Article

(Official) Sworn Translation and Its Functions

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Abstract

In this study, we wish to examine official translation (termed sworn translation in Spain) from the point of view of the function and the communicative intent of documents which are the subject of this type of translation. The theoretical basis for an unusual approach to official translation is discussed;its aim is to render communication more effective. The theoretical foundations of this study lie in the functional theory of translation as formulated by Christiane Nord as well as a number of concepts from pragmatics deemed compatible with the above model. Judicial and administrative practices are also drawn upon in the discussion. Considering the process of official translation as a sequence of speech acts, as outlined by Alesandro Ferrara, this study describes the various functions within the sequence which are performed by the examples of documents examined (a British birth certificate, a U.S. birth certificate and an academic transcript from the U.S.). In applying the above approach the components of the document are analysed in relation to the addressee. Official translation fulfils a function and adapts itself to a number of conditions all different from those of the original text. The end result is that a considerable part of the information contained in the original document goes unnoticed in the translated document and even makes its understanding difficult, but the application of a strategy of omission of those elements runs counter to the perspective of the addressee (and quite often also that of the customer) and may affect its acceptability and validity.

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... Sworn translators and interpreters (stis) are a group of professionals known also as legal or court translators/interpreters, because of their specific acting scenarios (i.e., mostly legal or governmental situations; Pym et al., 2012, p. 26). They are a worldwide recognized remunerated group of professionals (Mayoral, 2000;Monzó, 2002;Pym et al., 2012), which means that many institutions and individuals know they exist, that some laws recognize them, and that, in some cases, associations, governments, or schools regulate them (Stejskal, 2003(Stejskal, , 2005. This recognition or authorization makes them crucial for many bilingual interactions between institutions and governments around the world. ...
... This recognition or authorization makes them crucial for many bilingual interactions between institutions and governments around the world. Furthermore, it puts them in an essential position for most contacts between two cultures and languages in specific types of documents and scenarios (Mayoral, 2000). In addition, it differentiates them from other types of translators/interpreters and places them at a different level compared to other specialists in translation/interpretation (Monzó, 2002). ...
... Given the above stated recognition of stis, the academia, as well as associations and governments in many countries, have carried out different studies and initiatives about them. These studies and initiatives have described stis, their behavior, their functions, and their acting scenarios and tried to understand their influence and status (Mayoral, 2000;Monzó, 2002;Stejskal, 2003Stejskal, , 2005. Additionally, they have made the importance of this social group in our society clear (Heras, 2017;Galanes, 2010;Vigier et al., 2013) and have helped offer better alternatives for their training, association, and regularization (Ordoñez, 2009;Ortega, 2011;Zamora, 2005). ...
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The high influence of sworn translators and interpreters (sti, henceforth) on the professional context of translation in Colombia is undeniable. However, the lack of institutional support and the poor documentation and research that exist among stis in the country makes it difficult to read it in an informed, comprehensive, and historical manner. Considering the abovementioned, this article aims at presenting the results of a sociological case study from a quantitative research that reflects, in a diagnostic or preliminary way, on the current situation of the Colombian stis, their status, and their working conditions. This study used techniques mainly from inferential statistics on data collected from a survey conducted to 200 informants. In this paper, special emphasis is placed on the results related to directionality and its influence in the market behavior. In general, there was a large plurality in the informants' profiles even though it was found that more than half of them were women and that English remained the main working language among translators with a particular strong presence of reverse translation/interpretation (towards a language other than Spanish). Likewise, through this research, it was concluded that several understudied professional and market-related aspects crucial for reading and understanding the work done by translators and interpreters in Colombia more judiciously were identified, described, and problematized.
... Los traductores e intérpretes oficiales (TIO) son un grupo de profesionales, también conocidos -y a veces confundidos-como traductores legales, intérpretes de corte o jurídicos, debido a los escenarios de actuación específicos, en los que, en su mayoría, se desarrollan situaciones gubernamentales, institucionales, académicas o legales (Pym, Grin, Sfreddo & Chan, 2012, p. 26). En general, podría decirse que son un grupo reconocido globalmente (Mayoral, 2000;Monzó, 2002;Pym et al., 2012), lo que significa que muchas instituciones e individuos saben que existen, algunas leyes los reconocen y, en algunos casos, son regulados por asociaciones, gobiernos o colegiados universitarios (Stejskal, 2003(Stejskal, , 2005. Este reconocimiento o autorización los hace cruciales en muchas interacciones bilingües o multilingües entre instituciones y gobiernos alrededor del mundo. ...
