Abstract
This paper demonstrates strategies in translating the first national law-code of Norway,
the Landslov from 1274, into English. One can argue the need to have Old Norwegian law in English
to make it more accessible. To ensure that a target audience distant in time and culture are able to
understand the law, the paper argues that translators of Old Norwegian law must pay special attention that the vocabulary they select has equivalence of meaning in modern English. Historical legal
terms and administrative positions and divisions often have no direct modern equivalent, or even
have a misleading modern English cognate.
the Landslov from 1274, into English. One can argue the need to have Old Norwegian law in English
to make it more accessible. To ensure that a target audience distant in time and culture are able to
understand the law, the paper argues that translators of Old Norwegian law must pay special attention that the vocabulary they select has equivalence of meaning in modern English. Historical legal
terms and administrative positions and divisions often have no direct modern equivalent, or even
have a misleading modern English cognate.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Tradurre |
| Subtitle of host publication | un viaggio nel tempo |
| Editors | Maria Grazia Cammarota |
| Place of Publication | Venezia |
| Publisher | Edizioni Ca' Foscari |
| Pages | 131-147 |
| Edition | 1 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 978-88-6969-248-2 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-88-6969-250-5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 |
Keywords
- Translation
- Legal History
- Old Norse
- Norway
- Iceland