Leiden University Student Repository

Rosenberg, Laura van (2013)

Do I have to? On the Expression of Degrees of Obligation in the Official English Version and the Dutch Translation of CEDAW

Master thesis | Linguistics (MA)

This thesis researches the nuances in the wording of the official English version and the Dutch translation of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). CEDAW imposes obligations on the States Parties, but it is unclear how these obligations are legally enforced. This thesis first investigates the enforcement mechanisms of CEDAW and secondly it analyzes the differences between how the English version and the Dutch translation express obligation, both lexically and grammatically. This research is based on the following thesis question: How strong is the expression of degrees of obligation within CEDAW’s official English version and its Dutch translation, and has this strength changed in the process of translation? The findings led to a dichotomy between legislative obligations and the linguistic obligations, where the former is less strong than proposed and the latter is equal in both version.

CEDAW

Obligation

Translation

Author

Rosenberg, Laura van

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Translation in Theory and Practice

Supervisors

Foster, Tony

ECTS Credits

20

Language

en