Thread: vs o contra & RE:

In spanish do we keep vs. o use contra??Im translating a legal document for my class from english to spanish and i cant find if we should keep vs (versus) o use contra...

also for re: (regarding, matter of) should i use Respecto a? o s/ref (se refiere) Someone told me to use the second, but ive never seen that and im not sure if that correct. If someone could help me...Thank you!

Originally Posted by cbutterfly303

In spanish do we keep vs. o use contra??Im translating a legal document for my class from english to spanish and i cant find if we should keep vs (versus) o use contra...

also for re: (regarding, matter of) should i use Respecto a? o s/ref (se refiere) Someone told me to use the second, but ive never seen that and im not sure if that correct. If someone could help me...Thank you!

In legal matters we use contra
Regarding respecto a or s/ref, I think it is a matter of the common use of those phrases in legal documents. You should investigate more. However, if I were you, I would use respecto a
I hope it helps
Regards

Hi Cbutterfly303 !!!

I infer that what you're translating is a "CASE". In Spanish, especially here in Argentina,CASES are called FALLOS and they are written like this: "XX c/ YY" (they are read "XX CONTRA YY"). Regarding your first question, I think you should leave v. Why? Simple!!! What if your readers want to know more about the case and decide to google it? If you change v. for c/, they won't find it !!! This question arose once in our translation class, and our teacher told us the same: "If you want to be on the safe side, keep the name of the case just as it's stated: for instance, when it comes to names, we don't change them, do we? If you are an American, and you're translating a Resumé and your client's name is MICHAEL GREGG, you don't translate MICHAEL into MIGUEL GREGG, right? So, do not change the name of the case; otherwise, readers will get confused." If I were you, I wouldn't change it because readers won't find the case on the net, unless you are translating a landmark case like Marbury v. Madison !!!!

Regarding the second question, "RESPECTO A " is more accurate than "SE REFIERE" for two reasons:
1. The "register" is not the same. RESPECTO A is more formal.
2. We usually find RESPECTO A at the beginning of a sentence, whereas SE REFIERE is commonly used in the middle.
Example: "Regarding your recent inquiry, I have enclosed a copy of an Argentinian landmark "CASE" , which refers to bank deposits."

There are 2 ways to translate this sentence:

(a). CON RESPECTO A tu pregunta, te mando un fallo de Argentina SOBRE depósitos bancarios.
(b). RESPECTO A la pregunta que hacias, te mando una copia de un fallo de Argentina que se refiere a los depòsitos bancarios. ( TOO INFORMAL)

The collocation is UN FALLO + SOBRE, and not REFIERE A , ok?

Apart from RESPECTO A/ DE , there're other possible translations:

1. En relación con
2. En lo que respecta a / de

I hope it helps,

Bye,

....::: Verónica :::....