196 A Th ee-in-One Te minology Handbook: To Teach, Ha monise, and
Suppo Te minology Policy Aims in he Legal Domain in Hunga y
Dó a Má ia Tamás
Szil ia Szo ák
doi.o g/10.35321/ e m30-9
A Th ee-in-One Te minology Handbook:
To Teach, Ha monise, and Suppo
Te minology Policy Aims in he Legal
Domain in Hunga y
Te minologijos žinynas „ ys iename“:
moky i, de in i i em i e minologijos poli ikos
ikslus eisės s i yje Veng ijoje
DÓRA MÁRIA TAMÁS
Hunga ian O ice o T ansla ion and A es a ion L d., TERMIK Resea ch
G oup, Sec e a y o he Vocabula y Wo king G oup o he Hunga ian
Academy o Sciences
ORCID id: 0000-0002-1790-4925
SZILVIA SZOTÁK
Hunga ian O ice o T ansla ion and A es a ion L d.,
Budapes Me opoli an Uni e si y.
ORCID id: 0000-0003-3218-9525
1. INTRODUCTION
Building b idges be ween heo y and p ac ice is c ucial in he ield o
eaching and dissemina ion o legal e minology. The book se ies p e-
sen ed in his pape , which has e ol ed i sel in o a subp ojec wi hin he
IUSTe m Plus 2 p ojec o ming pa o he OFFI company s a egy, deals
wi h opics o high ele ance: he selec ed 193 key Hunga ian legal e ms
and equi alen s can acili a e he pu suing o didac ic aims, he ha mo-
nisa ion o e ms, and, las bu no leas , e minology policy goals. This
a icle se s ou o p esen he backg ound and he me hods used du ing
his de elopmen pa h and emphasises he ea u es o his expe imen al
handbook se ies o legal e minology.
197Te minologija | 2023 | 30
2. ABOUT THE CORE ACTIVITIES
OF THE HUNGARIAN OFFICE
FOR TRANSLATION AND ATTESTATION LTD.
Ce i ied ansla ion has a long his o y in Hunga y: he oo s o se ices
p o ided by he s a e go back o 1869. Nowadays, he Hunga ian O ice o
T ansla ion and A es a ion L d. (OFFI L d.), which is in cha ge o p epa-
ing ce i ied ansla ions, is a ully s a e-owned company wi h he owne ’s
igh s being exe cised by he Minis y o Jus ice. I is headqua e ed in Bu-
dapes wi h 27 p o incial o ices ac oss he coun y. The company, which
ope a es unde ISO ce i ica ion, has a s a u o y public se ice obliga ion
co e ing all he e i o y o Hunga y. Ce i ied ansla ions, ansla ion
a es a ions, and ce i ied copies in o eign languages may only be ca ied
ou by he Hunga ian O ice o T ansla ion and A es a ion L d., unless
o he wise p o ided by law. The company wo ks in a o al o 67 languages,
handles mo e han 300 o de s a day, has 140 employees, and collabo a es
wi h nea ly 600 eelance ansla o s. The p o essional depa men o he
company is he T ansla ion and Re ision Depa men employing excellen
e ise s, ansla o s, e minologis s, and language echnologis s.
The main ac i i ies o OFFI L d. a e as ollows: p o iding ce i ied
(a es ed) ansla ions, specialised ansla ions, and cou in e p e ing. I s
special p ojec s include ansla ion o laws, e minology wo k aimed o
expand he e mbase IUSTe m con aining e ms o he legal and public
adminis a ion domain; mo eo e , he company is also an acc edi ed pa -
ne o NATO.
In addi ion, he company places g ea emphasis on knowledge ans e
and con inuous aining o ansla o s, e ise s and o he employees. This
has been ealised in he amewo k o he OFFI Academy h ough he
o ganisa ion o wo kshops, na ional and in e na ional con e ences in co-
ope a ion wi h uni e si ies, esea ch ins i u es, and o eign pa ne s, and
suppo ed by he in ol emen in publica ions o di e en pee - e iewed
olumes since 2019. T ansla o s, e ise s, and e minologis s o he T ans-
la ion and Re ision Depa men egula ly each and a e in i ed o gi e
lec u es a Hunga ian uni e si ies.
