Abstract
In bilingual countries like Canada, bi-juralism and official bilingualism represent considerable challenges for lawyers and translators. How does one translate common law concepts into French when they have evolved over the centuries in English? The Anglophone lawyer in Quebec, coping with a code directly inspired by the Code Napoleon, confronts a similar issue. This raises the question of the specific nature of the legal vernacular. In other words, must the common law be expressed only in English and the civil law only in French? In Canada, we hold to the belief — some would say naively — that translating legal notions from another legal system is not only possible, it is essential.
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© 2009 Louis Beaudoin
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Beaudoin, L. (2009). Legal Translation in Canada: the Genius of Legal Language(s). In: Olsen, F., Lorz, A., Stein, D. (eds) Translation Issues in Language and Law. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230233744_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230233744_9
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-30134-8
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-23374-4
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