PROBLEMY PRZEKŁADU TERMINOLOGII Z ZAKRESU PRAWA NA PODSTAWIE WYBRANYCH POLSKICH TŁUMACZEŃ SZTUK WILLIAMA SZEKSPIRA
PROBLEMS OF TRANSLATING LEGAL LANGUAGE BASED ON WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S SELECTED PLAYS

Summary/Abstract: The paper discusses major problems and issues of translating law and legal language into Polish as illustrated by selected examples from William Shakespeare’s three plays: King Lear, The Merchant of Venice and Measure for Measure. The common feature of the plays is the context of the court and the trial. In King Lear, Shakespeare depicts a mock-trial of the main character’s two daughters, Regan and Goneril. The crux of The Merchant of Venice is the proceedings instigated by Shylock against his debtor, Antonio. Measure for Measure features a summary trial of two local rogues, Froth and Pompey, who are brought to justice by the constable Elbow. A comparison of the English original lawembedded scenes with their Polish counterparts shows that Polish translators approached Shakespeare’s legal lexicon differently. They frequently neutralised legal language or offered the equivalents that do not overlap with the source text. The different treatment of legal language by the translators results in various readings and interpretations of the original. The paper also provides a commentary on the basic concepts and institutions of English law in Shakespeare’s analysed plays.

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