A Glossary of Constitutional Terms: English / Nepali
A Glossary of Constitutional Terms: English / Nepali
A Glossary of Constitutional Terms: English / Nepali
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Various courses in simple legal language are being <strong>of</strong>fered anddrafting traditions are beginning to change. 'Must' (not 'shall') isbeing used. Drafters avoid saying 'he' or even 'he or she' and use aplural pronoun 'they' instead. Sentences are becoming shorter. See,for example, the Constitution <strong>of</strong> South Africa:1. The Republic <strong>of</strong> South Africa is one, sovereign,democratic state founded on the following values:Human dignity, the achievement <strong>of</strong> equality and theadvancement <strong>of</strong> human rights and freedoms.Non-racialism and non-sexism.Supremacy <strong>of</strong> the Constitution and the rule <strong>of</strong> law.Universal adult suffrage, a national common voters' roll,regular elections and a multiparty system <strong>of</strong> democraticgovernment, to ensure accountability, responsivenessand openness.3… (3) National legislation must provide for theacquisition, loss and restoration <strong>of</strong> citizenship.It even says 'women and men' when talking <strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong>fice holders, ratherthan 'persons' or 'citizens'; it certainly never uses 'he' to include'she'!XOf course, these developments are <strong>of</strong> little help to the translator,who must either use the words/phrases traditionally used totranslate particular usages or must choose words whose meaningsare as close as possible to that <strong>of</strong> the original. Translators should notA <strong>Glossary</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Constitutional</strong> <strong>Terms</strong>