Functional Equivalence Research Articles

A Comparative Study of the French Pronoun On and Its Equivalents in Jordanian Arabic

This study examines the French pronoun on and its functional equivalents in Jordanian Arabic, exploring linguistic strategies used to achieve equivalence. The pronoun on conveys versatile meanings, including generic, indefinite, and universal agency, often expressing collective or unspecified action. Jordanian Arabic, lacking a direct equivalent, relies on alternative strategies such as reflexive verbs, passive forms, and explicit or indefinite subjects like إحنا /iḥna/ (we), الناس /al-nās/ (people) and الواحد /al-wāḥed/ (one). A bilingual corpus of 200 French sentences with on and their 400 Jordanian Arabic equivalents is analyzed to categorize syntactic structures and pragmatic functions. Findings reveal distinct preferences in Jordanian Arabic: explicit plural subjects with verbs (35%) for inclusivity, first-person plural affix marking with non-reflexive verbs (25%) for generic actions, reflexive affix marking (15%) for reflexive actions, passive constructions (10%) for indefinite agency, and singular subjects (15%) for collective and abstract meanings. These differences reflect a semantic shift where French emphasizes agency, while Jordanian Arabic prioritizes outcomes. The study also highlights the pragmatic functions of on in French—deictic, anaphoric, and presentative—and Jordanian Arabic’s use of explicit markers, verb conjugations, and indefinite expressions to achieve equivalence. By addressing these cross-linguistic differences, this research advances translation studies, second-language acquisition, and contrastive linguistics, providing practical insights for educators, translators, and researchers. It underscores the influence of linguistic and cultural norms on strategies for expressing abstract and indeterminate meanings.

The Translatability of Culture-Specific Items in the Novel Season of Martyrdom

Culture-specific items (CSIs) in literary translation are obstacles translators may face during the translation process because of the absence of a systematic equivalence between the source language (SL) and the target language (TL). The problems with their translation may increase if languages and cultures are diverse, such as Arabic and English. The aim of this study is to investigate the translation of the culture-specific items (CSIs) in Arabic literary text to English and to describe the occurrence of the translation procedures used by the translator to transfer source text (ST) cultural aspects. This study is therefore a descriptive qualitative study, which investigates the translation procedures used by Paula Hayder (2018) to translate the CSIs of Jamal Naji’s novel Season of Martyrdom (2015) into English. The occurrences of the CSI in the ST and their translation procedures in the target text (TT) are categorized in accordance with Newmark’s (2001) culture-specific item categorization and the translation procedures proposed by Vinay and Darbalnet (2000). The results reveal that the translator utilized seven translation procedures: functional equivalence, description, free translation, modulation, borrowing, cultural equivalence, and endnote. Functional and cultural equivalences were the most frequently used translation procedures. Moreover, free translation and endnote translation procedures were used sparingly. The CSIs translation procedures used by the translator showed that the communicative purpose of translation was achieved in various degrees when rendering the culture of the ST.

Equivalence of Stock-Recruitment Functions and Parent-Progeny Relationships in Discrete-Time Multi-Stage Models

Understanding the relationship between adult fish populations (the "stock") and the number of new fish entering the population (the "recruits") is essential for effective fisheries management. Traditionally, this relationship is represented by a stock-recruitment (SR) function, which is a simplified mathematical model that directly links stock size to recruitment. However, fish populations pass through several life stages, each stage influenced by unique population dynamic factors. Current SR functions often overlook these complexities, assuming that recruitment depends solely on the adult population size. In this study, we use a multi-stage, age-structured discrete-time population dynamic model that accounts for all life stages and the transitions between them. We demonstrate that, in general, a closed-form, univariate SR function may not accurately represent the recruitment process when these life stages are considered. Instead, we identify specific mathematical conditions under which a SR function is equivalent to our multi-stage model. Our findings suggest a re-evaluation of conventional SR models, advocating for multi-stage approaches to support fisheries management decisions.

Tandem repeat polymorphisms shape local adaptation.

Tandem repeat polymorphisms shape local adaptation.

Цифрова річ як майно та її оборотоздатність

The article is devoted to the analysis of a digital thing as property and its negotiability. It is argued that the formation of digital property law is based on the functional approach of introducing digital things into property and law of obligations as property, property or other rights which reflect the essence of a digital thing. It is noted that digital things are property if they have property value, can be alienated and can be enforced by creditors, regardless of their equation to things or recognition as property (obligatory, etc.) rights. It is noted that by their legal nature, digital things are heterogeneous intangible property benefits that exist in electronic form and express value or contractual rights. Different types of digital things are legally characterized by property, obligatory or other rights which determine the nature of rights of a digital thing. The study applies dialectical, comparative legal, formal and logical, and systemic and structural methods of scientific cognition. It is proved that the formation of digital property and obligation law inherent in modern law is a global trend characterized by the gradual recognition of certain types of digital things as property equivalent to things or property rights, taking into account the provisions of law and the essence of a digital thing, and the creation of functional equivalents of possession, property rights inherent in traditional property or obligation law, taking into account the peculiarities caused by the intangible nature of digital thing.

