“Constitution in Translation” Role-Playing Game

On October 14, 2026, third-year students from the “Translation Studies” program participated in the “Constitution in Translation” role-playing game, an event focused on the nuances of translating constitutional texts.
During the event, students assumed the roles of translators, legal editors, and experts, analyzing provisions from the constitutions of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, and the United States. The discussion centered on comparing wording related to the principle of equality before the law and the protection of human rights.
Participants examined specific legal terminology, analyzed differences in syntactic structures, and discussed the challenges of conveying legal meaning across English, Russian, and Kazakh. Special emphasis was placed on translation accuracy, the preservation of normative modality, and the avoidance of semantic distortions when dealing with constitutional provisions.
The role-playing game allowed students to immerse themselves in a professional scenario requiring not only linguistic knowledge but also the ability to justify translation decisions, work with official sources, and account for the specific nature of legal discourse.
The event helped develop the professional competencies of future translators and deepened their understanding of the role translation plays in ensuring the accuracy and accessibility of legal information.

Department of Foreign Languages