The concept of equivalence in translation studies

The major concern of this article is the theoretical and philosophical aspects of equivalence. The definition of equivalence comprises other non- specific definitions of equivalence. It is defined as generally being equal and interchangeable in value, quantity, significance, etc. the writer defines the different aspects of equivalence and describes them. In other words, the all components of the equivalence are described. There is also a definition for translation studies. It is being equivalent according to different degrees of languages and ranks of languages. Another definition for equivalence is the scientific definition which states that the central problem of translation is that of finding TL translation equivalent and the central task of translation theory is that of defining the nature and conditions of translation equivalence. It is said that the main objective of translation studies is the explication of translation equivalence. The writer continues by explaining different scholars ' points of view toward equivalence like Nida's formal and dynamic equivalence. The writer, then, considered the displacement of equivalence concept by introducing the historical- descriptive approach toward equivalence and translation. This approach emphasizes on the significance of the situation, and more specifically, the culture in which translations are to be situated. The scholars of this approach focus on the target culture. Generally, there are two approaches which are explained one is the linguistic approach and the other one is the descriptive- historical approach or functional approach.

To sum up, the article is the explanation for different views over the concept of equivalence. It says translation studies maybe analogous. In addition, the components of equivalence are described. Furthermore, two main approaches known as linguistic approach and functional or descriptive- historical approach are discussed. This study just regards the theoretical aspects of the notion of equivalence from different points of view. Among them, the somehow dichotomy of linguistic versus functional equivalence is explained. The whole debate is around the nature of the notions.