Faux amis - French-English legal
Thread poster: Stephen Rifkind
Stephen Rifkind
Stephen Rifkind  Identity Verified
Israel
Local time: 09:52
Member (2004)
French to English
+ ...
Dec 30, 2015

Dear fellow translators,

I will be giving a lecture at the upcoming Israeli Translators Association conference in February regarding legal/financial faux amis, i.e. words whose literal translation from French to English is misleading. An example I can give is a compomis de vente, which is a sales agreement, not a sales compromise.

I have collected quite a few examples but would like to have more. If you can think of any examples and send them to me, I would appreciate
... See more
Dear fellow translators,

I will be giving a lecture at the upcoming Israeli Translators Association conference in February regarding legal/financial faux amis, i.e. words whose literal translation from French to English is misleading. An example I can give is a compomis de vente, which is a sales agreement, not a sales compromise.

I have collected quite a few examples but would like to have more. If you can think of any examples and send them to me, I would appreciate it very much.

Happy new year to all

Stephen Rifkind
Gaguzia Translations
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polyglot45
polyglot45
English to French
+ ...
you could also quote the partial "faux amis" Dec 30, 2015

words such as "important" that have a meaning in French that they don't have in English. "Animation" is another example. Then there is "évolution". What about "large" which doesn't have quite the same meaning in French and English?
Of course, these are not "legal/financial" terms but they may appear in dispatches in texts of that nature
HTH


 
philgoddard
philgoddard
United States
German to English
+ ...
There's a very good discussion here Dec 30, 2015

Starting on page 57:

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Starting on page 57:

http://books.google.com/books?id=yTLXBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA58&lpg=PA58&dq=faux%20amis%20legal&source=bl&ots=JxLenfI5yD&sig=7XyusTjE_9JA2v0jFMk42hmIheQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiagPTSl4TKAhVC82MKHQuICZEQ6AEIPjAF#v=onepage&q=faux%20amis%20legal&f=false

The most obvious example is "droit", which doesn't necessarily mean "law".
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Stephen Rifkind
Stephen Rifkind  Identity Verified
Israel
Local time: 09:52
Member (2004)
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks Dec 30, 2015

Thank you for the links. The discussion is indeed interesting.

 
Claire Nolan
Claire Nolan
Local time: 02:52
French to English
References Dec 31, 2015

http://www.juripole.fr/traduction-juridique/Bulletins/nov-dec-2000.php... See more
http://www.juripole.fr/traduction-juridique/Bulletins/nov-dec-2000.php

http://www.juripole.fr/traduction-juridique/Bulletins/sept-oct-2000.php

http://www.juripole.fr/traduction-juridique/Bulletins/juil-aou.php
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Liviu-Lee Roth
Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 02:52
Romanian to English
+ ...
la prescription = statute of limitations Dec 31, 2015

contravention = infraction

 
Stephen Rifkind
Stephen Rifkind  Identity Verified
Israel
Local time: 09:52
Member (2004)
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Great links Dec 31, 2015

The juripole site is great. I looked at the site but didn't see any way to receive a automatic link when it is updated. Does anybody know whether that it is possible?

 
Claire Nolan
Claire Nolan
Local time: 02:52
French to English
Updates from juripole Dec 31, 2015

Stephen,

It might be worth contacting the person in charge of the site:

Alexis BAUMANN

Avocat au barreau de Paris

Droit de l'informatique

78, avenue Mozart

75016 PARIS

avocats spécialisés en droit de l'informatique

e-mail :

[email protected]


 
Peter Shortall
Peter Shortall  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Romanian to English
+ ...
A couple more Jan 3, 2016

"La compétence" = jurisdiction (and "attribution de compétence" = choice of jurisdiction). I once proofread a FR-EN translation that talked about a court being "incompetent"!

And "la sentence" = judgment, or award in arbitration cases. The word has taken on a much more punishing meaning in English legalese!


 
Stephen Rifkind
Stephen Rifkind  Identity Verified
Israel
Local time: 09:52
Member (2004)
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Nice examples Jan 3, 2016

Thanks

 
Soonthon LUPKITARO(Ph.D.)
Soonthon LUPKITARO(Ph.D.)  Identity Verified
Thailand
Local time: 13:52
English to Thai
+ ...
Faux amis Oct 13, 2016

Peter Shortall wrote:

"La compétence" = jurisdiction (and "attribution de compétence" = choice of jurisdiction). I once proofread a FR-EN translation that talked about a court being "incompetent"!

And "la sentence" = judgment, or award in arbitration cases. The word has taken on a much more punishing meaning in English legalese!


I also have similar terms in the Thai language. I understand that our cultural backgrounds create various terms in legal domains.

Soonthon L.


 


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Faux amis - French-English legal







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