The Difficulties that Level Four of Translation Students Faced by Translating Power of Attorney Contracts

Abstract

This study investigates the difficulties faced by fourth-year Translation students at the University of Science and Technology in Sana’a when translating Power of Attorney (POA) contracts from Arabic into English. Legal documents, particularly POA contracts, are characterized by highly specialized terminology, formal and archaic language, rigid structural conventions, and system-bound legal concepts, which make their translation especially challenging for undergraduate students.

The study adopts a descriptive-analytical research design and employs a mixed-methods approach. Data were collected from a purposive sample of 30 fourth-year female Translation students through three research tools: a translation test, a closed-ended questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews. The translation test assessed students’ performance in terms of meaning, structure, and style, while the questionnaire and interviews explored the reasons behind their difficulties and possible solutions.

The findings reveal that students performed relatively better in conveying general meaning, but showed noticeable weakness in handling legal structure and style. The main difficulties identified include lack of direct legal equivalents between Arabic and English, differences between legal systems, complex and archaic legal terminology, limited legal background knowledge, weak research skills, and unfamiliarity with legal formatting conventions. The results also indicate that these difficulties are systematic rather than incidental.

The study concludes that improving students’ competence in translating Power of Attorney contracts requires specialized legal translation training, enhanced research skills, exposure to authentic legal documents, and greater awareness of comparative legal systems. The findings contribute to the field of Translation Studies by providing pedagogical insights that may help improve legal translation teaching and practice.