What exactly is meant by English-Dutch Legal Translation?
While translation in general can be more nuanced than people think, a legal translation into Dutch or from Dutch 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 Dutch 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 Netherlands.
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 Dutch 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 Netherlands, or if maybe a simple translation Dutch<>English will do.
Dutch Legal Translation differ from other types of translation
Legal documents in Dutch, unlike other documents such as a general web site, have a specific terminology. Our Dutch 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 Netherlands…) is complex and its terminology can be very specific. Add to this the cultural and regional differences in territories where Dutch is spoken, and you can understand how difficult legal translation can be.
Legal translators translate a legal concept from English into Dutch or vice versa. To be legally binding, the English and the legal Dutch terminology must be unambiguous.
Textual references for Dutch Legal Translators
All legal translators of Dutch 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 Netherlands.
Legal translators frequently check out civil and criminal procedure codes and regulatory rules. In these reference books they usually find precise descriptions in Dutch 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 Dutch-English translator is very precise and painstaking. In addition to these specialised legal researches, Dutch 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 Dutch Machine Translation engines are also used in combination with TM and have proven to be very useful.
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Where is Dutch spoken?
Of the almost 24 million Dutch-speaking (nederlands in Dutch) people in the Netherlands, Belgium (Flemish) and South Africa (Afrikaans), almost 90% have access to the Internet.
Other translation types from Dutch
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A quick overview of the Dutch language
Dutch originates from the Franconian dialect of Low German. In the 12th century it became the literary language of Middle Dutch.
From the seventeenth century the new Dutch became a fully independent language, and in South Africa it evolved into a dialect language called Afrikaans (also known as "Cape Dutch").
Dutch is a West Germanic language with about 28 million speakers, mainly in the Netherlands and Belgium. There are small Dutch-speaking communities in northern France around Dunkirk. Dutch is also spoken in Aruba, the Netherlands Antilles, Suriname and Indonesia.
The official or standard form of Dutch is known as Algemeen Beschaafd Nederlands (ABN), 'General Civilised Dutch'. It is taught in schools and used by the authorities in the Netherlands, Flanders (Belgium), Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles. An association known as Taalunie (Union of Languages), which was established by the governments of the Netherlands and Flanders, regulates the spelling and orthography of NBA. The alternative names for the ABN are Algemeen Nederlands (AN) and Standaardnederlands, Standard Dutch.
Dutch dialects spoken in Belgium are known as Flemish (Vlaams). They differ somewhat from the Dutch spoken in the Netherlands in intonation and pronunciation, and there are small differences in vocabulary, including words borrowed from French and English that are not found in standard Dutch.
The Dutch language evolved from the Lower Franconian dialect (Niederfränkisch) of Low German. The first known example of a document written in Old Franconian appears in a 9th century Latin manuscript, the Laws of the Salic Franks, and in translations of the Psalms. Some poetry written in Middle Dutch survives, dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries. The Dutch translation of the Bible, the Staten-Bijbel, from 1619-1637, was one of the first important works of modern Dutch.