Nominalization/Substantivierung
am 09.05.2008 von http://transblawg.eu
Wayne Schiess at Legalwriting.net
thinks legal English should use more verbs.
This example shows one problem translators from German into English have:
Now spot the two nominalizations in this sentence:
The defendant made a referral to Emily Graves, a financial planner, so Ms. Graves could provide the plaintiff with advice.
The two nominalizations, along with their helpers, are made a referral and provide . . . advice. By using verbs, we lose the helpers, enliven the text, and focus on actions:
The defendant referred the plaintiff to Emily Graves, a financial planner, so Ms. Graves could advise the plaintiff.
So when you write, spot the nouns that could be verbs and, when you can, return them to their livelier form.
Referral becomes referred the plaintiff. English needs the direct object, plaintiff.
But sometimes it isnt clear what the direct object should be. And even if it is clear, it may take a while for the translator to work it out.
In fact, we sometimes have to replace refer X by make a …
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