About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

8 Int'l Ass'n L. Libr. Bull. 1 (1963)

handle is hein.journals/ialibbul8 and id is 1 raw text is: 1* t* MI Nl*ls;!u tl h i~~ l1L . l.kW.FI Ut L U J WM3 U'Ai mJ II xvS 4 BU PPDMMIi Editor: Professor Dr. B. LANDHEER Number VIII July 1963 FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEGAL DICTIONARIES -by William B. Stern Foreign Law Librarian Los Angeles County Law Library Speaking of dictionaries brings to mind a Frenchr bon-1t; a trans- lation is like a woman- If she is beautiful, she is not true; if she is true, she is not beautiful. Indeed, it is difficult to grasp the meaning and spirit of the original in a translation; the adage, just mentioned, might sound licentious in English, yet it is neither rank nor raucous. We may search for the English equivalent of the French words in dictionaries, watch for special nuances listed there, yet when translating this saying, we convey earnest impressions which the speaker or writer never intended. However, dictionaries are a necessity. We use them to translate words into exact equivalents of equal directness or to understand terms, old and new, which compress thoughts or sentences; or we may pursue the quest for ohades and meanings, correct usage, spelling and pronunciation, or even incorrect or uncommon usage, spelling and pronunciation. Perhaps more in the field of law than in general literary endeavors, we expect correctness and- authoritativeness of a dictionary and are abashed at flamboyancy, equivocations and failures. True, there are dictionaries -- above all, the third edition of Websterts International Dictionary -- which are merely chronicles of usage -- usage whether it is good oi bad, accepted or revolting, and which are accumulations of usage without discerning sufficiently between the experience of learning and the carelessness of ignorance. There is a place for such un- critical compilations; but ordinarily, we resort to dictionaries in order to find authority for proper usage. This observation applies to legal dictionpries, too'; we expect legal dictionaries to list correct rather than indifferent ignorant or fleeting meanings, in other words, to be, authoritative we know that the authority of legal dictionaries can be no better than that of their compilers and refers merely to the usage of words, terms and phrases, but does not project itself to authority concerning the existence or correctness or applicability of legal concepts and rules of law. In using dictionaries, legal or otherwise, we are bound to reflect that language is ever-changing. In our communications, language is a mechanism and an art; as a mechanism, it may obsolesce; as an art, it tends to express the good and the beautiful. Both as a mechanism and as an art, language requires craftmanship and is capable of expressing the primitive and the exalted. Thus, language becomes an instrument of self-expression and persuasion. In the zeal to use this instrument, we: may find our wo:rd power a stricture; in this situa- tion, we may fall back into jargon or use analogies, in fact, a pictorial language. Let us illustrate- this point. A word, such as serene, originally

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most