提到“English law”“我們就會(huì)條件反射,聯(lián)想到”common law“”這個(gè)概念,甚至把兩者誤解為同一概念。其實(shí),“English law”“是”English law“, ”common law“”是“common law”, “English common law”又是“English common law”。
漢語(yǔ)中,人們往往把“common law”說(shuō)成是“普通法”、“習(xí)慣法”、“不成文法”(最后兩釋均見《新英漢詞典入請(qǐng)查閱)、“判例法”,甚至有時(shí)在一定上下文中被當(dāng)作了“事實(shí)上”的代名詞——如:“common law marriage”“就被說(shuō)成是”事實(shí)婚姻“:”common law wife“便被說(shuō)成是”事實(shí)上的妻子“。嚴(yán)格說(shuō),·上述種種說(shuō)法大多是人們對(duì)”common law“的——種詮釋(”interpretation“),而不是什么翻譯(”translation")。其中可算作翻譯的,唯“普通法”而已。
“common law”之譯為“普通法”,在我們的一些外國(guó)法研究者中間似已“約定俗成”了,但是是否確切呢?在其尚未在廣大讀者間“約定俗成”前,尚不無(wú)商討之實(shí)際意義。
查《新英漢詞典》,形容詞“common”具有:“共同的”、“普通的”、“粗俗的”、“低劣的”、“(數(shù))共通的”、“(語(yǔ))通(性)的”與“通(俗)的”等七類釋義。按此,則“common law”之譯作“普通法”,是于詞典有據(jù)的了。但是,詞典上不是有七類釋義嗎?此處譯作“普通法”,采用的顯然是第二類釋義。然則,這樣取義對(duì)不對(duì)呢?能不能另取他義,比如說(shuō)取第一類釋義而譯作“共同法”呢?為什么“Common Market”譯作“共同市場(chǎng)”,而不譯作“普通市場(chǎng)”呢?
這就牽扯到一個(gè)翻譯上“具體詞義具體確定——具體詞語(yǔ)具體翻譯”的原則了。說(shuō)得更明確一些:“common”一詞在“common law”這一合成詞中的具體涵義是什么?是“普通”還是“共同”?請(qǐng)看下列引文便知分曉:
……the common law has in itself a number of historical sources which were, prior to Conquest, embodied in local custom. The unique contribution of the Norman Conquest, was to unify these local customs into one system of law common to all men, for this reason termed the "common law".
——Walker & Walker, The English Legal system, London l976, The English Legal system, London l976,p.3
The common law is so called because it was commonly applied throughout the kingdom of England.
——You and the Law, Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.,