Acquis terminology in English–Georgian translation

Abstract Translation of the Acquis communautaire was followed in almost every acceding EU state with debates about the quality, multiple cases of requests for corrigenda, and controversies regarding the terminology “consistence.” Insignificant in one respect or undetected in another, translational mistakes incurred costs as well as additional efforts on behalf of the EU and national institutions. The paper examines the consistency of terminology of the EU–Georgian Association Agreement, Title IV, articles 1–276. The analyses were conducted using a custom-built bilingual corpus platform and software. The goal of this research was to continue the development of the CT analyses and methodology for the translated Acquis, as well as legal texts in general. We analyzed legal collocations or “terminological collocations” that are translated with the functional equivalents, causing inconsistencies and errors in the teleological interpretation of the law, as well as term variation. Another value of the research is that it ascertains and promotes the significance of the corpus linguistic methodology for the development of the CTS of legal texts.

Study on the Translation of English Movie Titles from the Perspective of Functional Equivalence Theory

With the advancement of the times, the film industry has developed rapidly, and numerous new films are released worldwide each year. Among them, many English-language films introduced to China have gained widespread popularity, enriching the cultural and entertainment lives of the audience. The introduction of these films has spurred related translation work, with the translation of movie titles being one of the most crucial aspects. The translation of movie titles is a highly creative task: a well-executed translation enhances the film’s appeal, while a poorly translated title can lead to undesirable outcomes. As the "face" of the film, the title serves as a concise summary of the movie’s content and plays a key role in attracting the audience's attention. With the aim of exploring how to translate movie titles effectively to open a window for cultural exchange, this paper, guided by Nida’s functional equivalence theory, investigates the translation of English movie titles. This research not only provides theoretical guidance for translating foreign films into Chinese but also helps enhance our understanding of foreign cultures, thereby promoting cultural communication and mutual appreciation between China and other countries.

Translating Paratexts in Digital Media: Exploring Problems and Strategies

This study aimed to explore the problems and strategies of translating paratexts in digital media through content analysis, comparing the English and Arabic paratextual elements of six media digital sources, including the BBC News website, Al Arabiya blog, and Reuters forum. The study identified several translation problems, including culturally specific terms, cultural references, conflicting verbal and paratextual components, and reframing the narrative functions of paratexts. The emergent themes revealed that 97% of the problems were attributed to terminology and lexical choices, whereas 83% were related to the integration of visual elements. Themes of cultural adaptation for governing the content of paratextual elements and reframing the narrative functions of paratexts each reached 80%. The emergent themes also revealed the strategies that translators use to address the translation of paratexts. These strategies include employing the translation adaptation approach (95%), applying functional translation (90%), using thematic analysis for intralinguistic subtitles (87%), using multimodal transcription (85%), and using transposition (82%). The study recommends replacing cultural references, idioms, or symbols with equivalents that resonate with the target audience. Functional equivalence ensures that translated paratexts serve the same purpose in the target language, adhering to cultural norms. The study highlights the distinction between traditional criteria for identifying paratexts and the functionality of translation in identifying digital paratexts. Understanding functional equivalence dynamics can help translators produce high-quality translations for the digital era. Thus, the study contributes to the fields of translation studies, translation and culture studies, and translation and information technology.

From Words to Worlds: Metaphor Translation of Zootopia from the Perspective of Functional Equivalence Theory

This study aims to analyze the types of metaphor in the animated film Zootopia and explore effective translation strategies to promote cross-cultural communication. Employing text analysis and case study methods, this research examines subtitle translation strategies under the framework of functional equivalence theory. The finding reveals that the application of vocabulary equivalence and cultural equivalence can effectively steer the translation of metaphors in Zootopia, offering strategic guidance to translators. These strategies enhance the quality of metaphor translation in animated films, fostering greater audience understanding and acceptance of the film, and facilitating cross-cultural communication through animated cinema. This study also provides a useful reference for related research and translation practice.

