Equivalence and its types in translation

Abstract

Equivalence is a crucial notion in any consideration of translation.In contemporary translation studies, it is the relationship that binds any target text to the source text it derwes from, and that accounts for both texts being purportedly “the same” in different languages. Depending on the theoretical outlook and the text’s specificity involved, this dependency relationship may adopt different modes to insure the successful target text’s delivery to its intended recipients. Equivalence implies variability and consequently several types of equivalence can be distinguished. Equivalence has been and still is one of the most challenging and controversial issues among scholars, who have taken one of three views: equivalence as a defining condition for translation as a conceptual tool useful for describing translation, or as an impediment for advancement in translation studies. Some linguists define translation in terms of equivalents relations while others reject the theoretical nodon of equivalence, claiming it is either irrelevant or damaging (Gentcler 1993) translation studies. Yet others scientists are a middle position.