What exactly is meant by English-Basque Legal Translation?

While translation in general can be more nuanced than people think, a legal translation into Basque or from Basque is much more than just moving words from one language to another.

Legal translation is focused on a wide variety of documents such as wills, court and financial documents, declarations, patents or court decrees.

Legal translators of Basque must have a good knowledge of the legal system of the country from which the document originates. In order to avoid misleading translations, they must also have an extensive knowledge of both English law and the law that applies to the Basque Country.

In a globalized world where companies from all over the world can do business, legal translation takes on a very important role. We would like to take this opportunity to remind you that not all legal translations need to be official (certified). Translations from or into Basque should only be officially certified when requested by an official institution, agency or department. So be sure to check if an official, certified or sworn translation is required in the Basque Country, or if maybe a simple translation Basque<>English will do.

Basque Legal Translation differ from other types of translation

Legal documents in Basque, unlike other documents such as a general web site, have a specific terminology. Our Basque Legal Translators are able to correctly translate these concepts into English or Spanish. They do not simply replace one word for another.

The choice of certain words in a legal text has a very specific and precise meaning. On the other hand, any ambiguity or inaccuracy can invalidate a legally binding document. A small mistake could have significant financial and/or legal consequences.

Legal jargon of each country (UK, the Basque Country…) is complex and its terminology can be very specific. Add to this the cultural and regional differences in territories where Basque is spoken, and you can understand how difficult legal translation can be.

Legal translators translate a legal concept from English into Basque or vice versa. To be legally binding, the English and the legal Basque terminology must be unambiguous. 

Textual references for Basque Legal Translators

All legal translators of Basque turn to reference works to do their job. For example, specialized dictionaries and glossaries, codes, laws and legal doctrine, both in English and from countries like the Basque Country.

Legal translators frequently check out civil and criminal procedure codes and regulatory rules. In these reference books they usually find precise descriptions in Basque and in English of each legal concept.

Referral sources help translators confirm that they are using the appropriate terms used in a given legal proceeding. The work of a legal Basque-English translator is very precise and painstaking. In addition to these specialised legal researches, Basque translators use computer aided translation tools like TM (Translation Memories) and Multilingual Term Bases. Translation Memories let them find pieces of text already translated by them or by other translators. Specific Basque Machine Translation engines are also used in combination with TM and have proven to be very useful.