Challenges and Strategies in Translating Legal Terms between English and Arabic: A Comparative Study of International Accords and Agreements

Authors

  • Zakaryia Almahasees

    Department of English Language and Translation, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Applied Science Private University, Amman 11931, Jordan
  • Yousef Albudairi

    College of Languages and Translation, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh 11623, Saudi Arabia
  • Mouad Al-Natour

    Department of English Language and Translation, Faculty of Arts, Jerash University, Jerash 26110, Jordan
  • Ahmad AL-Harahsheh

    Department of Translation, Faculty of Arts, Yarmouk University, Irbid 21163, Jordan
  • Sameh Mahmoud

    Department of Translation, College of Languages and Translation, Najran University, Najran 11451, Saudi Arabia

    Languages and Translation Center, Faculty of Arts, Sohag University, Sohag 82524, Egypt

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i1.7565
Received: 22 October 2024 | Revised: 20 November 2024 | Accepted: 25 November 2024 | Published Online: 8 January 2025

Abstract

This study scrutinizes the problems and strategies involved in the translation of legal terms from English into Arabic and vice versa, whether in relation to international accords or agreements. Despite the significant differences between English common law and the civil or Islamic law systems in Arabic, this piece of research tries to look into how translators surpass challenges to maintain legal accuracy and cultural appropriateness. In this regard, the present study has taken up a qualitative research design that analyzes ten samples of legal terms in selected international agreements, such as the United Nations Charter, the Paris Agreement, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Besides this, open-ended questions were administered to 20 legal translators to trace the challenges they encountered and their coping strategies. The outcome of the study reveals that the largest problem is related to the absence of most equivalents in legal expressions - especially those containing culturally related contexts. Functional equivalence, consultation with legalists, and the use of explanatory footnotes are the most frequent means to ensure legal accuracy. In addition, cultural adaptation is the major strategy that allows translation to be accurate and applicable in areas such as family law and finance. The need to integrate linguistic, legal, and cultural competencies is nowadays quite urgent in translating international legal documents between English and Arabic.

Keywords:

Legal Translation; International Accords; Functional Equivalence; Cultural Adaptation; English-Arabic Translation

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How to Cite

Almahasees, Z., Albudairi, Y., Al-Natour, M., AL-Harahsheh, A., & Mahmoud, S. (2025). Challenges and Strategies in Translating Legal Terms between English and Arabic: A Comparative Study of International Accords and Agreements. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 7(1), 609–625. https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i1.7565

Issue

Vol. 7 , Iss. 1 (January 2025)

Article Type

Article

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Copyright © 2025 Zakaryia Almahasees, Yousef Albudairi, Mouad Al-Natour, Ahmad AL-Harahsheh, Sameh Mahmoud

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This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.