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SESIUNEA DE COUMUNICRI TIINIFICE, 25 martie 2011³Dunrea de Jos´ of Galai
Faculty of LettersMasters in Translation and Interpreting
Equivalencein Translation
Studeni: Bocneal Bogdan
Anul I, 2010-2011
Îndrumtor, prof. dr. Elena Croitoru
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TranslationTranslation A method employed and
discussed since Antiquity.
Translation is generallyseen as a process of
communicating the foreigntext by establishing arelationship of identity oranalogy.
Evolved to the point whereit reached the status of an
academic field.
Involves a specific relationbetween a SLT and TLT ±Equivalence. Figure 3.1 (Munday 2001:41)
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Translation Theorists and
Equivalence
Interpreted by some of the most innovativetranslation theorists: Vinay and Darbelnet,Jakobson, Nida, Newmark, Catford, House and
Baker.
Three main groups:
linguistic approach - language focus
pragmatic & semantic approach ± culture focus
linguistic & pragmatic & semantic approach -language and culture focus
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Eugene Nida One of the most important theorists and
translators.
Discards µliteral¶, µfaithful¶ and µfree¶ for formal anddynamic equivalence.
Linguistic approach to translation but interest in themessage of the text (semantic quality - aparamount).
Draws a significant amount of criticism (too simplebinary system).
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Formal (Functional) Equivalence
³Focuses attention on the message itself, in both form andcontent´ (Nida 1969:158), i.e. a TL item which representsthe closest equivalent of a SL word or phrase.
HOWEVER: not always formal equivalents between language pairs serious implications at times in the TT since thetranslation will not be easily understood by the targetaudience
³T ypically, formal correspondence distorts thegrammatical and stylistic patterns of the receptor language,and hence distorts the message, so as to cause thereceptor to misunderstand or to labor unduly hard.´ (Nidaand Taber 1982:122)
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Dynamic Equivalence Based upon µthe principle of equivalent effect¶ (Nida
1964:159)
³T he relationship between receptor and messageshould be substantially the same as that which existed
between the original receptors and the message.´
(Nida 1964:159)
The goal ± naturalness in translation
A more efficient method
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Peter Newmark
Different approach to equivalence
Departs from Nida¶s line
Discards µformal¶ and µdynamic¶ for semantic andcommunicative
Equivalence inoperable - full equivalence illusory
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Semantic and Communicative Translation
ComparisonParameter Semantic Translation Communicative Translation
Transmitter/
Addressee
Focus
Focus on the thought processes of the
transmitter as an individual (TL
connotations if they are a crucial part of the message)
Subjective, TT reader focused, oriented
toward a specific language and culture.
Culture. Remains within the SL culture Transfers foreign elements into the TL
culture.
Relation to ST. Always inferior to ST; loss of meaning May be better than the ST; gain of force
and clarity even if loss of semanticcontent
Use of form of the SL Replicates deviated norms; loyalty to ST
author.
Respect for the form of the SL, but
overriding loyalty to TL norms.
Form of the TT. More complex, awkward, detailed;
tendency to over translate.
Smoother, simpler, clearer, more direct;
tendency to under translate.
Appropriateness For serious literature, autobiography,
personal effusion, any important political
(or other) statement.
For the vast majority of texts, e.g. non ±
literary writing, technical and informative
texts, publicity, standardized types,popular fiction.
Table 3.1 (Munday 2001:45)
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Mona Baker
Discusses the problem of equivalence combiningthe linguistic and communicative approach.
Types of equivalence: at word level and
above word level
Equivalence explored at different levels:
word level grammatical level
text level
pragmatic level
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Equivalence at word level: Analyze words as single units in order to find a direct
µequivalent¶ term in the TL
A single word can sometimes be assigned differentmeanings in different languages and might beregarded as being a more complex unit ormorpheme.
The translator should pay attention to a number of
factors when considering a single word, such as:number, gender and tense.
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Grammatical equivalence
Different grammatical structures in the SL and TLcause changes in the way the information or messageis carried across;
The translator either adds or omits information in theTT because of the lack of particular grammaticaldevices in the TL itself.
Amongst the grammatical devices which might causeproblems in translation Baker focuses on number,tense and aspects, voice, person and gender.
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Grammatical equivalence (2)
The idea of countability is universal;
Gender - a grammatical category according towhich a noun or pronoun is generally classified as
masculine, feminine or neutral;e.g.
The category of person relates to the notion of
participant roles;
e.g. Mr. Peters, if there¶s anything I can do to help you , I shall feel it, for your wife¶s sake, a pleasure . . .´
Domnule Peters, dac v pot ajuta cu ceva, de dragul soiei d umneav oastr , o voi face
cu plcere«( my translation )
³I went out with a friend last night.´
³A man or a woman?´
- Am iesit in oras c u cinevaasearã.
-Bãrbat sau femeie?
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Textual equivalence Texture provides useful guidelines for the
comprehension and analysis of the ST;
It is up to the translator to decide whether to maintain
or not the cohesive ties as well as the coherence of the SL text;
His or her decision will be guided by three mainfactors, i.e., the target audience, the purpose of thetranslation and the text type;
Problems arise when a principle as focus clashes withbasic grammatical principles.e.g. A poi sosi Andrei. ± And then Andrei arrived.
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Pragmatic equivalence
refers to implicatures and strategies of avoidanceduring the translation process.
The translator needs to work out implied meanings intranslation in order to get the ST message across.
The role of the translator is to recreate the author's
intention in another culture in such a way that itenables the TC reader to understand it clearly.
e.g. to be silver tongued ± a avea vorba dulce.
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Equivalence ± Conclusions One of the most problematic and controversial
areas in translation
Although the key problem since the 60¶s and 70¶s(even Antiquity), still the cause of heated debates
Total equivalence ± ³A chimera´
Displaced from the central position by thefunctionalist trend (focus on the receptor)
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Translation ±Conclusions Although equivalence is a mirage, translation is not
impossible
Untranslability ± statistics, not mystery
Translation involves altering forms ± ³traduttoretraditore´
Impossibility of a universal approach
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Bibliography Nida, Eugene A. (1964) T owards a Science of T ranslating. Leiden: E. J.
Brill.
Nida and Taber (1982) T he theory and practice of translation. Leiden:Brill.
Baker, Mona (1992) In Other Words: a Coursebook on T ranslation.London: Routledge.
Leonardi, Vanessa (2000) Equivalence in T ranslation: Between Mythand Reality. T ranslation Journal.( http://translationjournal.net/journal/14equiv.htm )
Venutti, Laurence (2000) T he T ranslation Studies Reader . London:Routledge
Munday, Jeremy (2001) Introducing T ranslation Studies. London:Routledge
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