Tips About Contract Translation, What to Watch For
Tips About Contract Translation, What to Watch For
You must have heard people say ‘I give you my word’ many times in life. Maybe you have said it yourself too. People also get offended when you don’t believe them and ask you whether their word is not good enough. Maybe it is but when it comes to anything official, you will need a lot more than someone’s words. The word runs on deals between people, businesses, and governments. But if those deals were never made on paper, they never would have lasted. It is not that we are not following through if we only use our words about something. But when we write something on the paper, it becomes official. Deals made on the paper holds value. When two parties sign a paper, they both realize that the other respects the agreement.
One form of agreement that is often done by the involved parties signing a document is a contract. All of us have heard the name of contracts in our lives but we don’t really understand them until we have to sign one ourselves. They are pretty complicated document and their complexity increases depending on the field. The biggest power of contracts is that they are legally binding. They are signed by all parties voluntarily and immediately become valid after the signatures. Sometimes, companies hire employees on contract basis. During that time period, the employee has to fulfill all the duties listed in the agreement and they will be paid according to the document.
There are also contracts in the business world among two parties. Sometimes they work to strengthen a deal. They are also used in court cases as evidence of cooperation between two parties. In any case, they are very important documents and need to be handled carefully too. When it comes to exchanging agreement documents or showing them to another party, the language barrier can be a problem. Business translation is very important in today’s world where multinational companies run everything. But it is not an easy type of interpretation. It requires a high level of expertise and years of experience in the field. Contract translation is no different. A little slip up can cause huge problems for all the parties involved. This is why companies hire only the best agencies and freelancers for handling their sensitive documents and translating them.
Translating Contracts, What to Watch For?
When it comes to translating contracts, there are a lot of things that need to be kept in mind to avoid making any kind of mistakes. Making sure that the dates and names of the companies are accurate is the basic things. But when it comes to translation, there are things like using pronouns in place of the names that should be avoided. Using the names in all places help avoid any type of confusions.
Another thing to keep in mind is to avoid ambiguity. Legal documents with a little ambiguity can be interpreted in a dozen different ways. But when the translation is clear, that won’t be a problem and the agreement will only say what it is supposed to say. The translator should know all legal terminologies in both languages so correct alternatives can be added in the translation and any type of confusion can be avoided. Companies should choose an agency or freelancer they can trust as contracts contain a lot of sensitive information and should not end up in the wrong hands.
Tips About Contract Translation:
The scary contract translations can get confusing for even the most experienced translator. So, here are a few tips to help you get through this difficult task:
- Establish the Difference Between Formulaic and Language and Contract Information:
Like every other document, contracts have parts that can be loosely translated and parts that should be interpreted as it is. The formulaic language is the part that you can interpret any way you want. It may appear important on the contract but in truth, it does not contain any real information regarding the agreement. The contract information, on the other hand, is the stuff that make them agreement. This information contains all the details about the deal and should not be changed. If you make any changes in the contract information, you will be changing the meaning of the agreement.
- The Proper Tenses:
When you are translating parts of the contract that deals with promissory statements, use will to indicate the parties will fulfill their promise and do the mentioned task in the future. When interpreting parts that describe a policy, you can use a present or past tense without hesitation. Keeping the tenses proper in the translation will help everyone understand the meaning behind each statement.
- Only Add Numbers:
A lot of translators might feel tempted to add words along with numbers. For instance, $10 (ten dollars). Redundancy is not generally appreciated in legal documents and adding words with numbers will add ambiguity to the statement.
- Go with Agreement:
It may be hard to find the equivalent of contract or any other such word in a different language. That is why it is better to stick with agreement. You can find a word for agreement in all languages. When you use the translation of agreement instead of trying to find a word for contract, you will be able to convey the meaning to your audience just fine.
The difficult task of translating contracts will become a lot easier if you follow the tips mentioned above.
