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Full text of this paper is not available in the ETD Center. Copies may be available for inter-library loan from Kent State University or may be available for purchase from Proquest/UMI

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An Investigation of Russian and American Legal Systems and Texts

Palmer, Elliott
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1588374705630893

Abstract Details

2020, BA, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies.
Text does not exist in a vacuum. Text is a product of the people and the culture in which it is created. Legal texts are no exception. When looking at legal texts from two different cultures, there are differences rooted in the sources of law, philosophy of law, the role of the court system, and the history and the linguistics of the people who created them. To translate is to mediate these differences. In order to convey the proper context and complete meaning of legal documents, it is necessary for translators to attain a knowledge and appreciation of the underlying conventions, practices, and philosophies which exist beneath the surface of legal documents. This paper provides translators with this knowledge. According to Drs. Mohamed Ibrahim and Ahmed Mansor of Al-Baha University, having a knowledge of linguistic and cultural factors of the people and language under study positively impacts the quality of translation (Ibrahim and Mansor, 2019). This is an academic project which examines legal documents at the text level, the subtext level, and as components of their legal systems. This is done through qualitative analysis. The first section will review the legal environments of both nations, and see how they are shaped and molded by each nation’s histories, cultures, and languages. The next section looks at legal texts at the subtext level; examining how linguistic factors impact legal documents as a text genre. The final section will examine individual legal documents at the text level. This section will look at some of the underlying laws, practices, and writing conventions involved with bills of sale, birth certificates, patents, marriage licenses, and wedding certificates. These texts were selected because they are commonly translated documents. Bills of sale are not so commonly translated. Their value instead is that they contain large amounts of legal writing. This gives translators many examples of legal writing in both English and Russian. By comparing these legal texts, translators will gain a better knowledge and appreciation of the differences in legal cultures, and linguistics between the United States and Russia. With this knowledge translators will be better able to mediate these differences, creating a more effective translation.
Tatyana Bystrova-McIntyre, Dr. (Advisor)
Christopher Banks, Dr. (Committee Member)
Geoffrey Koby, Dr. (Committee Member)
Susan Roxburgh, Dr. (Committee Member)
82 p.
Legal Studies; Linguistics; Slavic Studies
Russian; English; legal; system; translation; investigation; analysis

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Palmer, E. (2020). An Investigation of Russian and American Legal Systems and Texts [Undergraduate thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1588374705630893

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Palmer, Elliott. An Investigation of Russian and American Legal Systems and Texts . 2020. Kent State University, Undergraduate thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1588374705630893.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Palmer, Elliott. "An Investigation of Russian and American Legal Systems and Texts ." Undergraduate thesis, Kent State University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1588374705630893

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ksuhonors1588374705630893