美國稱“律師”為“attorney”；但“attorney”卻未必是“律師”而亦可指并非律師的事實(shí)上的代理人。

語言這東西有時候挺怪：美國律師名片上出現(xiàn)的“律師”不是“l(fā)awyer”（但此詞卻出現(xiàn)在中國律師的英文名片上！) 而是“ attorney-at-law”——雖然人們說起“老王是個律師”，英語似乎一般沒有什么人會說“ George is an attorney-at-law”而往往會說“George's a lawyer”的?，F(xiàn)在我們中國律師不問是否辦理涉外法律事務(wù)，他們的名片大都中英對照，幾乎都已經(jīng)涉外了。掃興的是，名片上同“律師” 對照的，有時卻往往是人家名片上所不用的“l(fā)awyer”。下列引文，就是在這一層意義上出現(xiàn)的：

1. Attorney-at-law is perhaps the most common term for a lawyer.

                                              - You and the Law, Reader's Digest 

                                                        Association. Inc., 1980, p.722

但是離開名片以及法律文件來說，“l(fā)awyer”就用得更泛了。比如說，“家庭律師”、“公司律師”或“訴訟律師”的“律師”就不是“attorney”而是“l(fā)awyer”：

2. The so-called family lawyer is a generalist in much the same sense as the old family doctor.

                                                                                                           一Ibid., p.723

3. The corporation lawyer is a salaried employee of a company. …

                                                                                                              -Ibid.

4. Although some successful lawyers never appear in court, many individuals and firms make a specialty of representing parties in litigation. The trial lawyer does not necessarily limit himself to courtroom work, but his greater experience in it makes him alert to procedural points and nuances in the presentation of evidence that might escape a competent attorney whose major interests lie elsewhere.

                                                                                                              -Ibid.

最后一例中的“attorney”與“l(fā)awyers”同義（當(dāng)然，其數(shù)有單復(fù)之異）其所以如此，是因?yàn)榇嗽~從詞的構(gòu)成上來說，乃是“ attorney-at-law”之略，意為“法律上的代理人”而不是“事實(shí)的代理人” 即“attorney-in-fact”;

5. As disunguished from an attorney-at-fact, who is authorized to act for another person in a specific situation (for example, the person to whom you give a power of attorney to sign a contract in your absence), an attorney-at-law represents you in lawsuits and other legal matters.

                                                                                                               -Ibid.

本文開宗明義就已經(jīng)指出：美國稱“律師”為“attorney”，但“attorney”......亦可指......“事實(shí)上的代理人”。但是其所以然在哪兒呢？

在于“attorney”既是“attorney-in-fact”的剪截詞，也是“ attorney-at-law”的剪截詞。剪截后的“attorney”不但兼具“ attorney-at-law”或“attorney-in-fact”之意，而且也獲得了其獨(dú)立的生命。因此，只有“ district attorney”, “attorney General”之類的詞而沒有“ district attorney-at-law”或 “Attorney-at-law General”之類的詞。

附帶提一句，“attorney-at-law”還有個同義詞，那就是“counselor-at-law” ；

6. Counselor-at-law means the same thing as attorney-at-law:

正如“ attorney-at-law”和“attorney-in-fact”均可剪截為“attorney”，“counselor-at-law”亦可剪截為“counselor”。在這一意義上，“counselor”又與“attorney”同義了。

本文所述，主要是美國的情況。了解這一點(diǎn)很有必要，否則在譯校中涉及選詞用語而意見不一時就沒有共同語言而很難討論了。

責(zé)任編輯：admin