Problems Encountered in Translating Legal Contracts: Perspectives of Pakistani Law Students

Tahira Abdul Hakeem; Shazia Naz

doi:10.5281/zenodo.16927913

Authors

Tahira Abdul Hakeem Lecturer, FAST National University, Karachi, Pakistan Author
Shazia Naz Lecturer, Federal Urdu University of Arts, Sciences & Technology, Karachi, Pakistan Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16927913

Abstract

This study examined the most typical challenges Pakistani law students run into while translating law-based contracts and the solutions they come up with to deal with these problems. The researcher employed the descriptive analytical approach and the questionnaire tool to gather the data from the research sample to answer the research questions. The sample included the law students currently enrolled in their BA/LLB program at the School of Law, University of Karachi. The data were analysed via SPSS software. The findings revealed that law students find foreign words, legal abbreviations, and suitable equivalents as the most challenging part of translating legal documents. The findings also revealed that students mostly relied on legal drafters and dictionaries to overcome these challenges. The study's findings have significant consequences for translation instructors, writers of translation curricula, academic institutions, and language learners.

Keywords:

English to Urdu translation, Legal contracts, Legal translation challenges, Legal translation strategies, Pakistani law students

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