... Este reconocimiento o autorización los hace cruciales en muchas interacciones bilingües o multilingües entre instituciones y gobiernos alrededor del mundo. Además, los pone en una posición esencial para la mayoría de los contactos entre dos culturas y lenguas en algunos tipos específicos de documentos y de escenarios (Mayoral, 2000). Adicionalmente, los diferencia de otras modalidades en traducción y los ubica en un nivel diferente cuando se los compara con las demás modalidades que existen en esta área del conocimiento (Monzó, 2002). ...
... En vista del reconocimiento antes expuesto, varios académicos, así como asociaciones y gobiernos en muchos países, han llevado a cabo diferentes estudios e iniciativas sobre ellos, que han descrito su comportamiento, funciones y escenarios de actuación y, en muchos casos, han intentado entender su influencia y estatus (Mayoral, 2000;Monzó, 2002;Stejskal, 2003Stejskal, , 2005. Adicionalmente, han aclarado la importancia de este grupo en la sociedad (De las Heras, 2017;Galanes, 2010;Vigier, Klein, & Krestinger, 2013) y han ofrecido mejores alternativas para su formación, asociación y regulación (Ordóñez, 2009;Ortega, 2011;Zamora, 2005). ...
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El objetivo del presente artículo es presentar un breve estado de la cuestión sobre la producción bibliográfica y la situación actual de la traducción e interpretación oficial en Colombia. Para tal fin, se hizo una recolección y análisis de los principales referentes teóricos, normativos y prácticos relacionados con los aspectos académicos y de mercado de la actividad del traductor e intérprete oficial en Colombia y se los comparó con los que existen actualmente en el mundo. Luego de este análisis, que es apenas un planteamiento preliminar de la necesidad de un desarrollo conceptual, teórico y metodológico sobre la profesión, se reconoció la importancia de pensar en algunas iniciativas teóricas y comerciales que abran el camino a la profesionalización de esta área en el país. Asimismo, en la búsqueda se encontró que la producción académica en esta área en el país es aún muy incipiente y, en su gran mayoría, se ha centrado en temáticas relacionadas con estatus, profesionalización y legislación.
... As such, they are responsible for the authenticity of the translation, which gives it the same status and legal effect as the original document. On this basis, the practice of certified translation is organised by legal and regulatory frameworks that deal with the conditions of access to the profession and the general conditions for the acceptance of this type of translation [15]. What is noticeable, however, is that the frameworks do not provide guidelines for the quality standards of translated official documents. ...
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In the context of international mobility and migration, where highly sensitive documents relating to personal status or qualifications need to be translated, a certified translation of official documents is on the increase. A certified translation requires the involvement of a sworn translator who guarantees the exact reproduction of official documents to be registered with a foreign authority. As a personal status document, divorce decrees must also be translated with rigorous standards in order to be recorded elsewhere. The rules governing Arabic divorce decrees are codified separately in Arabic civil codes and refer to the Family Code or Personal Status Code. Matters related to personal status are subject to religious considerations and contain religiously charged terms that are strictly defined in accordance with the Islamic law and require special attention when translated. This paper aims to explore translation challenges of a particular type of Arabic civil status deed, namely divorce decrees. For this purpose, the study first explains the most prominent concepts relating to certified translation and to Arabic divorce decrees. A number of Arabic divorce decrees are then subjected to a descriptive analysis to define shared linguistic features and to outline the relevant translation techniques in dealing with religiously embedded terminology and phraseology. The relevance of this analysis is assessed by examining a French certified translation of an Arabic divorce document in order to draw meaningful conclusions about the approach to translating this legal genre.
... According to the Gov.br website, which provides information about the Brazilian Federal Executive Branch, sworn translation is a type of translation done by a public translator. Mayoral (2000) also defines it as the official translation of documents. In contrast to translators in other fields, a sworn translator has the authority to provide a sworn statement certifying the accuracy and authenticity of the translated documents. ...
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This article reports on a study that aimed to investigate the productivity of machine translation post-editing (MTPE) applied to the sworn translation of personal documents. More specifically, it aimed at describing some of the challenges of post-editing birth certificates and ID cards from Brazilian Portuguese into American English, as well as analyzing the time spent on the MTPE of such documents in comparison to manually translating them. The methodology consisted of timed and annotated translation using MTPE and human translation (HT). It also included the description of elements and final formatting that is characteristic of sworn translation. The PDF files were converted to Word using an OCR software. Our results indicated that MTPE might be more productive than HT when time spent on OCR and formatting is not considered. However, since the sample size was limited to eight documents and two types of documents, the results cannot be generalized.
... See, for instance, Alcaraz (2000Alcaraz ( , 2001Alcaraz ( , 2002Alcaraz ( , 2004), Bestué (2008), Bocquet (1996), Borja (2000), Cao (2007), Dullion, (2000Dullion, ( , 2007), Ferrán (2004Ferrán ( , 2005) Gémar (1988, 2005, 2006), Godayol (2006), Gotti and Sarcevic (2006), Hickey (2004Hickey ( , 2005aHickey ( , 2005b), Ioratti ( 2007), Lérat ( 1995) Mayoral (2000Mayoral ( , 2002Mayoral ( , 2003Mayoral ( , 2005Mayoral ( , 2006Mayoral ( , 2007aMayoral ( , 2007b), Monzó (2003), Pommer (2008a, 2008b), Sandrini (1996Sandrini ( , 2006), Terral (2002), Santamaria (2003, 2006) and Sarcevic (1997Sarcevic ( , 2000). ...
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