A Contrastive Analysis of Modal Passive Construction in English to French Translation of the African Youth Charter
Keywords:
African Youth Charter, interpretive theory, legal translation, modal passive constructions, skopos theory.Abstract
This article examines the translation of modal passive constructions in the African Youth Charter (AYC) from English into French. Modal passives play a crucial role in legal texts by encoding obligation, permission, prohibition, and possibility while maintaining neutrality. Yet, their translation often requires structural shifts, as direct equivalents are not always available across languages. Using a contrastive analysis, the study identifies modal passive forms in the English version of the African Youth Charter and analyzes their renderings in the French version as found on the African Union Website. The findings reveal systematic transformations, including conversions into the active voice, tense modifications, and the use of infinitival constructions. These patterns demonstrate how translators balance linguistic constraints with functional requirements in legal discourse. Interpreted through skopos and interpretive theories, the results highlight the strategies by which modality and agency are preserved or adapted in translation. The study contributes to understanding how multilingual legal instruments achieve clarity and consistency, while also reflecting the dynamics of cross-linguistic legal communication.
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