Theory and Practice of Translation

Seminar 10.

Translation of official documents: text frames.

Grammatical aspects.

1 Compare the principles of literary translation and those of official document translation.

2. What is peculiar about the text of official documents?

3. What is a text frame? Define it. What are the frame slots and slot fillers? Give examples of text frames with slots.

4. What is the main approach to the translation of official documents?

5. Give examples of grammar patterns and standard terms in the text of official documents.

6. Compare the principles of literary translation and those of official document translation.

7. What is peculiar about the text of official documents?

8. What is a text frame? Define it. What are frame slots and slot fillers? Give examples of text frames with slots.

9. What is the main approach to the translation of official documents?

10. Give examples of grammar patterns and standard terms in the text of official documents.

Exercises

Ex. 1. Translate into Ukrainian observing the frame structure and terms of the source text.

POWER OF ATTORNEY

I, ....................................... the senior partner of ..............................

law firm, .............................. Street, city of .................. (country) ........... regulated by the Law Society of England and Wales, being duly authorized representative and attorneys of.......................... Company........................ city of ......................... by this POWER OF ATTORNEY authorize and appoint

Advocate Firm ................................... (hereinafter - Advocate firm), registered on... of........ 199...... by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, registration #.........., identification code......... to act on behalf of......................................... (together «the Company») on matters related to interests of the Company on the territory of Ukraine in all matters arising from and/or relating to the ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

The Advocate firm is authorized:

1. To conduct any negotiations concerning the purpose of this Power of Attorney on the territory of Ukraine;

2. To approach with any applications and letters of official requests any of official boards, organizations, courts, notary offices, legal entities and physical persons in Ukraine;

3. To lawfully represent Company with regards to any official boards and organizations, including, but not limited, court, notary and admini­stration boards, notary offices, companies, legal entities and physical per­sons of Ukraine within the legal scope of herein presented Power of At­torney;

4. To represent Company's interests in courts of all institutions ow­ing all rights given to plaintiff, defendant, to the third person, as well as get to know documents of case, to make extracts, to copy; to sue, to sign statements of claim and other documents that amend and supplement it, to sign any documents related, to claim; to bring any claim; to insert any alterations in and amendments to claim; to change claim demands; to contest a claim; to establish a claim; to abandon a claim; to counterclaim; to defend a suit; to take part in court proceedings; to afford proof, to lake part in investigation of proofs; to present petitions, to present oral and writing explanations in courts of any institutions; to afford their proofs and present their considerations in connection with questions which can arise in court proceedings; to raise objections against petitions and proofs of participants of a court procedure; to participate in taking a de­cision; to amicable agreement; to file an appeal; to make use of all other rights for Participant under Ukrainian legislation; a use of all other rights for Participant under the Ukrainian legislation;

5. To represent the Company in any and all State Bodies and institu­tions of Ukraine in connection with execution of the decision of courts of any institutions;

6. To carry out any and all actions on behalf of the Company related to execution of the decision of courts including, but not limited to sign­ing, presenting and receiving all documents in connection with it.

7. To carry out any negotiations with any third parties on any pecu­niary compensations and penalties concerning the Accident, including, but not limited to determination of sum of any pecuniary compensations and penalties, definition of dead line of payments of any pecuniary com­pensations and penalties, conclusion and signing on behalf of the interest of the Company of any contracts or additional agreements in connection with it; carrying out of any other actions concerning the penalty of pecuniary compensations and penalties from third parties on behalf of the interest of the Company;

8 On behalf of the Company to sign relevant documents as to the purpose of this Power of Attorney;

9. To do any other activities to his opinion necessary for Company's interests on the territory of .........................................................................................................................................................................

The Advocate firm has the right to define independently advocates and collaborators for execution of above mentioned authorities and grant above mentioned through issuing a corresponding Power of Attor­ney to any advocates and collaborators working at the Advocate firm.

This Power of Attorney is issued on.......... 2001 and is valid till...............................................................................Senior Partner

Signature

Ex. 2. Translate into English observing the frame structure and terms of the source text.

ДОВІРЕНІСТЬ

(населений пункт) —————————————————

(число, місяць, рік словами)

Я, громадянин___________________________________________________________ (прізвище, ім'я та по батькові)

що проживає за адресою: ________________________________________________________

паспорт _ серія _ № ___, виданий «_» _———————— 200 — р.

_____________________________________________________ і ор­гану, що видав паспорт)

Уповноважую громадянина ______________________________________________________

що проживає за адресою:_________________________________________________________

паспорт _ серія _ № ___, виданий «_» _________ 19 _ р.

(назва органу, що видав паспорт)

бути моїм представником у всіх підприємствах, установах, ор­ганізаціях незалежно від форм власності, в тому числі органах вла­ди та управління в питаннях

______________________________________________________________________________

У зв'язку з чим надаю йому такі права:

1. Брати участь у ______________________________________________________________;

2. Подавати від мого імені листи, заяви, клопотання та інші доку­менти;

3. Підписувати від мого імені листи, заяви, вимоги, клопотання, протоколи, скарги та інші документи;

4. Одержувати інформацію, документи та пояснення від ________________, а також підприємств, установ, ор­ганізацій ______________________________;

6. Здійснювати інші дії, необхідні для виконання представницьких функцій для управління належними мені корпоративними права­ми.

