Translation software has improved over the years and accuracy rates enhanced. Yet lawyers must be careful not to rely exclusively on Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) tools to translate their texts because translated texts can end up being unintentionally hilarious.
Some real-life examples
In German, the word “federführend” is used for the person who leads a team of lawyers on a case. This is not translated as “the team was under the lead management of partner X”. Because “lead management” is a term used in business (specifically marketing) which refers to the process of tracking and managing potential customers, called leads. It is better to say that “partner X led our team of lawyers”.
Another example of a CAT translation that confused the reader was when a law firm stated that they expected the lawyers, who work for their firm not be “stromlinienförmig”. This cannot be translated as not wanting to be “streamlined” because law firms would strive to be efficient, not bloated, with competent lawyers able to adapt to their client’s needs.
Also lost in translation was the desire not to have “angepassten Anwälte” because the CAT translation was, “to-the-line lawyers”. A more accurate translation is “run-of-the-mill” lawyers.
Remember, there is no way that a law firm is ever called a “Sozietät” in English nor is “Privatpersonen” ever translated as privates.
Finally, clients expect their lawyers to be prepared for what comes next before anyone else. Thus, they want their lawyers to be ahead of the curve and be able to “see around or ’round corners”. But certainly not “see round corners”.
Translation software is a marvel of technology and software engineering. It saves time and money but be careful not to depend on machines only. To quote Paul R. Ehrlich: “To err is human, but to really foul things up you need a computer”.
