equivalence

Culture-specific items (CSIs) abound in languages. Sometimes these items are peculiar to one culture and sometimes they may be shared across several cultures. Every translator encounters a variety of CSIs in different texts ​​and may face difficulties in translating them, particularly in literary translation (e.g. children’s literature). To overcome the problem of finding the right equivalent, the translator has to rely on different strategies. This study investigates the strategies used to render CSIs in two Persian translations of Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and Chocolate Factory”, following Newmark’s (1988) model (which includes categories such as cultural equivalent , transference , functional equivalent , through-translation , etc.). The study also compares the two translations, inspecting and explaining the strategies used in each one to translate the CSIs observed. Based on the data analysis and the results of the study, the most widely used strategies was “cultural equivalent”, followed by “through-translation” and “recognized translation.”

The translation of religious texts plays a crucial role within the translators’ community, prompting many translators to strive for the most appropriate equivalents in order to convey the themes and ideas as comprehensively as possible. The primary objective of the present study was to investigate the differences in equivalence among translators while translating twenty conveniently selected letters from Nahj al-Balagha from the original to the target text. Specifically, it aimed to determine whether the three English translations of Nahj al-Balagha by Mohammad Askari Jafari, Morteza Motahhari, and Sayed Ali Reza convey the same message. In this context, the research sought to identify any significant differences in equivalence among the three Persian-to-English translations by these translators. Nida’s (1964) model of equivalence served as the framework for the study, allowing a comparison of the three English translations of letters 40 to 60. This analysis focused on identifying the types of equivalence used based on Nida’s distinctions between dynamic and formal equivalence. The results indicated significant differences among the three translations: Sayed Ali Reza’s and Motahhari’s translations were notably more formal in tone, while Askari Jafari's translation was characterized as dynamic. These findings can be informative for readers interested in further research on the translation of religious texts, including Nahj al-Balagha.

The concepts of equivalence and correspondence has been two key concepts in translation studies and many theorists has attempted to define them; some also challenged the possibility of having equivalent texts at all. The present research aims to study the difference between correspondence and equivalence. Finding the corresponding words or phrases is prescribed in the literal and faithful translation and finding equivalents is employed in those methods that accentuate the meaning of the sentence.   The main difference between equivalence and correspondence is that equivalence exists between two texts, but correspondence exists between lingual elements, words, phrases, expressions or syntactic structures in the text. For a translation to be successful, the source text and translated text should be  generally  equivalent. Literal translation may fulfill certain requirements , however, it cannot be considered as a useful method for all, for it does not lead to equivalence. But no translation is merely conducted based on one of these methods. Correspondence is sometimes used in the semantic method and at times the translator apply its equivalent in literal translation. So this is not an absolute dichotomy. In this sense, correspondences and equivalences coexist in all translation products. And therefore translation is always a blend of word correspondences and sense equivalences.    

Le présent article se penche sur le concept d’équivalence en traduction dont le corpus constitue les extraits d’un roman autochtone canadien Kukum et leurs traductions en persan. L’auteur de l’ouvrage raconte la vie de son arrière-grand-mère. Dans cette biographie ayant comme toile de fond la description de la nature vierge, on a brossé un beau tableau des scènes où se déroulent différentes tranches de la vie des personnages. Certes, ce genre d’écriture exige l’emploi d’un langage rhétorique dans lequel la comparaison, la métaphore et la personnification prennent une place prépondérante. Afin de transférer ces figures de style, nous nous sommes interrogées sur les modalités de rendre ce registre littéraire aussi fidèlement que possible et de la sauvegarde de l’étrangeté du récit non sans présenter un texte compréhensible et agréable à lire pour le public persanophone. Lors de la traduction de l’ouvrage, nous avons été à cheval entre deux approches sourcière et cibliste en nous appuyant sur le concept d’équivalence tantôt formelle, tantôt dynamique, avancé par Eugen Nida, pour ainsi refléter le vouloir-dire de l’auteur sur tous les plans. Quant à la méthodologie, il s’agit d’une étude descriptive et analytique.