The purpose of translation methods and procedures and of translating itself is to achieve maximal

equivalence, or equivalent effect.

Equivalent effect
Equivalent effect is virtually the same as maximal equivalence. The term equivalent effect refers to the target
text having the same effect on the target text reader as the source text has on the source text reader. Note that,
the term maximal equivalence does not imply this focus on the readership, but, lie maximal equivalence, a
totally equivalent effect is impossible to achieve. !ut, "ith a high level of naturalness, among other things, it is
possible to, at least, achieve optimal equivalence.
Global translation strategies / translation methods
#ou have to mae the choice bet"een imitative translation and functional translation the first striving to
retain as much of the purely formal aspects of the source text, and the latter aims at getting the message of the
source text across, even if it taes drastic changes in the formal aspects of the text.
Ne"mar lists the follo"ing translation methods, "hich essentially fall along a cline of focus, one extreme
being total focus on the source text$language and the other extreme being total focus on the target text$language%
& 'T$'( focus )imitative translation*
word-for-word translation% preservation of "ord order and as literal translation as possible of
individual "ords, including cultural "ords
literal translation% apart from as literal as possible translation of individual "ords, grammatical
structures are converted into the nearest target language equivalents
faithful translation% stays, if possible, "ithin the constraints of the grammatical structures of the target
text, but dra"s on certain contextual factors
semantic translation% more emphasis on naturalness than in faithful translation, and translation of
certain cultural "ords into neutral equivalents in the T(
& TT$T( focus )functional communication*
communicative translation% aims at reproducing the exact message of the source text content+"ise and
context+"ise but "ith emphasis on naturalness and acceptability$comprehensiveness to the target text
readership.
idiomatic translation% maes use of idioms and colloquialisms that are not present in the source text.
free translation% focuses on the content of the target text rather than the form, "hich means that the
same content is expressed in the target text but "ith very different grammatical structures if need be
adaptation% the freest form of translation and more of a target language$culture based interpretation of
the source text than a translation as such, this is sometimes called document design
THE SEVE ST!"!#"S $% TE&T'!()T*
, TE-T "ill be defined as a ./001N2.,T23E /..144EN.E "hich meets seven standards of TE-T1,(2T#. ....
5. The first standard "ill be called ./6E'2/N and concerns the "ay in "hich the components of the '147,.E TE-T, i.e. the actual
"ords "e hear or see, are mutually connected within a sequence. The surface components depend upon each other according to
grammatical forms and conventions, such that cohesion rests upon 84,00,T2.,( 9E:EN9EN.2E'. 2N TE40' /7 !/T6 (E-2'
,N9 84,00,4, T6,T 2', T6E '147,.E ./0:/NENT' 9E:EN9 1:/N E,.6 /T6E4 2N E'T,!(2'62N8 ,N9 0,2NT,2N2N8 TE-T
./NT2N12T#. )cum se stabile;te leg<tura dintre propo=i>ii ;i p<r>ile propo=i>iei.*.
?. The second standard "ill be called ./6E4EN.E and concerns the "ays in "hich the components of the TE-T1,( @/4(9, i.e. the
configuration of ./N.E:T' and 4E(,T2/N' "hich underlie the surface text are mutually accessible and relevant. ... .ohesion
and coherence are text+centred notions, designating operations directed at the text materials. E.g. No mil in the fridge. 6ave
gone to the shops. 2nterpretation depends on assumptions about similar experiences. )1nity, harmony* ) cum se stabile;te
leg<tura dintre afirma>ii.* 2n essence, coherence is not imported from the source textA coherence is constructed ane" in the target
text using the source sense relations as a template. .oherence is a property "hich texts assume "hen their information contents
tae on a logical structure B.oherence is not an information unitA it is the connection of individual information elements to
create larger, more global structures of meaning.
+$HES)$ !" +$HE#E+E !#E TE&T-+ET#E" $T)$S, THE $THE# ST!"!#"S $% TE&T'!()T* !#E 'SE#-+ET#E"
$T)$S,
C. 2n addition, "e shall require user+centred notions "hich are brought to bear on the activity of textual communication at large,
both by producers and by receivers. The third standard of textuality could then be called 2NTENT2/N,(2T# , concerning the text
producerDs attitude that the set of occurrences should constitute a cohesive and coherent text instrumental in fullfilling the
producerDs intentions, e.g. to distribute no"ledge or to attain a 8/,( specified in a :(,N. ... )ce inten>ii are autorul*
E. The fourth standard of textuality "ould be ,..E:T,!2(2T# , concerning the text receiverDs attitude that the set of occurrences
should constitute a cohesive and coherent text having some use or relevance for the receiver, e.g. to acquire no"ledge or
provide co+operation in a plan. ... , text must be intended to be a text and accepted as such in order to be utili=ed in
communicative interaction, i.e. the author of the text should intend it to contribute to"ards some goal and the reader of it should
accept that it is, in fact, satisfying some such obFective. )cum reac>ionea=< cititorul.*
G. The fifth standard of textuality is called 2N7/40,T232T# and concerns the extent to "hich the occurrences of the presented text
are expected vs. unexpected or no"n vs. unno"n$certain. To define informativity, !eaugrande H 9ressler )5II?* believe in
the ne" and unexpected notion of a presentation. They use the term informativity to designate the extent to "hich a presentation
is ne" or unexpected for the receivers. )ce ne propune textul.*
J. The sixth standard of textuality can be designated '2T1,T2/N,(2T# and concerns the factors "hich mae a text 4E(E3,NT to a
'2T1,T2/N of occurrence. ... 'ituationality is the location of a text in a discrete sociocultural context in a real time and place.
The general strategy of the translator is to adFust the text to its ne" situation. ,dFustments may involve a variety of translation
procedures, including explicitation, compression, recasting, and textual re+arrangements B the modifications are motivated by
the need to preserve the intentionality and functionality of the text in its ne" situation )pentru ce este enun>at textul.*
K. The seventh standard is to be called 2NTE4TE-T1,(2T# and refers to the relationship bet"een a certain text and other texts
"hich share characteristics "ith itA the factors "hich allo" readers to distinguish, in a ne" text, features of other texts that they
have experienced. 2t is a property of being lie other texts of this ind "hich readers attribute to texts. 2f the translator "ants
to create a translation that appears natural, then he or she should create a text "hose linguistic surface evoes a similar
recognition. The translation has to possess the intertextuality of the target cultureDs natural texts )leg<tura cu alte texte.* 4. de
!eaugrande, @. 9ressler, An Introduction to Text Linguistics, (ondon, (ongman, 5IL5
5, ? and C, are largely "riter oriented. E, G, and J are approximately the converse and depend on the reader. K. triggers an association
"ith other "ell established ideas.
, text is more than a bag of sentences and bears at least some features of textuality%