Traditional Equivalence in Translation

Functional equivalence theory, that is to say, translation does not require rigid correspondence between words and words, but not only lexical equivalence, but also semantic equivalence, stylistic equivalence and stylistic equivalence. Generally speaking, in the process of translation, we don't insist on word-for-word correspondence, but really transform the translated content into language forms and cultural customs.

For the simplest example, Chinglish we speak does not follow the principle of functional equivalence well. Another example is the difference in the location of Chinese and English surnames.

Skopos theory holds that for the target readers, the original text is only the source of part or all of the information, which is different from functional equivalence theory. Skopostheorie requires that translation methods-literal translation, free translation or something in between-be determined with the aim of meeting the needs of the target readers on the premise of being faithful to the original text.

Extended data:

In order to accurately reproduce the source language and culture and eliminate cultural differences, translators can follow the following three steps.

First, strive to create a translation that conforms to the semantics of the original text and reflects the cultural characteristics of the original text. However, the two languages represent two completely different cultures, and the cultures may have similar factors, but they cannot be exactly the same. Therefore, it is impossible to have a perfect translation that fully shows the cultural connotation of the original text, and the translator can only reproduce the source culture to the maximum extent.

Secondly, if meaning and culture cannot be taken into account at the same time, the translator can only give up formal equivalence and achieve the purpose of reproducing the semantics and culture of the original text by changing the form of the original text in translation.

For example, the English proverb "as white as snow" can be literally translated into Chinese "as white as snow". There is almost no snow in the south of China all year round, and there is no concept of "snow" in their cultural background knowledge. How to understand the connotation of snow? In translation, the translator can eliminate cultural differences by changing the form of words.

Therefore, this proverb can be translated into "white as mushrooms" and "white as egret hair" in Chinese (Guo Jianzhong, 2000, P63). For another example, the English idiom "spring up like mushroom" means "mushroom".

However, most of the Chinese translations are "like mushrooms after rain", not "like mushrooms after rain", because in China culture, people are more familiar with idioms and understand the image of "like mushrooms after rain".

Baidu Encyclopedia-Functional Equivalence Theory