An analysis of linguistic errors in translations of complainants� sworn statements
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Date
2023
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Western Cape
Abstract
English remains the official language of record in South Africa and is used in most, if not all,
aspects of the justice system (Ralarala, 2014). As a result, sworn statements made by
complainants in any of the other official languages are translated by police officers into English
to be used as evidence in a court of law. Police personnel are not sworn translators or
interpreters and are not required to be. This has major implications for the legal process as well
as for the complainant. When evidence is presented in court in South Africa, a sworn statement
supersedes any oral story, and therefore inaccuracies in the translated version have profound
consequences. Linguistic errors which creep into written translations made by police officers
alter the authenticity of the sworn statement and result in discrepancies between oral testimony
and written testimony.
Description
Masters of Art
Keywords
Forensic Linguistics, South African Police Service, Legislation law, Learning and Teaching, Translation