EQUIVALENCE

IN
TRANSLATION
Abdul Muniem Al Hawwa
American University of Sharjah
Master of Translation & Interpretation

Introduction
The aim of this study is to review the theory of
equivalence as interpreted by some of the most
innovative theorists in this field (Jakobson
1959, Nida 1964, Koller 1979, and Baker )

What is Equivalence?
Equivalence is one of the procedures used in
translation. It is said to occur at word,
grammatical, textual and pragmatic levels.
Equivalent translation aims at reaching the
same or similar effect on the target text
receiver, equivalence must be understood as
sameness.

Types of Equivalence
By examining some examples drawn from
certain languages one discovers that total
meaning and equivalence in translation do not
exist. Why is it so? It is for the simple reason,
that meaning especially belongs to language
and culture. One also discovers that some
languages use only one word there where other
languages use two or three words in order to
refer to the same concept.

 Because the notion of equivalence has taken

much attention of translation theorists, their
studies have led to the emergence of a great
excess of different types of translation
equivalence. Many equivalence typologies
have been advanced by the previously
mentioned theorists, in this paper, well focus
on those theorists (Jakobson 1959, Nida 1964,
Koller 1979, and Baker )

Jakobsons typology
Roman Jacobson 1959 tackles the problem of
equivalence in meaning between words in
different languages. He outlines that
"there is no full equivalence between code-units."
This, as he suggests, leads to the substitution of oneword messages in one language by paraphrased
messages in some other language. He adds that
"the translator records and transmits a message
received from another source. Thus, translation
involves two equivalent messages in two different
languages."

Jacobsons continued

Jakobson makes a very important distinction

between three types of written translation:
-intralingual translation - translation within the
same language, which can involve rewording
or paraphrase.
-interlingual translation - translation from one
language to another
- intersemiotic translation - translation of the
verbal sign by a non-verbal sign, for example music
or image.

Nidas typology
Nida argued that there are two different types
of equivalence, Formal and Dynamic
equivalence.
Formal equivalence - focuses attention on the
message itself, in both form and content. It
aims to allow the reader to understand as
much of the SL context as possible.
Formal equivalence tends to emphasize fidelity
to the lexical details and grammatical structure
of the original language.

Translate the following English proverbs into

corresponding formal equivalents in Arabic
- A drowning man clutches at a straw
- Necessity is the mother of invention.
- The end justifies the means.

Nidas continued

Dynamic equivalence - is based on the

principle of equivalent effect, i.e. that the
relationship between receiver and message
should aim at being the same as that between
the original receivers and the SL message.
Dynamic equivalence is the quality of a
translation in which the message of the original
text has been so transported into the receptor
language that the response of the receptor is
essentially like that of the original receptors

Translate the following English proverbs into

corresponding Arabic functional equivalents, which also
feature a good degree of formal equivalence

-Like father like son

-A fault confessed is half
redressed.
- Beggars must not be
choosers.

According to Koller,
Koller distinguishes five types of equivalences so
as to try to answer this question: what exactly has
to be equivalent?
Denotative equivalence (referential): is referred
to the equivalence of the extra linguistic content
of a text
Connotative equivalence: related to the lexicon
(usage, origin...) Here we are talking about the
mind of the reader or user. -

Kollers continued

Text-normative equivalence: is related to the

different types of texts and communicative
situations. ST & TT words having the same
effect on the respective reader.
Pragmatic equivalence: It is also called
'communicative equivalence. The ST & TT
words having similar orthographic or
phonological features.
Textual equivalence: deals with flow of
information, cohesion

Bakers equivalence typology

1. Equivalence at word level- the meaning of single words and
expressions
2. Equivalence above word level- explores combinations of
words and phrases (stretches of language)
3. Grammatical equivalence- deals with grammatical
categories
4. Textual equivalence- discusses the text level (word order,
cohesion, etc.)
5. Pragmatic equivalence- how texts are used in
communicative situations that involves variables such as
writers, readers, and cultural context.

Comments