The notion of equivalence

Historically, equivalence has represented one of the essential problems facing translation theory, since translation deals with two languages, each of which has its own characteristic features at the levels of phonetics, phonology, grammar, semantics, culture, etc

Catford believes that the nature and conditions of translation equivalence is the central problem of translation theory, while Fawcett (1997) more skeptically describes equivalence as “a concept that has probably cost the lives of more trees than any other in translation studies” (ibid: 53).

Most definitions of translation mention the concept of equivalence as a key factor in the process of rendering a text from one language into another. For example, Hartmann and Stork (1972: 173) define translation as “the replacement of a representation of a text in one language by the representation of an equivalent text in a second language”.

According to Nida and Taber (1969), “translating consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source-language message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style” (ibid: 12).

It is noticeable that these definitions of translation focus on one particular goal: the obtaining of equivalence from language or textual material A to language or textual material B. However, one has to wonder to what extent, when translation theorists talk about the concept of equivalence, they mean the same thing.

The notion of equivalence has caused a lot of controversy in translation studies, and many different theories have emerged regarding equivalence. Some innovative theorists such as Vinay and Darbelnet (1995), Jakobson (1966), Nida (1964) Nida and Taber

(1969/1982), Catford (1965), House (1977/1981), Hatim and Mason (1990), Reiss (1978, 1981) Koller (1995), Bassnett (1980/2004), and Baker (1992) have studied equivalence in relation to the translation process, using different approaches, and have provided fruitful ideas for further study on this topic

These scholars may be divided into two main groups These scholars may be divided into two main groups. The first group includes some scholars who are in favour of a linguistic approach to translation and who sometimes seem to forget that translation is not just a matter of linguistics or linguistic matching and that there are other factors which affect translation work.

pragmatic/semantic or functionally oriented approach to translation The second group regard translation equivalence as being essentially a transfer of the message from the source culture to the target culture and adopt a pragmatic/semantic or functionally oriented approach to translation

They state that when a message is translated from the source language to the target language, the translator is also dealing with two different cultures at the same time. This group of theorists believes that not only linguistics but also culture determine the type of equivalence to be achieved.