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Title A Comparative Analysis Of The Constitution Of The Islamic Republic Of Pakistan And Its Urdu Translation: A Study into Translation Quality Assessment

Author(s) Ms. Muqaddas Inayat

Abstract Legal translation is a complex and highly skilled task, often seen as “the ultimate linguistic challenge” (Harvey, 2002), due to its demand for both literal and technical accuracy. It involves navigating differences in language, culture, and legal systems, requiring translators to make syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic adjustments to achieve equivalence between source and target texts. The present study investigates how legal translators have addressed syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic shifts in the Urdu translation of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. This study adopts a two-step methodology, first by using Chesterman’s (1997) translation strategies to analyze what kinds of syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic shifts occur and how they are applied by the translators. Second, Alan Duff’s (1989) principles (i.e., meaning, form, register, source language influence, style and clarity, and idiom) are subsequently applied to evaluate the quality of the identified translation shifts. These principles offer a comprehensive lens through which the accuracy, appropriateness, and naturalness of the translated legal content can be assessed and they help establish a structured model for Translation Quality Assessment (TQA), a comprehensive framework for evaluating the quality of translations in terms of linguistic accuracy, cultural equivalence, and stylistic appropriateness. The study primarily adopts a qualitative content analysis approach that blends structural analysis with qualitative evaluation to examine the accuracy, clarity, and overall effectiveness of legal translations. The findings reveal that the translated text accurately preserves the original meaning without arbitrary additions or omissions. Structural fidelity is maintained, though necessary adjustments have been made due to syntactic differences between English and Urdu. The translators have also demonstrated awareness of register by adapting the tone and rhythm to suit the formality of the target language. Despite this, stylistic conventions of Urdu have been respected, including directionality, numbering systems, and clarity in presentation. Overall, the translation succeeds in maintaining the style, clarity, and legal tone of the original. However, the researcher also highlights specific instances where translation choices may lead to ambiguity in the target text, particularly in v relation to G2: Loan (the direct borrowing of source language terms without translation), the Calque strategy (a literal translation that mirrors the structure of the source expression), and Pr3: Information Change (where information is either added or omitted to adapt to the target language context). These instances suggest that certain lexical and structural decisions may compromise clarity or accuracy, prompting a recommendation for the concerned authorities to revisit and refine the translated segments to ensure greater transparency and consistency in legal communication. These findings contribute to improving legal translation practices and carry broader implications for the accurate interpretation of the Constitution of Pakistan in multilingual legal contexts. Keywords: Legal Translation, Syntactic, Semantic and Pragmatic Translation Shifts, Translation Quality Assessment (TQA), Principles of Translation

Type Thesis/Dissertation

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Department English

Language English

Publication Date 2025-09-16

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