Equivalence and Appropriateness: Divergence Characteristics of Categories under Translation

Abstract

The authors deal with the notions of equivalence and appropriateness, and describe the divergence characteristics of categories under translation. Equivalence is considered as the quantitative correspondence of source text (ST) to target text (TT), while appropriateness is mentioned as the qualitative correspondence. Equivalent translation is seen in the sense of quantitative correspondence of source text and target text and their means of expression. The authors conclude that the quantitative comparison of ST and TT proves the fact of their prior nonequivalence, and sum up that it is connected with the so-called form of language and its means density. The article deals with the statement that translation might be formed among language groups that lexicalize the contents in a different way. The terms “translation” and “search for an equivalent” are differenciated. Naturalism or translation symmetry is defined as the cases of excessive attention of translators to formal part of their work; it is widely spread in the practice of translation. The terms “meaning” and “content” are mentioned in the following focus: meaning objectifies extralinguistic reality of the unit or text, content specifies intralinguistic one.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n27p1601