Understanding Hinglish in Legal Evidence: A Guide for Australian Lawyers

Introduction

Digital communications can be an important source of information in legal matters. WhatsApp messages, SMS conversations, emails, social media posts and other electronic communications may contain Hindi, English, or a mixture of both.

For Australian lawyers dealing with Hindi-speaking clients or evidence originating from India, one additional issue can arise: Hinglish.

Hinglish generally refers to communication that combines Hindi and English. It may be written in Devanagari script, Roman letters, or a mixture of the two. A single WhatsApp conversation may move between Hindi and English several times within the same exchange.

This can create practical considerations when the material needs to be translated into English.

What Is Hinglish?

Hinglish is commonly used to describe communication in which Hindi and English are mixed.

For example, someone may write a Hindi sentence using English letters rather than Devanagari script. They may also insert English words into an otherwise Hindi sentence.

The way people communicate informally can be very different from the language used in formal documents.

A WhatsApp conversation might contain:

• Hindi written in Devanagari

• Hindi written using Roman letters

• English words within Hindi sentences

• abbreviations

• slang

• informal expressions

• emojis

• spelling variations

• voice messages

• references that depend on earlier parts of the conversation

The translator may therefore need to consider more than simply replacing Hindi words with English words.

What Is Romanised Hindi?

Romanised Hindi is Hindi written using the Roman alphabet rather than Devanagari.

For example, a Hindi speaker may type Hindi words using English letters because their phone keyboard is configured that way or because they are accustomed to communicating in that format.

Romanised Hindi can have considerable spelling variation.

The same Hindi word may be written differently by different people because there is no single universally followed spelling system for informal Romanised Hindi.

This can be relevant when translating WhatsApp messages or other digital communications.

Why Does Hinglish Matter in Legal Translation?

Legal evidence is often highly dependent on context.

An informal message may contain an expression whose meaning cannot be understood properly by examining one word in isolation.

A translator may need to consider:

• the surrounding sentence;

• the preceding and subsequent messages;

• whether the communication is formal or informal;

• whether a word is being used literally or colloquially;

• whether English terminology has been incorporated into Hindi;

• whether abbreviations have been used;

• whether an expression has a culturally specific meaning.

This does not mean that a translator should add an interpretation that is not present in the original communication.

The objective of translation is to accurately communicate the meaning of the source material while preserving relevant features of the original.

Hindi, English and Hinglish in the Same Conversation

A WhatsApp conversation does not necessarily need to be entirely in Hindi to require Hindi translation.

For example, a conversation could contain:

Hindi message → English message → Romanised Hindi → Hindi voice message → English reply

The translation requirement may therefore need to be considered on a message-by-message basis.

Where only selected portions are relevant to a legal matter, the lawyer may also need to identify which messages or attachments should be translated.

Abbreviations and Informal Language

Digital communications frequently contain shortened words.

Users may also omit punctuation, use unconventional spelling or employ expressions that are common in informal conversation.

A translator working with this material needs to distinguish between:

1. an apparent spelling mistake;

2. informal language;

3. an abbreviation;

4. a transliteration;

5. a genuine ambiguity in the source text.

These distinctions can matter when the wording of a communication is relevant to a legal dispute.

Emojis and Other Digital Features

Digital evidence is not always just text.

Messages can include:

• emojis;

• photographs;

• screenshots;

• voice notes;

• videos;

• forwarded messages;

• links;

• documents;

• deleted-message indicators;

• reactions or other platform-specific features.

Whether these elements require translation will depend on their relevance and the purpose for which the material is being prepared.

A translator should not automatically assume that every visual element has a fixed legal meaning. Where context is important, the original material should be preserved for reference.

Voice Messages Are Different

A Hindi voice message introduces another issue.

There are potentially two separate processes:

Transcription: converting speech into written text.

Translation: converting the written or spoken Hindi into English.

Depending on the material, both may be required.

A lawyer arranging translation of Hindi audio evidence should therefore clarify what output is required rather than assuming that “translation” automatically means a written transcript.

Context Matters, But Should Be Handled Carefully

Context can be important when translating informal communications.

However, context should not become an excuse to rewrite the source material.

For example, a translator should be cautious about:

• turning an informal statement into formal legal language;

• removing slang simply because it sounds unusual in English;

• changing a person's terminology to Australian legal terminology;

• silently correcting names or dates;

• adding conclusions that are not contained in the source material.

The translated document should remain an accurate representation of the original communication.

What Should Lawyers Provide to the Translator?

Where possible, providing the translator with the original material in its original form can be useful.

Depending on the matter, this could include:

• screenshots;

• exported chat records;

• audio files;

• emails;

• photographs;

• attachments;

• relevant surrounding messages.

If a particular message is being translated because of its relationship to another message, providing the surrounding conversation may help establish the linguistic context.

Questions Lawyers Should Consider

Before arranging translation of Hinglish evidence, a lawyer may wish to establish:

• Is the material written in Devanagari, Romanised Hindi or both?

• Does the material contain English and Hindi?

• Are there voice messages?

• Are screenshots available?

• Are the original files available?

• Is the entire conversation relevant or only selected messages?

• Is transcription required as well as translation?

• Does the receiving court, tribunal or authority have particular requirements?

• Is certification required?

The requirements of the relevant court, tribunal or organisation should be checked separately rather than assumed.

Conclusion

Hinglish and Romanised Hindi can make digital evidence more linguistically complex than a conventional Hindi document.

For Australian lawyers, the key issue is to identify the nature of the material before arranging translation. WhatsApp conversations, emails and voice messages may contain multiple forms of communication within the same record.

A clear understanding of whether the task involves translation, transcription, or both can help avoid misunderstandings about the required output.

For legal matters, the original digital material should also be retained alongside any translated version so that the translation can be considered in its proper context.

HindiTranslationsNAATI provides Hindi-to-English translation services for documents and communications where an English translation is required. Requirements for certification or use in a particular legal matter should be confirmed with the relevant authority or legal practitioner.

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