Everyday phrase:
“I give you this orange.”
Legal translation:
Know all the persons by these presents that I hereby give, grant, bargain, sell, release, convey, transfer, and quitclaim all my right, title, interest, benefit, and use whatever in, of, and concerning this chattel, known as an orange, or Citrus orantium, together with all the appurtenances thereto of skin, pulp, pip, rind, seeds, and juice, to have and to hold the said orange together with its skin, pulp, pip, rind, seeds, and juice, for his own use and behoof, to himself and his heirs, in fee simple forever, free from all liens, encumbrances, easements, limitations, restraints, or conditions whatsoever, any and all prior deeds, transfers, or other documents whatsoever, now or anywhere made, to the contrary notwithstanding, with full power to bite, cut, suck, or otherwise eat the said orange or to give away the same, with or without its skin, pulp, pip, rind, seeds, or juice.
Author: Unknown. Apologies to all who those already know of this little text.
From Words to Deeds: translation & the law 
Loved it. It made me smile. I am both: A Peruvian translator who translated legal documents for 20 years and a new Australian lawyer doing my post graduate diploma to become a solicitor. I know the best of both worlds. The new trend in the English speaking countries is to avoid that kind of obscure drafting, full of legalese. They teach future lawyers to use short sentences, avoid pasive voice, avoid difficult words if more common synonyms are available. New lawyers are taught that their clients want to understand what is in the paper. That’s the good news for translators. The bad news is that there are still lots of old documents that may need to be translated and that are still drafted like the orange example.
Glad you liked it Milagros. And thanks for the thoughtful comment. There are also some moves in non-English speaking countries, but might be slower there. What do people think?
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Reblogged this on kirstywalteranslator and commented:
After the Sant’Ambrogio “ponte” (long weekend), today is essentially Monday for me! So I’m reblogging this “Monday smile” from wordstodeeds, as it made me chuckle!