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For Translators (mostly between Nepali and English)
Translating legal language and language about law is not perhaps something which most translators in Nepal have had much experience of. But in this process of making a new Constitution for Nepal there is considerable need for people who are able to translate legal material, especially between Nepali and English. This is for 2 reasons. First of all there are a good number of people and organisations involved in giving advice, in organising workshops and in producing materials, who are able to operate only in English. Secondly, in looking for constitutional ideas from other countries English is a useful language. Although in most countries the constitution will be written in the national language which is not necessarily English, virtually all constitutions of the world are actually available in English. (And, as a result of colonialism, many countries actually draft their constitutions in English even if this not their only national language.)
Accurate translations are very important. For an example of some confusing translations from the draft constitution of Iraq you can click here. Iraq was a country without many translators used to working on legal issues and suddenly huge number of foreigners descended on the country demanding that Arabic documents be translated into English. It is hardly surprising that some of the results were not entirely satisfactory.
There is some material that may help people wrestling with translating between Nepali and English. First of all there is a publication not produced by UNDP but by International Idea. It is called A Glossary of Constitutional Terms English/Nepali. You can contact the IDEA office in Kathmandu (Jamsikhel) for a copy: their phone number is 5535252 and their e-mail info-nepal@idea.int. Members of staff of CASU, UNDP, worked with IDEA on this project.
- The Glossary of Constitutional Terms English/Nepali has been uploaded onto the website of Digital Himalaya
Secondly, it may be helpful to be able to look at the same document in English and Nepali in order to see how phrases have been translated. Consistency is usage is very important.
Other documents that have been translated into Nepali and which you could therefore obtain in both languages include:
At least one other organisation has produced a publication that is available in Nepali as well as in English and some other languages. This is the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF).
But what about other languages?
Some of the publications (those marked with # above) are available in some more languages - so you might find this useful when translating between, say, Nepali and French or Spanish or some other languages.
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