What exactly is meant by English-Icelandic Legal Translation?
While translation in general can be more nuanced than people think, a legal translation into Icelandic or from Icelandic 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 Icelandic 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 Iceland.
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 Icelandic 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 Iceland, or if maybe a simple translation Icelandic<>English will do.
Icelandic Legal Translation differ from other types of translation
Legal documents in Icelandic, unlike other documents such as a general web site, have a specific terminology. Our Icelandic 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, Iceland…) is complex and its terminology can be very specific. Add to this the cultural and regional differences in territories where Icelandic is spoken, and you can understand how difficult legal translation can be.
Legal translators translate a legal concept from English into Icelandic or vice versa. To be legally binding, the English and the legal Icelandic terminology must be unambiguous.
Textual references for Icelandic Legal Translators
All legal translators of Icelandic 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 Iceland.
Legal translators frequently check out civil and criminal procedure codes and regulatory rules. In these reference books they usually find precise descriptions in Icelandic 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 Icelandic-English translator is very precise and painstaking. In addition to these specialised legal researches, Icelandic 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 Icelandic Machine Translation engines are also used in combination with TM and have proven to be very useful.
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A quick overview of the Icelandic language
Icelandic is a northern Germanic language spoken mainly in Iceland (Ísland), but also in Canada (Kanada) and the USA (Bandaríki Norður-Ameríku).
In 2017 the population of Iceland was 338,349, the vast majority of whom speak Icelandic. In 2013 there were approximately 15,000 native speakers of Icelandic outside Iceland: among them 8,000 in Denmark, 5,000 in the US and 1,400 in Canada, especially in Manitoba. The total number of Icelandic speakers is about 350,000.
Icelandic is the northern Germanic language closest to Old Norse, and Icelandic speakers can read the Nordic Sagas in the original language without too much difficulty. It is closely related to Faroese and Western dialects of Norwegian, and to a lesser extent to Danish and Swedish.
The first permanent settlement in Iceland was established by Vikings from Norway and Celts from the British Isles in 870 AD. The main language of the settlers was Old Norse or Dǫnsk tunga (Danish language). A number of great literary works (the sagas) were written by Icelanders during the 12th and 13th centuries. These sagas, many of which were the work of unknown authors, were written in a language very similar to the ancient Nordic language. The greatest known authors of this period were Ari the Wise (1068-1148) and Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241).
From 1262 to the 15th century, Iceland was dominated by Norway. Later, it was invaded by the Danes. During the periods of Norwegian and Danish rule, Norwegian and Danish were spoken in Iceland.
In 1944, Iceland gained its independence and Icelandic re-emerged as an official and literary language. There is a thriving publishing industry in Iceland today, and Icelanders are probably the most enthusiastic readers and writers in the world.