or as a freelancer.
Leggi anche: How Much Does Legal Translation Cost?
What is the difference between a legal translation and a certified translation?
While there is a difference between a legal translation and a certified translation, they may often be the same document. In the UK, a certified translation is the standard for a translated document including legal texts and files.
These translations are accepted by all public bodies and government departments including the courts, immigration authorities and by academic institutions.
A certified translation is when the original document is translated from a foreign language into the English language or vice versa. The translator then attaches a statement of truth to the translation that attests to its faithfulness to the original document. They then sign and stamp this statement.
A legal translation, as we have discussed, is the translation of a document which is used for a legal purpose and has been translated from its original language into a different language. These legal translations are also certified by the translator. Hence, a legal translation can also be called a certified translation.