A his poin , i is necessa y o b ie ly de ine ou p ecise unde s anding
o an a es ed ansla ion. Since he a es ed ansla ions ha e o ul il a
necessa y unc ion in adminis a i e and judicial p ocedu es, i is a special
198 A Th ee-in-One Te minology Handbook: To Teach, Ha monise, and
Suppo Te minology Policy Aims in he Legal Domain in Hunga y
Dó a Má ia Tamás
Szil ia Szo ák
gen e wi hin p o essional ansla ions, p oduced o a speci ic pu pose. Ac-
co ding o OFFI’s posi ion, ce i ied ansla ions a e p oduced acco ding
o audi ed e minology and me hodology by an au ho ised (legal o na u-
al) pe son and – ypically, bu no exclusi ely – a e accu a e ansla ions
o o icial documen s, which ha e been ce i ied by an a es a ion p oce-
du e (Néme h 2020: 68). Consequen ly, ce i ied ansla ions a e e ised
and p oo ead ansla ions o o icial documen s, which ha e o con o m
o s ic o mal and subs an i e equi emen s. The ypes o documen s
ansla ed in he case o ce i ied ansla ions a e, o ins ance, ce i ica-
es o ci il egis a ion se ices, deg ees, diplomas, company documen s,
and judicial decisions. The ield o ce i ied ansla ion does no inclu-
de he ansla ion o en i e law ex s, al hough judicial ex s o en quo e
om legisla ion. Howe e , om 2017, OFFI L d. has pa icipa ed in a law
ansla ion p og amme in collabo a ion wi h he Hunga ian Minis y o
Jus ice, gaining u he expe ience in his speci ic ield. As e iden , all he
abo e-men ioned ex ypes con ain mainly e minology o he domains
o law and public adminis a ion.
As o legal ansla ion, we a e in line wi h he desc ip ion p esen ed
by he s anda d ISO 20771: 2020, Legal T ansla ion – Requi emen s, wo ked
ou by he Commi ee ISO TC/37. The documen dis inguishes be ween
wo basic o ms o legal ansla ion:
– legal ansla ion in gene al including “ag eemen s, con ac s, ac s
o law, powe s o a o ney, no a ial deeds, cou decisions, inancial
s a emen s, egis a ion documen s o any o he legal documen s”
(ISO 20771: 2020: 8), and
– au ho ised legal ansla ion: “pe sonal documen s, ce i ica es, doc-
umen s used in cou and adminis a i e p oceedings, and any o he
pe sonal o co po a e documen s ha equi e ce i ica ion” (ibid.).
The s anda d includes e en he equi ed special compe ences by legal
ansla o s, namely, ansla ion compe ence, linguis ic and ex ual compe-
ence, specialis legal ield compe ence, compe ence in esea ch, in o ma-
ion acquisi ion and p ocessing, legal cul u e compe ence and echnical
compe ence (ISO 20771: 2020: 8–9). In he abo e desc ip ion, he key
linguis ic elemen s men ioned a e gen e, colloca ions, and e minology
acknowledging he impo ance in legal ansla ions o hese ac o s.
199Te minologija | 2023 | 30
3. THE MAIN FEATURES OF
THE TERMINOLOGY HANDBOOKS
Be o e in oducing he legal e minology handbooks, one a a ime, i is
wo h men ioning hei main common ea u es and hen poin ou he
di e ging cha ac e is ics o his se ies o books o he so-called “ h ee-in-
one handbook”. The common ea u es a e based on he same selec ed 193
key legal e ms and concep s a ound which he books e ol e, ep esen ing
challenges o ansla o s in a es ed ansla ions and laws, especially o
s uden s and new ca ee en an s.
The legal concep s a e p esen ed wi h hei de ini ions, sou ces, and
equi alen s such as e ms, unc ional equi alen s, and e m candida es
o pa aph ases. The selec ion was ca ied ou by he gene a o o he idea
o he book, whe eas all da a a e he esul o he collabo a ion be ween
linguis ic and legal expe s, such as ansla o s, in e p e e s, e ise s and
eache s in highe educa ion.
As o he di e ging ea u es, he handbook di e s in i s aims, con en ,
and s uc u e. O he ex ual di e ences include, o ins ance, he lack o
o iginal and anonymous ex samples, complemen a y a icles, and chosen
languages.
As he i le o he a icle implies, he h ee olumes a e ocused on
h ee di e en aims, namely:
– didac ic goals ( he i s olume),
– ha monising legal e ms ( he second olume), and, las bu no leas
– e minology policy aims ( he hi d olume).
I is wo h men ioning ha he ou h olume dealing wi h e minology
policy is al eady in he pipeline.