Dichotomies in Translation Studies and Translator Training

Translation theory, although a young science, has deep roots dating back centuries, with the dichotomy between literal and free translation evident since the time of St. Jerome. This paper examines the evolution of this basic translational dichotomy across different theoretical frameworks, including formal equivalence, dynamic equivalence, communicative and semantic translation, foreignization, domestication, etc. The authors also highlight the differences between the theoretical concepts. Furthermore, the paper focuses on how the translation dichotomies may be applied in practice. To this end, the study delves into how the dichotomy manifests in student English-Russian translations, specifically focusing on achieving functional equivalence. The point of departure for the analysis is J. Houses’s definition of covert translation. Analyzing translations of a scientific text by first-year master's students, the paper reveals challenges in achieving covert translation. The methods employed in the paper are the following: a componential analysis; a translation analysis, a corpus-based analysis; literature review, and retrospection and interviews. Scientific novelty is related to the application of basic theoretical concepts in practice, namely, in the practice of teaching translation. Moreover, the paper provides a comprehensive overview of existing theoretical approaches to describe the opposing translation strategies: word-for-word and sense-for-sense translation. In addition, the authors argue that translation errors are caused by an incorrect approach to the translation process itself. The interviews revealed that students often view translation as a replacement of source text units with translated text units, ignoring the overall translation strategy. The results highlight recurring collocational errors, indicating a source language-dependent tendency. The conclusion emphasizes the need for a pedagogical shift toward functional perspectives in translation training, suggesting avenues for future research on translator training.

(Nie)przekładalność: ekwiwalenty terminów technicznych na przykładzie chińskiego tłumaczenia Prawieku i innych czasów Olgi Tokarczuk

Untranslatability is defined as an inability to express a text in a target language so that it evokes identical or similar associations as in the source language. It has often been claimed that technical terms, such as the names of food, money units, and clothing, are untranslatable. This article argues that even technical terms can be translated from one language to another. It aims to identify the translation strategies and equivalents used by Yi Lijun and Yuan Hanrong to translate the names of dishes, food products, beverages, and vegetation into Chinese in the translation of Olga Tokarczuk’s Primeval and Other Times. I show that technical terms can be translated using functional equivalents, word-to-word equivalents, description, phonetic adaptation, and omission. What is more, some of the equivalents used in the translation are incorrect. This article contributes to research on literary translation from Polish into Chinese. Also, it suggests what strategies should be used properly to translate technical terms.

Semantic differences between terms associated with the Hungarian and the Ukrainian public education systems

The integration of Ukraine into the European Union is a very complex process which can be facilitated with the development of terminological dictionaries that make the translation of Ukrainian-specific educational, administrative and legal terms much easier. In the spring of 2024, a new terminological research program began within the framework of the Science for the Hungarian Language National Program – Hungarian Terminology Strategy Subprogram. An international research group consisting of members from the Termini Hungarian Language Research Network set out to translate nearly a thousand Hungarian terms from Act CXC of 2011 on National Public Education of Hungary into the state languages of the neighbouring countries, including German, Slovak, Romanian, Serbian, Slovenian, Croatian, and Ukrainian, respectively. The Antal Hodinka Linguistic Research Centre joined the initiative to find the Ukrainian equivalents of Hungarian educational terms, and to develop new terminologies in case of any semantic gaps. The aim of this study is to shed light on the most important semantic differences between the educational and administrative terms connected to the Hungarian and the Ukrainian public education systems. The main problems during the translation process include the development of new terms, the translation of compound expressions, the search for functional equivalents, the grammatical and word-building differences between the Hungarian and the Ukrainian languages, the integration of regional equivalents into the dictionary, the explanation of country-specific educational terms, and the differences between the public education systems of the two countries. The current study is based on the translation of the first 450 terms from the terminological corpus. At the end of the research and the terminological work, a comprehensive online dictionary is going to be developed which will open the door for Hungarian–Ukrainian and Ukrainian–Hungarian translators to create bilingual versions of the countries’ educational laws, and semantic gaps will be filled in relation to the translation of specific terms of the Ukrainian public education system.

Translating Detective and Mystery Stories: A Skopos Perspective

The mysteries or the detective fictions are one type of popular novels which mainly describe the process of reasoning and detection of the case. With translation practice examples of two mysteries and detective fictions——A Philosophical Difference and Phoney Friend, the paper describes the translation skills on the titles, rhetorical devices and references of the mysteries from the perspective of Skopos theory and functional equivalence theory in details. It is found out that liberal translation is the best way to translate the titles with the guidance of Skopos theory, which is easy to attract the readers’ attention. The rhetorical devices like alliteration, pun and acrostic puzzle, can be translated in two ways--literal translation and amplification according to the functional equivalence theory. References can be translated in a repetitive way to realize the coherence in the text.This paper describes the translation skills of the titles, rhetorical devices and references in mysteries and provides a first-hand corpus for theoretical studies of translation, as well as methodological guidance for translation practice. It shows that flexible application of theories in translation can reach a better effect in translation practice.

