Equivalence can be considered a central concept in translation theory; many theorists define translation in terms of equivalence relation. Pym (1992) has even pointed to its circularity: equivalence is supposed to define translation, and translation, in turn, defines equivalence. Here are some elaborate approaches to translation equivalence:
Nida 91964) distinguishes formal equivalence and dynamic translation as basic orientations rather than as a binary choice:
+ Formal equivalence is achieved when the source language and target language words have the closest possible match of form and content.
+ Dynamic equivalence is achieved when the source language and target language words have the same effect on their effective readers
Newmark (1988a) terms Nida’s dynamic equivalence as ‘equivalence effect’ or ‘equivalence response’ principle: “the overriding purpose of any translation should be to achieve ‘equivalence effect’, that is to produce the same effect (or one as close as possible) on the readership of the translation as was obtained on the readership of the original” (Newmark 1988a). He also sees equivalence effect as the desirable result rather than the aim of any translation except for two cases: (1) if the purpose of the source language text is to affect and the target language translation is to inform or vice versa; (2) if there is a pronounced cultural gap between the source language and the target language text.
Koller (1979) considers five types of equivalence:
+ Denotative equivalence: the source language and target language words refer to the same thing in the real world.
+ Connotative equivalence: provides additional values besides denotative and is achieved by the translator’s choice of synonymous words or expressions.
+ Text-normative equivalence: the source language and target language words are used in the same or similar context in their respective languages
+ Pragmatic equivalence: with readership orientation, the source language and target language words have the same effect on their respective readers.
+ Formal equivalence: produces and analogy of form in the translation by either exploiting formal possibilities of target language, or creating new forms in target language.