Réflexions traductologiques autour de la place du texte traduit dans le cadre des traités multilingues: l'ALENA, un cas d'espèce

Abstract

Based on the positivist ideal that the original text as immutable (Kasirer, 2001: 339), a series of negative connotations has been attributed to translation as a product in the legal community. In addition, the discipline of Translation Studies has devoted little attention to the status of the translated legal text. Faced with this marginalization, the goal of this thesis is to determine the importance of the hermeneutic role (Cote, 1999: 409) of authenticated translations in the interpretative process of multilingual treaties and, in a more general perspective, to show the status of authenticated translated texts. In fact, these texts, which often constitute legal precedents for subsequent agreements, can attain an equal, if not superior, position with respect to the so-called "original" text. First, this thesis presents an analysis of general rules of interpretation in order to determine the importance of consulting different authenticated translations of a multilingual treaty in the interpretative process. Second, the historical evolution of the role of the translated text in the interpretative process will be outlined. The goal here is to determine whether any changes have taken place that improved the status of translation in this interpretative context. Finally, in an attempt to be objective, a quantitative analysis shows the limitations of the hermeneutic role played by translations in the context of disputes settled pursuant to chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement.