A 'cultural turn' perspective upon the mighty triumvirate behind the English legal language and its transposition into Romanian
A 'cultural turn' perspective upon the mighty triumvirate behind the English legal language and its transposition into Romanian

Summary/Abstract: Starting from Legrand's opinion according to whom the juridical heritage is deeply embedded in country-specific peculiarities, turning thus the translation of legal material into an extremely challenging task, this paper aims to make the `cultural turn` its core approach. It draws its `sap` from the concept coined by Mary Snell-Hornby which puts culture at the very heart of translation. Neither neopositivist, as André Lefevere defined the term, nor hermeneutic , the current paper focuses on the ongoing evolution of legal terminology seen as a `cross-cultural` construct that has constantly defined itself in organic relationship with the social, ideological and cultural perspective that accommodated its evolution. The triumvirate mentioned in the title refers to the three-angled dimension of the English legal lexicography that brings together Latin, as the `language of record of the common-law courts` (Baker 1998: 10), French, the main linguistic tool of the common-law from the late twelfth century until its official withdrawal as court language in 1731, and English, from vernacular to Middle English, all the way to `plain English`, as defined and supported by former Lord Chief Justice Harry Woolf. Following the recommendations of His-lordship about introducing a simpler, more `user-friendly` legal language, the other scope of this paper is to provide an equally `cultural-turn` oriented kaleidoscopic overview of the Romanian legal terminology, its heritage and current lexicographic identity, in a world of common shared values and interests, but ever-more aware of (cultural) identity.

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