SYNCRETISM OF LINGUISTIC AND LEGAL COMPETENCIES IN TRANSLATION OF LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Abstract

The article analyses the difficulties of legal translation in the multilingual supranational legal system of the European Union, which Ukraine intends to become a member of. The relevance of the study is determined by the need for a scholarly comprehension of the difficulties of translating EU acts, since in the event of Ukraine’s accession to the EU, it will be necessary to translate large volumes of legal documents. It was proven that legal translation has an interdisciplinary nature, which is manifested by the fact that a translator must possess not only translation skills but also basic knowledge of the law, be able to compare legal concepts of different legal systems and search for the necessary legal information. The emphasis is laid on the need to master the skills of legal interpretation and the ability to choose legal interpretation strategies correctly.The main translation difficulties when working with such an act are shown by the example of the analysis of Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 in English, German, and Polish. Since it was emphasized that the fundamental units of legal language are not words, but rather concepts expressing legal rules, the importance of understanding legal concepts for their correct rendering in other languages was demonstrated. The article emphasizes that languages recognized as official in different states may have specific legal sublanguages and the research discovered based on the German-language text of the Regulation that the existence of such sublanguages can be traced even in EU acts. It was emphasized that a translator dealing with international legal acts plays to a certain extent the role of a norm drafter. The article describes tactics of familiarization and exteriorization in the translation of EU acts, as well. The main competencies of a legal translator are listed in the article’s closing part. It was concluded that legal translation requires specific approaches based on interdisciplinarity, so the main requirements for a specialist in the field of legal translation were indicated in the conclusions.