An Essay On Equivalence As Seen By Eugene Nida And

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1. Introduction In translation studies, equivalence has been an important concept throughout the 1970s and beyond. According to Catford, to achieve translation equivalents in target language is a central task for translation practise, while for theoretical studies of translation, to define the nature and conditions of translation equivalence is of utmost importance (1965:21). Many scholars have worked in this field, trying to define equivalence and set up guidelines for attaining equivalence. Among them, Eugene Nida and Gideon Toury are the most established researchers in this field. They give two contrastingly different frameworks of equivalence which this essay intends to elaborate on. Each framework has merits of its own, as Nida takes the prescriptive approach and Toury takes the descriptive approach. This essay tries to explain in details what their views of equivalence are together with examples. A discussion chapter is included to cover how each theoretical framework of equivalence has been applied, reviewed or even criticized by peer scholars, and lastly I put forward my own integrated view of these two perspectives of equivalence. 2. Basics of equivalence This chapter briefly touches upon some basic knowledge of equivalence as explained by Eugene Nida and Gideon Toury, so that readers can understand the case studies give in Chapter 3. 2.1 Eugene Nida’s equivalence Eugene Nida (2000) sees equivalence in a traditional prescriptive approach, which tends to be instructive and tries to provide guidelines for translators on how to attain equivalence. Nida realizes that no two languages are identical, as language is a pillar of culture and reflected by culture. There is no absolute correspondence between any two languages, and translation can be, at its best, an interpretation of similar ideas, but far short of being a perfect equivalent of

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