L’interpretariato giuridico italiano-cinese: raccolta terminologica, traduzione e glossario

In today’s Italy, due to the phenomena of immigration and integration, institutions must cater to a population that is becoming increasingly varied in terms of cultures and languages. In the legal sector, courts need to employ professionals trained in interpreting the specialized language used in criminal proceedings, but the role of legal interpreter is still ill-defined both in terms of qualifications and training needed to properly carry out the job. In addition to linguistic and technical competences, the interpretation of legal language requires skills developed in the fields of comparative law and translation studies. Interpreting between Italian and Chinese in criminal proceedings is no different, and learners of Chinese as a second language who wish to work in Italian courts are required to fill the gaps in the acquisition of this foreign language by acquiring highly specialized knowledge. This paper aims to introduce the Italian-Chinese glossary of common terminology in criminal proceedings – an experimental collection of terms and formulas selected based on the characteristics of penal trials in Italian courts and translated from Italian into Chinese for the benefit of interpreters. Pertaining to the field of research on Chinese for specific purposes, the Glossary is part of a broader ongoing project aiming to define the features of legal Chinese and develop strategies for its study. The paper will explore the social and academic reasons that inspired the elaboration of the Glossary, its theoretical and methodological bases, and the preliminary findings contained therein.