Challenges and Strategies in Translating Legal Terms between English and Arabic: A Comparative Study of International Accords and Agreements

This study scrutinizes the problems and strategies involved in the translation of legal terms from English into Arabic and vice versa, whether in relation to international accords or agreements. Despite the significant differences between English common law and the civil or Islamic law systems in Arabic, this piece of research tries to look into how translators surpass challenges to maintain legal accuracy and cultural appropriateness. In this regard, the present study has taken up a qualitative research design that analyzes ten samples of legal terms in selected international agreements, such as the United Nations Charter, the Paris Agreement, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Besides this, open-ended questions were administered to 20 legal translators to trace the challenges they encountered and their coping strategies. The outcome of the study reveals that the largest problem is related to the absence of most equivalents in legal expressions - especially those containing culturally related contexts. Functional equivalence, consultation with legalists, and the use of explanatory footnotes are the most frequent means to ensure legal accuracy. In addition, cultural adaptation is the major strategy that allows translation to be accurate and applicable in areas such as family law and finance. The need to integrate linguistic, legal, and cultural competencies is nowadays quite urgent in translating international legal documents between English and Arabic.

Religion as a Functional Equivalent of Medicine: Religious Experiences of Family Caregivers of People with Chronic Illnesses in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Religion as a Functional Equivalent of Medicine: Religious Experiences of Family Caregivers of People with Chronic Illnesses in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Russian Translation of Chinese Tour Guide Presentations under the Guidance of Functional Equivalence Theory

Russian Translation of Chinese Tour Guide Presentations under the Guidance of Functional Equivalence Theory

English Translation Strategy of Publicity Materials of Guizhou Liquor Enterprises under the Theory of Functional Equivalence

English Translation Strategy of Publicity Materials of Guizhou Liquor Enterprises under the Theory of Functional Equivalence

Studying the Role of HOX Genes in Thrombocyte Development.

In our laboratory, we study thrombopoiesis and hemostasis using zebrafish as a model organism to unravel the mechanisms of differentiation and development of thrombocytes. We have shown in our earlier work that thrombocytes are functional equivalents of platelets and have transcriptional machinery similar to megakaryocytes. We recently found evidence that hox genes play a role in their development. We used piggyback gene knockdown and thrombocyte quantification assays to understand the influence of these ancient developmental regulators on thrombopoiesis. In this chapter, we describe methods used to discover these hox genes.

Navigating Complexities in Medical Text Translation: Challenges, Strategies, and Solutions

The translation of medical texts is a highly specialized field that demands precision, linguistic proficiency, and subject-matter expertise. This study examines the unique challenges of translating medical documents, emphasizing their critical role in global healthcare. By applying theoretical frameworks such as Reiss' text typology and the Skopos theory, the research highlights the importance of functional equivalence and intertextual coherence. The paper identifies key challenges, including the translation of synonyms, homonyms, acronyms, eponyms, and pharmaceutical texts, and provides practical strategies to overcome these issues. Collaborative efforts between translators and medical professionals, continuous education, utilization of glossaries and translation tools, and rigorous peer review processes are proposed as essential solutions. Real-world case studies illustrate the profound consequences of mistranslations and the benefits of adopting holistic and adaptive approaches. This research underscores the pivotal role of medical translation in fostering effective communication, enhancing patient safety, and advancing global health outcomes.

Migrating from Developing Asynchronous Multi-Threading Programs to Reactive Programs in Java

Modern software application development imposes standards regarding high performance, scalability, and minimal system latency. Multi-threading asynchronous programming is one of the standard solutions proposed by the industry for achieving such objectives. However, the recent introduction of the reactive programming interface in Java presents a potential alternative approach for addressing such challenges, promising performance improvements while minimizing resource utilization. The research examines the migration process from the asynchronous paradigm to the reactive paradigm, highlighting the implications, benefits, and challenges resulting from this transition. To this end, the architecture, technologies, and design of a support application are presented, outlining the practical aspects of this experimental process while closely monitoring the phased migration. The results are examined in terms of functional equivalence, testing, and comparative analysis of response times, resource utilization, and throughput, as well as the cases where the reactive paradigm proves to be a solution worth considering. Across multiple scenarios, the reactive paradigm demonstrated advantages such as up to 12% reduction in memory usage, 56% faster 90th percentile response times, and a 33% increase in throughput under high-concurrency conditions. However, the results also reveal cases, such as data-intensive scenarios, where asynchronous programming outperforms reactive approaches. Additionally, possible directions for further research and development are presented. This paper not only investigates the design and implementation process but also sets a foundation for future research and innovation in dependable systems, collaborative technologies, sustainable solutions, and distributed system architecture.