3.1. The i s handbook
The i s olume, In oduc ion o he Te minology o Law h ough he Lens
o a Te minologis , which is a ex book p ima ily bene icial o eaching
in ansla ion aining in highe educa ion, aineeships, and men o ing
p og ammes a OFFI, appea ed in 2017 (Tamás 2017). I was he aspec o
eaching ha mo i a ed he i s handbook in he se ies, and he main aim
was o o e suppo o he eaching o ansla ion-o ien ed e minology
in highe educa ion, aineeship and men o ing p og ams a OFFI L d. in
he o m o a ex book. The idea was inspi ed by he highly expe ienced
e ise Tamás Vida, who used o d aw he a en ion o his men ees o he
200 A Th ee-in-One Te minology Handbook: To Teach, Ha monise, and
Suppo Te minology Policy Aims in he Legal Domain in Hunga y
Dó a Má ia Tamás
Szil ia Szo ák
na u e o he ecu ing di icul ies posed by ce ain Hunga ian legal con-
cep s and he use ul me hods and solu ions ha could be adop ed. In line
wi h his, legal e ms we e selec ed based on he expe iences gained om
he ansla ion se ices and e minological wo k a OFFI L d., mos o
hem used in ce i ied ansla ions p o ided by OFFI as a public ask, and
in he ansla ion o Hunga ian laws by senio e minologis (Tamás 2017).
As o he s uc u e, he i s olume con ains h ee majo pa s:
– an in oduc o y a icle abou he main cha ac e is ics o legal e mi-
nology o ming a heo e ical basis o he handbook;
– a glossa y o e ms consis ing o 193 Hunga ian legal e ms in he
o m o ables wi h da a ca ego ies simila bu no iden ical o hose
used in e mbases, and o eign equi alen s wi h coun y codes and
explana o y ables;
– anonymised and ypical ex samples o ce i ied ansla ions a
OFFI L d.
The book was published in pape e sion and was a ailable online in
he o m o an e-book.
I is wo h men ioning he special s uc u e o he eco ds con ained in
he e-book. The main da a ca ego ies o a eco d a e simila , bu because
o didac ical easons no iden ical o hose o an en y in a e mbase, na-
mely: e m, de ini ion, domain, in e na ional o e iew wi h equi alen s in
di e en o eign languages, see also, con ex , documen ype, sou ces, and
no es o ansla o s (please no e!). The co e ca ego ies a e:
– he de ini ion;
– he da a ca ego y named as no es o ansla o s;
– he in e na ional o e iew.
The de ini ion is he desc ip ion o he concep o selec ed Hunga ian
legal e ms wi h e e ences o ci a ions o laws, legal ex books, and ema ks
o legal expe s. The in e na ional o e iew con ains equi alen s in ou o-
eign languages (in he i s handbook: English, Ge man, F ench and I alian)
and mos ly indica e unc ional equi alen s, e m candida es, and coun y
codes. The no es o ansla o s a e ocused on he concep ual di e ences
be ween legal e ms and desc ibe speci ic p oblems and s a egies ela ed o
he concep s, mainly issues o equi alence, and me hods gene ally adop ed
in he case o he legal concep s handled in he eco ds. Based on he eed-
back, he de ini ion, he in e na ional o e iew, and he no es o ansla o s
we e pa icula ly in e es ing o he eade s and use s o he handbook.

201Te minologija | 2023 | 30
Some eco ds p esen e en addi ional in o ma ion, which was added o
he glossa y in o de o enhance he iden i ica ion o he concep s. These
a e usually gi en in he o m o explana o y ables o , in he case o he
e m o public adminis a ion, as a ee diag am (wi h s a e ins i u ions
and local go e nmen s as i s main b anches). The use o hese wo y-
pes o ools o he ep esen a ion o e ms was al eady ecommended by
Wüs e (1985: 137–201). Fo ins ance, he explana o y ables may con ain
concep ual dis inguishing ma ks (ins ance.g., be ween he and obbe y),
he desc ip ion o he a ious le els o cou s, examples o con ac e ms
and e ms o he pa ies in ol ed in a legal ansac ion, and he p ocess o
examina ion o a complain in cou s.
The Appendix p esen s di e en ypes o o iginal anonymised docu-
men s issued by di e en coun ies in he ou languages o he equi alen s
con ained in he eco ds ( o ins ance, in he case o Ge man: o iginal do-
cumen s om Ge many, Aus ia, and Swi ze land). The documen samples
in he Appendix a e o ou documen ypes: company documen s (mainly
ce i ica es o inco po a ion), cou decisions (judgmen s on dissolu ion o
ma iage), a Hunga ian eal p ope y sales con ac , a copy o a Hunga ian
abs ac o i le. The pu pose o he documen samples and basic ypes o
documen s was o amilia ise new ansla o s wi h hese ypes o ex s.
