Here are some key facts you should know about the Arabic language:   

• Arabic is the primary language of 25 countries in the Middle East and North Africa including countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Iraq and Morocco. The spoken Arabic dialect (ammiya) differs from country to country and it is often only a spoken dialect. 

• There is a common dialect which is used, written and understood by the majority of Arabic speakers. This is called the Modern Standard Arabic which is based on Classical Arabic (fusha). Fusha is the language used in law, legal documents, national courts, business and most news media. 

• Arabic is written from right to left. 

• Numbers are written from left to right. 

• When written in a word, letters need to be joined to form a word and most letters are written differently depending on their position in a word. For example, the word ‘law’ is ‘قانون’ – the individual letters are ق ا ن و ن . 

• Capitalisation of letters in Arabic is not possible. 

• Arabic is the authoritative language of many bilateral and multilateral treaties (for example, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Investment Treaty: http://ww1.oic-oci.org/english/convenion/Agreement%20for%20Invest%20in%20OIC%20%20En.pdf).   

Examples of some of the difficulties we face 

Limited feedback: We are often entrusted to hold the pen on critical documents and evidence without necessarily having anyone on the legal representation team or the client team who can read or understand the nuances of the Arabic language to provide feedback. Many international lawyers who practise law in English or French and speak some Arabic have never studied law/practised law in Arabic and therefore do not have the expertise to provide any input or supervision. Solution: This is where lawyer-linguists should be involved and where the translators should be given a proper and complete brief on the objectives of a certain document, the potential pitfalls and the key legal and factual issues on the matter.    

Lengthy sentence structures in Arabic: Arabic language users tend to use indirect discourse which includes compound subjects with relative clauses and modifiers that relate to them, all before following them up with a verb. This results in having run-on sentences by the English language standards. Very long sentences are very common in some UAE and Egyptian local Court judgments. It takes more time and experience to (1) properly understand these structures, and (2) translate them accurately. Solution: Experienced lawyer-linguists need to be involved in the process to decipher the meaning of the paragraph long sentences. Legal translators should not be afraid to use plain English and break up the long Arabic sentences into simple structures (while maintaining the integrity of the translation).   

Defined terms: There is no capitalisation in Arabic, therefore it is not possible to define terms by capitalising them throughout the text. Solution: Add “this will be referred to below as ‘x’” in the translated text when setting out a definition, put a defined term in bold or italics throughout the document or include a schedule of defined terms where defined terms will be critical in the Arabic document. 

Use of acronyms: Although it is possible to use acronyms and abbreviations in Arabic, it is less common than in English, and they are not as easy to read (given that letters usually connect to form a legible word).  Solution: Use Arabic acronyms only when they can connect and form a legible word for the Arabic reader (for example UNCLOS can be translated as الانكلوس). Or use the first word or two words of a name. Use English acronyms in the Arabic text. Example: Useاتفاقيات الاستثمار   instead of BITs for bilateral investment treaties. 

Consistency: Involving more than one translator on a certain matter inevitably leads to consistency issues in the same document or across a number of documents. Solution: Agree on and keep a glossary and case/transaction manual. Obtain client input and agreement very early on. Provide sample translations to be approved by the clients or the lawyers conducting the matter. This should include key terms and general drafting rules (for example, how to address Islamic Dates and their corresponding Gregorian dates in the translated text).