例2
The remainder of the testator's property should be divided equally between all of our nephews and nieces on my wife’s side and my niece.
按照这份遗嘱条文的规定，财产该如何分配呢？立遗嘱者本人只有一位侄女，而太太方面有22位侄儿、侄女，在这23人中间平均分配、还是先“一分为二”？可见立遗嘱时在条文的清晰度方面稍有疏忽，就会惹出财产纠纷案，同时也给译者的工作带来了困惑。而译者如果不负责任，也含糊其词或“以惑传惑”，势必让当事人鹬蚌相争，祸起萧墙。根据阿肯色州最高法院的判决，这份遗产的一半最后还是被判给了立遗嘱人的侄女。虽然，原文用连词 between而不是among,已表明立遗嘱人要“一分为二”的意图，然而，如果把原文写得更清晰一些，改为The remainder of the testator s property should be divided equally between all of our nephews and nieces on my wife's side as one party and my niece as another.这场官司根本就不会发生。
现在我们再来看一看另外一段缺乏清晰度的法律文章：
例3
The servant's liability stems from the duty owed to a third person under the law to conduct HIMSELF so as not to injure others.
在这个句子中，代词HIMSELF,究竟是指the servant还是指 a third person?如果发生法律纠纷，祸根一定是HIMSELF这个模 棱两可的代词。如果把上文改写成The servant's liability stems from the duty owed to a third person under the law requiring the SERVANT to act so as not to injure others.就不会产生任何歧义。 对法律文献的翻译者而言,为求表达的清晰，要不怕使用重复词，要尽量避免这种模棱两可、含含糊糊的代词。 但是，要求清晰并不等于译文可以拖沓、可以支离破碎。 Faulk及Mehler在《法律写作要素》一书中指出：“Clarity and concision often go hand in hand. No translators of legal documents should try to achieve clarity at the cost of concision. Of course, wordiness is not a test for clarity or obscurity. A removal of excessive wordiness can help clarify the meaning of legislation. Too often，legal writers include several important ideas in one long, complex sentence. The result is confusion and misunderstanding on the part of the reader. In order to interpret the legal text correctly, the reader may be forced to reread the sentence. So it is advised to try to use short sentences for complicated thoughts in drafting the legal documents. ”
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