Довіреність видана без права передовіри та дійсна ___ років, тоб­то до________ .

(Підпис)

Ex 3. Translate the following sentences paying attention to the infinitive or infinitive constructions:

1. The United Nations principal function is to maintain peace and prevent war.

The decisions of the Yalta and Potsdam conferences pointed out the treat of militarism and aggression to the course of peace and security and provided a system of measures to eliminate sources of war and aggres­sion.

2. Other areas of major concern relate to the seabed and ocean floor and mean to ensure their reservation for peaceful use.

3. Disputes are to be settled by peaceful means. Member states undertake not to use force or the threat of force in contravention of the purposes of the UN.

4. States not-members of the UN are required to. act in accordance with these principles so far as may be necessary for the maintenance of international peace and security.

5. The General Assembly is expressly authorised to deal with specific disputes and situations brought before it and to undertake studies and make recommendations for promoting international co-operation in political, social, cultural and educational matters for encouraging the development of international law and for assisting in the realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Ex 4. Translate the following sentences paying attention to the gerund or gerundial constructions:

1. Polls keep indicating that a majority of Americans hold strong doubts about the candidate's ability to handle his job.

2. Each side insists on withholding its part of the bargain until the other has acted.

3. The situation in the country is a lesson in the dangers of upsetting the delicate balance of neutralist politics.

4. The impossibility of disregarding established diplomatic rules does not, however, preclude suspicious host governments from keeping a watchful eye on diplomatic missions and diplomats suspected of abus­ing their privileges and immunities.

5. My objection is to writing books about him before there is any­thing serious to write, and offering accounts, which are very far from objective.

6. All this, however, has not prevented the head of the delegation and his colleagues from keeping up their end of a dialogue, which reflects a practical approach and a real willingness to consider serious proposals.

7. Amnesty, often granted to student troublemakers last year, is to be a thing of the past at many colleges. Instead of being forgiven for mis­conduct, more students are to be suspended or expelled.

8. They are terrified of being drawn into taking over responsibility for their own security.

9. The same end is not at all served, at least, not in any direct way, by getting rid of the secretary of defense.

10. No sign exists of the president having concerned himself with the substance of these two important questions.

Ex 5. Translate the following sentences paying attention to the participles or participial constructions:

1. But most (98%) of the businesses in the United States are «small» businesses - independently owned and operated and having fewer than twenty employees.

2. Whether a business has one employee working at home, 100 working in a retail store, 10,000 working a plant or factory or 100,000 working in branch offices nation-wide, all businesses share the same definition and are organized for the same purpose: to earn profits.

3. There being no survivors, the exact causes which led to the acci­dent will never be known.

4. Government legislation leads a company to change its hiring prac­tices; technological advances convince a company to change its manufac­turing processes; changes in consumer tastes tell a company to alter its marketing strategies.

5. The number of working women is rising - and, as a result, the number of two salary households and the number of women managers are also rising steadily.

6. With the new countries in, the United Nations will for the first time include Britain's allies and associates.

7. When sole proprietors borrow money, they do so as individuals, using their own personal assets to finance personal loans.

8. A tactical plan is specific, detailed, and current, focusing on pre­sent operations.

9. The ratification debate should take place as quickly as possible, it being understood that the president of the republic should not sign the treaty until the «preconditions» are fulfilled.

10. Once objectives and plans have been established, the organizing function comes into play.

11. Managers' decisions range from minor and relatively unimpor­tant to major and potentially life-threatening to the organization.

12. UNEP in co-operation with the Specialised Agencies and other organisations is trying to check loss of land through erosion, aridity, sa­linity and encroaching cities.

13. The 18 riparian countries have begun research and monitoring of the condition of the sea, most have signed the Barcelona Convention agreeing to control pollution and over-fishing, and they have begun plans for joint development of that sea.

14. The intellectual attractions of the law regulating literary and ar­tistic property account only in small part for the rise of copyright law.

15. Sometimes copyright law is taught together with trademark and patent law in a one-semester optional course dealing generally with intel­lectual property.

16. The students prepare the texts and the questions before each class, knowing that the professor may call upon them to explain or criti­cize a text, or to analyse a question or a hypothetical case.

17. First, a practical response: appreciation of the theoretical underpinnings of a particular domain helps the lawyer formulate an analysis of any problem concerning that domain.

18. An expensive advertising campaign can attract you to a com­pany, its impressive building will make you glad you come, but if the first person you deal with is wearing a purple tank top and flared trousers, are you really going to take them seriously?

19. Every week brings fresh outrage at tales of bosses of privatised firms picking up huge pay rises.

20. This fact cannot be stated too often and too clearly.

21. All other things being equal, one would assume that the latter so­lution is more plausible.

22. As is generally true of conference volumes, the quality of these papers is uneven.

23. But in no way does it approach the book under review in depth, scope, or insight of coverage.

24. But there would have to be some other mechanism for dealing with the optional positions.

25. He waited, standing in his room and trying to reason himself into a decent temper.