Shedding light on the grey area of assessment in legal translation: a case study based on a holistic method

Assessment is a very controversial topic in Translation Studies as it is entrenched with subjectivity. In an attempt to verify the validity and reliability of holistic assessment as far as legal translation is concerned, the following case study was designed. A legal text was translated by a Master’...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Valero Garcés, María del Carmen, Vigier Moreno, Francisco Javier
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2017
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Alcalá (UAH)
Repositorio:e_Buah Biblioteca Digital Universidad de Alcalá
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ebuah.uah.es:10017/29800
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10017/29800
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Legal Translation
Assessment
Holistic Method
Subjectivity
Traducción Jurídica
Evaluación
Método Holístico
Subjetividad
Filología
Philology
Descripción
Sumario:Assessment is a very controversial topic in Translation Studies as it is entrenched with subjectivity. In an attempt to verify the validity and reliability of holistic assessment as far as legal translation is concerned, the following case study was designed. A legal text was translated by a Master’s student and this translation was assessed holistically by 10 evaluators, who had to complete a questionnaire after grading the translation. Results show once more great disparity in the evaluators’ value judgment and highlight the subjective nature of this kind of assessment. However, results did not differ much from those obtained when the same translation was assessed following an apparently more objective error-based method, which confirms the usefulness of holistic assessment as a supplementary tool, especially for translator training purposes.