This #translation post is just an introduction to Mona Baker's theory of equivalence. Knowing about equivalence theory is valuable for anyone involved in language-related fields, as
it provides insights into the complexities of transferring meaning
between languages and cultures. It encourages a deeper understanding of grammar differences, connotations, cultural implications, and contextual meanings of words and phrases.
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Equivalence - definition
Cambridge defines 'equivalent' (adjective) as:
equal in amount, value, importance, or meaning
(Cambridge Dictionary)
Equivalence in translation, then, refers to the concept of accurately conveying the meaning, tone, style, and intention of a sentence, word, phrase, or the whole text from one language to another. It's about ensuring that the translation captures not just the literal words but also the underlying message, cultural nuances, and context of the original content.
Simply put, it means 'the best translation of a word/phrase/concept.'
Examples
Imagine 'a car'. What can you see? Probably, something that has four wheels, a windshield, doors, an open or closed trunk, etc.
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Now, if we asked a Polish speaker to imagine 'a car' as well, they would probably imagine the same object an English speaker did. A Japanese speaker's imagined car would be no different.
Of course, some details will differ, but overall, all of them would have the same object in mind.
So what does it mean? It means that the words "a car," "samochód," and 車 (くるま)
are equivalents. They represent the same concept and capture the same underlying messages.
A more difficult example.
Święcenie koszyczka (Święconka) = Basket blessing
In Polish culture, the "basket blessing" is a significant tradition that
takes place on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday. It's called
"Święconka" or "Święcenie koszyczka" in Polish. Families prepare a special basket filled with a
selection of Easter foods, including decorated eggs (pisanki), bread, salt, sausage, ham,
and other traditional foods.
Basket Blessing is a literal translation; word-for-word translation. If you were to ask a non-Polish person to imagine "basket blessing," most likely their mind would go blank.
We can safely assume that święcenie koszyczka and basket blessing are not equivalents.
The phrase basket blessing doesn't capture the underlying message of the term święcenie koszyczka. For English speakers, basket blessing will not evoke any feelings, there will be no sentiment. It's just a fun fact.
Is it a bad translation, then?
No, it's not.
When it comes to everyday objects, it's easy to find equivalents because there are things and concepts in this world that we all share. However, each country comes with different customs and traditions, and these are the most difficult to translate.
A translator's job is to decide the purpose of the text they translate. Do they want to educate the readers on foreign customs? If so, then word-for-word translations and explanations will definitely educate the readers. But if the text is meant to entertain people or evoke sentiments, then replacing the source text's cultural references with the cultural references of the target culture will be a good choice.
Translation isn't merely about replacing words from one language to
another; it involves bridging cultural gaps. Equivalence theory
emphasizes the importance of cultural nuances, ensuring that
translations are culturally sensitive and appropriate for the target
audience.
Mona Baker's 5 levels of equivalence
Equivalence at word level
At the word level, equivalence concerns finding words in one language
that convey the closest possible meaning to words in another language (a car ⇒ samochód).
However, even words don't always have direct equivalents due to cultural,
semantic, or syntactic differences (生きがい). In such cases, translators often aim for functional equivalence, choosing words that convey similar meanings in the given
context.
Equivalence above word level
Beyond individual words, equivalence extends to larger units of
language, such as phrases (święcenie koszyczka), sentences, or entire texts.
Achieving
equivalence at both levels involves preserving the overall meaning, tone,
style, and intent of the source text while adapting it to the
linguistic and cultural norms of the target language. This can involve
restructuring sentences, altering idiomatic expressions, or even
modifying cultural references to ensure the intended message is conveyed
accurately.
Problems
- Culture-specific concepts (łamanie się opłatkiem; はなみ; Halloween; etc.)
- An object or action or a custom simply doesn't exist in the target culture.
- The source language has more words to describe a thing or an action, while the target language uses one word only to encompass a wide range of objects or actions (skówka, zakrętka, zatyczka = a cap).
- Differences in physical or interpersonal perspective (words such as come/go, take/bring, arrive/depart).
- Different connotations (some words are neutral in the source language, but some are very emotive in the target language).
- Different denotative meanings (cool can either mean 'low temperature' or 'acceptable').
- Affixes (prefixes and suffixes). English "–ish" (greenish) is applicable to many words and even phrases. It’s almost impossible to render it into Polish.
- Some words can be translated (have equivalents), but they’re not used as often as they are in the target culture/language.
Possible solutions
- Use more general words, less expressive words.
- You can always describe the thing, provide an explanation (translation by illustration).
- You can omit that word if it isn’t necessary and won’t cause any problems with understanding.
- Paraphrase.
- Borrow the word and provide its explanation.
- Cultural substitution (instead of święcenie koszyczka use a custom common in the target culture).
Grammatical Equivalence
This refers to differences in grammar mechanics. Some examples include:
- Number (plural/singular)
- In Japanese, technically speaking, there's no plural form.
- Gender (der, die, das in German)
- Person (I, You, He, She, It)
- In Japanese, the pronoun 'you' (あなた) isn't used in the same way as it is in English.
- Tense and aspect (perfective and imperfective verbs in Polish, or four aspects in English)
- Voice (active/passive)
- Some languages use passive voice more often than others.
Make sure to check out my post on Catford's translation shifts to learn more about grammar and the problems it poses to language learners and translators.
Textual Equivalence
This refers to differences in text organization and structuring such as order of information, and logical flow, maintaining grammatical structures and relationships between words as well as using idiomatic phrases in the target language that best capture the intended meaning of the source text.
For example, in Polish long sentences with multiple commas and other punctuation marks are common unlike in English, where sentences are rather short.
Japanese writers tend to introduce multiple ideas/points in a single paragraph, while English writers separate ideas and discuss them in single paragraphs.
In English, nominal structures (phrases that are basically nouns, i.e. upcoming anime releases) are quite common. Polish, on the other hand, prefers verbal structures, i.e. jakie anime planuje się stworzyć (which anime is planned to be released).
Check out my post on narrative structures in Japanese to learn more about differences in text organization between English and Japanese.
Pragmatic Equivalence
Simply put, this refers to implied information. You know, all those little things that tell us that our speaker meant something completely different or meant to insult us in a non-straight-forward manner using culturally specific words and concepts.
Pragmatic equivalence emphasizes the importance of going beyond literal
translation to consider the broader cultural and situational aspects such as formality, tone, social context, cultural norms, social practices, etc.
Achieving pragmatic equivalence ensures
that the translated text is culturally and contextually appropriate, allowing effective
communication between different linguistic and cultural communities.
Forrest Gump is a good example of such 'implied information'. You need to be familiar with the US history and culture to fully enjoy the movie.
Take-aways
Achieving equivalence in translation can be complex, especially when
dealing with idiomatic expressions, cultural references, or concepts
that don’t have direct counterparts in another language. Translators
often need to balance between staying faithful to the original text and
ensuring the translated content is clear, natural-sounding, and
contextually appropriate for the target audience.
For language learners (especially those self-taught ones) and teachers, this knowledge may prove to be equally useful. As a student, you will:
- be able to ask more specific questions or even find answers yourself;
- no longer wonder why something makes no sense to you;
- discuss cultural aspect with ease;
- learn a thing or two about your native language.
- be able to explain some language complexities to your students with ease;
- have evidence that language learning isn't just about knowing a sufficient number of words (especially if your students aim for high proficiency);
- help your students learn how to sound natural in their target languages and communicate effectively.
Sources
- Mona Baker, In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation
- My notes from college
Tags:
translation
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