Functional Equivalence Theory.ppt

Functional Equivalence Theory Eugene Nida An American linguist, translation theorist Eugene Nida(1914-2011) November 11, 1914, born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma(美国俄克拉玛何马市) 1936, graduated from the University of California 1934, received his Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Michigan 1980, retired but Nida continued to give lectures in universities all around the world August 25, 2011, Nida died in Madrid, aged 96 Major Works Bible Translating(《圣经》翻译) Toward a Science of Translating(《翻译的科学探索》) The Theory and Practice of Translation(《翻译理论与实践》) Contexts in Translating(《翻译中的语境》) Religion Across Cultures(《跨文化宗教》) Translation Theory Nida focuses on the translation of Bible all his life, and injects the principles based on Bible translation into his major academic activities. Functional Equivalence is the core of his translation theory. According to Nida, translating consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style. Conceptions of Functional Equivalence First put forward in 1964. Emphasis: the functional equivalence of information instead of the direct formal equivalence in translation The relationship between the target language receptor and the target text should generally be equivalent to that between the source language receptor and the source text Four Aspects of Functional Equivalence 1.Lexical Equivalence(字词对等、多词同义、一词多义、词义交织和无对等词语) The meaning of a word lies in its usage in language. In translation practice, what confuses us is how to find the corresponding meaning in target language. Examples: Take a back seat 甘拜下风 Remain on pins and needles 提心吊胆 Be through hell and high water 千辛万苦 To cast pearls before the swine 对牛弹琴 Love me, love my dog 爱屋及乌 To lead a dog’s life 过着牛马不如的生活 Example: “If I slapped someone he’d see the way to Krakow.” ---Issac Bashevis Singer: Gimple the Fool [a]要是我给谁一巴掌，准会把他扇到克拉科去 [b]要是我掴谁一巴掌，他就会