Customer Name: Wencor Group LLC
Customer Sector: Aviation
Corporate documents of the group company including a rental contract to lease an office space to be used as a liaison office in Türkiye were translated from Turkish into English. Since this was a legally binding document for external use outside Türkiye, some requirements for legal translation strategies needed to be fulfilled in addition to addressing certain challenges arising out of variations in legal systems of two countries.
CHALLENGES
- Differences in legal systems and therefore, terms and legal jargons used also differ.
- Since the source text was in Turkish, the sentences were typically quite long as this is often the case in Turkish legal texts. Turkish terms used in legal context are rather different than those used in daily language, often containing outdated versions of the words that are used today but nevertheless, they are still used in national laws and regulations as the status quo.
- Some elements in Turkish legislation related to real estate ownership in Türkiye need to be adapted into the target legal system to provide an accurate description of the provisions of the rental contract.
- The source text also contained a special provisions section, in which the language used slightly deviated from legal jargons and contained some daily language including the use of similar words and almost synonyms.
SOLUTIONS
- Legal systems of both countries as well as applicable laws and regulations within the context of lease contracts were reviewed.
- Verbatim translation was avoided for long sentences to ensure accuracy and prevent confusion in the target text. A concise language was used to provide a comprehensible text.
- Parallel texts for lease contracts were reviewed to ensure consistency.
- Distinction between the use of legal terms and daily language elements included in the source text was made and such terms and elements were used accordingly in the right context.
- Standard legal provisions and headings were also incorporated into the target text to improve accuracy.
SOLUTION ELEMENTS
- Knowledge about Turkish property ownership law as well as comprehensive knowledge about the legal systems of other countries, especially those applicable to the target market.
- Creation of a legal translation glossary for reference as well as ensuring consistent and accurate use of legal terms in the target text.
- Use of particular terminology internally preferred by the group company, e.g., using the term “rental contract” instead of lease agreement.
BENEFITS
- Providing the company with an accurate and comprehensible legal translation of their corporate documents for external use abroad.
- Ensuring that business procedures that incorporate legally binding documents run smoothly as expected in the ordinary course of business of the company.
- Providing the recipients of the translated documents with a concise and reader-friendly text with consistent legal context and references.
