Legal English terminology: common law

When we mention "English law", we will think of the concept of "common law" in a conditioned way, and even misunderstand them as the same concept. In fact, English law is English law, common law is common law, and English common law is English common law.

In Chinese, people often refer to common law as common law, customary law, unwritten law and case law, and even sometimes they are regarded as synonyms of de facto in a certain context-for example, customary marriage is regarded as de facto marriage and customary wife as de facto wife. Strictly speaking, most of the above statements are people's interpretations of "common law" rather than translation. Among them, only "common law" can be counted as translation.

The translation of "common law" into "common law" seems to be "established", but is it accurate? There is no practical significance to discuss it before it is "established" among readers.

The adjective "common" has seven meanings: common, common, vulgar, inferior, common (quantitative), common (linguistic) and common (customary). Accordingly, the translation of "common law" into "common law" is well documented in the dictionary. But aren't there seven definitions in the dictionary? The translation of "common law" here obviously adopts the second interpretation. But, is this right? Can you take another meaning, such as the first explanation, and translate it into "common law"? Why does "common market" translate into "common market" instead of "ordinary market"?

This involves a principle of "concrete definition of concrete words-concrete translation of concrete words" in translation. To be more specific: What is the specific meaning of the word "common" in the compound word "common law"? Is it "ordinary" or "ordinary"? Please look at the following quotations to know:

1.

..... The common law itself has many historical origins, which were embodied in local customs before it was conquered. The unique contribution of Norman conquest was to unify these local customs into a legal system shared by all, so it was called "common law".

-Walker & Walker, British Legal System, London l976 Edition, British Legal System, London l976 Edition, p. 3.

2.

Common law is called common law because it is universally applicable to the whole kingdom of England.

-You and Law, Reader's Digest Association Co., Ltd.,

From this, we can see that the common law in England is different from various disunity habits in the former England, and it is unified and applicable to all parts of the country. Therefore, the Chinese translation of "common law" is obviously not as good as the original intention of "common law"-even if it is translated into "universal law", it may be slightly better than "common law"

Another serious disadvantage of translating "common law" from "common law" lies in its fuzziness-it may be misunderstood as the opposite concept of another legal concept "special law". The resulting experience is:

A. Legal translation requires the translator to be proficient not only in language but also in comparative law.

B. Conventionality is only one of the laws of translation. It must not be regarded as a principle of translation, and it cannot be tolerated as a stumbling block to seeking truth from facts, respecting science, obeying truth and following good advice in translation.