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Capitalisation of unofficial translations of laws
विषय पोस्ट करनेवाला व्यक्ति: Translator876
Translator876
Translator876
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Sep 11, 2024

Hello,

I am wondering whether unofficial translations of laws should take title case, as official translations often do. For the sake of consistency, I am tempted to do so when official translations also occur in a text. However, it may be misleading for readers to use title case for unofficial translations as they are really just descriptive, not official laws. Could I alternatively use lower case and indicate the original in parentheses?

Example: Gesetz über die Ve... See more
Hello,

I am wondering whether unofficial translations of laws should take title case, as official translations often do. For the sake of consistency, I am tempted to do so when official translations also occur in a text. However, it may be misleading for readers to use title case for unofficial translations as they are really just descriptive, not official laws. Could I alternatively use lower case and indicate the original in parentheses?

Example: Gesetz über die Verkündung von Gesetzen und Rechtsverordnungen und über Bekanntmachungen = Law on the promulgation of laws and ordinances and on announcements. I cannot find an official EN translation for this.

Thanks for your advice. ▲ Collapse
 
Adrian MM.
Adrian MM.
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Local time: 07:39
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Unofficial, unless descriptive of a Bill, n/a to primary English legislative /statutory drafting Sep 11, 2024

Qualifier: Your translation is a good idea, though - for Rechtsverordnungen as in the transblawg narrative - think about statutory instruments or orders/ legal regs. (rather than BrE: Orders-in-Council always written with initial caps) *as well as* vs. another 'and' gazettings for Bekanntmachungen: ... See more
Qualifier: Your translation is a good idea, though - for Rechtsverordnungen as in the transblawg narrative - think about statutory instruments or orders/ legal regs. (rather than BrE: Orders-in-Council always written with initial caps) *as well as* vs. another 'and' gazettings for Bekanntmachungen:

https://transblawg.co.uk/2003/07/27/translating-rechtsverordnung-into-english/

PS I'd already drafted a reply and model translation/s on KudoZ term translation questions to your query but, alas, my time was wasted and - not for the first time - the answer torpedoed.

Otherwise, English Legislative drafting practic/se varies from country to country, such as the UK, Ireland and the US.

Refer to manuals on the topic like Thornton’s Legislative Drafting for the UK for the US: https://legcounsel.house.gov/holc-guide-legislative-drafting and https://ial-online.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/draftstyle.pdf referring at page 13 to all caps and, at pages 24 and 25, to long and short titles.

By analogy and as a parallel, the lead-in to a UK Parliamentary or US Congressional Bill that, by definition, is 'unofficial' before hardening into an Act of Parliament or Congress etc. is written in lower casing, as opposed to the 'meat' of the title that has initial caps https://legiscan.com/US/legislation?status=passed -> 'A bill to make a technical correction to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 by repealing section 5101 and enacting an updated version of the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act.'

Some English-speaking countries even capitalis/ze conjunctions, such as 'With' or 'And'.

I could ask some time the London City Remembrancer as a Parliamentary Draftsman (no draftswoman yet) who taught me the English law of Evidence, but this specific translation query hasn't been referred as yet whilst another has https://transblawg.co.uk/2004/05/10/accordingly-mutatis-mutandis-entsprechend-sinngemas

[Edited at 2024-09-11 17:20 GMT]

[Edited at 2024-09-12 09:04 GMT] ▲ Collapse


Translator876
 
Translator876
Translator876
Local time: 06:39
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विषय आरंभकर्ता
Thank you Sep 12, 2024

Hi, Adrian, thank you so much for your reply. I will look at the links you provided. I must admit I'm averse to capitalising conjunctions but it is interesting to know capitalisation is used in some countries.
 


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Capitalisation of unofficial translations of laws







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