Dynamic Equivalence (D.E.) and Idioms Translation

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Dynamic Equivalence (D.E.) and Idioms Translation

By Heba Alkady

alkady.heba[at]gawab.com

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Equivalence! What does it mean?

The meaning of the word equivalence can be described as "equal in value, measure, force, effect, significance." Based on the word's etymology, however, its first half can also be taken to mean "like."

Throughout the history of translation, equivalence has revealed itself both as a phenomenon that can be located on different levels and as a concept eventually so riddled with contradictions.

The terms equivalence and adequacy are sometimes loaded with different meanings, often treated as synonyms.

Scholars though treat "equivalent translation" and "adequate translation" as two distinct but closely related notions. They see that the AT is broader than ET, and it is often used to mean a "good translation“.

And when we precede “Equivalence” by the term “Dynamic”, Does it tell a new thing…!

D.E.T is a translation that "aims at complete naturalness of expression, and tries to relate the receptor to modes of behaviour relevant within the context of his own culture; it does not insist that he understands the cultural patterns of the source-language context in order to comprehend the message."

Example from the Holy Qura’n:

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم "وادخل يدك في جيبك تخرج بيضاء من غير سوء" صدق الله العظيم

(النمل:12)

One of the translators rendered this Aya by using the expression:

This sign was shown to him by Allah to put his hand in his pocket.

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While an other who resorts to the D.E. theory rendered it as

Now put your hand into thy bosom, and it will came forth white without stain (Ali, A. Y., 1989: 980).

One of the translators rendered this Aya by using the expression:

This sign was shown to him by Allah to put his hand in his pocket.

While an other who resorts to the D.E. theory rendered it as:

Now put your hand into thy bosom, and it will came forth white without stain (Ali, A. Y., 1989: 980).

Example from the Bible:

Nida cites his examples from Bible translation, where the phrase 'Lamb of God' would be rendered into 'Seal of God' for the Eskimos because the lamb doesn't symbolize innocence in their culture(1964: 166).

In this case, a literal translation doesn't mean anything in a SL culture, so the dynamic equivalence is necessary.

This is how the translator looks when s/he is in a real mess!

What if someone told you

I wish you break a leg!!!!

What are you gonna tell him!

Whom do you think wear the pants?

What are you gonna do, poor translator!

Those two examples are called …!

Idioms

Idioms tell much about a people's traditional ways of experiencing reality, about the proper or expected ways of doing things, about values and warnings, and rules and wisdoms the elders want to impress on the minds of their young. Linguistically, an idiom is an expression which is unique to a language and cannot be understood simply from the meaning of its individual words. In other words, the actual meaning of an idiom is not the total of the meaning of its individual parts. An idiom is a figure of speech. English has many idioms, such as:

It's raining cats and dogs

انها تمطر قططاً و كلابًا

Is it a sund Arabic equivalent!

Does it tell the SL MESSAGE!

No !

WhAt Is The rEsOrT tHeN?

I sTiLl HaVe MoRe NeW

vOcAbUlArY!

You are Up the stick congratulations!

انتي حامل تهانئي.

All the issue was Chinese whispered

لقد اشيع و تناقل الأمر

His gossips are just storms in a teacup.

فشار :)

I loved that dress, but the guy there refused any Dutch auction.

معندوش فصال

He is the spitting image of his uncle.

هو نسخة من عمه

The world and my wife were attending the conference.

نال المؤتمر اقبال كبير من الحضور "عدد غفير

Oh, Please tighten your belt. That’s enough.

اتقي الله و لمي ايديك

She was awarded The Ideal Mother Prize for her vale of tears.

لقد نالت لقب الأم المثالي لكفاحها المشرف

When I was a student, they were calling me a young turk!

كانوا يسموني الطالب المشاغب

Thank you and I wish you break a leg ;)

فكروا فيها ايش يا تري معناها