3.2. The second handbook
In he second handbook, he ocus swi ched o he issues o s anda disa-
ion and ha monisa ion o he English e ms in line wi h he p og amme
o law ansla ion ealised in pa ne ship wi h he Hunga ian Minis y o
Jus ice, he supe iso o OFFI L d., which s a ed in 2017 and he esul s
o which we e inco po a ed in o he ansla o s’ oolbox. Al hough he
second olume has he same i le as he i s one, In oduc ion o he Te -
minology o Law h ough he Lens o a Te minologis , i s aims we e di e en :
namely, ha monising e ms, especially he English equi alen s hanks o
he pa icipa ion o OFFI L d. in he law ansla ion p og amme and e-
sul ed in ha ing he main e ms ma ked a leas o English. The s uc u e
emained unmodi ied, changes ha e been ca ied ou whe e up- o-da e-
ness was equi ed.
All languages handled in hese wo olumes p esen ed some dis inc i-
e and in e es ing ea u es. In he case o English, special solu ions we e
equi ed due o Common Law and plu icen ici y; in he case o F ench
202 A Th ee-in-One Te minology Handbook: To Teach, Ha monise, and
Suppo Te minology Policy Aims in he Legal Domain in Hunga y
Dó a Má ia Tamás
Szil ia Szo ák
and I alian, he common oo s become ob ious due o he Roman/con-
inen al law, and in he case o Ge man and Hunga ian, he adi ional
Ge man in luence on Hunga ian law was ecognisable (e en wi h he use
o e ba im ansla ion).
3.3. The hi d handbook
The hi d handbook, Te minology S a egy and Basic Legal Te ms in he Lan-
guages o he Neighbou ing Coun ies, which concen a es on e minology
policy issues, co e ing six o he se en languages o he neighbou ing
coun ies (namely, Slo ak, Uk ainian, Romanian, Se bian, C oa ian and
Slo enian), was published wi h he ocus on suppo ing language use o
Hunga ian mino i ies in he ield o legal e minology. The olume o ms
pa o he se ies o books published by he OFFI Academy and was ea-
lised wi hin he IUSTe m Plus 2 e minological p ojec by OFFI L d. The
second and he hi d handbooks a e a ailable in p in and as an elec onic
e sion on he homepage o he company (h ps://www.o i.hu/o i-akade-
mia/kiad anyaink).
The olume is di ided in o wo majo sec ions. The i s , he heo e-
ical pa , con ains s udies mainly on language planning, including e -
minology policy and o eign language s a egy. Un o una ely, Hunga y
does no ha e an explici language s a egy, which could be de o ed o a
e minology s a egy and a u u e ac ion plan o he Hunga ian language,
bu we conside ed i impo an o add ess hese issues while compiling his
olume (Szo ák 2011, 2017). The handbook e en includes he a icle Legal
Te minology Obse ed Th ough he Lens o a Te minologis , o Objec i es Wo -
h o Be Pu sued in he Field o Educa ion, S anda disa ion and Te minology
Policy, which desc ibes he di e en pu poses o a handbook abou legal
e minology and he desc ip ion and analysis o he cha ac e is ics o legal
e minology wi h speci ic examples, he esul o s udies o he echnical
li e a u e o LSP (Language o Speci ic Pu poses), esea ch and expe ien-
ces collec ed om se e al yea s o p ac ice o ansla ion and e minology
wo k. The second pa o he handbook con ains he 193 Hunga ian legal
e ms wi h hei equi alen s in six o eign languages.
