DTRA340: Translation

Module 2 : Equivalence Issues in Translation

 Module 2:
Equivalence Issues in Translation
( English and Arabic Languages)

Baker, M. (2011). In other words New York, NY: Routledge.

Learning Objectives

• Upon the completion of this module , students will be able to

• Understand the concept of equivalence in translation
• Recognize the different levels of equivalence:
• Differentiate between a word and a morpheme.
• Understand the functions of a morpheme.
Content

• The concept of Equivalence in Translation

• Equivalence at Word level
• Equivalence above Word level
• Grammatical Equivalence
• Textual Equivalence
• Non-equivalence problems
The Concept of Equivalence

• If a word or a phrase in one language carries exactly the same

intended meaning of another word or phrase in another language or
can be used in similar context to mean the similar meaning, then the
two words or phrases are considered to be equivalent.

• The domain of equivalents covers linguistic units such as morphemes,

words, phrases, clauses, idioms and proverbs.
Equivalence at Word Level

Translators must consider:

• If there is an equivalent word or phrase in the target language or
not.
• When there is no equivalent word, how to convey similar
meaning?
• Is there a one-to-one relationship between word and meaning?
Words and Lexical Units

What is a Word?
A word is a single distinct meaningful unit of writing or speech. It can stand alone or with other
words and give meaning, and typically shown with space on either side when written or printed.

Words may be built of smaller meaningful units

• Example: ‘proof’ + ‘read’ = ‘proofread,’ to review a text with the intent to correct errors.

Different languages may use different numbers of meaningful units to convey an idea
• English phrase of four words, “If it is cheap,” = one word in Japanese, “yasukattara”, Baker
(2011).
• Arabic one word “‫ = “ كتابي‬two words in English “ my book”
Words and Morphemes
Word: may be made up of more than one meaningful unit.
Morpheme: a single meaningful unit; cannot be analyzed further.
• Examples
• “Inconceivable” is one word in English
• “Inconceivable” is made up of three morphemes:
• “in,” meaning “not”
• “conceive,” meaning “think of or imagine”
• “able,” meaning “able to be”
• “Inconceivable,” then, means “not able to be imagined”
The Problem of Non-Equivalence

Non-equivalence at word level:

When The target language does not have a word that exactly translates the word
from the source text

Common Types of Non-equivalence

• Culture-specific concepts.
• Concept expressed in the source language , but not lexicalized in target language.
• Source and target languages do not distinguish meaning in the same way.
Types of Non equivalence

Seven Types of non-equivalence at word level by Baker,2011:

• Target language does not have a superordinate
• Target language does not have a specific term
• Physical or interpersonal perspectives are not similar
• Different expressive meanings
• Form is different
• Frequency and purpose of form is different
• Loan words are used in the source text
Translation Strategies

Seven Translation Strategies for dealing with non-equivalence at word

level , Baker (2011):
• Translation by a more general word
• Translation by a more neutral / less expressive word
• Translation by cultural substitution
• Translation using a loan word
• Translation by paraphrase using a related word
• Translation by paraphrase using unrelated words
• Translation by omission
• Translation by illustration
Grammatical Equivalence

What is Grammar?
Grammar is a set of rules that dictates how words and phrases are combined in a
given language.

Two Dimensions of Grammar:

• Morphology: structure of words and changes in form of words to account for
different concepts expressed in the grammatical system
• Syntax: grammatical rules that organize how words can be combined into
phrases, sentences, clauses
Grammatical Categories and Lexical Categories

Grammatical Categories and Lexical Categories:

• Grammatical choices are compulsory while lexical choices are discretionary.
• Grammatical structures are more constant in a language, less likely to change.
• Grammatical rules are more consistently followed by speakers.
Grammatical Categories

• Grammatical Categories may include time, gender, number, shape , tense and
aspect, voice ,word order, and text.

• Grammatical Categories used impact the ability to express certain aspects of

experience in a given language.

• Translation between languages with different grammatical categories may

result in some change of content.
Grammatical Categories across Languages

Number:
Singular , Dual ‫(المثنى‬Arabic ) , Plural.
Gender:
• Masculine or feminine : Nouns and pronouns
• Determiner, adjectives, verbs often agree with the noun.
Person:
Distinguishing between first, second, and third person.
Word Order:
• Sequence of functional elements (e.g., subject, predicator, object) is more stable in
some languages than others.
• Some languages use ‘case inflections’ to indicate relationships.
• Languages with frequent use of case inflections allow for greater flexibility in word
Textual Equivalence
Text: “the verbal record of a communicative event,” (Brown & Yule, 1983 as cited
in Baker 2011)
Lexical items and grammatical structures contribute to the meaning of the overall
“communicative event,” the text

Translators must:
• Consider the whole text, both at the beginning and at the end of the translation
process
• Read the entire text prior to translating sentences and phrases
• Maintain the content and meaning of the overall text
• Make the translation readable for the audience of the target text
Reference

Baker, M. (2011). In other words. (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN#:
9780415467537 (print), 9780203832929 (e-text).
Thank You