Functional Equivalence Applied in the Translation of Poems

Abstract

As a translation theory, Nida's functional equivalence theory plays an important role in translation study. It guides us to the true nature and methods of translation. Poetry, a necessary genre in the field of literature, has been regarded as the very essence of art. Translation of this genre weighs a lot in translation study. Based on Nida's functional equivalence theory, this paper conducts a study on how to translate poems in different languages and cultures on phonetic level, lexical level, and syntactic level. Translation strategies applied are to be found on these levels.