The language of the GDPR: translation issues and archival issues in four non-English-speaking countries
Abstract
This article examines how key archival terms and concepts included in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) have been translated into Italian, Slovenian, Finnish, and Icelandic languages. The study identifies a number of translation issues in each language, and reflects on the reasons for such mistakes and their impact on the archival practices affected. Mistranslations appear to be related to insufficient investigations of specific, local uses of archival terminology on the part of the translators, lack of involvement of archival professionals in the process of translation, and problems with the interpretation of the legal system and the archival traditions involved.
From 2022 (Volume 50) authors contributing to Archives & Manuscripts agree to publish their work under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. Authors retain copyright of their work, with first publication rights granted to A&M.
