The notion of lavoro subordinato and its English translation in EU documents. Reflections from a dataset-based analysis

This paper sets out to point out the difficulties stemming from translating notions pertaining to industrial relations and labour law discourse. In order to do so, the Italian concept of lavoro subordinato is examined and then compared with the terms used to render this concept in English. This has been done by considering a dataset of 100 documents drafted in Italian by the European Union and subsequently translated into English. The analysis reveals that a lack of consistency exists as regards the terminology that has been employed to translate this term into English. At times, the wording used to transpose lavoro subordinato in English can be questioned because it seems to move away from source-text meaning. The paper reasserts the challenges faced by translators when dealing with legal terms and the need to fully understand the function of the practices they denote when attempting to render them in another language and system