In addition to accuracy and grammar, style is one of the most important factors in the benchmark applicable for professional translation. Translation of news and communications is normally style-centric, especially in transcreation. Style is variable by document types, application and expertise.
What is a gazette?
Gazette is an official legal publication of the State, governed by the Government, annoucing legal documents promulgated or jointly promulgated by competent state authorities, international treaties that have taken effect for the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and other legal documents as prescribed.
In Vietnam, there are two types of officially accepted Gazette: The Gazette of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam issued by the Government Office and the Provincial Gazette issued by the Office of the People’s Committees of the provinces and municipalities. Therefore, such gazette must be pefectly translated for the avoidance of legal errors affecting national reputation.
4 standards for styles of Gazette’s English translation
#1. Accuracy
When it comes to translation there is nothing more important than accuracy which is the prerequisite to be achieved. Accuracy in translation means translation’s work to be performed sequentially by competent linguists. The compliance with translation quality management must also be applied so as to obtain long-lasting and reliable quality.
#2. Clarity for foreign audience
Clarity is perceived as the transparency of language used in the documents. It means giving a considerable attention to writing style or presentation when composing documents. Content quality does not only lie in the information conveyed but also in the presentation of the same.
Clear and coherent translation should avoid ambiguity and confusing lengthy expression. This is also a top criterion in translation and is subject to the following factors:
- Source text language, which means the text should also adhere to the clarity and coherence criteria above.
- Experienced linguist with lingual skills and deep knowledge of the given content
The translation of Gazette is considered as an official document and must also meet the requirements for an offical document.
#3. Legal terminology
For legal translation, its terminology is not something that can easily achieved and may pose as a challenge for translators to make the most out of it. To be capable of using legal terminology, one must obtain certain professional skills and knowlege. To that end, even an experienced lawyer with outstanding English skills is unlikely to make good use of terminology in legal translation’s work.
However, in the event of gazette, it is required to reach such level in skills and knowlege in terms of terminology. It may not as simple as it seems.
#4. Sematic consistency
Sematic consistency means (1) identical texts to have identical translations and (2) each sentence must be consistently defined by only one meaning.
As in paragraph 1 (Accuracy), consistency adds up to a more professional aspect of a translation’s work. In reality, one object can have multiple expressions but in the specific context, those expressions may present different meanings. This is the question asked and for the avoidance of risk in translation’s work, consistency is emphasized.
Conclusion
In Vietnam, style decides the success of a translation’s work as in a Vietnamese saying “a person with pretty handwriting shall have a good sense of art and literature”. Each field requires specific styles such as legal style, writing style or communication style. Yet, the core to this lays in the “correct message” which means you have to demonstrate your content in the way you want the audience to understand it.