Abstract
EU law currently applies to 27 countries and is available in 23 languages which all carry equal status. In practice, this is achieved though translation and by the work of the DGT (Directorate General Translation), which hosts the largest translation service in the world. But from a legal point of view, translation is institutionally ‘non-existent’ and EU languages are all equal and authentic. The issue has been given attention in the last two decades mostly from scholars, linguists and translators (Correia 2003, Kjaer 1999, Koskinen 2000, Sarcevic 2001, Tosi 2001, Wagner 2000), thus raising awareness on the paradox of translation and the lack of a proper EU language policy and legal culture. Focusing exclusively on legal texts and on the pragmatics of norms (Olivecrona 1994:[1962], von Wright 1963), I will argue that the equal authenticity of the EU language versions and the multilingual practice of the Union are less contradictory than they seem. The principle of equal authenticity applies only when texts are authenticated and published in the EU Official Journal. Before that, nothing prevents to regard them as translations or language versions.
Highlights
EU law currently applies to 27 countries and is available in 23 languages which all carry equal status
Focusing exclusively on legal texts and on the pragmatics of norms (Olivecrona 1994:[1962], von Wright 1963), I will argue that the equal authenticity of the EU language versions and the multilingual practice of the Union are less contradictory than they seem
In 2005 Spain signed an agreement with the European institutions whereby Catalan, Basque and Galician are eligible to benefit from official usage, provided the member state bears the costs for the additional language service
Summary
Lecturer Applied Translation Faculty of Humanities, Arts, Languages and Education Room MG5-15. Estratto: Il diritto europeo è in vigore nei 27 stati membri dell‘Unione ed è disponibile in 23 lingue, tutte facenti ugualmente fede. Ciò è possibile grazie al DGT (Directorate General Translation) che vanta uno dei maggiori servizi di traduzione del mondo, ma da un punto di vista legale, la traduzione rimane un puro mezzo, istituzionalmenteinesistente‘. Basandomi esclusivamente su testi legali e sulla pragmatica delle norme giuridiche (Olivecrona 1994:[1962], von Wright 1963), intendo dimostrare che l‘autenticità linguistica delle traduzioni del diritto europeo è meno contraddittoria di quanto sembra. Il principio di autenticità è valido solo quando i testi vengono autenticati e pubblicati sulla Gazzetta Ufficiale dell‘UE, ma prima di quel momento, nulla impedisce di considerarli traduzioni o versioni linguistiche
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