The Concept of ‘Translation Equivalence’

Abstract

This paper focuses on how Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) conceptualizes translation equivalence (TE) – a concept which seems to resist any satisfactory treatment. To provide background for the study, the paper first examines some widely known formal and non-systemic functional (non-SF) perspectives on TE. Then it presents the SFL perspective on TE, focusing in particular on the current SFL perspective on TE as expounded by Halliday (2001, 2017) and Matthiessen (2001). To demonstrate the ‘appliability’ (Halliday, 2017: 34) and relevance of SFL to TE studies and translation practice, a mini-case study is conducted in which, using the current SFL model as the theoretical framework, the paper analyzes, compares, and establishes equivalent as well as non-equivalent points between a source language text passage from ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ by the American Nobel Laureate in literature, Ernest Hemmingway, and its Vietnamese translated version from ‘Ông già và bien ca’ by Huy Phuong. The study shows that SFL is highly relevant for TE. It is an ‘extravagant’ (Halliday and Martin, 2005: 26), comprehensive, coherent, and multidimensional model of language which can open huge potential for researchers and translators to use it as a theoretical framework for TE studies and translation practice.