In he legal domain, equi alence is e y o en only a pa ial equi alen-
ce due o he special ea u es o legal e minology, which is cha ac e ised
by (Tamás 2021: 61‒73):
203Te minologija | 2023 | 30
– a high demand o up- o-da eness due o a con inuous exposu e
o he language o law and public adminis a ion o socio-cul u al
changes; as a esul , new concep s and e ms a e bo n, modi ied, and
p e ious e ms a e ein oduced in o he legal language a he le el
o language use (Heylen, S eu s 2014; S eu s, T yczyńska 2021);
– a s ong e bali y (i.e., a high numbe o abs ac concep s and a e y
s ong link be ween he legal a ea and he language) in con as ,
o ins ance, o he ma e ial eali y o he echnical language (Mel-
linko 1963; Cao 2007);
– a duali y o cla i y and adap abili y, especially in law- ex s wi h a
lexibili y in he in e p e a ion o legal ins i u ions o be adap ed o
un o eseen li e si ua ions as al eady exis ing legal ex s should be
able o egula e e en new social phenomena;
– a di e ence in classi ica ion me hods due o sys em-boundedness
(De G oo 1999; De G oo , Van Lae 2006; Ša če ić 2014; Somssich
2018), which is alid in e ms o legal amilies, judicial sys ems,
b anches o law o laws wi h di e ences in he classi ica ion o legal
concep s;
– he coun y-speci ic use o na ional e ms e en wi hin he same lan-
guage (Ša če ić 1997; Cao 2007; Ch omá 2016; Chiocche i 2019;
Gáspá , Sommsich 2019; P ie o Ramos, Ce u i 2021), and
– he neu ali y o he language o law and adminis a ion o he Eu-
opean Union (Fische 2018; Somssich 2011, 2018) and in e na ional
ins i u ions.
In addi ion, language media o s in he ield o legal e minology ha e
o ace con ex -dependence, especially in he case o English due o i s
economic lexical use and, o cou se, clea language expec a ions (see plain
language mo emen s) o assu ing undis u bed p o essional communica i-
on. No o men ion ha he ansla o and e minologis need o be awa e
o e minological concep ual and legal compa ison me hods a he same
ime in o de o be able o handle legal e ms p ope ly (Szo ák, Tamás
2020; Tamás 2021).
As o he linguis ic backg ound, a en ion should be d awn o he ac
ha Hunga ian is a plu icen ic language, p esen in eigh coun ies in he
Ca pa hian Basin. Linguis ic agmen a ion has been going on since 1920,
wi h Hunga ians li ing in he neighbou ing coun ies compensa ing o
204 A Th ee-in-One Te minology Handbook: To Teach, Ha monise, and
Suppo Te minology Policy Aims in he Legal Domain in Hunga y
Dó a Má ia Tamás
Szil ia Szo ák
he lack o specialised language egis e s by ansla ing om he o icial
language. Due o he di e en coun y-speci ic concep s, his also means
ha he Hunga ian language has de eloped di e en ly in he eigh co-
un ies a he same ime, namely in and ou side Hunga y, consequen ly
Hunga ian has a mino i y s a us in he neighbou ing coun ies.
In line wi h he abo e, we asked ou au ho s o in es iga e whe he
an explici e minology policy exis ed in he neighbou ing coun ies and
wha he ole o Hunga ian was in i . In all olumes, he pa icipa ion o
subjec ield expe s was c ucial o us. In he case o he hi d book, we
collabo a ed wi h abou wen y expe s, he au ho s o ou a icles and e-
co ds con ained in he book.
Du ing his collabo a ion, we conside ed some o he ollowing p in-
ciples:
– he collabo a ion o linguis s and lawye s should be ealised o all
languages;
– as o he linguis s, he eam o linguis ic expe s should include an
OFFI colleague wi h an ex ensi e expe ience and expe ise in he
ield o ce i ied and legal ansla ion, and a colleague li ing and
wo king in a neighbou ing coun y;
– au ho s o ou a icles a e ecognised expe s in he ield o law and
legal ansla ion and ha e expe ience in eaching and publishing.
As a esul o ou e o s, 1351 legal e ms in Hunga ian and six o eign
languages ( he o icial languages o he coun ies su ounding Hunga y)
we e wo ked ou in he hi d olume in o de o ha monise he e mino-
logy o he legal domain. O en, due o di e ences in he social and legal
sys ems o he di e en coun ies, i was wo h highligh ing he concep-
ual di e ences in ansla ions when con eying ce ain legal e ms, such
as in he case o he e ms cégbí óság and cégjegyzék (see Tables 1 and 2).
In Hunga y, he company egis e is kep and no only supe ised by he
cou s (in con as o he Companies House in he Uni ed Kingdom), and
his can a y om coun y o coun y, namely, how he o icial body cha -
ged wi h his ask is con olled o supe ised by he s a e (being a cou o
a s a e o ice). The equi alen s o he Hunga ian e ms we e wo ked ou in
acco dance wi h he concep ual backg ound in all he en languages in he
o m o e ms, e m candida es, o unc ional equi alen s: