random "lay" readers, editors, writers, anyone with an opinion about words.

[hatwoman]

do you react against the following sentence or do you think you get the gist?

According to international law combatants must distinguish between military objectives and civilians or civilian objects.

Ker-plunk, tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, thud

[sound of penny dropping]

Now all is clear, hatwoman.

Your dh massively underestimated MN, didn't he?

So, your sentence is fine as it is (though I'd still put a comma after 'law'), but not readily comprehensible to Joe Public, since we (at least, we the Josephine Publics of MN) tend to read 'objective' as synonymous with 'aim' and not as synonymous with 'object'. But legal language is very specialised, and words don't always mean what they mean in everyday language. If you're writing for a specialist audience no problem. If you're writing for Joe Public, then you need to explain what 'objectives' means in this context.

Interesting that we all thought we knew what 'objective' meant and pounced on 'object' as the term which was unclear.

I'm doing a class on translating legal language (or, rather, the untranslatability of legal language) tomorrow afternoon. Can I nick this example?

Very interesting, thanks for that hatwoman!

yes Ellbell I think you've got it. my job involves lots of trying to find a wording that's both true to the law and understandable. I have to admit that I'm utterly in awe of anyone who can do law in their second language.

I think you have to study law in the second language directly, iyswim, rather than learn a second language and then try to 'learn' legal language. A friend's ds is a barrister (or nearly... not sure if he's fully qualified yet) who did a degree in Law and French Law (with a year in France). That must have been interesting. The point of my class is that, as a bog standard language graduate you can't possibly be expected to translate this stuff, because you can't necessarily be expected to understand it even in your first language!

good point. as a terrible linguist I simply can't do anything in a second language - I have to translate first. But I think you're spot on with law - you just have to do it in the original language. ok I am now in awe of anyone who can translate law. they should be better paid than the lawyers

Hatwoman, I'm so glad you explained! How interesting (but sorry you were wrong!)

Thanks hatwoman! Used your eg in class today!!