Equivalence in Translation Between myth and reality

This article is dedicated to express the equivalence as a theory in various points of view taken from theorists. The winter says the theorists are divided into two groups. The first group is in favor of linguists approach in translation. The second group is in favor of cultural approach toward translation and most importantly the equivalence. The writer also defines a mediocre place for scholars who do not belong to the first or second group. Scholars for the first group are Vinay, Catford, Darbelnet, Jakobson and Nida. Vinay and Darbelnet defined the equivalence as a procedure which replicates the same situation as in the original while using completely different wording. They also said that the equivalence is the ideal method in dealing with proverbs, idioms, cliches, etc. Jakobson considered three types of translation. They are inter lingual (between SL &TL), intra lingual (within one language), and inter semiotic (between sign systems). Nida's theory was defined by the writer. Nida defined two types of equivalence. They are formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence. Writer says the formal equivalence focuses on the message itself. However, the dynamic equivalence is based on the equivalent effect. Catford is the next theorist who believed in linguistic approach toward translation and equivalence. He defined his theory based on the extent of translation, grammatical rank and the levels of language. He, later on, explained his notion of shifts. They are structure shift, class shift, unit shift, and intra system shift.

In the second part of the article, the writer introduces House's theory as a cultural or functional approach toward the notions of translation and equivalence. House defined two types of translation namely overt and covert translation. In the overt translation the TT audience is not directly addressed. On the other hand, the covert translation is the production of a text which is functionally equivalent to the ST. in the final part of the article, Baker's theory of equivalence was defined. The writer says Baker explores the notion of equivalence at different levels. They are word level, grammatical level, textual level, and pragmatic level. Finally, the writer concluded that equivalence is still problematic in terms of definition, theoretical aspects, and practical aspects.