Wanted: a decent Italian-English legal dictionary
Thread poster: mckinnc
mckinnc
mckinnc  Identity Verified
Local time: 16:10
French to English
+ ...
Feb 23, 2006

Could anyone please point me in the direction of a really good Italian-English general legal dictionary?

I am currently using vol 2 of Francesco di Francis' Dizionario Giuridico and West's Law and Commercial dictionary. The former I have so far found pretty useless. The latter contains translations from English into 4 languages including Italian.

I would also be interested in hearing of any credible It-En legal glossaries but have so far failed to come up with anything
... See more
Could anyone please point me in the direction of a really good Italian-English general legal dictionary?

I am currently using vol 2 of Francesco di Francis' Dizionario Giuridico and West's Law and Commercial dictionary. The former I have so far found pretty useless. The latter contains translations from English into 4 languages including Italian.

I would also be interested in hearing of any credible It-En legal glossaries but have so far failed to come up with anything very impressive.
Collapse


 
Jeff Whittaker
Jeff Whittaker  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 11:10
Member (2002)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Italian>English legal dictionary Feb 23, 2006

Colin McKinney wrote:

"...West's Law and Commercial dictionary contains translations from English into 4 languages including Italian.



Yes, but there is an Italian - English glossary/index of all the terms on pages 1685 - 1788.

Just to get a good list started:

I also have and like: "Dizionario Commerciale" by G. Ragazzini and G. Gagliardelli, published by Mursia

Here is an interesting link with a glossary of the most frequently used Italian legal terms (and English translations) at the very bottom of the page:
http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Italy.htm#_2._Glossary_of_the Most Frequently



[Edited at 2006-02-24 01:07]


 
Henry Dotterer
Henry Dotterer
Local time: 11:10
SITE FOUNDER
Consider posting also to the Exchange Feb 24, 2006

The ProZ.com "Exchange" was created for requests like yours:
http://www.proz.com/?sp=exchange

Please give it a try.


 
Sandra Bertolini
Sandra Bertolini  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 16:10
German to Italian
+ ...
Title of Italian-English legal dictionary Feb 24, 2006

Hi,

this dictionary perhaps will help you a lot: it isn't only a dictionary but in many cases it explains also the differences between the two legal systems. I think it's very good. I have also the others mentioned but this one is very helpful:

De Franchis, Francesco
Dizionario giuridico inglese-italiano, italiano-inglese (2 vols)
Milano: Giuffrè, 1984-98 8814003165, 8814050015

I hope you'll find it interesting.

Sandra


 
mckinnc
mckinnc  Identity Verified
Local time: 16:10
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks Mar 1, 2006

Thanks to all those who answered

 
Marie-Hélène Hayles
Marie-Hélène Hayles  Identity Verified
Local time: 16:10
Italian to English
+ ...
Why don't you like de Francis? Mar 1, 2006

I'd be interested to know why you don't like de Francis - it's the one I use and I find it useful in most cases, although a fair number of terms I need aren't in there.
Do you have a specific issue with its accuracy (I do hope not, as I rely on that!) or is it just because a lot of terms are missing? I'm not a legal translator but I translate various medical and other documents which include legal terms, and I do assume that the de Franci translation is correct unless it clearly doesn't f
... See more
I'd be interested to know why you don't like de Francis - it's the one I use and I find it useful in most cases, although a fair number of terms I need aren't in there.
Do you have a specific issue with its accuracy (I do hope not, as I rely on that!) or is it just because a lot of terms are missing? I'm not a legal translator but I translate various medical and other documents which include legal terms, and I do assume that the de Franci translation is correct unless it clearly doesn't fit my context.
Collapse


 
Carl Stoll
Carl Stoll  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 12:10
Member (2004)
Italian to English
+ ...
This dictionary sucks Mar 6, 2006

Sandra Bertolini wrote:

Hi,

this dictionary perhaps will help you a lot: it isn't only a dictionary but in many cases it explains also the differences between the two legal systems. I think it's very good. I have also the others mentioned but this one is very helpful:

De Franchis, Francesco
Dizionario giuridico inglese-italiano, italiano-inglese (2 vols)
Milano: Giuffrè, 1984-98 8814003165, 8814050015

I hope you'll find it interesting.

Sandra


I bought the Italian-English volume of this dictionary some months ago and find it almost completely useless. It is addressed to lawyers, not translators. It starts off with a 300-page introduction I haven't even bothered to glance at. Each headword gets a lengthy treatment, citing jurisprudence. There are even some beginner's mistakes in it, which I won't cite because I can't find the pages they're on. Furthermore it is hideously expensive. Since the treatment of each headword is so long-winded, there are only 21 thousand terms in a book of 1500 pages. Compare that to Trioke Strambaci & Mariani's Vocabolario italiano-tedesco del diritto e dell'economia, which covers well over a hunderd thousand terms, including sub-headings. Since I know German, this is the dictionary I use when translating from Italian to English.


 
Carl Stoll
Carl Stoll  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 12:10
Member (2004)
Italian to English
+ ...
This dictionary sucks, part 2 Mar 6, 2006

By the way, the critique with the above title, part 1, was written by me, Carl Stoll, which isn't very clearly shown on the web site. I also realize I made several spelling mistakes. Sorry, I just blew my cool. Anyway, the upshot of all this is that no good IT>EN legal dictionary exists. The West's is OK as far as it goes, but it has only 12 thousand headwords and no sub-headings.

Carl Stoll


 
Fumiko & Alberto Zaccagnini
Fumiko & Alberto Zaccagnini  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 16:10
English to Japanese
+ ...
Francesco di Francis' Dizionario Giuridico Jul 19, 2017

We think you should buy the other volume of Francesco de Franchis' Dizionario Giuridico;
it will help better understand the one you already have.

It is absolutely the best such dictionary ever.

Precisely because he took the time to compare the different legal systems.

One cannot properly translate legal matters unless one takes the time and makes the effort to understand what one is reading,

as precisely as in depth as possible,
<
... See more
We think you should buy the other volume of Francesco de Franchis' Dizionario Giuridico;
it will help better understand the one you already have.

It is absolutely the best such dictionary ever.

Precisely because he took the time to compare the different legal systems.

One cannot properly translate legal matters unless one takes the time and makes the effort to understand what one is reading,

as precisely as in depth as possible,

which entails having to take into account the differences between different legal systems,

so the two volumes by Francesco de Franchis are the best help you can get,

but you must devote some time and effort to it,
considering that he has devoted his lifetime to these two books, in order to help you.

You may want to start by taking the time to read how to spell his family name.

Alberto and Fumiko Zaccagnini
Collapse


 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:


You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Wanted: a decent Italian-English legal dictionary







TM-Town
Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business

Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.

More info »
Trados Studio 2022 Freelance
The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.

Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.

More info »