12:49 Dec 20, 2010 

Thank you, Charles and AllegroTrans. I see what you mean. I have amended it according to your suggestion: affidavit of notarised public instrument of marriage'.

12:42 Dec 20, 2010 

Well, I wasn't going to write further on this since I thought it was all over and done with (and I dare say it is), but for what it's worth I think AllegroTrans has a point. OK, I see from the discussion that your document says "testimonio de escritura...", and conceivably such an affidavit is notarised, though it doesn't appear to say so, but what is certainly notarised in El Salvador is the instrument of marriage itself. So it would apparently be more accurate to say "affidavit of notarised public instrument of marriage" (or just "notarised instrument" or just "public instrument"). "Instrument", by the way, strikes me as an acceptable solution for "escritura".

12:26 Dec 20, 2010 

"Notarised affidavit" is rather a contradiction, I suggest. An affidavit would only be notarised if it was being sworn in one country and sent for use in another, and even then, that is not always necessary. What is being referred to in your text is quite possibly a document either certified by or sworn in front of a notary but I would be very surprised if it were a notarised affidavit. The act of notarising a document and swearing the contents of a document such as an affidavit must be construed as 2 separate functions.

00:56 Dec 20, 2010 

Thank you all so very much for your helpful research and suggestions. After consideration, and bearing in mind there does not seem to be any adequate translation in English, I am going to leave in the orginal in Spanish, then add in parenthesis 'Notarised Affidavit of Public Instrument of Marriage' which seems to me to describe it appropriately.

23:39 Dec 19, 2010 

By the way, the salvalex.com site doesn't have an English translation of its Modelo de Escritura Pública de Matrimonio, but when you press the red "translate" button at the bottom, it produces "Public Writing Sample Marriage". A catchy title, I'm sure you'll agree. So there's your answer, Catherine: this is a Public Writing Marriage.

23:32 Dec 19, 2010 

I've been reading the latest exchanges with interest. Could I just invite anyone who wants to know what this document is to have a look at the model at the web address I posted in my answer (http://www.salvalex.com/en/templates--forms/11-otros-formato... . I don't think I've seen a document like this from another country: one that does not record the fact that the marriage has taken place in the way a marriage certificate or American record of marriage does, but in which the officiating notary actually narrates the ceremony. The escritura/partida distinction is surely crucial, and you must find a term that makes it clear this is not the partida.

20:13 Dec 19, 2010 

My experience is from Spain, so won't take us much further.
My only additional comment which may be of use is to confirm that when a document is set on public record/registered, it becomes an even more binding legal contract known in Spanish as an escritura (the most common meaning of escritura is title deeds, but it has a far wider range than that).

20:09 Dec 19, 2010 

It's El Salvador

16:18 Dec 19, 2010 

Thanks for the additonal information, Catherine

But I would still be interested to know which country issued this documentation. For me it sounds like sth parallel similar to the Spanish system of Libro de Familia - and I have spent the last half hour looking for ours, to no avail, so am now thoroughly concerned!!

14:32 Dec 19, 2010 

Sorry about the lack of context.
I should have explained that what I have is not exactly a marriage certificate. It is a certified copy of an entry of birth, with added notes saying that, and referring to the Libro de Marginaciones, that 'la inscrita' (the person named on the birth certificate) was married on such and such a date 'segun Testimonio de Escritura Publica de Matrimonio que se tuvo a la vista'. The other problem is that this is document for translation is not exactly a marriage certificate. I don't know what to call it - my client is taking it as a marriage certificate.

21:31 Dec 18, 2010 

zero context in = zero context out

00:26 Dec 18, 2010 

context?

20:53 Dec 17, 2010 

Asker, as you can see, you are getting widely varying suggestions
It would help if you could provide some context here please. 2 requests have been posted for you.

18:29 Dec 17, 2010 

That lonely dash is like a red rag to a bull for some of us context fiends ;-)

17:47 Dec 17, 2010 

Do you have this document? What does it say?